Thanksgiving Table with Momoyama Kyoto China

  

I love setting our Thanksgiving table.  My mother gave me a lovely set of  china that I always use for our special meal.  

This year I went a little more formal and even used place cards!  My sons got a kick out of  that..it's not often they go to formal dinners, so I thought I would give them the experience at home.  I believe we should use our lovely things and not save them for someday.  Our families are our most precious possession and I love making our time together special! 

I found the pumpkin place card holders at Hobby Lobby for under $2 each and couldn't resist adding them to my table! 

I used linen napkins from my mother with delicate white embroidered flowers on them. 
The silverware belonged to my mother-in-law and  using it reminds me of her and the wonderful times we shared.   

I found this adorable little maple leaf salt cellar in one of my favorite shops...had to get it as we love coarse salts and this is the perfect way to serve our favorite salts.    

My centerpiece is a collection of silks I've acquired over the years, added little pumpkins from the grocery store, mixed with gerbera daisies and dried lime green hydrangeas from my garden.  I just added three pillar candles down the center of the table.  So easy and inexpensive to make.

I floated the gerbera daisies in crystal glasses along with some rose hips.

The brass chargers are brand new in a box that I found at an estate sale.  They were marked $19.99 per box from Linen's and Things and I bought them for $3 a box.   They add a layer of elegance and sparkle to gold rimmed  china.  Next year I hope to find some gold-colored flatware to complete the "gold" look.

My mother also gave me her crystal when she downsized and I added this stemware to complete my table.

 Hope your Thanksgiving Day was wonderful!
I am thankful I spent it with "my three sons" and my hubbie and three sweet fur-babies, watching football, cooking, eating and just enjoying our time together. 

I'm linking with

Laurie's  A Few of  My Favorite Things Saturday
 The Tablescaper's Seasonal Sundays
Marty's Tabletop Tuesdays
and
Susan's BNOTP Tablescape Thursdays

Holiday Hutch

I redecorate my little informal hutch (that I also use as a small writing desk) each season just by switching out my favorite plates.  I add a few other accessories as well and it transforms the area by my kitchen into a festive little place.    

I clear out everything from my hutch and give it a complete dusting top to bottom.  This year I purchased a new lamp at Kirklands to add a little more light to this area especially at night, since my hutch is not lighted.

 My Christmas plates were purchased at Target several years ago and are some of my favorites.  I love using these plates for Christmas dinner.  

The salad/desert plates with the snowmen are so cute and I love the candy cane border.  I've added my red bubble goblets to the shelves as well and love using them during the holidays.  I
found them
 in a little store in
Grapevine, Texas on a shopping trip.  

I decorated the top of the hutch with a garland I purchased half price at Hobby Lobby last year.  I always add a few more embellishments..this year I saved my lime green hydrangeas from my garden and added them for a more full look and a pop of lime green.  

As you can tell, I have a thing for topiaries!  I seem to collect them without even realizing.  Whenever I shop it seems they have magnets on them that led me straight to them.  I use mine all year and especially at Christmas time. 

My family of snowmen were gifts from different friends and I grouped them together.  The larger one (mamma snowman) holds a votive candle and the smaller ones (babies) are
 salt and peppers.

Of course no vignette would be complete without a cloche.  (Especially since I'm participating in Marty's Tabletop Tuesdays)   I tucked in a sweet little bird with a nest  inside and just added a Christmas bow.

While shopping a few months ago in Tulsa with a friend, I found this Christmas mouse teapot and couldn't resist.  The teapot, cream and sugar were under $10 and too cute for me to pass up. 

I am a tea drinker and collect teapots. 

I will tweak my hutch over the next couple weeks until I get it "just right".   I'll start working on my tree next ...usually I put it up the Friday after Thanksgiving while my guys are all here.


I'm linking with
 Marty's Tabletop Tuesday
Seasonal Sundays
and
Susan's Metamorphosis Monday

Fall Foliage in the Ozarks

When I first moved to Oklahoma I had previously lived in states with much warmer climates and never had the experience of  four distinct seasons.   Growing up in Florida, Hawaii, Texas, California and the Philippines,  I enjoyed fall but I really didn't notice leaves changing colors.  Now getting to experience all the seasons and sometimes their fury,  it is a real treat watching the fall foliage deepen in color almost daily!   We have some great areas of color here in Oklahoma,  especially near the Arkansas border.  The Ozarks and Ouachita Mountains are just stunning in the fall.

We travelled northwest through Tulsa and then across the state line and up to Rogers, Arkansas.  We spent the night in  Bentonville (home of Wal-Mart) which is approximately a three and half hour drive from Oklahoma City. 

(Historical home near Fayetteville, AR)

Just north of Rogers is Beaver Lake and a  favorite stop at War Eagle Mills farm.  This historical farm is just beautiful and was a resting place for the troops in the Civil War.  The red grist mill looks like it should be included in a pictorial calendar.  

The old wooden bridge only allows one car to pass at a time.  The river below is calm, clear and
 full of wildlife.

In mid-October it is host to a wonderful arts and craft fair which I have attended in the past but I prefer to visit when it is quieter and more serene just to enjoy the scenery.   

Just outside Rogers on the road to Eureka Springs we came across a herd of buffalo.  It was dusk so the pictures are a little dark but I thought how beautiful are these amazing creatures.    I never considered buffalo being beautiful but truly they were as they were grazing in their green pasture.   They even noticed me taking their picture!  
    

The following morning we awakened to perfect sunshiny weather and were greeted outside our hotel by glorious red sugar maples!  Can anything be more beautiful? 

Even the fresh fallen leaves on the ground were gorgeous to me!  

We headed south down to Mena, Arkansas in order to travel the Talimena Scenic Byway which starts in Mena and ends in Talihina, Oklahoma.  This is a favorite scenic drive to many especially motorcycle enthusiasts.  We travel by car but I can see why this is such a big attraction for those Harley lovers! 

Krebs is tiny little town is just past the end of the scenic drive and is well known for it's wonderful Italian restaurants...there's not really even a main street but there are some wonderful eateries.  It was the perfect place to stop and we enjoyed a wonderful meal before heading home.

Hope you are enjoying the changing foliage in your neck of the woods.  I'll be linking with Susan's Outdoor Wednesdays this week. 

I'm also linking with The Tablescaper for
Seasonal Sunday! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Peachy Pink Halloween

I am fortunate to work as a registered nurse with a great group of women at

Lakeside Women's Hospital.

One of the highlights of our year is the Halloween competition between different areas in the hospital.

We always try to come up with something really special for our patients and to outdo the competition!   This year we decided to be the Rockford Peaches from A League of Their Own complete with the authentic peachy pink uniforms! 

The opposing team-the Lakeside Babes also had pink uniforms.  Our uniforms were definitely more pink than peach and we had such great fun dressed up like our favorite players.

Some of our decorations had to be made and took some time to complete.  

 We served peanuts, popcorn and hot dogs along with cracker jacks.

We also had snow cones for our patients!

We all had a blast and are already thinking about next year's theme!

( One of the Lakeside Babes)

Dottie and Jimmy Dugan

Hope you have a wonderful Pink Saturday and visit as many pink posts as you can!  I'll be on a foliage tour so will have to squeeze in some blog time at night!