Tag Archives: dinner

Belated Thanksgiving 2012 Update

Now that we’re safely into the new year (ohhh, by almost two months!), I think it’s time I posted my thanksgiving decor. It was super low budget, but I accomplished the feel I was going for. Without further ado, our alfresco Thanksgiving dining experience:

First, I painted the stems of small pumpkins gold.

sink

Then I cut the pumpkins on the bottom in order to hollow them out and create luminaries. This was my first time carving/decorating a pumpkin, and I was surprised at how tricky it is! You have to really put some muscle into it. Those seeds are a beast to get out.

pumpkin guts

I found a rather Tim Burton-esque looking face while I was working.

face

Our sweet white rabbit {who is no longer with us 😦 } loved getting some of the scraps, while Diesel our dog supervised.

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For the table runner, I use a long sheet of craft paper and stamped two different sized circles all over it at random with gold acrylic paint.

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The gold circles tied in with the gold stems of the pumpkins.

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I continued the “polka dot” theme by drilling circles in the pumpkins that would  allow the luminaries to glow.

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For place cards, I made a few batches of carmel corn {recipe here, though I added a ton of cinnamon, SO good!!} and filled individual, name-stamped paper bags with the crunchy goodness. Guests could munch throughout dinner, or during dessert if pumpkin pie didn’t float their boats {holla!}.

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emma

You’ll notice nothing on my plate but carbs and veggies. 🙂 None of that turkey nonsense for me.

food

Our table full of lovely neighborhood friends . . .

people

glass

The pumpkins came alive as the sun went down.

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The food was placed around this buffet table my mom set up. I love the placement of the crates and pumpkins!

glowy
That wraps up our thanksgiving festivities. We all gathered around the fire-pit for dessert when it started to get chilly.  I say it very often, but I love where I live! So grateful we were able to enjoy our thanksgiving meal outdoors this year. 

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Grilled Lettuce

Hey guys!

I just wanted to get a quick post in, and thought tonight’s dinner was worth a mention. Inspired by this pin from a few days ago, I decided to grab a few heads of romaine lettuce from the fridge and grill ’em up. I was surprised at how tasty they were!

After washing, drying, and cutting each head in half lengthwise, coat each half with olive oil, salt and pepper . . .

Grill each side for around 3 minutes . . .
 


Top with freshly grated pecorino romano or parmesan, a squeeze of fresh lemon, a sprinkling of smoked salt, and serve immediately.



I was expecting the lettuce to get bitter, it was really sweet! It was so quick and easy and will be amazing this summer as an alternative to salad. I can’t wait to host an alfresco get-together and serve this as a side!



What are you looking forward to grilling this summer?

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Let My People Go

This past Passover season, my family hosted a dinner in which we decided the decor should be loosely themed ‘Egyptian’ (since we were commemorating the Israelites leaving Egypt and all . . .). As is, King Tut lives in our family room, so this was a logical table decorating decision. (Should you be wondering, he’s filled with DVDs, not a mummy. And yes, he’s wearing a Medieval Times crown, and also holding rhinestoned reading glasses. He likes to accessorize.)

I chipped in by making place cards.

I stamped, embossed, cut, and folded card stock, then lightly colored in the designs with colored pencil.

I didn’t trust myself with the penmanship, so I asked my mom to write the names.

Doing their jobs . . .

Ready to eat!

These were pretty straight forward, but I had fun making them! There are some awesome and creative place cards out there, and I’m looking forward to playing with new ideas for future get-togethers.

Have a good weekend!

P.S. Avengers was great. The 3D IMAX experience was pretty fun, too, though the screen wasn’t much bigger than regular 3D. Great movie though!

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