Come, Sit.

Thanksgiving is a time for eating, laughing, and deep discussion with friends and family. It is a time of gratitude. It is a time for celebration of life and happiness. It is a warm holiday filled with love.

It is also a time to practice your Pottery Barn staging skills.

For those of you who are serious R. Simple Life readers, you know my obsession with Pottery Barn. I love me some Pottery Barn. Can't afford it though. So I fake it. And this time I took inspiration from my head. I didn't have a picture in the catalog. I didn't have a tutorial on the website. I just used what I had (and 4 place mats I purchased for $3.00 total) and thought Pottery Barn while I worked.

And at least according to my dear friend Wendi, it worked. She came in, took one look at the table and said "Looks like Pottery Barn in here." (I love her.)

And in true Mallory fashion, I took a million pictures of the table, and even a few of our end table (complete with branches I cut out of the tree right outside my house)...

But none of the delicious turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, corn casserole, green bean casserole, rolls, cranberry sauce, or pumpkin pie. I guess I'll just have to show you one more of our table setting, and you're just going to have to imagine those plates filled with wonderful Thanksgiving food.

(That one has some food in it...) Did you have a good Thanksgiving? Were you more concerned about the table settings than the food too? Or am I the only one? J is the chef, I am the decorator. That is just the way things are around here. I don't think I should have to apologize for that. The food was awesome, by the way.

Thankful.

After days like yesterday, where we had a dinner for 12, for four, I am thankful for stretchy yoga pants.

I am thankful for a husband who rolls his eyes when I complain about those jeans making me "look wide."

I am thankful for family who misses us, and loves us still, even if we are not able to make it to where they are for the holidays.

I am thankful for great friends, who have become our "family away from family," who have become the people I go to for advice (or just to hear I'm not alone), who have become the people we can't stand to miss.

I am thankful for a 80 pound puppy, and a big fat cat.

I am thankful that hair grows.

I am thankful for my feet. And the muscles in my legs. And the ability to run 26.1 miles.

I am thankful for snow. Even if we don't have any. I'm thankful that someone, somewhere is experiencing snow.

I am thankful for Pottery Barn.

I am thankful for Ana White for teaching me how to knock off Pottery Barn.

I am thankful for blogs, because how else would I waste spend my time?

I am thankful for babies, and thankful that I don't have any. Yet.

I am thankful for Santa.

I am thankful for navy blue and white stripes.

I am thankful for the USAF.

I am thankful for food on my table, a roof over my head, and clothes on my body. And a Camelbak full of fresh water.

I am thankful for Harry Potter. And J.K. Rowling.

I am thankful for Colorado.

I am thankful for Lost.

And Sarah Richardson.

Source

One thing I am not thankful for: my camera eating my memory card. You'll have to wait to see our Thanksgiving table until I can figure out how to get it out.