This year, I wanted to start a new tradition here in California with some friends that are family.  We are constantly traveling and leaving this beautiful place we call home, especially for holidays, that sometimes we forget how great it can be to just stay home.  I am so thankful to live here, and feel so grateful and lucky to have friends that we can count on.  Hence – the first annual Friendsgiving at our house with some of our favorite people, with hopefully many more to come!

The Food

Since we are all going to be eating a lot of turkey this week, we decided to do a pot roast instead.  My sister Tahni gave me an easy, amazing recipe for the Crockpot that I will have to share soon!  And as great friends do, everyone offered to bring something.  So we had beef chuck pot roast, mashed potatoes, coconut creamed corn, shaved brussel sprouts salad, fruit, bread, and a surprise sea bass Blake caught earlier in the day spear fishing ;).  For dessert, we had pumpkin pie cake with fresh whipped cream (recipe coming soon!) and apple pie with vanilla bean ice cream!
Friendsgiving | Thanksgiving table | Palms to Pines

The Table

I was like a little kid at Christmas getting to set the table, using my favorite dishes, knowing our friends were coming over!

The Table – The table itself is another creation we had custom-made by R.A.W. Restorations.  It’s so beautiful on its own, I’ll need to show you soon without everything covering it!  This was our first big dinner on it, and I can already feel it’s going to be a magical place for us to gather around :).Friendsgiving | Thanksgiving table | Palms to PinesFriendsgiving | Thanksgiving table | Palms to Pines

The Flowers – Oh my goodness, the flowers!  The flowers were by the amazing ladies at Bloom Babes.  I’d seen their work at Hidden Jewel’s Boholiday Party, and was dying to connect with them.  When I asked them to do these flowers, I just told them how big our table was and they ran with it.  I’m SO GLAD I didn’t try and tell them what I thought I wanted, because what they did was better than anything I would have thought of!Friendsgiving | Thanksgiving table | Palms to PinesFriendsgiving | Thanksgiving table | Palms to Pines Friendsgiving | Thanksgiving table | Palms to Pines

  • The garland for the main table was this amazing, thick, beautiful gathering of eucalyptus leaves with sprigs of rosemary throughout.  I wish you could smell through this picture, because it’s been putting off this amazing smell ever since we brought it home.  It mixed perfectly with the smells of the food as the guests arrived, and I had to resist sticking my nose in it throughout the night ;).Friendsgiving | Thanksgiving table | Palms to PinesFriendsgiving | Thanksgiving table | Palms to PinesFriendsgiving | Thanksgiving table | Palms to PinesFriendsgiving | Thanksgiving table | Palms to Pines
  • The centerpiece for the “kids” table was unreal.  I don’t even know where to start – it’s a perfect mix of greenery, flowers, and my favorite part was the use of cotton and feathers to great something so unique.  We took a million pictures trying to capture it, but pictures just don’t do it justice.Friendsgiving | Thanksgiving table | Palms to PinesFriendsgiving | Thanksgiving table | Palms to PinesFriendsgiving | Thanksgiving table | Palms to PinesFriendsgiving | Thanksgiving table | Palms to PinesFriendsgiving | Thanksgiving table | Palms to PinesFriendsgiving | Thanksgiving table | Palms to PinesFriendsgiving | Thanksgiving table | Palms to PinesFriendsgiving | Thanksgiving table | Palms to PinesFriendsgiving | Thanksgiving table | Palms to PinesFriendsgiving | Thanksgiving table | Palms to Pines

The Bloom Babes are located in Oceanside, but deliver all over Southern California.  If you’re into beautiful flowers/unique deisgn, you HAVE to check out their site and their Instagram feed.

The Place Settings – I love the idea of folding the napkins between the plates as shown in the pictures.  For candle holders, I used a bunch of mini mason jars (I had a ton leftover from Blake’s beach birthday last year) and tealights from IKEA – so inexpensive and looked so good!  I hand-wrote the place cards and added a sprig of eucalyptus to each setting to finish it off.
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Table | FlowersStools (on sale!) | Rug (on sale!) | Plates & Bowls (on sale!) | Napkins (on sale!) | SilverwareGlasses | Wine Glasses | Mini Mason Jars (for tealights)

Because SO much of what I used was on sale, here are the details and Pricing:

  • Table – custom, price varies
  • Flowers from Bloom Babes – custom, price varies
  • Stools – on sale at Overstock.com, $79.99 for a set of 2
  • Rug – on sale at IKEA, $79 for 6’7″x9’10” or $59 for 6’7″x6’7″
  • Dinner Plates – on sale at West Elm, $32 for a set of 4
  • Salad Plates – on sale at West Elm, $25 for a set of 4
  • Bowls – on sale at West Elm, $25 for a set of 4
  • Napkins – on sale at West Elm, $14 for a set of 4
  • Silverware – $7.99 for 4 place settings (20 pieces)
  • Glasses – $12 per glass
  • Wine Glasses – $1.99 per glass
  • Mini Mason Jars (for tealights) – $5.49 for a set of 4
  • Tealights – $3.49 for a pack of 100

Friendsgiving | Thanksgiving table | Palms to PinesThe very BEST part of the night might have been that our dear friends the Maughans brought their 2-day-old little August Lily.  She was so perfect, and made the night that much more special!  And big props to the Maughans for not letting a birth get in the way of Friendsgiving – they are serious champions!!

We actually got to celebrate 2 birthdays, August born on the 19th and Aaron born on the 20th!  Happy Birthday Aaron, we sure love you!