Food seems to taste much better when served in a beautiful setting.  Even though I didn’t have an extravagant childhood, my mother always set a lovely table for the holidays, using her Franciscan Ware apple pattern. Are you setting a Thanksgiving table? If so, here are some of my tips and tricks to creating a lovely place to share your Thanksgiving meal.

Selecting your Pattern and Colors and Centerpiece

This year, I took one of my English china plates, Windsor Ware by Johnson Bros. with me to select the plants from Whitfill Nursery and flowers from Safeway for the centerpiece.

I wanted to purchase items I could use again~~plants and herbs.  Of course, I needed a few flowers for additional color.

Sizing the Table

We are having 10 for Thanksgiving dinner so we extended the table.  I wonder why they are called leaves?

It was a worthwhile investment purchasing a table pad to protect the surface of the dining room table.  One side of the pad is felt and the other is a protective plastic.  This one was custom made by Guardian and it has 3 parts. However, I cannot get a safe link to the Guardian website, so here are cut to fit table protector options.

Next, I layered my table cloths, starting with a Battenburg lace one, and adding 3 smaller muslin sheets on top.  I purchased the vintage muslin sheets from one of my favorite bloggers, Miss Mustard Seed. The lighter ivory tone and texture of the muslin matches the background of the dinner plate.

The Centerpiece

For the centerpiece,  I lined a rectangular wooden tray with both plastic and foil, and then filled it with the plants, herbs, and pomegranates, pears and flowers.  The brass pumpkins were on sale at Safeway ~~and add a bit of sparkle.

To give the centerpiece some length, I put ivy on either end of the tray and extend it around candlesticks. This way, the bulk of the arrangement is in the middle of the table, but the ivy tendrils make it feel bigger.

The Place Setting

Since, at the time of writing this post, I had not finalized my menu, I was experimenting with adding different plates/bowls in case we have a first course salad or soup. The wooden charger is from Pier 1 Imports, providing a great back drop for my china pattern. Since Pier 1 no longer has their retail stores, here is a similar charger.

The glass, gold trim salad plate is from Lesley Roy. I like that the design in the center of the plate is visible. Here is a similar salad plate.

I love these pumpkin soup tureens from Williams-Sonoma, but I rarely use them.

The napkins were a recent purchase (on sale!) from Ballard Designs.  They are the perfect creamy color and the plaid trim complements the brown tones.

A fresh sprig of rosemary from the garden is tucked in the brass napkin ring.

Looking forward to spending the next few days baking and cooking. Funny how Thanksgiving dinner takes hours to prepare and such a short time to eat!

Dear November,

I will not forget you.  Even though the stores have moved onto Christmas I refuse to ignore your importance in the calendar year.

My blog post today will focus on this wonderful month.  To me, it’s the quiet time before the holiday rush ~~I’m a traditionalist about starting the Christmas holiday the DAY AFTER Thanksgiving. Please take time this month to enjoy the change of season and the calm this month offers.

My sister and her husband took this photo in New Hampshire~~such gorgeous colors!

I have been so swamped with opposing a local zoning issue, I have had little time to do much else. When stress levels rise, I tend to bake.  Being in the kitchen comforts me.

During our last trip to see our son in Virginia, I purchased several varieties of apples from Carter Mountain Orchard and stuffed them in my roller bag.

My first baking adventure was an apple pie.  Pinterest has featured so many innovative pie crusts that I thought I would attempt this. I used my go-to pie crust recipe which you can find here.

What I learned:  Layering the leaf cut-outs was fun, however, the top “crust” was too thick.  If I were to do this again, I would make sure my leaves were rolled very thin. However, it was still delicious and so pretty when I took it out of the oven.

With more apples in the refrigerator, I thought it might be fun to use my Pocket Pie mold from William Sonoma, which has been sitting unused for years. I made the crust recipe on the back of the box which includes quite a bit of butter.

The hinged plastic mold cuts (with some level of difficulty) both sides of the pocket pie pastry.

You can add whatever filling you want as the recipe suggests canned pie filling.  However, since I had fresh apples, I made my own.  Initially the apple pieces were too big and needed to be cut down.

Add a few tablespoons of filling, egg wash the edges, add the matching top and crimp.

In retrospect, these pies were a bit of a pain in the neck to make.  The dough is much easier to use while it is cold.  Once it warmed up, it stuck to the mold and the pockets were hard to handle. William Sonoma doesn’t offer this mold any longer, however they have other types. After making a couple of dozen I would have gotten better, but I quit after making 8.

Please enjoy this month.  We still have Thanksgiving to look forward to where we will share our gratitude with family and friends.

I don’t know if I have confessed that I do not like to shop.  I really dread going to the store, especially if I need new clothes or shoes, or heavens forbid, a bathing suit or underwear.

But I do have one or two favorite stores because they don’t feel like a chore, but rather a pleasant experience.  I have written about Camps and Cottages in a previous post, but recently I have been following Molly English on Instagram and spotted these new candles that arrived in her shop.

She graciously mailed one to me and it is HEAVENLY!  The minute I opened the box, the entire room filled with a smell of apple cider, October, Thanksgiving and Christmas all rolled up into one intoxicating scent.

Even my daughter, Elisabeth, came into the kitchen after school and said, “What is that amazing smell? It reminds me of the fall and October and everything I love about this time of year.”

Not only is the candle an olfactory celebration, but it is truly beautiful.  This is apparently the smaller size, at approximately 6.5″ tall x 5″ diameter.  The name is Rosy Rings Spicy Apple and will burn for 200 hours. The price is $80.00 but seemed worth it with such a long burning time.

Embedded in the candle are slices of apple, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, small dark red berries (?)~~making this candle beautiful to look at as well as smell.

This is the PERFECT candle for the autumn and would make an excellent hostess gift. You can now find this candle on Amazon here.

Here are some pictures of Camps and Cottages in Laguna Beach, California that I captured during my beach vacation.

Unfortunately I only get to visit in person once a year, but Molly has made ordering directly from her SO easy.  She posts new items that come into the store on Instagram and on her website.

Today was the coolest day since the summer and now with my Spicy Apple candle it, I am getting excited about the fall!!!

A year ago today, I sent my first blog post of Life at Bella Terra.  It was an intimidating moment, because I thought “who would ever want to read this?”  I don’t consider myself a very good writer and I’m really trying to improve upon that.  But your words of encouragement have brought me back to the computer to post again and again.  If it wasn’t for your kindness and support, it would have been easy to just quit.  Thank you for your loyalty and feedback and comments. Truly. From the bottom of my heart.

Each time I send out an email letting you know I’ve created a new post, I am praying you find it interesting, enlightening or even motivating.  I try to share a small piece of loveliness in hopes that I can brighten your day. As I look out into the world, I believe we each need to find sources of joy and create our own beauty.  Whether it be feeling the warmth from a freshly picked tomato, or the scent of a homegrown flower, these moments of perfection can only help feed the soul.

Blogging for me, is a chance to stop and capture a sliver of time, an exquisite photo or a recipe that bursts with flavor. Plus it is forcing me to attack those cluttered corners of the house or undone projects while showing you my progress. But I can honestly say, I am still a long way from feeling confident about creatively illustrating that to you. But I will keep trying.

So here is a look back at the year and some of my favorite photos and posts.

My very first blog post was about the New York Times Bestselling author, Rhys Bowen and the fundraising English tea we had here at Bella Terra.

And other events we happily hosted here…..

Recipes shared…..

My Renovations and Restorations….

Travel and leisure…..

Decorating and Design…

The holidays….

Cleaning, Organizing, and Updating…

Sharing our home and yard….

My attempt at art….

Flower arranging..

Our pets…

And a few DIYs….

My online store….

There is still so much to learn, especially better photography, writing and getting my watermarks the same size on every photo.  So thank you again for following me and sharing my blog with others.

PLEASE send in your comments~~What area of interest would you like for me to expand? What are your favorite topics? How often should I post (trying to do a maximum of twice per week)? What can I do to be better for you?  My goals for the next year are to do a contest or giveaway and conduct a real survey into your likes and interests.

Here’s to one year and onto the next!! I couldn’t have done it without you.

 

 

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The kitchen at Bella Terra is a mess–a happy mess- but still a mess!  But the pies are made and the table is set.

Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and blessed Thanksgiving.

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