Speeding Toward the Holidays

Good morning all.  Is anyone else besides me having a hard time believing Thanksgiving is just a week from Thursday?  Wow!!  For me, 2019 has seemed like a record year for speeding by. I've already started putting out Christmas decorations.  I never thought I'd see the day when I would start my Christmas decorating a week and a half before Thanksgiving.  I felt really guilty about it at first, but now Hal and I are both glad we got an early start this year.  I want to be more organized and hopefully we'll all be able to savor the Christmas holiday more fully.      

   Before I get completely immersed in the holiday bustle, I wanted to show you our fall mantel for this year.  It's very similar to the way I decorated last year, except for a few small details.   

   This year, in addition to faux oak and maple leaves, faux acorns, shed antlers, and pheasant feathers, I added some light green moss and lichen, as well as some darker green, small moss balls.    

  

   This year, instead of using my barley twist candlesticks on this end of the mantel, I displayed my Staffordshire dog instead.  I like the way he looks in our den.  I actually bought two of these on e-Bay, but they're not a matching set.  They're very similar, but not a true set.  I knew this when I purchased them, and I've still enjoyed using them.   

  

   I used this dough bowl in our dining room this year.  I purchased the dough bowl when shopping with my mom at the end of the summer.     

   The hydrangea blossom is one I dried last fall.  There are more of the green moss balls here and some lichen, as well.  I added some faux acorns, pecans, bittersweet, and cotton boles.     

   The faux artichoke came from my stash that I normally use in my cornucopia at Thanksgiving.  I didn't even do a fall tablescape this year.  Even though I'm working on Christmas, I'm very much looking forward to our Thanksgiving feast with family next week.  For inspiration, you can check out previous Thanksgiving tables --   

   "Giving Thanks" (2011)   

   "Thanksgiving Tables" (2013)    

   Thanksgiving 2016     

   Thanksgiving 2018      Will you be hosting a Thanksgiving meal at your home this year?  We'll be joining Hal's parents and his brother's family this year.  We ate with my family last year.  I know I'll be taking broccoli casserole this year, along with whatever else we decide to cook.  😊     Thanks so much for spending time here today; I hope you have a wonderful week!