Thankful and Blessed

Blessings to everyone today! Thanksgiving will be here before we know it. Today, I am joining Rita @Panoply and a sweet and talented group of bloggers for a Thanksgiving Tablescape Blog Hop. Thank you Rita, for organizing this tablescape hop. I appreciate all your hard work.

At the end of this post, there will be links to bloggers participating in this Thanksgiving  Tablescape Blog Hop. Give them some love and leave them a comment.

 I named my blog post, Thankful and Blessed because I am very thankful and feel blessed to be a part of this group of table stylists as well as the myriad of blessings we have every day. I am setting a more casual table today, and everything can go in the dishwasher except the bamboo cutlery.

Years ago, when brass candlesticks were all the rage, I just had to have this Baldwin Brass lantern. It has a finish that never needs to be polished! I was also attracted to the beautifully curved handle. Years later, I was excited to find another lantern just like it at an estate sale. I  have used both of them in separate rooms on shelves. This is the first time I have used them in a tablescape. It does pay to shop your house!

A white-handled urn holds autumn shades of mums, daises, white carnations, white hydrangeas, and variegated pittosporum for the centerpiece. Faux bittersweet, white pumpkins and silk leaves accent the arrangement.

I love to arrange fresh flowers, but sometimes shopping for flowers where I live can be a challenge. I found out one package was not enough because this one had two lily buds that had not opened. Fortunately, I had more hydrangeas to add from another occasion, so I had enough flowers.  Note to self: don't buy bouquets with lilies. Do you set your table first and then look for flowers? This time I did, but ended up with entirely different flowers than I had in mind. I originally wanted rust alstroemeria and could not find them. I think the assorted colors added more color and variety than one color alstroemeria! I am always learning, which is fun!

The warm tones of the burled wood grain of the table, burlap runner, shiny brass lanterns,  and assorted kinds and colors of fresh flowers provide lots of texture for the season.

My plate stack consists of Mansard by Spode white dinner plate, Walmart charger, Crown Linen cream-colored velvet placemat, Fostoria amber footed goblet, a multi-color cotton damask napkin, and Southern Living bamboo cutlery.

"Hem your blessings with thankfulness, so they don't unravel." Unknown

"An attitude of gratitude is a never-ending prayer."

"All which we behold is full of blessings."William Wordsmith~ 1798

The only day I had to photograph my table was very cloudy, so I had to open the shutters and turn on all the lights and lamps!

🦃🍁🦃🍁🦃🍁 As we look forward to traveling to Colorado to visit our son and family this year for Thanksgiving, I  am remembering a particular Thanksgiving memory that still pulls at my heart. The memory took place in 2007, when my son was stationed in Del Rio, Texas, in the Air Force. Stationed at Laughlin Air Force base, where he was an instructor pilot, he met a young enlisted African man with no family and invited him to have Thanksgiving dinner with us.  He was from the central African country of Cameroon. He told the story of the long struggle he had experienced to immigrate to the U.S. My husband, who loves maps and geography, poured over Google Earth on his iPad with Romeo and found his actual village and very own house. It was very touching to share his joy of seeing his home and village so far away. That was his first American Thanksgiving. I wonder where Romeo is now. That experience truly made us realize how blessed we are to live in a free country and have opportunities for education and advancement. Romeo joined the U.S. Air Force to better himself and allow him to work toward U.S. citizenship. 

So from my house to yours, I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. 🍁🦃🍁 We are indeed very blessed. 
"Enter His Gates with Thanksgiving And His Courts with Praise. Give thanks to Him and Bless His Name."Psalm 100:4

Below are the links of those participating in the Thanksgiving Tablescape Blog Hop.

Me and My Captain - Those Were the Days and I Am Very Grateful

Pandora's Box - Thanksgiving Brings Back Memories

Living With Thanksgiving - Thankful and Blessed

Everyday Living - Thanksgiving Traditions

My Hubbard Home - Pumpkins and Pears Thanksgiving Holiday Table

Thrifting Wonderland - Give Thanks...Thanksgiving Tablescape

Panoply - Homeland Merriment Thanksgiving

Home is Where the Boat Is - Porch Dining with Plaid & Proud Tom Turkey

Corner of Plaid and Paisley - Give Thanks

My Thrift Store Addiction - In Everything Give Thanks - Garden Tea for Two

Life and Linda - A Copper and Blue Pumpkin Table

Karins Kottage - Come set an outdoor Thanksgiving table with me

The Painted Apron - Grateful Gathering

Belle Bleu Interiors - A Time to Give Thanks

Dinner at Eight - Patterns in Blue for Thanksgiving

Red Cottage Chronicles - A Cozy Cottage Thanksgiving Tablescape

The Bookish Dilettante - Thanksgiving Table in the Breakfast Room

The Little Yellow Corner Store - A Northwoods Thanksgiving

Wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving!🦃🍁🦃Living Thankfully,