*Our* Thanksgiving Table!

I have seen lots of tablescapes throughout the blogosphere this week, so I thought I'd share ours too!  We will be joining friends for Thanksgiving this year, but plan to have our own little family Thanksgiving meal on Friday!  Yay!!  If you remember, I mentioned I was inspired by this tablescape in the November issue of Real Simple:

I fell in love with the rather neutral color palette and since Thanksgiving food is full of color, I wanted the food to *pop*, not get lost in a sea of fall colors.  I know I am probably the only one who feels this way, but that's ok.  :)  ...and we need nothing fancy, just one plate, one fork, one knife, and one napkin each...simple!  Here is our dining space for Friday, inspired by the photo above:

our thank-you box, all ready to be opened after dinner

I am signing off for a few days.  Have a wonderful holiday weekend!...see you back here on Monday!

Feeling Closed In...

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My son has major food allergies and last week we had a food challenge for soy, since his latest round of tests showed he may have outgrown it.  The test takes four hours and we were confined to a room the size of a small area rug the entire time.  We packed enough toys and snacks to keep us occupied for the full time, but being in such a small space for so long can make anyone go a little nuts.  I felt so claustrophobic, but after about 45 minutes, we were completely at home.

We made a small 'family room' in one corner, where the portable dvd player was set up playing Elmo over and over again.  :/  We had a little 'kitchen' AKA his stroller, where he ate his snacks.  The torture chamber  examining table :( acted as his 'bedroom' where he took a short 15 minute nap in between force-feeding soy milk testing.  We also had a little 'learning/family room' area where we did puzzles, played with blocks, and flipped through tons of flashcards.  He loves his flashcards!

It really got me thinking about small spaces and how you really have to get creative when you are low on space.

Here are some of my favorite 'on the small side' multi-tasking spaces:

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I have had this in my file for at least three years and did not save the source. If you have it, please let me know, so I can give credit.

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Seeing such great images where the best was made of their spaces, I took this as a sign (much like my speeding ticket as a sign to slow down in life) that I needed to make the best of our situation with food allergies. I was becoming crazy thinking about traveling or even going out to eat and what food can he or can he not eat. I felt almost claustrophobic, if that makes sense....like I was trapped in this food allergy world. Will his diet be so limited because he can't eat wheat, dairy, eggs, and peanuts? Is he going to starve? No more...Make the best of it. I have decided...finally...to make the best of it. This whole experience really opened my eyes to foods I never even would have thought to feed him at this age. Who knew he would love polenta or quinoa or spinach cakes. Cooking for him has become so fun. It has always been fun, but the challenge of coming up with healthy, allergen-free foods for a 15-month old has been such a learning experience and has made me realize that allergies don't have to be the end of the world...much like a small home or room really isn't that bad when you can learn to make the best of it. :)

Please help my dining room!

This is our living room/dining room. We don't dine in here because we have a large eat-in kitchen/family room, but I would like to be able to if we ever wanted. :)

Now this table is old old old! Not good old like 'antique' old, but bad old, like 'my husband and his buddies used to play flip cup and quarters and it's probably soaked in beer' old. This is the reason I am considering just tossing it and not looking back. I also plan to swap the fan for a chandelier or pendant and will change the window panels, but I'll save that for another day. This side of the room is just kind of blah!

I like this exact set-up from Crate and Barrel. I think the colors would work perfectly!

Triad Dining Table

pendant, leather dining chairs, table runner

I'm usually not one to pick an entire room out of a catalog and put it into my home, but I think I love this....at least the idea of this. Any thoughts? I'd love to hear opinions or suggestions!!

Neutral does not equal boring.

After the many color posts, I decided to explore some designs with more of a neutral palette. I was pleasantly surprised with my findings.

The following spaces from Nicole Sassaman may lack bright color, but certainly do not lack style:







Spaces by FORMA Design:





Spaces by the Dennis Design Group:






Spaces by Betty Wasserman Art & Interiors, Ltd.:

GREEN with envy?

Sherrill Canet's work on this living room has me slightly wishing I could be this bold!

For more images from this space, click here!

Martha Angus uses green in a slightly understated way:

Her use of live green in her designs adds a pop of the color, while incorporating nature into her work:

Check out these fabulous spaces by Amy Lau:

And this dining room by Danielle Fox:

Perhaps these will inspire you to add a little green into your home!