Hello and welcome to the Grateful Gatherings blog hop! I am truly grateful for the opportunity to host this hop and to be inspired by 13 other talented bloggers who will be sharing their late fall and Thanksgiving decor over the next three days! If you are coming over from A Delightsome Life and Common Ground, welcome! If you missed Kathy and Debra’s amazing decor, simply follow the links at the end of this post. You will be glad you did!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday! Of course I am Christmas crazy too, but I think Thanksgiving is just so beautiful! It encompasses the last of Autumn’s splendor and the excitement of the holidays ahead, which makes it perfect in my opinion! Today I will be sharing some “Grateful Gatherings” of late fall and Thanksgiving decor in the kitchen, the heart of the home!

*I have added some affiliate links throughout the post and at the bottom of this page for your convenience in case you see something that interests you!

On my Early Fall Home Tour I invited you in through the front door. Today you are one of the family! I am bringing you in through the less formal side door of my old Kentucky home which is just off from the kitchen.

This little entry/mudroom area is so convenient for kicking off snowy boots and dropping dirty soccer jerseys down the laundry chute. A couple of steps up, a quick turn to the left, and all those armfuls of groceries can be unloaded right on the kitchen island!  Love the shiplap here? Check out my easy DIY Faux Shiplap using vinyl floor tile after you finish the blog hop!

Our kitchen got a little makeover this summer with the addition of a corner banquette window seating area which replaced an odd shaped low cabinet under the window that was rarely used. Now we have even more room for friends and family to gather!  The table that came with the banquette set was much too large for the area so I have been looking for a small drop leaf round table which will make the space even more usable. Here in this photo from my early fall home tour I was “making do” with a little white desk, but it was too high and made it awkward for dining. I shopped our house and brought in a small, black wrought iron table from the porch. I actually think it looks really cute and it will work for decorative purposes until I find the right table.

I am loving the autumn light in the kitchen these past few days thanks to the reflection of the leaves on the huge yellow maple right outside that is at it’s most vibrant right now.

I have added bits of late fall and Thanksgiving all around our kitchen. With just the addition of some fall fruits, a few turkeys, a vintage Thanksgiving postcard or two and a few faux fall leaves, you can keep the Thanksgiving decor simple while concentrating on planning and prepping for the big meal. The simple additions make for easy and quick packing away so you can get right into decorating for Christmas!

Last year right after the holidays I found this vintage cast iron pheasant door stopper while out junkin’ and I couldn’t wait to use him this year for Thanksgiving! He is surrounded by a small sampling of harvest delights. I also added a few pheasant feathers to my Frenchy wheat and lavender bouquet displayed in a lovely old ironstone pitcher.

Even though it’s better not to shoot photos toward windows or light sources, I wanted to take a picture of the view out my kitchen window so you could see why I am still feeling all fallish and not quite ready for Santa just yet! Outside the ground is covered by a thick carpet of gold leaves. All the leaves are so amazing that I recently took my vintage chalkware Native American Indian statue outside and took some pictures for another Thanksgiving blog post I just shared (see it here).

I love sitting here at the kitchen window seat and taking in the views of falling leaves and parades of deer coming in and out of the forest. The trees in the woods and along our street are putting on one last brilliant show and I am so in awe of God’s majestic artwork.

The vibrant colors in the surrounding landscape result in a warm, golden light in our kitchen most of the day. Of course I will be excited to sit here and watch the snow fall too, once the trees are all bare. For now I am relishing every last bit of color.

Since the addition of the banquette window seat “breakfast nook,”  the kitchen is now my favorite spot for reading seasonal decorating magazines. I usually have one or two tucked into an old wire bicycle basket full of a rotating collection of junkin’ finds. Autumn Southern Style is my current favorite!

I am always looking for creative ways to display my “surplus” or seasonal ironstone and transferware. These two beautiful old platters with fall color patterns were both junkin’ finds from this fall. I have quite a few large vintage and antique turkey platters that are still packed away but I hope to be able to share them in my Thanksgiving dining room tour next week.

I decorate my home primarily with vintage found treasures, and most of my holiday decor is vintage or vintage inspired. I do however love Rae Dunn pottery. I had just started picking up a few pieces last fall, and my collection has grown a bit since then! I think the mugs are especially fun for creating vignettes when mixed with vintage items too.

This is how I have reconciled collecting something new/retail. With the addition of a few little vintage accents, the Rae Dunn becomes really interesting and creative. There is also the thrill of the hunt, just like with vintage junk. At certain times the pottery is extremely hard to find, and when I do, it’s a “score” day!

Here is how I decorated my retro 1940’s “Rae Dunn Cabinet” for early fall. Since then I have scored a few fun Rae Dunn Thanksgiving pieces which I have added in along with some thrifted turkey salt and pepper shakers that I just found yesterday. I have been playing with them moving them all around the cabinet.

Mr. Flawless number one is not so sure about this vignette…

Mr. Flaweless number two is pecking around for something tasty.

I think he found just what he was looking for!

Mr. Flawless number one has no worries, he is safe in the cabinet for another Thanksgving season!

I made a few changes to the top of the cabinet since the Harvest Home blog hop. I switched out the apples in the little wooden box for faux herbs (a reminder of all the fresh and tasty herbs that will soon be used for Thanksgiving dinner)! I also tucked a few fall dish towels in a big ironstone pitcher. A vintage turkey postcard sends Thanksgiving greetings.

I have displayed another vintage postcard on the shelf above the window seat to send “sweet” Thanksgiving wishes to family and friends.

I have vintage turkeys wobbling here, there and everywhere!

Well, this big Turkey is not quite vintage…yet! I bought him in my early twenties. I have kept him through numerous moves and put him proudly on display for over twenty years. It is just not Thanksgiving without him! My junkin’ Momma knows I am always on the lookout for pheasant decor too. This pheasant is one of her junkin’ finds. The feathered friends almost seem like a set when displayed together on the kitchen counter. Great find Mom!

If you like to move directly into Christmas decor after Halloween but want some simple and inexpensive Thanksgiving touches around for turkey day, these adorable turkey salt and pepper shakers look vintage, but you can pick them up at Family Dollar for only $2.00. They are hiding in the straw way up high on the pot rack away from the hunters!

Since I decorate my countertops for fall, I keep the island clutter free this time of year because of all the food prep, eating and gathering around that will be going on. I will soon be making my cranberry salad and prepping a few other foods that can be frozen to help make Thanksgiving day cooking a little easier. A simple antique ironstone bowl of sweet potatoes is a nod to the big day (my family is crazy for my sweet potato casserole) and also easy for grabbing and popping in the microwave for a quick and nutritious snack.

I have been harvesting and drying herbs since late summer to use in all my Thanksgiving recipes. Rosemary is my favorite, followed by lavender and thyme.

I love using my copper pots for Thanksgiving, both for cooking and decor too. My kitchen has an eclectic mix of vintage styles, but overall I prefer a French country farmhouse and cozy cottage kitchen. Bundles of dried herbs hanging from the pot rack alongside old copper pots and grain stripe dish towels easily create the look. And oh all those fresh and dried herbs smell so good! I can’t wait to take in all the heavenly aromas on Thanksgiving Day! The Gourmet Collection Herbes De Provence is a wonderful spice blend if you are new to French herbs and would like to try them.

All the turkeys I have prepared over the years have been heavily seasoned with sage and a mix of other herbs. So delicious! I discovered an amazing provencal rub via Country Living Magazine. You can find the recipe here.

Roasted garlic and rosemary potatoes are a Thanksgiving menu staple around our house. I have to make two large pans for everyone to get their fill! This Rosemary Garlic Oven Roasted Potato recipe from Williams-Sonoma is the best!   Williams- Sonoma The Best of Thanksgiving book has so many wonderful recipes and images!

Fall is the one time of year when family comes to our house multiple times for get togethers. Everyone just seems to love to gather here… especially in the kitchen! Even after the meal is finished, people continue to chat over coffee and snacks for hours.

The coffee station is already stocked and ready for guests. I can’t wait!  After dinner everyone grabs a cuppa coffee, tea or hot apple cider and gathers together for fun conversation and good times. Now to stock the refrigerator and cabinets too. I have plenty of my favorite apple cider on hand at least!

While others are packing away the fall decor and dragging out Christmas totes, I am still adding a few late fall touches here and there and changing things around. A couple of little pumpkins quickly and easily make the open shelves above the coffee station just a bit more festive!

I bought several small orange mini pumpkins and white baby boos way back in late August. They have been moved all over the house and put to good decor use in so many ever-changing fall vignettes! When I want a quick touch of fall, I just pop in a little pumpkin!

The house is definitely feeling “Thanksgivingy” and the reality has hit that the holidays are upon us! Are you ready for the big turkey day? I am working on my grocery list which includes the items needed for all the family’s favorite Thanksgiving dishes and some new recipes too. Butternut squash is definitely on the menu! You can find my recipe for Curried Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onions here. Gobble-Gobble!

Well I certainly hope this post and all of the other posts on the Grateful Gatherings Blog Hop have you getting excited for Thanksgiving now! As always, there is still a lot more to see here at the yellow brick home, so next week I will be sharing my Thanksgiving dining room tour with even more vintage Thanksgiving turkeys and collectibles. I am planning to head out to do some last minute vintage turkey hunting soon, and I hope to  hoard find a few more before the next post!

This weekend I also will be digging into my stash of vintage treasures in the dining room corner cabinet to play around with all my fall dishes and try to come up with some tablescape ideas for our antique farm table. I can’t wait to see all of the rest of the posts on the hop to gain some more inspiration!

I am truly grateful to all of you for gathering with me here today! Now prepare to be inspired by all the other wonderful bloggers on the Grateful Gatherings Blog Hop. Next up is Bethany at Crisp Collective!