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STYLiNG | French Farmer's Market Thanksgiving - Part II - The Desserts

Tuesday, November 30

Part II of my Thanksgiving Day recap. (go HERE if you missed part I).

Dessert....
always my favorite part of any event.
But what do you get when dessert is combined with
a "French Farmer's Market theme" + a little creativity?

"Très Magnifique"!!


Afterall, what's a "French Farmer's Market" without a peddler's wagon?



Everything homemade by me with the help of my two older daughters...
Candied Apples


an assortment of pies...like this Pecan Pie


Traditional Apple Pie

Mini Crumb-Topped Apple Pies



Mini Pumpkin Loaves wrapped in coffee filters doubled as take home favors...
Plain, walnut, chocolate chip or a walnut and chocolate chip combo

and Trail Mix for snacking


I even made some DELICIOUS Crunchy Caramel Popcorn but forgot to add it to the cart...
never even realized it until everyone was stuffed to the gills from feasting and desserting


I couldn't be more thrilled with how everything turned out...

Je l'adore!!!

I hope you are inspired...
and if you are wondering how in the world I constructed the cart...
it was actually a transformation.

You see...
When I saw this "leftover" prop used in a display in one of our local stores...


It had my name written all over it.
I knew exactly when I saw it what it was going to eventually turn in to.
With a sheet of V-groove paneling from Lowe's...
some nails...
scrap pieces of wood...
fabulous fabric...
and some acrylic paint...
Voilà!!
A perfect peddler's wagon for my French Farmer's Market.
(and the good news is...it can be used for future events and will fit perfectly on my back patio to showcase foliage, flowers and plants when it's not in "party" use)! *wink*

KEEPING IT REAL
It was only because of my stepdad that the cart came to life.
He followed my instructions for constructing and putting it together!
THANK YOU Rick...for your patience and many trips back and forth to the hardware store!!

French Farmer's Market Thanksgiving - the decor

It's the very last day of November...
I figured I'd better hurry up and post about our Thanksgiving before we are officially into December.

I've got so many photos to share so I'm hoping you'll get lost in the imagery...

The idea to host Thanksgiving this year began with the purchase of our new home back in April.
Having never hosted Thanksgiving or any other holiday before...we knew we finally had a home that would accommodate a large crowd comfortably.
So the planning began...

After deciding on a French Farmer's Market theme...(a theme I was originally going to use for Ella's 2nd birthday party)...I started researching Farmer's markets and focused on finding little details I could incorporate to make our Thanksgiving feel authentic. (baskets, fabrics, etc.)

Here's where we would all eventually gather...


at the 11x3 foot custom harvest table we had made.
(more details on this in a separate post)

I wanted things to feel simple and organic and
I chose fabrics, dishes, utensils and decor that felt "French" to me...

I LOVE this French ticking I found in ivory/brown...
I felt it added a nice contrast to the floral fabrics I'd picked out

And that's how the color palette evolved into creams, brown, orange and vintage blue...
which then led to the creation of the Fall 2010 Kids' Table Collection.

With the table for the kids figured out...

it was time to move on to the adult table.
I opted for a cotton fabric that resembled vintage flour sacks for the table runner - it was PERFECT.
(even though burlap would've looked great - I felt it's distinct smell would be distracting during dinner)

My mom sewed it together for me and then we worked together to create the fringed ends.
(She and my older girls also worked to make all of the coordinating napkins too).

I kept the centerpiece decor pretty simple by using small fibrous pumpkins
wrapped in the coordinating fabrics and twine.


Mason jars were filled with lentils and a simple tealight
and were surrounded by a few acorns the girls and I had collected weeks prior...


The grapevine wreath design element I created for the invitations...


was carried over into the decor
by using mini wreaths to wrap the silverware...

hanging two large wreaths on the front doors to greet people as they arrived...


and incorporating two large wreaths on the french doors in the dining area.

When my search for goblet-style drinking glasses didn't turn up much, I settled on the stand-by mason jars.
I also created chalkboard place card settings by spray painting pre-cut triangular wood pieces from Hobby Lobby
and then hot gluing a small square wood piece to the back to keep them standing upright.


I wrapped fabric around the scented soy candles strategically placed throughout our home...


I wrapped the wheat bundles I had diplayed on the fire place mantle in the dining room...

I used chicken wire and an old window to create a place for everyone to write down & display
what they were most grateful for...






and the sentiment I'm sure we all were feeling...


Now...
the dessert table deserves a post all on it's own...

Stay tuned for all of the details...

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving Day celebrations with your own family.
I know I have a lot to be grateful for and I intend to carry that spirit of gratitude into the December holidays as well.

hugs!
Jessica

KEEPING IT REAL
• I was still adding floral picks to the wreaths in the dining area after family began arriving...
• I was fighting a cold/allergies that was zapping me of energy and was seriously wondering how I would get through the entire night...
• I had wanted the mason jars wrapped in fabric but ran out of time...
• The 25 pound turkey we cooked provided enough leftovers that I don't want to look at turkey again - for a LONG time.
AND.....
• I could NOT have pulled this off without the tremendous help from my mom and stepdad, Rick.
They worked for weeks helping me create the foundation for the dessert table - you'll see that later...
along with creating the table runner & napkins.
But it gets even better...
I showed up to my house late Wednesday afternoon to discover a squeaky clean home - accomplished by the group effort of my mom, Rick and my two older girls. WOW!!
Could there have been a more perfect way to come home and prepare for the hours of baking ahead of me?
Thanks Mom, Rick, Clara & Ema!! I love you!!!
And thank you Grandpa Wayne & Grandma Debbie from Illinois for watching Ella on Wednesday so everyone could finish up all of the preparations!!
It was seriously a group effort!!
I'm SO lucky to have so many people in my life who were willing to help!

I of course can't forget to mention J...
the man who overlooked the chaos during planning...
helped keep us on a budget...
and supported, encouraged and uplifted me through the entire process!! Love you!!

a whirlwind of celebrations...

Monday, November 29

Good Monday to everyone...
I do hope you all enjoyed celebrating Thanksgiving!
I had a house full of family and good food...
and aside from wishing the air outside would've been a little bit crisp/cool...I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day - seriously.

I'm still going through photos of the dessert table I want to share with you...but for now, here's at least one...

crumb-topped mini apple pies
 applecrumblepies


While many of you were taking advantage of Black Friday, my house/mindset quickly transitioned into Ella's 2nd birthday preparations to follow on Saturday.
And of course...I'm still going through photos from that as well so here's one to hold you over:

Sweet Ella, about to devour her very first cake ball pop...
ella8556


The entire month of November was loaded with celebration after celebration...all of which I STILL haven't been able to share here.

So here's the scoop on the delay...
I submitted both of the baby showers to Amy Atlas Events and I've received word back that...
she would like to feature BOTH showers!
WOW!!!
I'm so excited and thrilled and ecstatic.
As much as I'm getting impatient with having to wait to share the photos with you...
it's SO worth the wait to be recognized by Amy.
She's been such an inspiration to so many...

So there you go.
You finally know what the hold up has been.
I hope to be able to post photos soon...
but at least you know I'm anxiously waiting just as much as you are!

Happy Monday everyone!
Hugs to you all!
Now...
I'm off to get caught up on orders and design work.

Was it you?
Go HERE to find out who the lucky winner was!!


KEEPING IT REAL
I am SO looking forward to the month of December...
I will thoroughly be enjoying the "downtime" compared to the whirlwind of celebrations in November!
And...
As lovely as everything turned out with Thanksgiving and Ella's birthday party...
I'm officially stating that I will never host two events within the same week...ever...again! (peeling myself up off the floor from complete exhaustion...but all with a great big smile of satisfaction).

feasting on the talents of others...post #3

Wednesday, November 24

Day THREE of a week-long feature called "Feasting on the Talents of others" .
(check out Day ONE and Day TWO if you missed them)

Party Girl: Lisa
Celebration type: Baby Shower
Theme: Baby Carriage
Color palette/pattern: Pink & Brown/polka dots

Lisa reached out to me awhile back and asked that I help her design a simple, fun invitation and coordinating printable party accessories for a baby shower she was helping to host. She'd already picked her color palette, knew she wanted to incorporate a baby carriage in the design and had already chosen to do candles as the party favor.

You may remember me posting the full "Carriage collection" I designed..
collectioncollage

Well here's how Lisa brought everything to life:
Table

pretzels2

CupcakeTower

candy2

Candles

Pink and brown has been a long-time favorite color combo of mine so I was already loving the way the printables had turned out. I think Lisa did a great job of creating a dessert table with coordinating sweets that tied in the theme wonderfully.

My favorite highlights:
• the serving vessels wrapped with coordinating ribbon finished off with a cupcake topper.
• Lisa's choice to display a tower of "chocolate" cupcakes as the focal point on the dessert table and then choosing to balance it out with two "vanilla" cupcake serving stands on both sides.
• the coordinating polka dot pink & brown designer chocolate covered oreos (these look like they're from my fave oreo gal: Sweeties by Kim)
• the pink chocolate covered pretzels & the perfectly coordinating jelly beans
• the cute candle favors


I'm so glad Lisa came back to share photos of how everything turned out.
It's always SO fun to see the clever and creative ideas of others.
Thanks Lisa! You really did a wonderful job at helping to make the baby shower extra special.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••

It's Wednesday everyone...Thanksgiving Eve.
Here's to a very productive day filled with last minute runs to the store and LOTS of baking.


KEEPING IT REAL
It REALLY hit me last night as I was doing the head count for Ella's birthday party...
thirty people are coming two days following our Thanksgiving feast of 25 people...
I.
have.
sooooo much to do.
But in true Thanksgiving-fashion...I'm GOBBLING it all up!!

feasting on the talents of others...post #2

Tuesday, November 23

Day TWO of this week's posts dedicated to the talents of others...(if you missed it, see Day ONE here)

Party Girl: Robyn
Celebration type: 30th birthday
Theme: "Upper East Side Chic"
Color palette/pattern - Black, White & Green with Black Damask
Inspiration - New York

Robyn, an artist and blogger from Chocolate Polka Dots contacted me about doing some cupcake toppers for the 30th birthday party she was planning for her sister, Krista. I jumped on board when she mentioned the color palette she'd chosen and her desire to incorporate black damask. FUN!!!

Here are the cupcake toppers I sent her...
newyorkcupcaketoppers

And here's the magic she worked...
table
She MADE that cityscape backdrop for the dessert table...wow!


paperlanterns


cupcakes

cupcakes2

photobooth


I love the color palette and theme Robyn chose. She did a wonderful job adding splashes of green and unexpected whimsy through the use of feathers, polka dots and hat boxes.

My favorite highlights:
• the homemade backdrop Robyn made. (her sister Krista is now using it as her headboard in her bedroom)
• the hatboxes were SO perfect with the stripes, damask and polka dots
• the black candelabras and green candles
• her decision to keep the cupcake toppers square instead of using the typical round ones.
• the lanterns
• the homemade photobooth with interactive props

There are even more details and photos on Robyn's blog - so be sure to check it out.
You might also want to peek at Robyn's recently opened Etsy shoppe if you are interested in some customized canvas wall art.

Thanks for sending me the after-party photos Robyn. You completely outdid yourself and it looks like everyone had a wonderful time!!

Two more days until Turkey day peeps...
don't forget to gobble up the opportunity to win a dozen DELISH cupcakes from my favorite local cupcakery: Cupcake Delights!
Enter to win HERE!!
Contest ends Thanksgiving Day!

KEEPING IT REAL
You absolutely won't believe what I'm creating for the Thanksgiving dessert table.
It's turning out absolutely fabulous and a little bit insane. *wink*

Feasting on the talents of others...post #1

Monday, November 22

With Thanksgiving just a few days away...
this week couldn't be more perfect to express my gratitude to all of you.
I adore each of you who reach out through comments...
check the blog daily for updates and posts
and those of you who've been inspired by the things I've posted and who've come back to share your own creations.

With that said...
I've decided to do a week of blog posts entitled "Feasting on the talents of others..."
These posts are dedicated to showcasing some of the talent and creativity from my readers/customers.
I've had several parties I've been wanting to share with you...
sent to me from awhile back. (months ago...*frowny face*)
I think it's about time to post them! (don't you agree?)

So...as you and I go about our preparations for our own Thanksgiving celebrations this week...
let's put aside "all things fall" for a minute and enjoy peeking at these other celebrations created by some of YOU...

"Feasting on the talents of others..." post #1:

Party Girl: Christina
Celebration type: bridal shower
Theme: Lemonade & Sunshine
Color palette: pink and yellow
Inspiration: Lemonade

When this mom of four children and lover of celebrations and raspberry lemonade sent me the link to her bridal shower she helped to host for a friend of thirty years...
I was so thrilled to see the turnout.
Christina was in charge of the table and food and the results left me longing for a glass of lemonade...

desserttable4

desserttable3

desserttable2

By sticking with the color palette throughout the entire table design,
Christina pulled off an amazing spread of beautiful, coordinating desserts including:
• lemon bars
• raspberry cupcakes
• cake balls
• brownies

The table also doubled as a favor station because Christina set up coordinating empty favor boxes for guests to fill
with the candy made available on the table:
• lemon drops
• salt water taffy
• gummy bars
• strawberry marshmallows

Here are some of my favorite highlights:
• the homemade banner as a backdrop
• the plaid fabric used on the table (it allowed Christina to add height to the table by covering the items she used to set the jars of lemons on. It also added a nice splash of color to the tablecloth & tied in the color scheme perfectly).
• the yellow and white polka dot napkins
• the salt water taffy - it couldn't have been a more perfect match
• the cute little scoops used for the candy
• loved the placement of the two different drink dispensers...one with pink lemonade...one with yellow!

Check out Christina's blog post for a full view of the table and more shower details.
I think Christina did a wonderful job pulling everything together.
She's got a love for celebrations and shares ideas and details on her blog called Inspiration for Celebration.

Thanks for sharing your creativity Christina!
I'm sure your friend was beside herself when she walked in to see how pretty everything looked!

Happy Monday everyone!
And don't forget about entering to win one DOZEN delicious cupcakes from Cupcake Delights.
Check out this post to enter.
Contests ends at midnight, Thanksgiving Day.
Winner to be announced Friday, November 26th!

KEEPING IT REAL
I'm excited to dedicate this week to the talents of others.
You can learn so much from other people and I believe there are always unexpected treasures and inspiration to be found!

And for those of you wondering about the two baby showers I haven't posted photos of yet...
I promise to post them as soon as I receive the "green light". promise!!!
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