I've Got Plenty To Be Thankful For!

Just like the Irving Berlin song



Bing Crosby – I've Got Plenty To Be Thankful For - Single Version

As you may know, things changed for me dramatically on Sunday, January 26, 2014! My husband and I walked in the back door and were greeted with a waterfall in our sunroom. As we were screaming and running around, we realized there was also a waterfall in our butler's pantry. Our next door neighbors came over and helped us move our belongings away from the water and a friend who owns a plumbing business sent one of his men out on a cold Sunday night to cut off our water. Then our neighbors helped us mop...and mop... and mop! There was a LOT of water! It was determined that a pipe in one of the upstairs bathrooms had frozen and later thawed and burst. All the water had collapsed the ceilings in both the sunroom and butler's pantry.

Next morning, our insurance agent came over along with our friend who is a historical building contractor. The insurance company OK'd the removal of the vinyl flooring in the sunroom, butler's pantry and kitchen, since it had flooded at least part of all these rooms. Several visits from an adjuster (who got sent to Atlanta during their deep freeze, which delayed our claim for a month or so), we could finally start the repair portion of the project.

We decided that this was as good a time as any to go on and renovate the kitchen, the small mud room attached to it and the butler's pantry. These needed to be renovated, so with everything already being torn up, it seemed like a good time.

BUT all the contents of the Sunroom (which has 4 closets), the Butler's Pantry (which has a walk-in closet), the Kitchen and the Mud Room (which was basically a storage room) had to go into the rest of my house. The Dining Room got filled up first - which made my tablescaping impossible. By the end of the project, the Dining Room looked like Mrs. Haversham's in Great Expectations. The dust of months with the dust of four rooms being sanded added! And NO, I didn't take pictures!!!

But as of a week ago, my Dining Room is back! Just in time for Thanksgiving! I'll be sharing the new room renovations in the next couple of weeks, but for now - here is my Thanksgiving Table! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!

I will be sharing with the Tablescaping Party at Rustic and Refined.

My Cornucopias Runneth Over

Do you know someone who is really attractive in person, but just isn't photogenic? Well, that's like this tablecloth. It is a nice rich shade of green in person, but these photos just don't do it justice. Then again, maybe it's the photographer!!!

I put the wooden looking chargers on the green tablecloth and added Spode Woodland Turkey plates. I used pewter goblets and orange napkins with copper leaf napkin rings at each place.


It was very hard to photograph the centerpiece, mostly because of this green tablecloth, but I promise, it is pretty in person!

I put a brown sparkly charger/placemat in the center and a wicker cornucopia on top of that filled with all sorts of fall goodies.


At each place I put a mini cornucopia (from Target).



A little peek around the dining room:
My tea cart with a cornucopia tea set.


This colorful turkey on a beaded runner is on my larger buffet.

A cornucopia on top of the tureen

My hanging shelf full of turkeys!

I will be sharing this with:
Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life
Let's Dish at Cuisine Kathleen and
Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch
Be sure to visit these sites to see lots of lovely tables!

My Cake Runneth Over

 For my Bridge Club dessert I decided to serve Rum Cake and fruit. I made my cake in a new toy, er, necessary cake pan that I just got. I decided to serve the cake and the fruit on the same platter and here it is:





My rum cake is the tried and true Bicardi Cake recipe:

1 box yellow Pudding in the mix cake mix (I can never find the non-pudding kind anymore)
3 eggs
1/2 c. water
1/3 c. oil
1/2 c. rum (I use light - the recipe calls for dark, so use what you like)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Prepare pan with butter and flour, Wilton's Cake Release or Baker's Joy spray
Mix ingredients until combined. Then beat on medium 2 minutes.
Pour into prepared pan and bake 50 mins to 1 hour until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool 15 mins in pan.

Prepare glaze:

1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. water
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. rum

Bring to boil and let boil for 5 mins.

Pour most of glaze over warm cake still in pan and let it absorb. Then turn cake out and pour the rest on the top of the cake.

Here is my new pan:



And here is a closer look at the cake:





I am linking to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum. Be sure and check out all the wonderful ideas on her site!