Fall Family Dinner

My brother is up from Texas this week to visit and be here with us for Thanksgiving. Since the big turkey dinner is going to be at my Mom's house, I invited the fam over to our place for a mid-week vegetarian dinner that Aaron can enjoy, too.

I took today off and have been whizzing around ironing napkins, dusting and getting stubborn spots of the carpet with Resolve (that sh*t is amazing!). I just nipped over to Safeway to get dinner fixin's and some decorative pumpkins for the centerpiece on the table.

My Mom is at the Martha Stewart level when it comes to decking out the table. She ties raffia around the napkins, there's mini dried corn and leaves all up in the centerpiece and she's always adding some little flair to your individual place setting with a sprig of pine bough or some kind of leaf/gourd ensemble.

I stepped up to the tablescape challenge today, though.

I've got tealights, tiny festive pumpkins, flowers, a tablecloth AND placemats and crazy origami folded napkins with the silverware nested inside.

I even put flowers

and little flameless tealights in the bathroom (they have them at Costco - you get like 32 in a package for $13 - what a steal!)

But enough with the fancy. What am I actually cooking? Well, I wouldn't say that I'm cooking...I'm more, uh, heating things up. I got a bag o' salad, a vegetarian lasagna in a box and some little apple tart things for dessert. I know. I'm a slacker. But, really, it's about the quality family time, right?

Bon Appetit!