let them eat soup

My Pollyanna picture of Thanksgiving--thanks to artist Norman Rockwell.

There’s a scene in the movie The Blindside, in which Sandra Bullock prepares a turkey feast for her onscreen family, and the minute she calls “Dinner,” everyone hits the buffet like a buffalo stampede and plops down in front of the football game.  (Thanks to their houseguest, Michael Oher, she finally corrals them over to the table to eat like civilized folk.)

I tend to have a more “Normal Rockwell” vision of Thanksgiving, often spending as much time planning my elaborate dining table as the turkey does planning his escape from my oven. And this year, I’ve settled on white: white dishes, white candles, white linens…even white pumpkins (which, in a fit of crazy, I may just carve into vases for white flowers). During a recent hunt for snowy-looking décor, these elegant little footed soup bowls from Williams Sonoma caught my eye. So did their $30 price tag, which doesn’t serve me well when I’m putting 20 people at my table.

The Soup-er Bowl of dinnerware, presented by Williams-Sonoma ($30).

Of course, right next to Williams Sonoma is Pottery Barn (same company—did you know that?), and guess what THEY were selling? Yes, elegant little footed soup bowls. For $9. (www.potterybarn.com)

You'll be thankful for Pottery Barn's $9 option.

Okay, so now I found myself on an obsessive mission to see if I could find them even cheaper; and I did, at www.crate&barrel, where they were only $3.95 (though, admittedly, a few ounces smaller than their expensive sisters).

Crate&Barrel--how low can you go? $3.95!

So it looks like I’m serving soup for Thanksgiving. Now the big question: which pumpkins to buy? Real or fake?

Snow-white "ghost" pumpkins; 50 cents per lb.

Ceramic gourds from Z Gallerie: $5-$11.

 

 

4 Comments
  • debbi

    Great bowls!!! What kind of soup will you be serving in them? May I suggest pumpkin soup? IT IS DELICIOUS!

    November 12, 2010 at 3:06 pm
  • Meg Rankin

    Love the bowls, and I have have been looking at them at Sur la Table, now I know where to go!
    By the way, we are having a fun Ladies Night Out event next Friday, with a photobooth, chocolate martinis, specials! I would love to see you if you are around. Say hi to the family…

    November 12, 2010 at 3:25 pm
  • Hillary

    Meg–inbox me the time on FB. Sounds fun!

    November 13, 2010 at 9:17 am
  • lasermom

    I was thinking of serving pumpkin soup this year for Thanksgiving, but having 15 guests had me thinking I needed to research on where to get soup bowls. Thanks Hillary for doing my leg work. Crate and barrel….here I come!

    November 13, 2010 at 11:41 am