Attempted Thanksgiving Tablescape & Link Party!

Did you know Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK?!?! 

That sure crept up on us didn't it! 

Even though I don't host Thanksgiving, although I have in the past... see here... I decided to get in on the fun of a Thanksgiving Tablescape because you know, everyone is doing it.

Worst case it got me to clean off the table. 

Yes, it is usually a  mess of art supplies, play-doh, markers, etc...

So it was nice to clean it off and do something like this!

I had these little turkey napkin holders laying around. 

They were orange so I gave them a quick paint job and they are looking much more chic now.

I picked them up at Goodwill a few years back and they've just been sitting in a drawer.

This year I put them to use (kind of).

The acorns were a bag from Meijer that I grabbed about two years ago.

I ran to Hobby Lobby and grabbed a few paint colors to coordinate together. 

I think they turned out cute.

And while I was at Hobby Lobby I picked up these fall-esque stems.

I LOVE the Lotus Pods.

It's nothing much, but our table is not large and grand so small, sweet, and chic is how we keep it around here and honestly I kind of love it.

Vase is from Home Goods.  Love that place.  And did you know they have an app? 

Download The Goods NOW.

Lanterns and candle holders are from Goodwill as well.  I think they cost me $5 total. 

I contemplated painting them white or gold, but in the end liked the warmth that the brown tones gave for a more Thanksgiving-like feel.

Do you guys have any Thanksgiving Tablescapes to share? 

Link Up below... I'm trying my hand at a link party because I want to see your ideas! 

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

I'm most likely slaving away in the kitchen or napping from eating too much turkey! 

Hope everyone was able to spend time with their loved ones this Thanksgiving. 

Happy Turkey Day!

Thanksgiving Menu 2012

*WARNING*
This post may make you hungry.  I got really hungry while writing it. 

This is my version of an EASY Thanksgiving Day Menu. 
By "easy" I mean a reasonable mix of cheating and homemade cooking. 
This blog is called Little Miss Martha after all, so it can't be all cheating, but being 30 weeks pregnant will make you cheat! 

We are having 7 people in total at our house for the meal and I didn't want to spend a lot.  Mr. K's parents, my grandparents, and my uncle will all be here for the big day.  I'm making most of the items, but then my grandma and Mr. K's mom will bring 2 things each.  That will help.

So... here we go. 
You may remember last year... I cooked at my mom's house and I pre-made a bunch of items.

I wish it were a bit more extravagant, but oh well!  Maybe next year. 
Appetizers:
Devilled Eggs -
A first time attempt by me.  We shall see how this goes. 

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Cheese Platter -
A mix of blue, cheddar, jalapeno, crackers, and tapenade will make for an easy spread.

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Fresh Veggies and Dip -
A la Grandma!  I don't think hers will look like this one... it'll be store bought, but I thought this was cute.

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Main Course:
Turkey -
I'll be making it my way... well, Martha's way.  With a cheesecloth and a white wine & butter mix to brush over the cloth.  It does turn out just about as gorgeous as this one!

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Caramelized Sweet Potatoes -
I'm going to either do caramelized like these or just roasted.  Not sure, but I like Sweet Potatoes so they'll be on the table in some form!

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Green Bean Casserole -
A la Darla.  This is Mr. K's favorite dish so of course he enlisted his mother to make it.  That's fine with me though...

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Corn -
A la Darla... I think it's a corn casserole of some sort, but I don't know.  All I know is that it's good! 

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Garlic Mashed Potatoes -
I'll be doing a little mashing in the kitchen on Thursday.  Mr. K doesn't understand why I can't buy instant and I say because it's not that hard to make the potatoes and they are better!  :)

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Caramelized Onions and Cornbread Stuffing -
A recipe I found on Food Network that is just cornbread muffins and onions.  I think this will be good, but just in case, we did buy Stove Top as a backup plan! 

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Desserts:
Pecan Bars -
Totally cheating.  Was going to buy pre-made tart shells and fill them with a pecan mixture that I saw at Wal-Mart, but then it wasn't there when we went shopping so the plan changed a bit.  I opted for pecan bars (from a box).  The brand is always good so we shall see.

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Pumpkin Pie -
My favorite thing to do is bake and what did I do?!?  I bought frozen!  Don't tell anyone... but they were on sale, and by the time you buy everything for the pie it's so expensive!  I'm thinking cost cutting and baby savings!  Don't Judge me.  I know that Martha is.

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Apple Crisp and Vanilla Ice Cream -
This one I'll do on my own.  I've never done it before and also still have to find a recipe, but I thought this was a nice alternative to the apple pie - which I can still go out and buy if I change my mind!  ;)

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And there you have it... A Kellermeyer Thanksgiving 2012.  Don't worry, there will be an updated version of this with pictures of all food and table settings (crap - need to go grab a few things to make this happen!) and all else that goes on. 

Unfortunately there will be no Black Friday pictures this year unless they are of me sitting at the computer at work as I have to work this Friday.  Boo, I know, but Mr. K wasn't going to be able to go home with me so that's why we stayed down here AND I am saving my leave for Baby Kakes. 

Happy Tuesday!

Thanksgiving Dinner 2010 {Lost Drafts}

*While going through some old drafts - try 75!!! - I came across this one which apparently never posted!  Looks like I found a new thing to feature on Friday!!!  LOL!!!  Enjoy!  HAHAHAH*

Well, we did it again.  It's done and over with.  Another successful Thanksgiving dinner. 

Started out with cooking and cooking and cooking...

And a little playing with the food...

Then eating and eating and more eating...

Then it was 2 am on Black Friday and this happened...

Extremely strong winds...
Freezing Cold Temperatures...

We hit 4 Stores between 3am and 5am...  Got deals on a Karaoke Machine, a shop vac, and some Martha Stewart Casserole dishes.  We missed all the appliance and tv deals... oh well.  I'll try on Cyber Monday I guess!

How did your Black Friday Turn out?

This seriously makes me laugh that I never shared it with you!  I mean, look at the glasses I'm wearing! They have no lenses!!!  LOL... and the sides are hot pink!  Good lookin'!

-- Happy Turkey Day --

I am thankful for my lovely husband, my family, my puppies, and all this wonderful food we are able to eat today!  :)

Happy Thanksgiving Blog Hogs!

-- Thanksgiving Menu --

Last year I did My First Thanksgiving.  This year, we'll be back up in Good Ol' Fort Wayne.  So, once again we'll be attending two and I'll be cooking one at my mom's house!  It's very interesting how this stuff happens, right?!  And every one's is a bit different...


In the heart of Martha, I'll be using a Cheesecloth again on the turkey.  I thought this was DELICIOUS and it seemed to keep the turkey pretty moist!  I saw the recipe on a Martha Thanksgiving special last year and kept rewinding on the DVR to make sure I was doing it right.  This year, it's all me. 



My turkey from last year.



For our Appetizers we will again be doing the Marscapone Cheese Stuffed Dates wrapped in Prosciutto. These were a major hit last year and were requested again by my mom.  See the Giada recipe here.  I think I might also try something with polenta because we have a block of it and I don't know what else to do with it.  Still undecided on bit appetizer two.  Then we'll have a veggie tray. 

We are going to make a salad that will include a spring mix lettuce, almonds, cranberries, red onions, blue cheese, and some bacon crumbles with an italian-ish dressing.  Dressing is still a bit undecided as well.  Looking for a recipe...any suggestions?! 

Side Dishes are a lot like last year as well.  We are just doing steamed green beans with onions, broiled sweet potato chunks with olive oil, salt and pepper that my mom makes, homemade mashed potatoes, Roasted Acorn Squash, Dried Cherry and Italian Sausage Stuffing, and I think that's it.  I'm sure I'm forgetting something. 

Desserts will include Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake (from Sam's), Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Whoopies, and something else that is still somewhat undecided. 

I'm hoping all turns out well.  It's me and my mom cooking in her new kitchen.  I'm sure lots of pictures will come from that day!  :)  Oh...I almost forgot the most important things!!!  LOTS OF WINE AND BEER!  :)  Well, maybe not too much due to the definite oncoming of headaches from drinking, but I know I love me a little glass o' red!

Now off to figure out the table settings... What do you think of these ideas?!

Countdown to Thanksgiving: 3 days! 

-- Really? --

Is it really that time again?  I feel like every store I go into has snowflakes hanging from the ceiling - like these from Pier 1 -- or Holiday music playing or the smell of cinnamon sticks lingering throughout the stores.  Apparently we forgot about Mr. Turkey.  Is he not important anymore?  How is it possible to have pumpkins and Pilgrims sharing the shelves with glittery trees, snowmen, and Santa?!?  Really?!?

You may recall my VERY FIRST THANKSGIVING EVER that I posted about last year.  I loved cooking my Martha turkey and having everyone over and seeing them all sleeping in their chairs after dinner.  I loved setting out Autumn-y decor and searching for little things to spruce of my house with for the Thanksgiving Festivities.

I think last year I bought a autumn-y tablecloth, some pilgrim candlesticks for the table (goodwill - $1 each), some turkey somethings (I don't even know what their purpose is besides being cute), turkey napkin rings ($.49 at goodwill), and some amazingly sassy wooden kind of pumpkins from TJ Maxx.  I told you I needed stuff.  It was my First Thanksgiving, Really!

I found almost all of my recipes in Real Simple Magazine.  I had "A Martha Thanksgiving" on that morning to help me baste the turkey correctly.  It was bliss.  ;)  Not to mention everything turned out fantastic AND both families were there to share... except my dad.  :( 

Anyways all I'm saying is that it's still 2 weeks until Mr. Turkey Day and we are already overshadowing it with Christmas.  Really?!?  Whatever happened to the times when you didn't have decor for certain holidays until the one before it was over.  I was in Target before Halloween and I already saw lights that I, I mean Mike, needed for the house for Christmas.  And we were doing our Halloween decor!  What was I thinking?!  I mean, really?!?

I just think that we need to give each holiday a time to shine! I know it sounds Corny, but think about it...Thanksgiving is a very special day!  It's not something to forget.  Really!!!