Holidaying

I was on call this past weekend so I stayed close to home and got some things ready for the best holiday ever that is coming up next week:  THANKSGIVING!!  There will be seven of us this year and I work that evening, so I want the morning to go off without a hitch.  But I also want the house to be clean and organized and pretty!

I bought all of the dry goods for various recipes and stored them in the pantry {so I wouldn't forget and accidentally use something I needed later!}  Next week I will make the sides in advance on Wednesday and zap them into the fridge.  And Saturday I will set the bird in the fridge to thaw.

I pulled the glass off the china cabinet and gave it a microfiber and Windex cleaning. I'd been meaning to do this for so long.  The glass is so pretty and shiny now!

And that inspired me to get the rest of the dining room spiffed.  I replaced the felt pads under the table and all of the chairs.  They slide much more easily now and won't scrape the floor.  This table and chair set is super heavy!

Then I used a cleaning cloth and some hot soapy water to freshen up the chair pads -  moved all of the chairs and mopped, too. Now I just need to dress that table up!  I'm thinking some fresh flowers...

And since I know we don't have enough forks and knives for seven people, it seems as good a time as any to pull down the silver and use it.  I think we may have used it once in all of the years we have had it - the last few holidays its just been the six of us and I didn't even think about it.  Its a beautiful set and it seems pointless to store it away forever and never see it.  My MIL is smiling from heaven at this, too!

On a favorite blog I saw mention of these simple white plates from Dollar Tree so I ran over there and got 7 of them.  They will go well with the silver and a solid color tablecloth.  I didn't find the pretty napkins I was after, but I still have a few days, and these turkey ones  will go to the kitchen table.  They seem too quirky for the dinner table.  Now all I have to do is make sure I have enough clean casserole dishes, locate my turkey baster and gravy boat, and make out my meal prep plan!