Day 23

 

Today I looked ahead to November.

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is just 4 weeks away!  Whooa….time is ticking away too quickly!  I’m loving this fall, finally!  But, before you know it Thanksgiving will be here!  And 4 weeks later…Christmas!  Too much goodness on the horizon while I’m in the midst of savoring the season and not wanting to look ahead just yet.  Today it was 70 degrees and sunny.  A real Indian Summer.  Simply gorgeous.  And pretty soon it will be time to order my turkey.  Yikes!

With that in mind I thought that maybe we should begin thinking about Thanksgiving.  We don’t need to do anything rash, quite yet.  We’ll wait until the third week in November for that.  Now…we’ll just contemplate the good things we can look forward to enjoying.  Of course….if we do a bit more than contemplate….we should be ready to have a truly extraordinary holiday.  Stress free, fun, and hopefully relaxing.  But, of course in order to do that we must plan ahead.

 

This year I was blessed with lots of pumpkins, and the best part, I don’t think that if I went myself to the pumpkin patch that I could have picked any nicer.  That’s one of the lovely things about being blessed.  Thank you dear pumpkin benefactor!!   However, I don’t know for sure that all my pumpkins will survive until Thanksgiving.  Some of them are thinner skinned and don’t weather well.  So, I took it upon myself to experiment and makes some burlap ones.  Tell me what you think of them….

 

AnExtraordinaryDay.net {Day 23} 31 Extraordinary Day | Thinking Ahead to Thanksgiving | Handmade Burlap Pumpkins

 

These burlap beauties were pretty easy to make and with just a little effort I should have a bevy of them ready for feast day.  If you want me to put a tutorial up…please leave share your thoughts below.

 

If I’m able to keep my pumpkins and bittersweet until Thanksgiving…I’ll fill a Longaberger Basket or a silver bowl with some.  Hopefully these will last.

 

AnExtraordinaryDay.net {Day 23} 31 Extraordinary Days - Thinking Ahead to Thanksgiving | Pumpkins & Bittersweet

 

Now that we have the pumpkin thing settled, we need to think to think about some floral decor.  A few weeks ago I put together this bit of fabulous fall floral frivolity.  You might remember my Wannabe Fall Mantel?  There is something about squashes that exude a sense of comfort and contentment.  Don’t you agree?  I have no idea what I’ll find along the highways and byways….but I’m sure that I can find something in some lovely tans and browns.  Asters will no doubt be in many of the arrangements at the grocery store.  I’m loving that bit of purple….you too?

 

AnExtraordinaryDay.net {Day 23} 31 Extraordinary Days | Thinking Ahead to Thanksgiving | Floral Vignette | Floral Arrangement with Amaranth & Asters & Some bits of Brown Glass

 

We then need to think about doing a little tablescaping.  I love that word.  Landscaping has always been my thing.  Now I get to create tabletop environments.  Too fun.  But….what shall we do?  Since I’m not that far along in my thinking yet, why don’t we take a trip over to over to one of my favorite bloggy friends for a bit of Thanksgiving inspiration.

 

Here’s a lovely outdoor tablescape with every detail right down to the place cards put together by my friend Jennifer Carroll of Celebrating Everyday Life.  Isn’t it lovely?

 

celebratingeverydaylife.com | Celebrating Everyday Life with Jennifer Carroll | fall-entertaining-decor-outdoor-thanksgiving-table-placesetting

 

Then there’s the food thing.  Seriously I could spend all my time making things look extraordinary.  At the same time I love really good food….served beautifully.  I always say that presentation is everything.  Presentation really can make a simple ordinary menu extraordinary!!   I think the perfect way to set things off is to serve an extraordinary salad.  This Constructed Pear Salad from Stone Gable Blog is ah…maaazing.  There’s nothing like starting off our feast with a salad that is just a little bit over the top.  Are you loving it?

 

StoneGableBlog.com - Constructed Pear Salad

 

When dinner is over, sending guests home with leftovers is just one more way to bless them.  I love Big Red Kitchen’s idea for using Mason Jars to easily stack the  leftovers for easy reheating and serving.  And they make a super cute way to send leftovers home with our guests.

 

BigRedKitchen.com - Guests take home Thanksgiving Leftovers in Mason Jars

 

When do you start to get ready for Thanksgiving….or any other major holidays?

Why be Ordinary when You CAN be Extraordinary

 

Thinking about that turkey & cranberry sauce…

Diane

 

Sharing with The Inspired Room + Jennifer Rizzo + Stone Gable + Nifty Thrifty Things + How Sweet the Sound

Will you join me each day in October for…

AnExtraordinaryDay.net | 31 Extraordinary Days | October 2012

 

This is the 23rd post in a series, 31 Extraordinary Days.  Click here to see a list of all the posts, updated daily.  If you would like to receive these bits of inspiration in your email inbox, subscribe now.

Comments

  1. Jennifer {StudioJRU} says

    Oh… I love all these bits of Thanksgiving! Hard to believe it is only 4 weeks away!! Thanks for sharing all of these goodies! 🙂

    • Diane says

      Thanks for your sweet words of encouragement Jennifer!!!
      It will be here all too soon. 😉

  2. Vee says

    Wonderful burlap pumpkins and thanks for linking that Pear Salad. It really does look amazing.

    • Diane says

      Awww thanks Vee!!
      That Pear Salad is going to be on my menu this year for sure!!!
      May your day be Extraordinary!!

  3. hello! I saw your comment on The Inspired Room. I am doing the 31 Days Series , too. Are we crazy, or what? It’s been great and I am very proud of us. You have a lovely blog! I love the name of it and your series.

    • Diane says

      Totally crazy!!! Haha! It’s been a really good thing for me. It feels like quite an accomplishment doesn’t it!!
      Thanks Nicole!! Hope your week is Extraordinary!!!

  4. Lisa says

    Diane – I LOVE your burlap pumpkins. They’re little cuties! Also like the ideas you shred from other blogs. Beautiful tablescape from Jennifer. The pear salad looks delish. God bless!

    • Diane says

      Thank you for your kinds words of encouragement!
      May your day be Extraordinary!

  5. I love your little burlap pumpkins-so cute. I love decorations that can go out the first of September and stay up until the last day of November. I am disgusted at all the Christmas things I am seeing already. None of it has anything to do with the real reason for the season. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of all!

    • Diane says

      Thanksgiving seems more special to me every year. My favorite thing is to go to church and hear all the great things God has done in His people’s lives over the year.

Trackbacks

  1. […] {Day 23} Thinking Ahead to Thanksgiving […]

  2. […] if I didn’t already have enough pumpkins…. I had to try my hand at creating some burlap ones.  They will make their official appearance indoor appearance around Thanksgiving.   And complete […]

  3. […] this pumpkin look familiar?  I teased you with it here and here with promises of plenty more members to the Pumpkin family, and even some DIY details. […]

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