It's a Quiet Black Friday

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I was very blessed this year to have a lot of help in the kitchen. Even though we have a small family gathering I always find it a challenge to get all the sides and the turkey completed at the same time.

Sasha and Mark work on the Brussels's sprouts.

 I use my Franciscan Ware Apple platesfor festive occasions. 

After dinner we, along with half of Kansas City and their dogs and out-of-town guests, headed down to the Plaza for the lighting ceremony. A celebrity with local ties always flips the switch to turn on all the lights and this year it was Eric Stonestreet from Modern Family.

The weather was unseasonably warm and it was fun to stroll through the Plaza enjoying all the festive store displays and burning some calories before heading home to pumpkin pie and card games.

I have resisted the urge to hit the shops today in search of fabulous Black Friday deals and will make some pumpkin bread for the boys to take back with them tomorrow. And then the decorating will begin...

T-Day is Coming!

I love Thanksgiving. I love that it's a holiday that's all about celebrating the bounty of fall and the blessings in our lives, especially family and friends. I think Maggie Bononomi's cornucopia design celebrates the beauty of nature and the tradition of a perfect Thanksgiving celebration.

Here's the finished version. I decided to just add a backing and no trim which seemed fitting with the simplicity of the design.

I also finished this fun little pillow based on a Brenda Gervais pattern. This is another one of those projects that I began some time ago and wasn't happy with it's look, but after transferring the letters and turkey to the army blanket background and adding the dyed chenille trim, I was happy.

I tried growing sweet potatoes for the first time this year. This was an extremely challenging year for the garden, due to the heat and extended drought, but I was able to dig and harvest a few meals' worth of sweet potatoes last weekend and will save some of the big ones for our Thanksgiving table.