Happy Thanksgiving...Let the Holidays begin!

Hi Sweet Friends,

I hope you had a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING and hope you're enjoying lots of quality time with loved ones and left overs.

It's been such a busy month {hence the neglected blog posts}.  From our 3 week flooded apartment fiasco, to celebrating 3 years of marriage with my handsome groom, traveling to SoCal for a week long worship leader's conference to preparing for and hosting Thanksgiving.  A whirlwind, I tell you!

Here's a little peek of the past month...

{Hubby & I at the CCWL Conference}

{My Thanksgiving table}

{Gluten Free Apple Pie Success!  I was so proud of this!}

{My first turkey ... also successful!  So happy it didn't disappoint.}

{I've been busy busy crocheting gifts for loved ones and decided to restock my Etsy shop with a few items...I'm offering FREE shipping to PPS friends, use code : PPSFREESHIP}

I've so missed blogging, and look forward to pulling together some of my favorite Christmas decor ideas and recipes...happy shopping this weekend.  Be safe!

XO

Spiced Apple Cider

What a whirlwind the past few weeks have been - I have a feeling it's not going to slow down anytime soon.  We had a fabulous Thanksgiving - woke up to the Macy's Parade and enjoyed it with coffee, gfree pumpkin bread and pj's.  Then we headed to hubby's parent's home and ate lots of turkey and yummy gfree goodies, took the pup for a walk to let the food settle & played lots of wii and ping pong.  It was a very pleasant holiday weekend.

{A few of Hubby's Fam}

{Our tree in all it's glory}

It's tradition to put the tree up the day after Thanksgiving in our home, so we carried out tradition and went to select the perfect little tree and brought it home for decorating.  It wasn't exactly chilly, tree decorating weather, so to make things more festive I made homemade Spiced Apple Cider - boy does it make your home smell delicious!!!  I was inspired by my sister-in-law's version of yummy spiced cider the day before, it was so good, I had to make my own (and share with you of course ;).

Spiced Apple Cider

- 1/2 Gallon Apple Cider

- 3-4 Small Apples, rinsed well & skin kept on

- 1 Orange Peel, rinsed well

- 1/2 Lemon Peel, rinsed well

- 2 Spoonfuls of Maple Syrup

- 2-3 Cinnamon Sticks

- 4 Whole Cloves

- 1 t Ground All Spice

1. Toss all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.
2. Let simmer 20-30 minutes.  Enjoy!

(May also be tossed into a slow cooker for several hours.  Makes your home smell divine!)

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Check back this week for a yummy recipe for Homemade Orange Marsala Penne Pasta. (Gluten Free of course)

Table Setting : My take on classic white & gold

So considering my husbands family is just so large and my dining table is just so big, I sadly, am not hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year. That, however, has not stopped me from browsing all of the beautiful table decor in my latest holiday catalogues and favorite .com's. Metallics are radiating from the pages of Crate&Barrel, Z Gallerie, CB2, West Elm, the list goes on...

If I were to be hosting, I imagine I'd do a crisp clean table of white and gold with painted branches in glass vases as my centerpieces and mini pine cones to hold name cards, but since I am not, I thought I'd pull together a few of my favorite pieces to share with you. Are you hosting Thanksgiving this year?  If so, what will your table look like?  I'd love to hear!

1. Michael C. Fina Platter

2. Diane Von Furstenburg Flatware

3. Crocodile Chargers

4. Brass Urchin

5. Napkin Ring by Lunares

6. Paillette Gold Stemware

Monday Procrastination...

Whew!  What a fabulous weekend away hubby and I had (in ATL)!  From amazing restaurants and shopping to inspiring museums, we squeezed just about as much as our little eyes and feet could take in between a Friday and a Sunday.  If you follow PPS on twitter, you may have caught a glimpse of some of our weekend fun.  I have to say that a packed trip makes for a sweet homecoming.

I don't know about you, but I'm one of those girls who hates packing and just loathes unpacking.  So today has been one of those "catch up on laundry, unpack?, no bathe the pup & vacuum the floors, unpack?, but I have to rehearse my music oh yeah and unpack (how about tomorrow?)" kind of days.  I've done just about everything but unpacking that suitcase.  Oh well, at least I've been productive in other areas.

So Thanksgiving is in 10 days!  TEN days, can you believe it?!  I'm really looking forward to sharing some of my favorite holiday table setting ideas with you and a few yummy recipes too!  Check back this week and lets hope that my unpacking will be done by then.  :)