I won't ask if you've started your Christmas preparations-- looking at all the blog posts out there, I can see that for many, the starting gun has been discharged, and the yuletide baking--crafting--decorating marathon has begun.  

With our recent all-out cabin-work blitz, being sick, and pressing work obligations, I'm a little behind this year, and I can't make the mental leap to all things Christmas yet.   I'm getting there.  I've been mulling over various ideas for an approach (or I may pull out all my boxes of decorations and just dive in with no set plan, sometimes that works too...).

So for those who want to savor the charms of fall one last time,  here's a little bit of the fall color that had started to paint the high country around our cabin in Utah when we were there a few months ago (if you missed my post about our recent work vacation at our cabin, click here).  

And because Thanksgiving is just a few days away, I've thrown in some ideas for rustic outdoor dining...in the mountains of the Colorado Plateau...in Autumn...under a brilliant blue sky.  


Most of these apples and pairs were picked by my sister in the historic orchards in nearby Capitol Reef.  For a small fee, you can pick apples, apricots, cherries, peaches, and pears (when they are in season).  The orchards are over a hundred years old and are a remnant of the small farming community that was established in the late 1800s/early 1900's along the Fremont River beneath towering red cliffs (click here for more information on Capitol Reef and this historic farm/museum). 







There are several routes that we can take to get to I-15 (the big, truck infested highway route home to California) from our cabin-- almost all are designated as scenic byways.  Many are two lane roads and have hardly any traffic.  My favorite kind of driving.

Happiness is having the road to yourself.




This time I chose a route that  travels over a high mountain pass before it plunges down the mountain to the interstate below.  This little gem of a lake is right next to the road.

I must confess, I don't plan ahead too much for my holiday tablescapes.  I usually have a hazy idea of what I'll do cooking along in my head a few days ahead of time.  But that's it for any advance planning.  I may use something that I've recently picked up when out and about shopping as a starting point, such as the faux-wood turkey featured in this post, and then after that, I improvise and grab whatever is on hand.  

Tablescapes where rougher, more earthy elements are juxtaposed with elegant silverware, pretty plates, fine heirlooms, and collectibles are interesting and visually exciting, and Thanksgiving is the perfect time to take this approach to setting  your table.  After all, this holiday is all about celebrating and giving thanks for nature's bounty.  You can, with a quick trip outside (and/or to your grocery store's produce section) along with a shopping tour of your own house, quickly throw together a table that is rustic and elegant and highly personalized.

Here is how I pulled it all together for Thanksgiving last year......



The elegant touches....

While I don't exactly pull out Emily Post and slavishly follow the rules for setting out just so the flatware, water glasses, wine glasses, napkins and so on... I still follow the general table setting rules of thumb for place settings; i.e. knife and spoon to the right of the dinner plate (knife tip turned outward), forks to the left, drinking glass and wine glass at top right, salad plate either at top left or sitting on the dinner plate....But after the basic set up, it's anything goes, since we are entertaining family and friends, not the Queen of England.

I started with my pretty brown transferware dinner and bread/salad/dessert (I don't know which they are) plates...  





...as well as some other brown transferware serving pieces I've picked up over the years.  I just love this little gravy boat with it's matching dish (see below). For more on collecting brown transferware, click here. 



Using some clip-art napkin rings I made a few years ago, I showcased rolled up napkins in the center of each place setting.  Easy-peasy; no fancy, complicated napkin-folding trickery here. 

Adding the matching silver flatware from the set my mom gave us for our wedding gift gave the table a more formal feeling and announces that this is a special occasion (not that using mis-matched silverware is bad, not at all-- click here for more on the joys of using multiple patterns).  






I shopped the produce section of our local grocery store for some wonderful miniature pears, crab apples, chestnuts... and added some acorns and pretty leaves that I've collected over the years (click here for more on how I pulled all this together).  





A twiggy wreath, with sparkly berries and bright-eyed little birdies, hangs from the chandelier overhead and added a woodland touch to our celebration.