Payson

This past weekend, after the turkey and cranberries had been put away, J and I headed to Payson, Arizona to visit our friends Stephen and Lorrie!

We had amazing weather during our visit and were able to do some intense quad riding!

 

Let me introduce you to our dear friends, Lorrie and Stephen

I got to drive the quad, and I drove really fast......

on flat land.

Then we switched drivers.

You see that little clearing to the right of that bush?  Yes, the "trail" of rocks.  The trail of rocks that go downhill at a 180 degree angle?  Well........that is why we switched drivers.

Watching Stephen and Lorrie take the first half of the mountain.

Then the camera was promptly put away.  I had to hang on for dear life.

 

And we are back on flat land!

 

 

 We played lots of cards

and made funny faces!

We even got snow!

We eventually had to say our good-bye's.

But we love these two very much and look forward to seeing them soon!

Thank you Lorrie and Stephen for a great weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving!

From our family to yours!  May this song bring you great laughter and not ruin your Thanksgiving!

Gobble Gobble!

I

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever.

 - Psalm 136:1

My move west

Last year, J and I celebrated Thanksgiving in Birmingham with my entire extended family!

We ate tons of turkey.....

and enjoyed family time!

On Friday, we headed to Nashville and spend the day packing! 8 hours later, my entire life was in the back of a 16 foot Budget truck and headed west!

We said our good-byes....

and realized the next time we would see each other, we would be standing at the alter!

I'm (still) in Rue!

Yesterday, Rue Magazine launched its second issue.  If you are not familiar with this incredible online interior and lifestyle publication, you should definitely check it out! I must say this issue is pretty incredible! 

Enjoy!

(images via Rue Magazine)



I love this......

this outfit!

A little imagination and a Thanksgiving Table

Last night, I stumbled across an amazing candelabra from West Elm.  After being properly introduced to my new love, I immediately began imagining it in the center of my dining room table!  So in honor of the upcoming "Day of Thanks' and, of course. the inspiration of today's post, the candelabra, I decided it might be fun to create my on Thanksgiving table!

Imaginations are necessary for today folks. So lets begin! Working from the center of the table out...............

To create my Thanksgiving table, I decided to begin with the table runner.  Since we can all make table runners, I just borrowed my idea from Pottery Barn. Thanks PB!

So to start, lets just use a white table runner from Target and stain it with tea to get a beige appearance and then create a burlap table runner slightly smaller in width as an accent overlay. 

(image via Pottery Barn)

Next, (drum roll please..............) the candelabra! Yeah, I know! It is pretty incredible! So, lets just add that on top of our table runner.

(image via West Elm)

Moving right along. 

Lets now place some fresh autumn flowers around/through/under/above (any place a mouse can go .... how is that for a literary reference!) the candelabra.  Imagine these flowers spread the length of the table perfectly placed around the branches of the centerpiece! Imagine Roses, Tiger lilies, Calla lilies, Gaillardia and of course some twigs!  Imagine wonderful burnt orange and red hues!

To finish the centerpiece, lets sprinkle all the bare spots with tea lights!

Now ..... the place settings.  I really try to follow the rules of Emily Post when setting a table. However, I hate putting the salad plate to the left of the fork.  This hatred could be caused by space restrictions on our dinner table or it could simply be due to the fact that I personally think a the salad plate should sit directly on the dinner plate. Sorry Emily.............

First, the twine charger.......

(image via Pier One)

Then ole faithful, Pottery Barn's Great White Traditional Dinnerware..............

 

(image via Pottery Barn)

Next, lets go ahead and top off each dinner plate with a decorative salad plate. In white, please................

(image via Pottery Barn)

Then a touch of Tuscan print napkins..................

(image via Pottery Barn)

accented with homemade napkin rings........................

(image via The Mother Huddle)

and finished off with fun place cards for our guest!

(images via Timeless Paper)

Thanks for imagining with me!