Thanksgiving, the joy of family and moving into advent...

Yesterday we had a family thanksgiving gathering. We wouldn't ordinarily celebrate Thanksgiving here in the UK, but my sister and her family were visiting from the States and I thought it would be lovely to get all the family together. I got really excited about planning it. It was such a special day and I wanted to share some moments from it. The photos are courtesy of my friend Elle, who joined us and took some wonderful, precious photos. The table decoration looked wonderful, I was so pleased with how it turned out, I'd been collecting pumpkins for weeks! I also used halved pomegranates which I dried in the oven on a very low temperature and made pomanders with oranges studded with cloves (they smell divine).

For tealight holders, I used old jam jars with autumn leaves stuck on with glue. They looked so lovely when lit.

 For the actual dinner, we enjoyed roast turkey with all the trimmings, and for dessert I made an almond cake, a coffee and walnut cake and a chocolate orange cake. 

 

I am so thankful for my family. They are so wonderful. We had such a joyful day yesterday, with each other and with the friends who joined us. It was wonderful for my mother to have all of her children and most of her grandchildren together at the same table. 

Precious moments....

As we move from autumn into winter and as advent begins, I am hoping to have times of stillness and calm amidst all the hectic buildup to Christmas. I want to stay true to the things that are truly important and I want to maintain an attitude of thankfulness for all the wonderful things in life.

Wishing you all many precious moments this advent.

Much love.

xxxx