Fall Seasonal

Thanksgiving Wrap Up

November 26, 2012 Leave a Comment

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! We certainly did. Good food, good company, what more could I ask for? I thought I would share some of the dishes I made with you because a lot of them were new to me, but they turned out great and might just become staples

But first I have to give props to my signature dish: The Stuffin’ Muffin courtesy of Rachael Ray.

Then I tried my hand at a made-from-scratch green bean casserole. It turned out soooo much better than its canned cousin.

Now the next dish might seem a bit unorthodox, but seriously this one is definitely making an appearance at every Thanksgiving from here on out. Introducing Harvest Slaw:

It was the perfect bit of crunchy tang to compliment the other rich and creamy sides, like the Goat Cheese Mashed Sweet Potatoes. I also made some chive and parmesan mashed potatoes as well (for the goat cheese hater..a.k.a.my husband).

Then we have the main event, Alton Brown’s brined turkey. This is the third time I’ve made it I think, and it always turns out perfectly.

I prefer a whole berry sauce, so I thought I’d try this New England twist on my usual recipe: Cranberry Orange Compote (I omitted the nuts).

But the total show stopper was this amazing pie recipe from Southern Living, Black Bottom Pumpkin Pie.

I’m not kidding, you have to make this pie tonight. Or at least the next time you have some friends over for dinner. It’s a little more work than your average pie, but totally worth it. And trust me, if I can make it so can you. I’m probably going to try a few different variations between now and Christmas, and I’ll be sure to post about them Did any of you try new recipes? Or do you have heirloom recipes that everyone requests?

Filed Under: Cooking and Entertaining, Fall Seasonal

Just In Time…

November 21, 2012 9 Comments

…for last minute Thanksgiving Day table decor. Yes?

Ok, so I totally dropped the ball on this- sorry about that. But I still wanted to share what my table looks like for tomorrow night’s dinner. It includes some fun things I’ve always wanted to do.

I was dying to get my harvest on by arranging flowers in a cabbage. I just used a knife and a grapefruit spoon to hollow out an area roughly the size of a small mason jar.

Then you pop in the jar (or other vessel of your choice) and arrange away!

That way you can do this ahead of time, and put the cabbage back in the fridge until it’s time for your guests to arrive.

I also made a mini vase out of a turnip root using the same method.

I really wanted to use artichokes, but they are darn expensive! So I bought a few smaller turnips and a couple of bunches of radishes to add to my arrangement on the table. I did some early morning creeping in the neighbors’ yards and snipped some tuft-y grass things as well as some dried flowers.

Rustic, relaxed, and colorful really is what I was going for, because my actual table-ware is very neutral. I started with an opened burlap coffee sack as a runner and just mixed and matched stuff I had Don’t be intimidated by setting a table. Things are way more relaxed now, the trend being more towards fun and eclectic rather than formal. In fact, I really don’t have much of a clue about the “rules” at all. So without further ado, I’ll just post a few more pictures of the table.

I mixed my Ironstone collection with parts of my china. I have really gotten to love layering dishes!

The chargers used to be bright red metallic, I got them on clearance after the holidays one year and ORBed them. I got the little butter plates at Goodwill, you know I couldn’t pass up the monogram!

There you have it! In honor of the holiday, there will be no Lovely Crafty Weekend this week, so I will see you all on Monday. I hope you all have a VERY Happy Thanksgiving with lots of food, family, and fun.

Filed Under: Fall Seasonal, Inspiration

Thanksgiving…What do YOU do?

November 20, 2012 Leave a Comment

{Craftily Ever After}

What are your family Thanksgiving traditions? Do you have a special dish that graces the table every year? Maybe a twist on the go-around-the-table-and-say-what-you’re-thankful-for bit? I wanna know!

I’m hoping to be back later with my fall tablescape, but it depends on the sourcing of several key items. So for now, I’ll list my menu:

Turkey (Duh! Alton Brown’s liquid brine)

Apple n’ Onion Stuffin Muffins (Rachael Ray)

Goat Cheese Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Garlic and Chive Mashed Potatoes

Warm Harvest Slaw

Green Bean Casserole (sans cans)

Cranberry Orange Compote

Bread (TBD)

Black Bottom Pumpkin Pie

Pretty much all the recipes except the turkey and stuffing are new to me, mostly from BH&G and Southern Living magazines this month. Yeah I’m one of those crazy people who likes to try new recipes in front of a crowd (except the turkey…that one gets advanced practice). I’m looking forward to seeing how they all turn out. Fortunately I’m just cooking for a small gathering of family. What are you all planning?

Filed Under: Fall Seasonal

Halloween 2012

October 30, 2012 3 Comments

With Halloween being on Wednesday this year, we celebrated early this weekend.

I host a costume party every year, so I do decorate for Halloween…but I usually try for a more “adult” look. Granted if we had kids (or even got a lot of trick-or-treaters), my approach might be different. This year I got a wee bit obsessed with bats. And I may have let Amy get a little crazy with the cobwebs. But it all turned out perfectly, and it was easy on the wallet.

In the foyer, I worked in some of my Halloween decor with the existing fall items. Some paper cut out bats hanging on the twigs and a creepy raven statue help set the mood. I also spray painted some faux-ivy from The Dollar Tree black to accent the white pumpkin and cake stand (for cupcakes at the party).

If you’re wondering what the little white things dangling from the ceiling are, they are marshmallows! I guess you could call it an art installation

For the table centerpiece, I got 6 white roses with a sprig of baby’s breath for $3.99 at our local Aldi. I wanted to go with a very neutral palette, so I added in some dusty miller and berries from my yard, along with the dried tops of some zebra grass. A few feathers from my crafty stash rounded out the look. The spider web runner is by Sandra Lee at Kmart and was on sale for a few bucks. Normally I don’t bother with holiday-specific table linens, but it was so cheap and cute I couldn’t pass it up.

I’m spoiling the surprise on my hutch makeover, but I had to share the spookiest bunting in the history of the world. Paper bat cut outs hot glued to thread would have been cool, but I took it one step further with a double layer of smaller bats hanging below. And that’s what you call re-bunt-dant.

Amy did all the cobwebbing in the house. She was super into it, so I just let her explore her inner Spiderwoman. As a result, the Glitter Stag took a hit big time.

The chalkboards got spooky art, also courtesy of Amy (she’s totally a chalk-master).

Outside on the porch I wanted to set up a bar, but the bright blue cooler was cramping my style.

So I got out a can of Oil Rubbed Bronze and ORBed it.

I printed out some labels for the wine bottles designated for the mulled wine I was making. A little Mod Podge, and voila!

I’ll shut up now, and just show you some other shots from around the house and during the party.

I can promise you the following photo was taken totally sober. I’m the creepy bee.

And here is my baby bee. She’s not pleased.

I didn’t get a picture of the Bee Keeper on my camera apparently, but a friend of mine got one on her cell phone. Sorry for the quality, but I had to show you our couple costume

Well there you have it, probably more of my house and my body than you wanted to see…but oh, well. If you can’t wear a sparkle tutu on Halloween, when can you wear one??

Filed Under: DIY, Fall Seasonal, Floral, Home Decor

Oh Sweet Fall

September 11, 2012 6 Comments

Ok, I don’t think it’s officially fall yet, but who cares? Not I.

Oh yes I did put a pumpkin on my porch before Labor Day.

You may have read my article over at SheKnows about fall and Halloween decorating, but I wanted to add a few more details and share more pictures here

This year I got started early (I’m starting to realize this is how it’s done in blogland…no one wants decorating inspiration 1 week before a holiday or season, you gotta prepare for this stuff!), fortunately all the craft stores are at least 4 months ahead of the actual season which meant I had no trouble finding what I wanted-namely faux pumpkins. I decided to go with a mixed metallics theme, and this guy was seriously clashing.

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Filed Under: DIY, Fall Seasonal, Home Decor, Paper, Tutorials

Ready For Fall?

September 5, 2012 Leave a Comment

Head over to Sheknows.com to check out my article on decorating for Fall and Halloween! I’ll be posting some tutorials for the projects soon

Filed Under: DIY, Fall Seasonal, Home Decor, Our House

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 24, 2011 Leave a Comment

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful dinner with family and friends!

{Martha Stewart}

Filed Under: Fall Seasonal

Fall Garland, Paint Swatch Style

October 24, 2011 2 Comments

I’ve been itching to do a project with paint swatches for awhile now, so I finally bit the bullet and raided my local Home Depot. I chose Home Depot because I actually do buy a lot of paint there (Behr Ultra is my fav!), although I have heard from other paint swatch enthusiasts that taking large quantities of them is encouraged and something I shouldn’t feel guilty about.

I chose some orange, brown, and black pieces and used my circle and flower punch to cut out shapes (old school style for you cricut/silhouette users haha). Then I bribed my friend Amy into sewing them together for me because I’m still scared to sew anything other than fabric (a certain mercury glass hurricane went a long way in this effort).

I used both solid and multiple colored swatches for variety.

A loose stitch down the center took MUCH less time than stapling/stringing/taping would have. Thanks Amy!

It’s perfect for my Halloween party this weekend! Have you done any paint swatch projects lately? Any you’re pinning to do soon?

Filed Under: DIY, Fall Seasonal, Home Decor, Our House, Paper, Sewing

Fall In Asheville

October 19, 2011 1 Comment

Just wanted to share a few pictures from my hike last weekend through the Experimental Forest. Sounds crazy, huh? I went with my friend Amy and her dog, Lizzie. We hiked about 5 miles through beautiful leaves!

Filed Under: Fall Seasonal, Life

A Pumpkin Assortment

October 10, 2011 1 Comment

Mod Podge pumpkins are all the rage right now, so of course I had to make my own. I wanted to use fake pumpkins so I could reuse them year after year (although I think the use of real pumpkins is cute- it’s not exactly budget friendly).

So I picked up these not-so-cuties from Dollar Tree with the intent to give them a new look.