first time thanksgiving hosts.

This holiday season has already been off to such a magical start!

Earlier this year, we decided to host our Portland and Arizona family (JP's side) here in LA for Thanksgiving. Not gonna lie, it was very nerve-racking as we've both never hosted a family event before.. we both have amazing parents who've always taken on that stress themselves lol. But Thanksgiving is all about giving back, and we wanted to do just that with a small, enjoyable dinner environment in our home. 

The one piece of advise I can give to any first time hosters, is PLAN PLAN PLAN and do not procrastinate on executing those plans. We started planning table settings, food and everything else as early as October. 

Our home is decorated with a very Mid Century Modern meets Bohemian Wanderer vibe, so I know that is the theme I wanted to go for to match. Pinterest was very helpful in collecting my thoughts and vision.

Below are a few shots from our setting before our guests arrived:

Our table setting featured dinner plates from The Mercer Collection by Crate and Barrel. Water cups and wine goblets also came from Crate and Barrel. Look out for those awesome deals in the clearance section like with the wine goblets! Also, those water stacking glasses are HEAVEN. I had to buy 14 to account for all my guests, but they are stackable and take up very little room in my cupboards.

TIP: also be on the lookout for Crate and Barrel discounts, I got an extra 20% off everything during their Dinnerware promotion which saved me a good amount of money on already great priced goods!

Our utensils believe it or not are disposable! I chose the rose gold color to compliment the table setting and got them from Target. Looks like the rose gold color is only sold in stores, but its by Spritz in the party section!

The almond color table linen is also from Target and so is our burlap table runner, which are actually 3 table runners put together (and only $5 each!!), again ALL from Target! And yes, the table runners are very good quality and reusable :)

Now lets talk napkins!

I have a few Shibori pieces around my house from pillows to throws, and thought Shibori napkins would not only compliment them, but also add a bold pop of color to the table. I did A LOT of searching for affordable napkins (since I had to buy 14!) and came up short of luck. So, I decided to spend an afternoon DIYing them myself. HERE is a link to a Shibori Napkin tutorial by A Beautiful Mess that I used to create my own. I used the exact indigo dye they used and bought all materials from Amazon. I could not be happier with the results, and it was so much fun to make + saved me a lot of money!

OK, now how about them florals?!

My original plan was to go to flower marketing in DTLA myself and attempt to put together bouquets for the table, but a few weekends before Thanksgiving, I had brunch with my neighbors in Hermosa Beach. On the way back to my car on Pier Avenue, I came across the cutest floral boutique called Sweet Blooms Atelier. Jaime, the shop owner, was working and we immediately connected. She is mega talented when it comes to Floral Artistry. I told her about my plans for Thanksgiving and we right away started brainstorming, putting together a sample bouquet. That, plus the table garish was all supplied by her shop, and I could not be happier with the way it completed our table. PLUS, she took away all the stress and work of me putting everything together on my own, and we get to support small local businesses in our neighborhood!

And finally, our custom name plates.

One word: ETSY.... they're $1 each.. yes, ONE DOLLAR! The shop I ordered from was fantastic with quick order processing, but she is located in Europe and delivery took about 10 business days, so plan + order ahead!