Gratuitous Whiteware Usage OR My Thanksgiving Wrap-Up Post

During all Thanksgiving's past, my concerns have been primarily gravy-centric. But this year, as I have found myself haplessly entangled in a net of interior design obsession, I paid a little more attention to what I was actually putting my gravy in. Thank you to Design*Sponge and Martha Stewart for making me feel inept were I not to make placecards for my dinner table for two or spray paint mini-pumpkins.

Random sidenote, I took Martha Stewart's "What Thanksgiving Sidedish Are You?" quiz, with the uncannily accurate result of "Mashed Potatoes & Gravy." Damn straight. Moving right along. After a quick trip to the craft store and gassing Will out of the kitchen with some 14K gold spray paint, I was able to whip out a cute Autumnal table in about half an hour!

Step 1 involved spray painting several mini-pumpkins gold, as well as a few of the faux fall leaves I picked up.

Step 2 was to make some quick napkin rings. Unfortunately, walnuts in the shell are hard to find on the fly on Haight Street, but I luckily remembered my dad gave me some unshelled pecans that worked just as well. I spray painted those gold, as well (shocking), wired each to a gold oak leaf, made some quick gold tendrils with beads and wire, and voila! Autumn napkin ring. Did I say Gold?

A few more gourds, pumpkin spice candles, some placecards, and leaf scattering later, I had myself a Thanksgiving table that would impress even my far more design-savvy mom!

Much to Will's displeasure, I took advantage of the Macy's sale on Martha Stewart Collection whiteware to pick up a few things ... and by a few things, I of course mean two cake stands (I really needed these), a pumpkin serving dish, and a gorgeous pedestal bowl. (The gravy boat hails from Crate & Barrel.) I had the pleasure of appreciating for the first time that everything on the table actually matched! Which is one of the virtues of whiteware that I have attempted to explain to Will from time to time ... It turns out the pumpkin serving dish, with its nice lid and capability of being put in the oven, was The Bomb for keeping mashed potatoes hot (a serious peeve of mine).

If it was not obvious, this year was more about aesthetics than food, but we still had a robust meal of roast turkey (it is freakishly limbless on purpose - so fast!), mashed potatoes & gravy (obviously), pineapple-cranberry sauce, roasted seasonal vegetables, corn, cornbread & sauge stuffing, and those really, really unhealthy white rolls. Mmmmm.

Last but not least, was the Bourbon Pecan Pumpkin Butter pie. Williams-Sonoma had me at bourbon. I saw the recipe on their site while deciding I really needed their fall leaves piecrust cutters. The leaves were actually way more fun to cut out than eating the pie.

And finally, after dinner was cleaned up, the table decor transitioned nicely into entryway table decor. Phew! Who's ready for Christmas?!