Thanksgiving dinner is right at one month away.  Are your plans in place?  This is going to be the first year we will not be hosting Thanksgiving in our home since, well, almost forever.  Perhaps.  My brother and sisters-in-law are adding an addition to their home and are excited about hosting their first family Thanksgiving dinner. Unfortunately, the remodel is taking longer than expected so we may end up hosting after all (yea!).

Today let’s talk about decorating your Thanksgiving table.

Do you pull out your special dishes?  Do you buy the latest (and cutest) turkey-themed paper products so there is less clean up?  Or, is your dinner a hybrid of the two?

How many of you like to try something a little different every year for Thanksgiving? Perhaps you use Thanksgiving to try out a new dish (guilty) or you stick to traditions (who out there really likes cranberry sauce?).  I cherish decorating my table to make it as cozy and fall-like as possible.

How about you?

Since we have plenty of time before the cooking, cleaning, and hosting madness begins, I have something to propose to you.  In the next two weeks, why not set aside one of your lunch hours and head out to your nearest indoor flea market or an antique mall?  Pack your lunch and eat it on the way so you can be sure to have plenty of time to leisurely browse.  Then, spend your time checking out the booths with an eye for decorating your Thanksgiving table.

I did this on Monday.  It was my first day back from several weeks of vacation (I missed you!) and I really wanted to prolong my laid-back-vacation-style.  So, I decided to visit an antique mall in Tontitown.  Actually, my plan was to browse the stalls and look for interesting old cutlery, bowls, dishes, gadgets, and such that would look really cool in my food blog photographs.

Then I found it.

The earthy autumn-colored tapas dish caught my eye.  It was only $1.

One dollar!

Not only is it beautiful, simple, seasonal, and will pop-up now in a billion photographs for this blog, it has a story. The backside mark tells me that the Sears and Roebuck Company made it in 1978.  In Japan. It’s like a piece of history.

How about you?  Have you found success in rescued, recycled, or resurrected food items or gadgets?  Do you have a secret stash from your auntie (the knife in the photo was my Aunt Peggy’s)?  Are you always on the lookout for that special “something” to add to your kitchen collection?  I am always on the lookout so feel free to send me an email if you need a second set of eyes.

Searching for unique and often inexpensive kitchen items is a fun and rewarding hobby. Step away from the everyday and mundane.  Life is too short for the ordinary.

Especially when it comes to food.

Lyndi

Eat well, my friends. Eat well.