Last year, our two sons hosted Thanksgiving dinner on alternative coasts. Both prepared their holiday turkey using alternative cooking methods with fantastic results!
Hubby and I drove across the state to youngest son D’s home in Philadelphia. His rowhouse is located in the historic and fashionable Fairmont area of the city. Joining us from Washington D.C., were my husband’s brother and his wife. All of us stayed in the three-story rowhouse, along with our Scottie dog, Whiskey and D’s lab-mix, Bentley. It was a full house, and lots of fun!
Meanwhile, oldest son R was in California celebrating the holiday for the first time with his now fiancé’s family.
Both our sons took charge of the Thanksgiving feast, but each used a more modern method to prepare and cook their big birds. Wanting to use his Traeger grill to smoke a turkey, D and his dad plotted out their plan before we even left Pittsburgh. After brining overnight, they splayed or spatchcock the bird before smoking. Spatchcock is to split open a chicken or game bird before cooking. In contrast, R deep-fried a whole turkey outdoors.
It was the first time anyone in our family had ever splayed, smoked or deep-fried a holiday turkey. Come see how well they both turned out!
For the month of November, I’ve styled a brown and blue Thanksgiving table using vintage Liberty Blue dishes in the formal dining room.
It’s one of a bounty of 22 settings in this year’s Thanksgiving Tablescape Blog Hop. The annual event is hosted this year by my blogger friend and fellow plate addict, Rita of Panoply.
Actually, it looks like she positioned me at the top of the hop, so if you’re starting from Rebecca’s tablescape (oh those fabulous vintage Italian plates!) at the end of the list, welcome!
My table also pays a nod to the past with vintage Liberty Blue dishes. Depicting scenes from Colonial America, it’s not pilgrims but patriots that are displayed on the various plates and serving pieces.
With Thanksgiving coming up, I thought I’d share the bountiful cornucopia wreath I made as a hostess gift. After all, ’tis the season for being grateful!
Sometimes project and design inspiration comes from an unexpected find.
While shopping for craft supplies at Michaels, I spotted it — a grapevine wreath ring with an incorporated cornucopia basket.
But then I discovered the grapevine wreath! I instantly knew it was a have-to-do project, and creative gears began spinning in my brain. So, I quickly grabbed one of only three forms off the rack and put it into the cart.
Right away I decided it’d make the perfect thank you gift for relatives who were hosting us at their lovely home in Northern Virginia. Because of the pandemic, it had been a very long 13 months since we’d seen each other. We were suppose to spend last Thanksgiving with them. So, I couldn’t be more happy and grateful to be together!
To decorate this year’s Thanksgiving table, I’ve hand painted some fun turkey glasses.
Dear hubby and I had been hoping to spend Thanksgiving with our adult sons in Philadelphia. Because of the horrible-no-good-very-bad-awful virus, our small gathering of seven is now five down to four in Pittsburgh.
Regardless of the size, I think it’s still important to count our blessings, eat a fairly traditional meal (even if scaled back), and set a festive table. So, I decided to do a little craft therapy, by painting glasses with a pilgrim hat topped gobbler.
If you’re hopping over from Rebecca’s of Zucchini Sisters and her adorable DIY gnome garland, welcome! Seventeen talented bloggers are sharing their creative endeavors this month.
Here, I’ll show how to paint Thanksgiving turkey glasses in five easy steps, using my template method.
Today, I’m sharing not one Thanksgiving table setting, but a trio. Because three’s a charm right?
Last year, we ended up having 16 family members for a sit down Thanksgiving meal. It was served buffet style from the kitchen island.
Up until about a week before the gathering, the final number fluctuated as high as 20. So, I had to be flexible in my Thanksgiving table setting plan.
I normally keep one extension board in my dining room table, with six chairs on two sides. On either side of the china, the host and hostess chairs are against the wall. Although the mahogany table can sit 12, that would require using all three boards. There’s just not enough space in the dining room to add even a second board. But, the table does comfortably accommodate a Thanksgiving table setting for eight.
That meant at least eight more guests needed to be seated elsewhere.
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Hi! I'm Debbee, a maker of all manner of things, who likes to incorporate themes into craft projects, holiday and seasonal decor, table settings, and parties. My friends call me, the Queen of Theme lol!
Home is the suburbs of Pittsburgh, but I also enjoy exploring the world with my husband. We raised two wonderful sons and are now early retirees.
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Meet Whiskey
Meet Glenfiddich "Whiskey," a brindle coat Scottie and full of vim and vigor!
