planning thanksgiving.

Hey, y'all. I'm super pumped that Thanksgiving is nearly here. Gerry and I are hosting the holiday for a couple he is friends with from college. They just trekked out West, too. Playing hostess makes me feel so excited. I love planning, hosting and cooking for people. I thought I'd share what I have in store for the holiday, and hope maybe you'll holler back about your plans and traditions. 

First things first, let's talk about my dining table situation. I wish I would have taken a picture of how ramshackle we had been living up until last night. We had been eating on an adorable, foldable 1940s formica table. The table itself is awesome, but quite small. The chairs... the chairs were a pitiful disaster. When we bought the table at the garage sale ($10), we mentioned we had no chairs, and the guy said we could take two, hideous, bright red office-waiting-room chairs. Beggars can't be choosers, so we made due. Once I knew people were coming over for Thanksgiving, I insisted that something had to be done. Gerry and I set out to thrift. Really, we had been looking since we moved here, but two Saturdays in a row, he and I drove all over the place going to thrift, consignment and antique stores in quest. Honestly, I'd guess we went to roughly 20 stores with zero luck. Crazy, right? But thrifting is all about luck and timing (as are most good things in life), and the cards were not in our favor. Last Saturday after calling-a-quits, we made one last stop at Fred Meyer for groceries. Upon entering, we saw a beautiful darkly-stained dining set for HALF PRICE. Now this my friends is luck and timing because when we went to the customer service desk to ask how for how long it would be on sale, the woman tells us that it actually is an old promotion, there is only one table left, and if we wanted it for half price we would have to buy it right then and there. So we did, and no regrets! I'm in love with my first major furniture purchase. I bought deep bronze-colored placemats from the dollar store, and thrifted a cute pilgrim figurine. 

As for the food, I spent this past Saturday night finalizing recipes.

For hors d'oeuvres we'll have homemade garlicky hummus w/ warm pita, cocktail shrimp (my mom's staple for every holiday), and a meat and cheese board with lots of accompaniment: baguette, crackers, unsalted nuts, olives, savory pumpkin-ricotta spread, fig butter and boysenberry preserves. I'm probs going overboard, but I can't help it. Swing by for some cheese, please. 

Gerry's friends are in charge of bringing wine, dinner rolls, cranberry sauce and pie. Below are the recipes I have selected to make:

roasted turkey w/ rosemary-garlic butter rub via cooking light

delicious pioneer woman mashed potatoes

alton brown's best gravy ever

cooking light brussel sprouts w/ bacon, garlic & shallots

I'm gonna wing the sweet potatoes because I was unable to find a recipe I liked, and I'll be making my mom's Sausage Stuffing, a recipe I will probably add. I'm going to prepare the mashed potatoes the night before, along with possibly making pumpkin bread. What are your favorite Thanksgiving recipes? Anybody else hosting her first Thanksgiving, and super nervous about roasting the bird for the first time?  What's your favorite Thanksgiving food? Mine is the sausage stuffing!