If you’ve been following along in my blog, you’ll know that I’ve been preparing for a Thanksgiving gathering! Well, it’s over now and I wanted to share with you all how it went! It went surprisingly well!! I only say that because this was my first time hosting a gathering. I did all the cooking, cleaning, styling, decorating, and planning. Let me tell you, it’s not easy but it’s rewarding and fun when you’re around people who care about you!

I did a lot of preparation in advance. The table decor was simple, so I had that out of the way early. I made my own linen napkins which saved me some money too. Flowers of the Good Earth was able to supply me with the florals. I used Italian Ruscus which looked great on a Thanksgiving table! Since my table was simple, I could focus more on other things.

I didn’t grow up in a cooking family, per say. My mom mainly cooked my grandma’s recipes that were handed down to her. When she does cook it is few and far between. I started learning how to cook surprisingly with my boyfriend, Andrew. When we started dating we began cooking a lot of meals together. And my love for cooking grew from there.

I’m not a food connoisseur by any means. That’s why I was mainly stressing over the food. I wanted everything to taste good, I wanted everything to get done on time, and I didn’t want to poison my guests with the turkey! Needless to say, everything got done ahead of schedule, the food tasted great, and we didn’t have to order pizza (a win in my book)!

 

 

The decor and food aside, it’s all about the company of people. That’s why we gather. We gather for the friendships and the conversations – it just happens to be around food! And honestly, all my stressing disappeared when my friends started arriving. It didn’t matter if things didn’t get done on time, or something wasn’t absolutely perfect, they supported this endeavor and that meant the world to me!

 

 

Menu

Starter

Warm Quinoa Salad with Broccoli and Acorn Squash, Tossed in a Lemon Vinaigrette

Main Dish

Oven Roasted Turkey

Sides

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Wild Mushroom and Brioche Stuffing

Autumn Roasted Root Vegetables (Carrots and Beets)

Dessert

Pear and Frangipane Tart Topped with Brown Sugar and Pine Nuts

 

I hope I gave you some inspiration for your next gathering – whether that’s for Thanksgiving,

Christmas, or any other time of the year! Getting together with friends and people who care about you is what it’s all about. The biggest thing is not to stress too much and do lots of planning ahead of time! You will thank yourself and your guests will enjoy themselves more. Don’t worry if something isn’t absolutely perfect because if you’re with people who care about you, does it really matter anyway? Besides, perfection is not what we’re about.

Unfortunately, I was unable to get a lot of pictures because I was running around doing things. My dear friend Sarah took the majority of the pictures so be on the lookout for part 2! If you want to see all that led up to this, you can check out the archives. I have some tips, DIY tutorials, and general inspiration for you!

Until next time – happy gathering!