The Nester
About the Author

Myquillyn Smith, The Nester, is a home stager, redesigner and design school drop-out. Her last home (a rental) was featured in Better Homes & Gardens, Cottages & Bungalows, Ladies' Home Journal and in her upcoming design philosphy book, The Nesting Place: It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful....

(in)side DaySpring: things we love
& you will too!
Find more at DaySpring.com
(in)side DaySpring:
things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
DaySpring.com
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  1. One thing my daughter and I have done for years is take an empty milk container (the cardboardy-type) and cut it down to a cube. Put in a bunch of fresh cranberries, stick a few tea lights on top and then fill it up with water and freeze over night. Right before you’re going to eat, take it out of the freezer and cut off the box, stick the cranberry ice cube on a shallow dish, light the candles, and voila!

  2. This is one meal where w all sit down together. We even set up a second table if necessary. Everyone holds hands to say grace, which I usually lead. Then we feast and enjoy being together throughout the meal and the rest of the day. Can’t wait!!!

  3. I LOVE the 20 Ways to Decorate with Book Pages!! I went to the site and was fascinated by what you did, particularly the leafy vine coming out of the bust. My mind started reeling with ideas!! And what fun to have my granddaughter in on the decorating! Now I just have to find some old books because the ones I own I won’t tear up. Hmmm…the 99 Cent Only store has books. Anyway, thanks for posting and giving all of us such wonderful inspiration!

  4. We buffet the food on the kitchen counter and island but I set one really big table for us to sit around. Actually, it is 3 tables long (our dining table and two folding tables) and spans the eating area and the family room. It is the one time of year we get all 20+ of us around one table. Thanks for the inspiration here. And I agree, my attitude sets the tone.

  5. Wow!

    I just wrote THANKSGIVING HOMEKEEPING POTPOURRI this morning … and as I was putting the finishing touches on it, I slipped over to incourage. I was super-delighted to find your post … and I have added your link to share with my readers. It was the icing on the cake!

    Heaven know we all need a bit of creative motivation and hands-on ideas, especially during these super busy weeks when so much is grabbing for our attention. Thanks for your energizing, life-giving thoughts … I am so resonating with them!

    http://creeksideministries.blogspot.com/2011/11/thanksgiving-homekeeping-potpourri.html

  6. Amazing suggestions to help those of us that need lots of it! We still travel too much over Thanksgiving to incorporate them in the main feast, but I’m so excited I might just decorate for a pre- or post-Thanksgiving meal. Thanksgiving blessings to you!

  7. What a fabulous post!!! So much potential for creative beauty here! Thank you for sharing your wonderful ideas. My husband is in the military and, having just moved, we are in temporary housing – right now we don’t even have a table … so I’m determined to get REALLY inventive with my decorations!!

  8. Great idea…not decorating the table this year but I plan on using some of your idea next year. Living for years over seas without a Walmart we have come up with some very good ideas. It was very tropical where we lived the last 7 years but we would still try to make things look Thankgivingish…..

  9. I love Thanksgiving. This will actually be the first year we are going out to a restaurant for dinner so I’m excited to see what that’s like. Usually, my mom-in-love (this is the holiday when she cooks and my mom has Easter as her special holiday) is cooking for days in advance and we’re all cleaning dishes for days afterward. We decided to take a break this year and simply enjoy each other. But next year I’m sure we’ll be back to our wonderful Thanksgiving feast.

  10. Last year, I printed (on paper) some favorite memories from the past year and scattered the photos all over our table. My girls loved it. It was easy as pie.

  11. OMG!!! I LOVE THIS!!! This will be the very first time I’m actually hosting a Thanksgiving dinner at my house and I have been trying to figure out how I can beautify my table too. I NEVER would’ve thought that some green beans a other veggies could actually make candles look good, but those are georgeous!!!

    Thank you so much! PERFECT TIMING!

    BTW, I was planning on just setting our table up as a buffet and letting everyone eat wherever they want. Our table only seats four so the only logical thing to me was the buffet option 😉