Pier 1

Thanksgiving will once again this year be a sparsely attended event at our home. While I’m a firm believer in “the more, the merrier”, I know that’s not possible and can appreciate and embrace a smaller group. So “bountiful simplicity” will be the name of the game for 2021.

This tablescape concept began with the purchase of the white pumpkin-embossed runner from Home Goods I bought a few weeks ago. The pickings are slim this year, so I felt fortunate to find something I liked. The centerpiece is created with a long, narrow wooden “trough” from Nell Hill’s filled with a variety of pumpkins, gourds, fruits, faux acorns, greenery, and leaves topped off with a pair of antlers. A six-pack of 24″ metal case candles in clear glass holders runs along both sides. With such a low centerpiece, I felt it necessary to add height but still be mindful of being able to see across the table.

I was SO excited to find these great leather look chargers at Hobby Lobby this season!!! I used them once already this season for “Hey, Pumpkin!“, and they will come in handy for lots of future fall and winter tablescapes. The mustard yellow dinner plates, oak leaf/acorn plates, and plaid salad plates are all from Pier 1, purchased over the last 10+ years. The delicate cream soup bowl with saucer (having homemade mushroom soup for a starter!) is from Nell Hill’s in Kansas City, MO. Hampton Silversmith “Patriot” flatware, napkins from LinenTablecloth.com, and amber bubble glass stemware from TJ Maxx round out the place settings. Lithe seed pearl wreaths add texture, color, form, and a little fun.

I was determined this year to reuse, recycle and reduce waste when it came to decorating. While I bought LOTS of pumpkins and gourds at the start of the fall season, I’ve made sure to use them in various ways inside and out. A quick dip in a weak Clorox bath when I first brought them home has kept them going strong. See how I first used these pumpkins as the backdrop for my 2021 Halloween entry, “The Spider & the Fly“. Deep six the spiders and flies, do a little artful rearranging, add some wheat sheaves, and it’s all ready for Thanksgiving! (PSA: If you know someone nearby who has a farm, ask them if they’d like to have your pumpkins after the season to feed their livestock. If not, consider chopping them up and scattering them in an uninhabited wooded area for wildlife such as foxes, deer, squirrels, and other animals who often find it difficult to source food in the winter. Full circle use!)

The small china cabinet is all decked out with its usual aluminum wine and champagne coolers that are further embellished with berry branches, pumpkins, and a big moss ball.

If you would care to check out other Thanksgiving-inspired tablescapes on this blog:

I’m pleased as apple cider punch to be joining a talented group of ladies from across the globe in Blog Land for a Thanksgiving Tablescape Blog Hop! I hope you will click on their links to check out their Thanksgiving tables! (NOTE: Set to go live Tuesday, November 9 at 7 a.m. EST, although some posts may be up now.)

Debbee’s Buzz – Liberty Blue Thanksgiving Table with Turkey Napkins
My Hubbard Home – Thanksgiving Table With Brown and White Traditional Colors
Everyday Living – We Gather Together
Home is Where the Boat Is – The Softer Side of Thanksgiving
Panoply – Thankful
Pandora’s Box – Leopards and Checks
Hyacinths for the Soul – A Place at the Table – A Harvest of Ideas
Celebrate and Decorate – Set a Heartwarming Thanksgiving Table with Neutral Colors and Natural Elements
My Thrift Store Addiction – Vintage Thanksgiving Breakfast Table
The Little Yellow Corner Store – Celebrating Thanksgiving a Little Differently
Me and My Captain – Football AND Thanksgiving
Life and Linda – Thanksgiving with Elegance
Sweet Sensations – Dining with the Gents for Thanksgiving
The Painted Apron – Pumpkins and Pickups
Corner of Plaid and Paisley – Thanksgiving 2021 – A Bit Boho
Living With Thanksgiving – Blessings at Thanksgiving
Belle Bleu Interiors – A Heart Full of Thanksgiving
Bluesky at Home – 9 Steps to Set a Thanksgiving Table
Dinner at Eight – A Seasonal Table for Thanksgiving
The Bookish Dilettante – We Gather Together
Zucchini Sisters – Vintage Thanksgiving Table Setting
Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One – Home for the Thanksgiving Holiday 2021

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Can I just start with this?: BOURBON ROCKS🥃!!! Neat, up, or on the rocks…it ROCKS!!! Now on to our regularly scheduled program.

🏇Kentucky Derby 2021, No. 147 in the famed race history, is just a couple of short days away🏇!!! I’m putting my (fake!) money on Bourbonic because anything with the the word bourbon in it is a favorite of mine!

I’ve posted several Derby tablescapes over the years, but this one is a little less…mmmm, shall we say…over the top! No towering show horses in the middle of the table this time! Nonetheless, I hope you will enjoy and garner some ideas from this year’s installation. (And, yes, those are my long-awaited new chairs and area rug. Thank you for asking!)

The tablescape was built around a runner I found at Nell Hills that resembles a gentleman’s seersucker or pinstripe suit one might see at the Derby. I added Kate Spade for Lenox “Rutherford Circle Navy” dishes on gleaming nickelplate chargers along with the contemporary J.A. Henckels “Bellaserra” stainless flatware. Stemware from Pier 1 Imports (gosh, I miss their physical stores!!!) and the obligatory silver mint julep cup along with a hemstitch cotton napkin cinched with a Pier 1 napkin ring rounds out the place setting. I like these napkin rings in this setting because they mirror the mix of silver and aluminum elements on the table.

I’ve amassed a few of these wonderful aluminum “trophy” vessels over the year and find them great for decorating all around the house. Here they spill over with red roses and whatever these cool wispy, green, furry branches are that I found at The Painted Sofa and Very Violet Boutique. I have a collection of horse-related decor because I live in Longview Farm, a subdivision where a famed horse farm once stood. These probably came from Home Goods some years ago. Tall metal case candles in staggered heights (am I the only one besides the church that still uses these?) tower above.

Dessert – a very Southern red velvet layer cake – and a whiskey sour station using miniature julep cups are set up on the vitrine behind the dining table. I’ve “had to” taste a lot of bourbon these past couple of weeks to decide which would be best for the mint juleps (Knob Creek 9 Year Single Barrel won in this category) and which for the sours (Old Forester Kentucky Straight by a nose over Elijah Craig Small Batch!).

If you’d like to check out other Kentucky Derby posts on this site (or posts that would be suitable for it if you just make a few tweaks), click on the link below!