Thanksgiving: The Results & Aftermath

Host Thanksgiving...

No problem!

Clean up after, oh my goodness!

If you have a chalkboard, you should use the chalkboard...

Even if it doesn't turn out perfect, erase, try again... 

Have fun w/it! Get your Festive Messages out there!!!

This is in the living room facing our front door... 

It all came together with some effort...

Before...

My Living Sketch...

The morning of...

Making both tables level, w/the obstacles of an uneven floor, & two dramatically different tables...

We made use of the cardboard box that came with our new couch from ikea...

And duct tape to secure it all together!

Large drop cloth from Home Depot... I will layer another large table cloth on top...

Mmmmm.... Layers.....

Napkins n silverware! 

Mixed & Matched Like I Like it...

Twine! Easy Peasy!

I pressed some leaves in a sketchbook in late September, threw em on the table...

Used some pumpkins that had helped w/Halloween decor, along w/local apples...

Some were SO Tiny & cute! 

Toss in some fake pumpkin knick knacks & clementines! 

CENTERPIECE! 

We had everything laid out buffet style...

Chargers (mixed & matched from Target & Michaels(link n/a)) & napkins stayed on the big table, while the dinner plates were in the kitchen...

Near ALL the Food.... 

It was Chaos!

So Much FOOD!

I took a break, and caught my breath out on the gypsy porch...

It was brisk, we had just had a snow storm... Pretty!

The faux mink throw keeps me toasty!

After meal sugar-fest w/as many deserts as there were dinner foods! OMG!

Turkey was delish! Thanks to Hubby! Thank goodness you're domestic! 

Carcass saved in the freezer for a friend who makes bone broth :-)

A Few Dish Washer Cycles Later...

A couple of broken items, leftovers given to folks, leftovers in the fridge...

LEFTOVERS ON THE PORCH!!! Good thing it was cold enough... ;-)

And a couple of days recovering...

The experience was totally worth all the work! 

Everyone came & had a place to sit & enjoy the feast & each others company...

And I'm full of ideas to improve our set up.... 

For the next Gathering.....

This Drink Cart for instance, was a last minute idea.

It helped make our wine glasses & coffee/tea supplies, etc... Easier to access...

I liked it SO much, I'm keeping it around!

I put the remaining coffee/tea supplies in yesterday...

There's one cubby left for wine, etc... ;-)

I celebrated w/a root beer float! 

This cart had been orphaned on the side of the road years ago...

I gave it a good home, w/a kitteh to sit in it...

One of its first incarnations as an art cart on the porch...

This summer it helped me as my painting cart...

Last year it hung out w/me in my studio...

Long may it live now as our drink cart! 

The first step in making our kitchen more efficient for the entertaining! 

I will attempt a kitchen island today.... If I can dig out the items to repurpose... :-D

I hope you all had a Great Holiday! 

We made some Good Food,

We made the Clean Up Educational,

Now we MAKE the Kitchen Kick Ass!

I Gotta Go MAKE SOMETHING!!! ;-D

XOXO

~JM

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DIY Research & Development for Thanksgiving

Oh my goodness there's so much to do!

Next week is Thanksgiving! 

We are gathering up ALL the family...

We have to figure out where to put em!

I like to push & pull furniture around to see how many seats we can fit...

What I like to call a Living Sketch 

I start on paper...

Get your mesuring tape out!

Smoosh two tables together...

Use some charger plates to judge distance...

Mull it over with help from the Charli Dog...

Then dismantle it! 

It will be an easy conversion to Company Ready the night before!

Guess work is all done!!!!

Now to work on a few recipes for cocktails & savory dishes!!!!

^^buzzfeed & Pinterest^^

Fambly & Noms!

A labor of LOVE!

Make your Sketches now...

So it's not Sketchy later!

Make some NOMS!

Make some Family Time!

Make Something!!!

XOXO

~JM

Bitch, Make Your Own Wedding: Table Tops

SAVE ALL OF YOUR JARS! 

No brainer, right!

You eat salsa, spaghetti sauce, peanut butter, PICKLES! 

Don't put em in the recycling, set em aside in boxes, bags, bins...

They can hold Props, Favors, Photos, Candles, Utensils, Flowers & Vegetation of all types!

^^Pinterest/Etsy^^ See! How cute is that!!!

You can even serve drinks in them!!!!! 

These buggars are indispensable!!!

My inspiration was Rustic-Bohohemian... 

What? No Way! LoL

^^pics like these on Pinterest, made me drool! 

So I got to work!

We saved jars/bottles & vases for **no kidding**... A year & a half! 

Yes, really.

We had a SUPER tight budget... (I believe the fashionable term is "Micro-Budget")

And we would be having a reception for a possible 200 ppl... 

That's a lot of table space to dress....  

Get em clean & label free by soaking in warm soapy, or diluted bleachy water. Hubby did this step for us soaking & scrubbing off hundreds of jar labels from our tub...He's such a trooper! :-)

^^ that's just one batch!

I set up a lil assembly line. 

Doilies, glue dots, twine... 

Spray paint, lace, glitter tape...

Pebbles, tea lites.... OMG!

Tried em out!

Some of my designs didn't make it to the tables...

I set up a few table-tops to see what I liked...

As the winter before our spring wedding dragged on...

We began to crave bright colors in the table scape ideas...

Which begat these inspiration pics...

I opted to keep the design cohesive by using the most similar shapes in jars & vases ;-)

Colors a-Poppin! 

Gathered my Blooms from...

Trader Joes & local Grocery Store (Big Y) TWO DAYS BEFORE!!!!!!!!!

(to let tight blooms open up n get Fluffy!) ;-) <-- wink indicates Pro-Tip

I snipped the stems & used the flower food packets they came with...

I also changed their water once a day! ;-)

BTW...

Don't forget to ask for help when setting up! It is VERY TIME CONSUMING!

REMEMBER: Just because you are DIY-ing it...

Doesn't mean you have to DO IT *ALL* YOURSELF! 

This is a Great way to bond with Friends and Family!

Get em on the tables!

Light em up!

Flower crown favor... ;-)

Wood Slices...

Our table...

W/Headboard Bench from Dads Handyness :-)

To sum up...

Before ~ Millers Falls Rod N Gun Club Pavilion 

My Inspo...

After ~ Sweat Equity Baby! 

W/the help of:

Lots n Lots of Candles, Flowers, Fabric, DIY Rag Chandeliers ;-)

FAMILY & FRIEND HELP with Set Up! (1.5days worth!)

!!!We couldn't have done it w/o you!!!

Anyway...

"Micro Budget" Breakdown:

Pavilion ~ $150 to rent it on a Saturday (w/their letting us set up for 8hrs on the day before!)

Fabric ~ $40 to supplement what we already had at Salvation Army 

Jars ~ essentially FREE!

Tea Lights ~ D'Light Online 7hr burn tea lights $12.50/100ct we ordered 2

Pebbles ~ Home Depot $25 I still have plenty left!

Twine ~ Michaels $13

Doilies ~ Grocery Store (Market Basket) $4 on sale!

Flowers ~ $100

Wood Slices ~ Nature & Dad

Decked out Table Tops for our Reception for under $350!

It's only been 7 months since it all went down...

And it already seems like a distant & faded memory...

We Made some AWESOME Memories...

We Made the Most of our Time, Resources, & Money!

We Made some Great Table Scapes!

I sincerely hope that this helps some of you plan w/your "Micro Budget"...

And it Inspires you to MAKE SOMETHING!!!

XOXOXOXOXOXO

~JM

Stay Tuned for More Wedding Makes in My "Bitch, Make Your Own Wedding" Series!

~The Dress

~The Invitations

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