a holiday to remember

baby girl's first thanksgiving feast

this year we hosted our very first thanksgiving. we were so thankful to have the opportunity as it allowed us to be in one place the whole day and not split our time between the families. although we are blessed to have both our families so close, it makes for hectic holidays when we're rushing from one dinner to the next and never feeling quite settled or relaxed.

a little pressure this year, was not only hosting, but cooking the turkey. we've made countelss roasted chickens, but hadn't the experience of a 20lb turkey, let alone a "thanksgiving" turkey to feed 22 people. a little of the edge was taken off when my dad offered to cook his annual deep fried turkey on the patio. if our turkey didn't turn out, i secretly was at ease knowing that we could all enjoy my dad's tried and true bird. 

our brined, 20 pounder, stuffed and rubbed with herbs from our garden

my cute hubby and my dad carving their respective turkeys (photo credit: jenny hopwood)

luckily thanksgiving is always a pot-luck style meal in our families. so the sole responsibility of the turkey's, drinks and appetizers were fine by me. i get the most pleasure of entertaining by dreaming up the decor, flow and layout of the event...it's the planner in me, i suppose. i spent the 3 weeks leading up to the holiday, going to various thrift stores and antique stores, stocking up on white china, linens, and silver to set a table for such a large group. many trips of which my co-workers joined me on the lunch hour - thank you rina and mary!

"the" table(s): collected china,handmade napkins, eclectic chairs and fruit decor

place cards: tangerines wrapped in twine with clove to hold place card

i had been in the bay area the week before. my gammi generously allowed me to chose a serving piece from her silver heirlooms to add to my table. a gorgeous spoon from the mid 1800's was my choice, once Austin Grimm's - my gammi's great grandfather. so special. i also got out my great grandmother's wedding silver my gammi passed down 8 pieces to me years ago and i suppliemented with other pieces i found. a couple of years ago, i actually found 14 matching pieces of the community plate onieda "deauville" pattern at an antique store and snatched them up. i had forgotten they were in my cupboard until i went through the entertaining pieces. 

austin grimm's serving spoon and great grandmother's wedding silver

the cake plates came down, the silver tea service that diegas' grandma lu bought me 2 xmas' ago and a sugar bowl my grandma eunie bought me were also included on the dessert table. my mom cut tangerine branches from her trees, to adorn my fruit inspired decor (ps. fruit gets eaten vs. flowers that eventually are thrown away, eco friendly!) and i set cloth napkins that my sister-in-law made for me last christmas. what a blessing to share the meal with those past and present! it was truly a family table!!

cake plates and antique linens ready for pies

centerpieces: tangerine branches and pomegranites

the food was unbelievable. everyone contributed amazing dishes (perhaps a post in the future, of some of the recipes) and tons of help preparing and cleaning up. we had so much food left over. today is day 5 and we are still eating leftovers - and everyone went home with some. one special note is that it was evia's first thanksgiving feast. my mom made her an eggless pumpkin pie and the girl couldn't stop saying "more?"

i hope to host many more family gatherings as our families grow. i felt like we had truly come into adulthood hosting a thanksgiving full of warmth and the cherry on top...a perfectly tasty turkey!

quiet scene in our house the next morning