My First Thanksgiving Dinner

 

My turkey's 

Hosting our First Thanksgiving

My sisters, Lilly and Mia 

Our table is set

I hope everyone enjoyed thier Thanksgiving.  Ours was a success! This was our 1st Thanksgiving in our new home.  My family usually spends Thanksgiving at my parents house, but since they recently sold thier house Eric and I decided to take over. My whole family was there and we really enjoyed having everyone at our house. We set the table with gold chargers (Michaels) 2.99 with 40% coupon... my mom already had 8 so I only had to purchase 2 more :) I finally got to use my Italian Countryside china that I recieved for my wedding 6 years ago... I found cream napkins with gold embroidery at homegoods for 6$ and wrapped them with various napkin rings... mom gave me about 5 and I found some at homegoods and pier one for about $1.50.  I added a few tea lights in gold votives that I got at Target for .99.

almost ready...

My 1st Turkey 

Mom & I cooking

I enjoyed cooking for my family. I made my own "stuffing bread" in my bread machine.. cut it up into cubes and voila! I recommmend baking your own bread to prepare stuffing... it turned out amazing!

Thanksgiving

I hope you all had a wonderful Thansgiving.  Ours was amazing!  My sisters and their men came down as well as my parents.  We had such a great time setting up and cooking dinner.  Our goal was to utilize as much as we had around the house to decorate with.  If we didn't have it in house (minus the table and chair rentals) we tried to come up with cheap creative solutions.  Hope you enjoy!

Here are the boys setting up the table

Hanging some lights

We used burlap coffee sacks for the table runners.  

We cut the burlap coffee sacks into long table runners.  We got these for $1.00 at our local coffee place-Bongo Java.

My talented and amazing sister made the place cards which we tied onto a white handkerchief with some twine.

Our small bites were put into plain brown paper bags.

We used our Chalk Board that I did in THIS post to display the menu

We dubbed our Thanksgiving-"NASHgiving"

 We would love to see other Thanksgiving feasts!  Feel free to email us pictures which we will post for you or link to your blog in the comments.
Danielle

Chalk Board Art

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend.  Two of my very best friends came to visit and we had such a good time!  I loved having them here and was sad to see them go.  Before they arrived I found this frame at my favorite Goodwill Store and had to snag it up.  It was $4.00--no brainer.

I had definite plans for it.  I've been listening to my Avnett Brothers CD a lot in the car and I wanted to do something with one of their lyrics, so this is what came of it.

First I spray painted the frame with Rustoleum Granite in a Satin finish.

I then painted over it with Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint in Paris Grey.  I wanted you to be able to see the contrast and make it look a little worn, so I distressed in a few places.

I used a piece of plywood and cut it to fit where the old beautiful (ha) photo was.

 I painted the plywood with chalk board spray paint and secured it into the frame.

 For under $15.00 you have a great piece to put in your home.  Tine and I talked about it and this would be great for Thanksgiving to put the menu or for everyone to write what they are thankful for.

xo, dani

Dining Table

I scored this round, solid wood dining table at an Estate Sale for $20.00.  I came into the sale just as they were closing for the weekend and they practically handed it to me.  The best part is the legs detach which is perfect for me since I only have a small SUV and not a pick up-which, by the way, I sooo want.  Leaving the furniture topic for a second...when I was young my dad had this huge, ugly green truck that I was sooo emabarrassed to ride in and I had to ride in it allll the time.  My dad worked during the day and my mom at night, so my dad shuffled my sisters and I to all our activities i.e. dancing school, soccer, softball, etc.  I was always so mortified pulling up in that hunk of junk and now I would LOVE to have it.

Anyway...like I said I scored this table at an estate sale for $20.00.  I painted it with Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint in Paris Gray.  I then waxed it with the clear soft wax and gave it a light distress then waxed again.  I was thinking of keeping it for myself, but I think I need to sell it.

Have any of you worked on a project lately?  We'd love to see them or feature them on our blog.  Email us at retaildiyet@gmail.com.
Danielle

Wine Cork Wreath

It's no secret that I love myself some wine.  I also love collecting the corks from said wine.  I have been saving corks for a while and finally thought of a use for them.  Enter my cork wreath..

I purchased a regular foam ring from the craft store and painted it black. 

 I used LOTS and LOTS of hot glue.  I burnt so many fingers in the process, but I guess it was worth the sacrifice!  I always wanted to use it as a wreath, but I actually love it on my table just as a centerpiece.  I put jar candles in the center and they looked amazing.  It's not perfect, but I love that about it. 

 

Danielle

I fell in love...

I fell in love with this desk when I saw it at an indoor flea market. Its solid mahogany and I knew I wanted it as soon as I saw it. Ok, she isn't the prettiest girl on the floor, but she has potential. Don't you think?  And for $25.00...come on...you know you would too.

This desk has great detail.  I had to sand it down completely and remove a veneer that was adheered to parts of the front. 

If you haven't worked with Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint...you NEED to. It's not readily available in your typical big box stores, but there are many carriers both online and in privately owned shops. They call it the "girl" paint. For most pieces you don't even need to sand or prime before you begin. It adhears to surfaces without a problem..Ladies, you know we're impatient and want the finished product without all the prep work, thus the term "girl paint"! For this desk I used ASCP in Provence. I painted the existing pulls on the side drawers with spray paint from Rustoleum. I changed out the top drawer knobs for these clear glass knobs.

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 I just love how it turned out.  What do you think?

Danielle

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