thanksgiving weekend

I've long loved the week before Thanksgiving. It's probably one of my favourite holidays of the year, and I love that we celebrate it in October here in Canada. However, Thanksgiving weekend in Nova Scotia is just perfect. The weather isn't too hot, or too cold yet. The colours are pretty much at their peak. It's harvest season, so all of the necessary ingredients seem to be in abundance locally, at market or in all the little farm stands from town to town. But it also means that there's more time to enjoy preparing for Christmas, which already seems to come way too quickly.

The only issue I seem to come across is that with so many I follow being American, everything seems to be Halloween inspiration! I mean by the time you're ready to do Thanksgiving, I'm still not quite ready to decorate for Christmas, so I enjoy a longer autumn, but it just means I need to dig a little deeper for my own inspiration.

Thankfully over the years, I've amassed quite a collection of favourites.

Out come my most favourite back issues of Martha Stewart Living (the early 2000's issues of which I've purchased double and triple copies). I pull old Williams Sonoma cookbooks and reread a couple favourite articles, like when Ina Garten used to have an entertaining column in MSL! Then I lay it all out on the table, put the kettle on and settle in to plan my week before, as well as my menu.

This year we had Ryan's family come visit, so extra planning ahead was required. I wanted to have meals and snacks made ahead and I wanted to spend as little time in the kitchen as I could. That meant I could spend more time enjoying our time visiting with them.

Anything that could be done ahead of time was. I ordered all the groceries online and popped into the market days before to pick up ingredients. I avoided long waits at the liquor store by picking up everything I'd need for the week ahead of time. I made cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes and squash and stored them until the day of. If I was making a mess in the kitchen already, I would tried to make a pot of soup, something to freeze for a quick meal later, or prep a quick breakfast for the next morning.

Every little bit of prep meant less stress the day of. That being said, it's never perfect! Something always goes wrong. This year I burned the marshmallows on the sweet potato casserole not once, but twice! It was a first for me and broiling them at the last, most hectic moment required more attention than I could give them.

I even like to set aside what I need for the table. I purchase tapers, make sure my linens are clean (I should probably iron them but can never be bothered), and I usually plan my centerpiece. This year I intended to do an arrangement with flowers but didn't really find anything I loved. I ended up finding these two perfect little squash and the table went in a slightly different direction.

The day before Thanksgiving was absolutely stunning. We awoke to one of our first frosts of the year. Everything just looked completely idyllic.

I had prepped Pumpkin Brioche French Toast the night before, so I just had to pop it in the oven when we woke up, and then sit and enjoy my coffee - my extra special, holiday coffee.

This is a total indulgence, something I only make on Thanksgiving weekend.

We took a picnic up to the Lookoff to show his parents the Valley in colour. 

We had our dinner on the Monday evening, as that's when his sister was arriving. I had all day to putter around - setting the table, getting the sides ready etc, and this year, packing for the road trip we'd be taking to the highlands the next morning!

At first, I set the table with some simple pumpkins down the middle and a simple arrangement of wheat. I planned to add some clipped sage in little antique pots near the ends, but while I was clipping them, I noticed the frost had started killing our grapevine.

Feeling very inspired by Jamie Beck, I clipped some vines and wove them throughout the pumpkins. I laughed because I loved the little curly tendrils and the clusters of grapes and (if you know her, you'll understand!) I started imaging adding a few insects and moisture droplets to really go for it. I didn't though, I just thought she'd appreciate the effort...

The clipped sage ended up making the perfect garnish for the turkey, along with a couple stolen pears from the neighbor's pear tree. Don't worry, I sent payment in the form of Pumpkin Whoopie Pies,

In the end, everything was delicious. But really, it was just such a blessing to sit and enjoy a meal with our family again. We could have been eating takeout and it would still have been lovely!

If you've already celebrated, I hope you had a memorable Thanksgiving day with those you love. And those of you who aren't even ready to think about Thanksgiving plans just yet, I look forward to seeing how you all celebrate soon!

Happy Thanksgiving, friends.

our thanksgiving

The one brilliant part of having Canadian Thanksgiving a month and a half early, is that by the time I actually get around to posting about ours, all of my American readers are just getting ready to celebrate. We'll just pretend like I plan it that way. Our Thanksgiving this year was, as so many of yours will be, a quiet and intimate one. And while this was our first Thanksgiving away from family, my cousin and her husband recently moved not too far from us, and it meant that we were able to have some family over! I know that so many of our celebrations will look differently, but I've come to find that, for myself at least, keeping things feeling normal helps. I didn't need to set the table, or roast a turkey, or even bake a pumpkin pie, but I did. And in doing so, Thanksgiving felt as it should. I puttered around the days before, working on the table, arranging flowers, planning a menu. Then the day of was slow and lovely. The kitchen filled with all of the scents of onions softening and the turkey roasting and a pie cooling. It really was just a slow, lovely day. There was no rush to do anything. The guys watched football, and at one point, everyone but a couple of the boys had nodded off while I laid cutlery and ironed napkins. At the end of the day, as the sun was setting, we all sat down for a small dinner. We lingered until the last of the wine had been poured, the tapers low and dripping, and afterwards, since we weren't quite ready to be finished, we settled in to watch a movie with our pie. Save being able to enjoy the company of our family, it was the perfect day,

When it comes to decorating our house for Thanksgiving, I keep things quite minimal. I do always love my pair of pheasants, particularly during the fall. I also tend to add a few pumpkins here and there, as well as some potted cabbages and kale, but that's about it.

My parents sent me a beautiful bouquet (they know my tastes so well!), and I used that for my centerpiece. I hollowed out a squash and then rearranged the flowers in it. I added a few extra roses that I had picked up from the store, as well as a few foraged bits from down by the river. 

I stocked the bar in the Butler's pantry - a bottle of wine to sip on in the afternoon while I cooked, a couple ingredients for some simple autumn cocktails... It's just nice to have a couple options on hand.

Because the day was so slow, I really enjoyed being in the kitchen. There wasn't any need to rush. I put some music on, poured my glass of wine and settled in.

A pumpkin pie was a non-negotiable. I really didn't need to make it. It probably would have only been missed by only me, but it would have been sorely missed. I even took a little bit of extra time and did a decorative edge of little acorns.

To keep things easy, lunch was simply butternut squash soup (I kept it warming on the stove) and some cheese to nibble on. Everyone could help themselves as they were hungry, and I could continue doing what I was doing.

Then for the table. We sat at the round table in the family room because we don't often sit in there.

I kept the place settings fairly simple.

 I loved this mustard yellow fish set I had recently found, and I played off it a little with some golden velvet ribbon and matching tapers. I always love a little brown and white transferware this time of year, so I tucked one of my platters under the centerpiece.

As for dinner, a simple roast turkey with herbs from the garden, apple and sausage stuffing, buttery mashed potatoes, sautéed green beans with garlic and cranberry sauce (with cranberries from the bog down the road!). 

The next day, in true day after Thanksgiving fashion, it was pie for breakfast. We slept late and then wandered about the countryside on an afternoon drive. 

We discovered a beautiful new beach.

I still find it so interesting seeing the pine trees on the beach.

We drove through the village of Chester.

We even stopped for a hike to admire the foliage and stretch our legs for a bit. The boys ran wildly down the paths, stepped across stones in the very small waterfall, and climbed trees.

However you will be celebrating Thanksgiving, if you are, I hope you have a lovely weekend. It may be different, but it can still be special, because there's so much to be grateful for.

Wishing you all a Thanksgiving that's rich in gratitude and full of contentment, from our family to yours.

thanksgiving

I recently watched a sketch of two neighbors - Canada and the United States - saying hello at the fence. The Canadian neighbor was wishing his American neighbor a Happy Thanksgiving, to which the American responded "Isn't that a bit early?" The Canadian explained how we celebrate in October, and that no, none of our other holidays are early; we celebrate the rest at the same time. The American hints at an invitation, and when the Canadian obliges, he adds that no, they wouldn't be having Sweet Potatoes with mini marshmallows as "that's just weird".

A huge amount of bloggers, and Instagram accounts I follow for inspiration, including Magazine publications like Martha Stewart Living, are American. So a lot of Fall focus is first on Halloween and then Thanksgiving, which can also tend to have a Christmas feel to it.

Personally, I'm not sure which I prefer. With our Thanksgiving being early in October, it can often feel less like Autumn, and more like Summer still. However, I like the space we have between Thanksgiving and Christmas. For the past couple of years, I've just decided to celebrate both. You can't have too much gratitude - or Pumpkin Pie, in my opinion. One usually includes large get togethers with our families, and the other, a small intimate dinner for just us.

Regardless, this year, as nearly all of our immediate family was out of town, we didn't have much planned, so it honestly snuck up on me! My parents were the only ones home, and as my mom wasn't busy making hundreds of pies for the store, she wanted to make dinner. She told me I could have it at our place, which suited me perfectly, as it meant I could still enjoy setting the table. So set the table I did.

I have envisioned this pair of pheasants down the center of my Thanksgiving table for a very long time. My mom and I purchased from an antique shop five years ago to sell at the store. For a couple years my Aunt had them in her kitchen, and this past Spring, knowing how much I loved them, gifted them to me. They were my inspiration.

I made simple arrangements of white Roses and berries from our Ivy in clay pots. I liked how the clay picked up the copper tones of the birds.

The greenish blue tones that they also have made the blue berries and greyish blue squash good accents.

I love the woven chargers with our dining chairs. and simple ribbon-tied napkins to make each place setting more special.

George sat content, sleeping quietly, as I puttered around.

The next morning was a holiday Monday, but we lazed around like it was a Saturday. I made Pumpkin Spice waffles and we spent the morning reading. In the afternoon, the boys went for a hike, while I walked around the Balls Falls Thanksgiving Show with George.

All the historic buildings were dressed up for Fall, and everything is tucked in and around the old village. It was a gorgeous weekend - the perfect way to put one in the mood for Fall.

Looking forward to seeing how you all decorate your Thanksgiving tables.

Ribbon and Candles - Everyday Occasions 

Chargers - Pier One (in stores only)

Table Cloth by Ralph Lauren - Homesense

Soother Clip - Darling Emma Handmade