Friendsgiving + Sweet Potato Casserole

from Meghann:

We hosted Friendsgiving at our casa on Friday night. A bit early, but we knew many of our amigos would be traveling during the holiday and for some of us, this would be the only opportunity to stuff our faces full of turkey and all the sides for a traditional meal.

No fancy tablescape (Does anyone else think that is one of the weirdest words? Makes your table sound like the surface of the moon.) just some apples, candles, and the lace runner from our trip to Bruges last winter, over a textured tan tablecloth. Textured = it wasn't ironed. Also, no elaborate place settings, because dinner was buffet style. Settle down over there, Martha. 

Kept the mantle simple with some votives, dried corn, and a glass pumpkin that I found on sale a million years ago that is now my go-to decoration from October to December. 

We picked up some real pumpkins at the commissary (grocery store on base) a while ago, but never carved them since Halloween got lost somewhere between our time in DC, my sister's wedding, and getting stranded by Superstorm Sandy. So, we turned them into non-Halloween themed pumpkin luminaries instead. 

To me, Thanksgiving is a Fall celebration and is about being thankful for bounty - from the fields and in our lives. So, no tree trimming here and certainly no Christmas decorations yet. Thanksgiving is special in its own way - there's no gift giving, just giving thanks for food, friendship, and family. And no matter where you are (I've celebrated in Italy, England, and Spain) it's an American holiday. 

And nothing says America like deep-frying a 12-pound turkey fresh from the Spanish butcher shop. 

Casa update

Since we have been officially living in our Spanish casa for a year, we figured it was time to give you all another tour. Our first guests came to visit in May and then we had family here in June, so it really pushed us to finish some of the projects that we had put off because we were busy going to the beach golfing traveling going out drinking wine. And rather than just show you all the nuevo-and-improved after photos, we decided to include everything. From the days of the (still gives us the creeps to think about) loaner furniture to unpacking to the weird in-between stage where all of our wall art was propped against the walls to what our casa currently looks like - it's all here in one post for your viewing pleasure. It's a work in progress, but we feel like we've come pretty far in the last year (and to keep ourselves motivated, we try not to think of the inevitable move).

Our front door

We added some plants (then changed those out when the originals died went to the big garden in the sky), put out a mat, and hung a traditional tile sign of our monogram.

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