Thanksgiving Tradition

This "relish tray" turkey is a tradition that we've inherited from my husband's family. I love it! The kids get to help and it keeps their tummies happy until the real turkey's done. I'll walk you through it.

A red cabbage serves as the body. Cut one end to that it rests flat on a plate. Insert the turkey head into the body.

I made the turkey head from fabric scraps and googley eyes that I had in my craft supplies--it's on a kabob skewer. I keep the head and re-use it each year.

Have bowls of yummies for the turkey "feathers". We always have olives, cheese(s) and pickles (this year we used pickle chips, though we usually just chop some into little chunks). I might try cucumbers next year.


Let the kids skewer the yummies with toothpicks, then stick them into the body. I like to use the the toothpicks with the frills on the end, but had trouble finding them this year, so we just used multi-colored ones.


And, voila! Happy kids who got to "help". They're ready for their snack on Thanksgiving Day.

Welcome Winter

Today was our first snow of the season.

Decorating

It's time to decorate our new place. I've got two fabrics that I like:

This one...

and this one.

So, I'm soliciting opinions/advice. What do you think? I want to choose one of them, and then pull my color scheme from it. I've also considered the second pattern in this color scheme:
Other information: We currently have hideous, 1993 green carpet. That will be leaving next spring when we lay hardwood. My walls are white, so I'll be painting to go with the fabric. I have no window treatments to speak of--just cheap mini blinds that I'll be replacing. Our main level is open concept and includes 2 sitting rooms, a dining area and the kitchen.

The Lizard of Boz