Thanksgiving, LoLo-ized

Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is what brings us together today.

 

Or was it last Thursday?

 

Whatever. We had it, and I stole have the pictures to prove it! (Many, many thanks to Myrnie who snapped pictures while I futzed around and “hostessed”. *mwah*) As this is the first year Casa LoLo has been large enough to seat more than four people, this was also our first year to host The Thanksgiving Dinner. The one where everyone within a 200 mile radius shows up. The one with the 19-person head count this year.

 

That one.

 

Come on in. Let me show you around!

First of all, belly on up to our fancy buffet and scoop up as much food as your plate will hold. Don’t worry – I’m sure the plates shrank. Feel free to come back for seconds…and thirds! (Seriously. At the end of the night, the 19 of us had only managed to eat 1/3 of the available food. Please. Eat more!)

And remember:

Do not mess with a woman serving herself green bean casserole!

 

Moving on. Pull up a chair, and get comfy!

Laughing is optional. Eating is not. (We bought this table specifically so that we could host family dinners. I’m now questioning the logic of our decision. I’m kidding. I think.)

After dinner, it’s time to chill. Veg. Relax. In whatever way works for you.

Maybe make a visit to the Kids Table. It’s covered in paper and waiting to be drawn on! A few people grabbed pens and wrote down what they were thankful for, which I thought was a nice touch. Would you like a turn? Just wait until Aunt Bert is done. She’s got the best pen in the house. And by “best” I mean one that writes and isn’t currently in the clutches of a button-loving toddler. Yes, “best.”

Maybe wander into the kitchen and strike up a conversation. Maybe somebody will take a picture of you doing that! And you’ll look back on that picture and think Wow, self. You’re really small next to your father. And you look like you’re trying really hard to make sense and Talk Dude Talk. And your father…well, he certainly looks like he loves you, but I don’t think he’s following a THING you’re saying. That’s alright. He loves you. It doesn’t matter if you can’t talk Dude Talk. That’s what dudes are for!

Or perhaps you’ll just wander back to the scene of the crime, now cleared of all its dishes, and fall into your pie induced stupor amidst the hum of your dozen-plus kin chatting around you. Go ahead. It’s Thanksgiving. You’ve earned it.

I hope everyone had a lovely and relaxing week! We had daddy home the entire week, and got snowed in for the three days leading up to Thanksgiving, and ate ourselves silly and just finished the thanksgiving leftovers tonight and MAN. It takes a long time to recover from a shindig like Thanksgiving! And now? Onward to Christmas! Here we go, y’all. Here we go.

LoLo Castle: Dining Room, Finished?

 

(LoLo Dining room. See that runner? Originally $Lotso’Money. At an outlet store? $6. Man, do I love outlet malls!) (And is there some sort of therapy group for people who have to live without Williams-Sonoma outlets? Crate and Barrel outlets? *sniff* Yes, I’m spoiled. Why do you ask?!)

(In case you didn’t know, this is how we express our Hunter Tendencies. When something is marked more than $100 off, down to something in the single digits, it kind of makes us dance a little jig, right there next to the trifle bowls and embroidered pillows. It’s a gift.)

(Those are the bamboo we found at IKEA shortly after we moved to our new place.)

(Here is a view of the other side of the room – the Living Room. There’s a couch on its way…I’ll show it to you next week. I’m excited!)

We hung up our Four Seasons scrolls, one one each far corner of the joint room. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter. I’ve decided to turn the front, “formal”, part of the house into our Asian Rooms. A Tibetan altar table, Chinese artwork, bamboo….see where this is going? A great big shiny baby grand, Grecian pillars and decidedly Rustic dining furniture round out the look. I’ve never been accused of having a great eye for details…or a particularly long attention span!

What do you think of the dining room? I thought it was done, but looking at the pictures…it looks so spare. Not very cozy. Thoughts? I can’t put too much out because Siu Jeun might throw something down from the second story and smash anything on my buffet. Same goes for the dining table. *sigh*

LoLo Castle: Foyer Table

We are still slowly figuring out how we want to decorate and use the space in our new home. A table here, a rug there, a few chairs there…that’s the way it goes!

A few weeks ago, Lo Gung and I ventured into a local shop called Buddha Belly. The Owner/Buyer/Shopkeeper  travels to Bali once or twice a year to make her purchases, and then rolls it out into the shop throughout the year. In addition to her awesome merchandise, she has a killer sales tactic: If you look at an item too long, she carries it up to the register to “help you out.” And once it’s there…you might as well buy it!

When we were poking around, we came across the Clearance Corner, which is pretty much our favorite spot in ANY store. There were some sweet flip flops, some little statues, and some gorgeous tables. All with SERIOUS mark-downs.  After some hemming and hawing (and some kind-hearted coercion from the shopkeeper) we ended up with a lightweight wooden kitty statue for Ming Wai’s room (I think it was $3!). There was this one table, that we absolutely loved…but you know how it goes. Clearance is un-returnable, and we had no idea if the table with fit in the space we had.

 

The next weekend, we couldn’t get that table out of our minds! Originally over $1,000, and made out of (delicious smelling) teakwood, it was marked down to just $100. So, we popped out the measuring tape and measured the space – 4’5” , and 2 feet deep.

Armed with our measurements and our noses (did I mention how nice the table smells?! Like incense!), we ventured back into the shop. The entire Clearance Corner was empty…except for the two tables!

And wouldn’t you know it – the one we loved was exactly the size we were looking for?

 

It’s destiny, y’all.

It’s the perfect height for guests to leave their purses, keys, and what-nots. I think it was called an “altar table” – it’s several inches taller than your average dining table…it comes up to my waist.

 

We love it! And so does Ming Wai.

On top of the table: A bunch of “onion grass”, from the same shop, that was on sale for only about $3. Two crystal balls, hand-painted on the inside, from a trip to China. Also, two miniature replicas of the Stone Warriors in Xi'an, also from the same trip to China.

PS – I’m sorry for the pink tint to all the pictures…I opened the front door to get more light…and the front door is bright red. Therefore, all my light…was bright read. Heh. Go figure!