Friday Favorites: Thanksgiving Love

I love Thanksgiving. I don't know when the whole 'let's skip Thanksgiving and go straight to Christmas' thing started, but I am just not okay with it! What other holiday is it perfectly acceptable to stuff your face with turkey and pie and then lay on the couch watching football for the rest of the day? None I tell you! We need to preserve this sacred holiday. This week, Friday Favorites is dedicated the best holiday of the year in my opinion. So unbutton your pants, grab a fork and let's get started! 

If you're not familiar with Rifle Paper Co, get familar! I love this artist and her illustrations always make me happy. These Thanksgiving cards are so sweet and can double as placecard settings as well!

If your looking for a handmade hostess gift, look no further! How fun are these turkey pops and jar full of turkey toes? Simple, inexpensive, and a great way to tell your hostess you appreciate her slaving over a hot stove all day! And if you're the hostess this year you can always give these to your guests as favors!

I have such fun memories of making pilgrim hats and turkey handprint crafts at school. And I distinctly remember getting to play Queen Victoria in our Christopher Columbus play making all the other girls in the class very jealous! This feather headpiece would be super fun for a young child to make and wear Thanksgiving day and I love the idea of writing what you're thankful for on the 'feathers' of this yarn wrapped turkey. Both are fun projects and can help educate your little one on how Thanksgiving started!

I'm also running a Thanksgiving special over at Mama Matryoshka! I have a ton of Thanksgiving/Fall garlands, banners, and cupcake toppers available and you can get 15% off using code 'DOMESTICATEDDELIGHT1' at checkout! Also, if you order today I can guarantee arrival by Thanksgiving anywhere in the US!

I hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday week filled with lots of food and pie! I personally can't wait to get some shopping done on black Friday! Have a great weekend everyone! XOXO

My first Thanksgiving [in photos]!

So how was everyone's Thanksgiving? I've had a CRAZY week (more on that later...) and am just now getting around to blogging about mine. Seeing as it's now December that's a major fail, but what can ya do?

I won this 'GiveThanks' banner in a blog giveaway and I LOVE it! It has the perfect fall colors and I knew instantly that I would hang it behind the dinner table.

This is the centerpiece I made for the table. I measured the candle and cut out a circle with a sharp knife and then I hollowed out the pumpkin and rubbed allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon inside of it. My house smelled wonderful! Once the candle was in I started cutting leaves and berries from a fall leaf garland I got from Michaels and placed them all around the candle. It was so easy and I love how it came out!





















Cayden looked so cute on his first Thanksgiving! He was full of smiles!

















As you know I hosted Thanksgiving for the first time this year! I had so much fun putting everything together but it is HARD work! I woke up and started right away baking my annual cherry pie. I made the dough and let it refrigerate while I worked on the filling. I still haven't learned how to properly lattice the top so it always looks messy but believe me, it tastes delicious!





















The funny thing is that I was going by a 14 lb turkey recipe and failed to think that my 20 lb turkey might just take a little longer to cook. We didn't end up eating until 7pm but thankfully no one complained so it all worked out! The turkey turned out gorgeous and was SO yummy! I think it may have been my biggest cooking accomplishment yet! I was so mad at my mom because she picked it up and put it on the serving tray and totally mutilated it before I got a good picture, but I did manage to snap this one which shows how yummy and golden brown it looked!

All of my sides came out so yummy! Garlic mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce, , asparagus and of course stuffing!

To top it all off, I ended the meal with a homemade apple crisp topped with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce! I made this specifically for my sister who was too full to eat it in the end! What a brat!

The day was a success! I may or may not have Tweeted 'I AM THE THANKSGIVING MASTER!' that night... But everything turned out great and I couldn't be happier to spend the day with those I love most! Mando, my mom, my sister and I sat around the table and I made everyone say what they are thankful for. (Yes, I am that person. We sounded like a bad Lifetime movie!) Hopefully this can be a new tradition for my new family.

After dinner my mom stayed the night so we could wake up early the next morning and go shopping without worrying about bringing Cayden out in the cold. We spent way too much money of course but ended up buying presents for all the babies in the family plus some crafty stuff for me to make some presents! I seriously can't wait to get started!

Giving Thanks.

As you know I made the exciting announcement that I will be hosting my first ever Thanksgiving dinner at my apartment! I’m beyond excited even if it will just be 4 of us (+ 2 babies). I’ve grown up watching and then helping my mom make Thanksgiving dinner year after year and now I get the chance to show off everything I’ve learned!

I’m going to be keeping my menu very traditional. My style of cooking is simple comfort home cooking anyway… I don’t usually cook things with a lot of ingredients (unless it’s a lot of garlic because, obviously) and I don’t cook things I can’t pronounce so the fancy schmancy gourmet dishes will not be present on my table. However, I do have a nice classic meal planned out that I wanted to share it with you all. Most of these are family recipes, but a few of them I will be making for the first time... most importantly the turkey! If you have a favorite recipe be sure to send it my way!

I’ve also been browsing the internet for some table setting inspiration. I think I have a general idea of what I want it to look like but it doesn’t hurt to get some fresh ideas!


I found this sweet little centerpiece and instantly fell in love. It is so simple but still manages to ooze Fall flavor! I plan to make one for my table as long as my pumpkin lasts another week!




















I adore this table setting. The colors and the leaves make it come together beautifully and I love how the candles spell out 'Giving Thanks'; what a fun and simple DIY project that is sure to add spice to any table!


















My mouth literally dropped when I spied this table setting. I ADORE the silver detailing! So elegant! It makes me want to run to the nearest antique shop to pick up some candlesticks. And who doesn't love a vast array of pumpkins and gourds?




















I absolutely adore flowers. I used to work in a flower shop and to this day it's my favorite place I've ever been employed. There's nothing that makes me happier than a sweet smelling and beautifully done flower arrangement. This screams Fall with the orange, yellow, and brown color pallette and I love the creative idea to plop the flowers in a hollowed out pumpkin versus a vase.


























Do you have your Thanksgiving menu planned yet? What table settings are you drooling over? Do share my friends!