I’ve always loved Thanksgiving.  It’s one of those holidays that seems to have withstood becoming overly commercial (excluding Black Friday).  This year, unlike in years past, we are actually going out of town, which is not something to be underestimated with two little ones under the age of five.  But at the time we booked it seemed like a good idea to go up to San Francisco and spend Thanksgiving with my brother and his wife, and let them play hosts this year.

That said, I’m a sucker for entertaining and decorating for the holidays, so I still managed put together a Thanksgiving Inspiration Board, even though we are not hosting.  Our Thanksgiving will be small, as our family is small, but the food will be delicious.  Above are some cute ideas for decorating your home and some neat recipes with an autumnal flair, that while not “traditional”, still manage to capture the spirit of the season.

Since we are a small family, we will be opting for a chicken instead of Turkey.  The recipe for the chicken is not just for any roast chicken.  It’s a Thomas Keller roast chicken, and frankly the best roast chicken I’ve tasted!  Unlike conventional roasting recipes, his requires no basting, but relies on a generous amount of salt to keep the bird juicy and flavorful. The sweet potato French Fries are for my oldest son, who hates “mushy” food.  I don’t blame him, he spent the better part of his early years eating only purees, so I’m not surprised he likes texture and crunch.  The pear salad is for me, as I love the idea of making a salad tower.  And, last but not least, the “horns of plenty” are so cute and such an easy cheat using waffle ice cream cones and a bounty of fresh fruit that I would be remiss not to include something so pretty, so easy and so healthy.

Photos are copyright of their respective owners, follow the links for each:

1. Autumn Basket

2. Welcoming Entry

3. Pumpkin Centerpiece

4. Thomas Keller Roast Chicken, BTW- this site is full of gorgeous recipes. Too bad the author decided to discontinue blogging.

5. Fresh Fruit Cones. (unfortunately for these there is no link to the original source.  let me know if you come across one as I would prefer to give credit).

6. Crispy Sweet Potato Fries

7. Vertical Pear and Walnut Salad

Lastly, here are some nice FREE Printables to dress up your festivities that you can download here:

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Last year we hosted an art party, this year I’m going with a dinosaur theme.  Cars, trucks, etc are still my son’s favorite, but this last year he discovered the world of dinosaurs through one of his favorite shows on Nick Jr., Dino Dan.  In one episode Dan has a birthday party and, of course, it was a dinosaur party.  Ever since then I’ve been planning on throwing my son a dinosaur party, so I’ve been surfing the internet and I’ve found some great ideas/resources.  Here are some that I’m planning on taking inspiration from:

Clockwise from the top:  chocolate milk bottles from here; edible fondant dino cake toppers from here; dino party hats from here; dino terrarium from here; pin the hat on the dino from here; dino excavation from here;  fossil cookies from here; molten lava cakes from here.

photo via Peta Pixel

WHY:  1. I don’t think you’d want to use this application on your most treasured/rare photographs, but it definitely works well for snapshots you love, 2.  if you don’t adhere the photographs permanently you can easily interchange and add photographs to the display, 3. you can make it even more personal by having your little ones draw inside a few of the frames (I’m not big on drawing on walls, but in this case or with a chalkboard wall I think it’s OK). I think it would work well in a hallway or in a playroom.

Clockwise from the top: Cool Banner from here, Firework fans from here,  Sparklers from here,  Photobooth props from here, Snack cones from here, July 4 Sweet Treat from here, Watermelon Limeade from here, Patriotic Wreath from here.

July 4 free printables here

While I love seeing real fireworks, I also hate packing myself into a crowd just to get a lousy view, that’s why I love the idea of the sparklers and I know my older son will love them too.  Also, there aren’t any real “July 4″ activities, besides hanging out in the backyard and barbecuing and maybe throwing a football, so I think the idea of a photo booth with July 4 specific props is genius.

Happy Fourth!

photo via apartment therapy

WHY: 1.  As you’ve seen here before, simple frames of the same size and color help to bring visual coherence, 2. When I’ve seen old family portraits displayed they tend to be framed in darker woods with darker mats, I love that this display makes older photographs feel modern and crisp, 3. older photographs tend to be smaller, but by floating the photographs within larger mats you not only help give the photograph breathing space, you give it some additional gravitas.

WHY:  I love this photograph applied as wallpaper 1) The use of a black and white image makes the image more neutral so that while the photograph has a lot of impact it manages to coexist peacefully with the furnishings in the room, 2) this particular technique should definitely only be applied to one’s favorite photograph as this is not a treatment you can overlook, in this case I think the image makes the homeowners smile everyday at seeing the joy of their children, and that’s always a good thing.

photo via 4.bp.blogspot.com

WHY: If you have a collection of small prints that you treasure I think the above display works well because, a) the  ledge keeps them organized, they are not just sprinkled around the house, b) the size of the prints and frames is fairly similar, so it creates some cohesion, c) the sheer number of framed images makes this display dramatic, impactful and quite graphic.  This would not have been achieved with a ledge and 3-4 images.

photo courtesy of Real Simple

WHY: I think that most of us look at a photo and see it as one piece, but the display above shows that a) your favorite image can gain interest and importance through splitting, b) diptychs, triptychs, or in this case quadtypchs have been used for centuries by artist as a way to display their work on multiple panels, so while this treatment seems unusual it has been tried and tested many times over.

photo via Christie Chase

WHY:  I think that in modern homes in particular larger images work especially well.  They a) keep the lines simple as there aren’t multiple frames for the eyes to move around, b) create a great focal point in a room, c) can be used as a jumping off point for a room’s color palette.

I particularly like this image, because while it’s a family portrait no actual faces are shown.  In spite of the stiff pose, the piece is lighthearted. I’m sure the images makes the family smile whenever they see it.

photo courtesy of Domino Magazine (RIP)

It’s a simple idea that can easily be replicated.  I think it looks great above a bed as shown here, or  would look great in a hallway. While the site I pulled the image from doesn’t have a tutorial, I’m pretty sure the tutorial would be along the following lines: buy multiple cheap frames all in the same color and size, affix them together to create a grid either permanently using brackets, or something less permanent but still strong like duct tape.

WHY: It’s not always easy to bring together colored photos, because color, light and vibrancy can differ so widely, but the grid creates order. I love a) that you can reproduce this idea as big or as small as you’d like, and b) that some frames are purposely left empty and filled with an accent color which allows you to both pick up colors from the surrounding photographs or room, but also gives your eye an opportunity to rest.