The Thanksgiving Table

(Photo via http://tipjunkie.blogspot.com)

One of my favorite blogs, Tip Junkie has assembled some amazing ideas for making your Thanksgiving table beautiful. You can see ideas for centerpieces here. You can see place settings and other ideas here. See what ideas you can incorporate into your Thanksgiving table.

Turkey Sugar Cookies

(Photo via http://puppycove.blogspot.com)

Here's a cute idea for the kids just in time for Thanksgiving. Let your little turkeys make these cute cookies to take to your Thanksgiving host or let them decorate while the adults visit. You can get the complete details and recipe over at the Puppy Cove blog.

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Studio 32 Shoes: Clearance sale with shoes as low as $5
Yankee Candle: Buy 1, get 1 half off
Old Navy: $15 deals
Gymboree: extra 20% off all markdowns for a savings of 60%
American Eagle: all tops buy 1, get 1 half off

Pink Day

(Photo via http://lets-explore.typepad.com)


I loved the idea of having a day that revolves around a color. The Let's Explore blog featured a pink day a while back. She tied in the story "Pinkalicious" and then prepared a pink lunch for her daughter. You can read all the details here. Start thinking about what other color days you could prepare for your family.

Why I Like Thanksgiving

(Photo via www.hornblowerholidays.com)

"What we're really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?"

~Erma Bombeck

Organizing and Managing Your Digital Photos

(Photo via www.online-tech-tips.com)

Since you brushed up on your photography skills yesterday, I thought today you would like some ideas for organizing all those pictures you just took. I stumbled across the Living Yellow blog a while ago and bookmarked it because I loved her steps for managing digital photos. You can check out all the details here. Get a good system in place now for your photos, so when you take hundreds over the holidays, they won't get lost in the shuffle.

*Your organization assignment for today is to scan your photos and purge any blurry, eyes-closed, cut-the-head-off pictures you have taken. Spend 15 minutes and work from the most recent backwards. If you don't get it all done in 15 minutes, make a goal of spending 15 minutes a day until you get them cleaned up.

Brush Up on Your Photography Skills

With the holidays fast approaching, why not spend some time brushing up on your photography skills now? We all take hundreds of pictures between Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve and everything else in between. Take a few minutes and check out Mom Shots blog. She has some great tips and tricks to help you get some great pictures. Be sure to check out her tip of the week for some really good pointers.

http://www.momshots.com/

Corn Chowder & Bread Bowls

Natalie's Corn Chowder

From my very own kitchen!

½ Onion
3 Potatoes

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
2 T. Butter
1-2 cans Corn with the juice
Crumbled Bacon

1 ½ t. Dill Weed
2-4 cups of half & half (depending on how much soup you want to make)


Chop up the onion and sauté it in the melted butter and dill weed until the onion is clear. Add the potatoes to the onions and let cook for about five minutes. Pour in the entire can(s) of corn including the juice into the onions and potatoes. Add your cream of chicken soup to the mixture. Add half and half to that to make enough for your family. I usually pour in enough half and half to make dinner for that night and leftovers once. Let the soup simmer for about ½ hour to 45 minutes. (Closer to 45 minutes if you used real potatoes.) Once your soup and potatoes are cooked all the way through, sprinkle bacon on top of the soup and serve.

Bread Bowls
1 Loaf Rhodes Wheat Bread Dough, thawed (one loaf makes 3 bread bowls)

Thaw the dough until it’s soft (about 3 hours at room temperature). Cut the loaf into thirds and form each third into a ball. Place on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed, generously, with a non-stick cooking spray. Cover the dough with plastic wrap that has also been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Let the dough rise until it’s double in size (about 2 hours). Remove the plastic wrap and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Allow the bowls to cool and then slice off the top. Hollow out the bowls and fill with soup. The bread that you’re not using as a bowl is great for dipping.

Home Organization for Small Spaces

Make the most of little nooks and forgotten spots as storage spaces. Home Made Simple walks you through each room and talks about storage spots you may not have thought of. There are ideas for the family room, kitchen, master bedroom, children's bedrooms and bathrooms. Go find some new storage solutions for your small spaces by visiting Home Made Simple.

Thanksgiving Countdown Turkey

(Photo and idea via www.makeandtakes.com)

Have your kids make this cute turkey full of feathers to count down the days to Thanksgiving. I especially love the idea of writing a new thing you're thankful for on each feather each day. That way when you get to Thanksgiving, you have a fully decorated bird. Another alternative is to pluck a feather each day until the turkey is bare. You can get all the step by step instructions here.

Cupcake Pops

(Photo & recipe via http://bakerella.blogspot.com)

I ran across these darling cupcake pops at Bakerella today. I think they'd be darling to make for a little girl's birthday party or for a neighbor or friend. I'd love to receive these. You can visit Bakerella here for the complete recipe and step by step pictures and instructions. Enjoy!

Travelzoo

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