5 No-Bake Pies to Free Up Your Oven on Thanksgiving

I like to sweep in at the last minute and offer up something for the procrastinators, the lazy party planners, and those of us who simply had more to do than time would allow.

I have chosen 5 EASY no-bake pies that you can whip up today or on Thanksgiving. They are easy to make, low maintenance on the ingredients, and will not take up precious oven space. (Click on the caption for the recipes.)

Enjoy!

And I will see you again at the beginning of next week. Taking a bloggy break ...

Happy Thanksgiving all my beach-loving friends.

~Natalee

Coconut Cream Pie

Amish Style Strawberry Pie

Retro Peanut Butter Pie

Icebox Cake

Fresh and Easy Blueberry Pie

Underwater Hotels

It's a good thing I am not a designer of hotels, because in all my wildest dreams I don't think I could have thought of this underwater hotel in Fiji called the Poseidon Undersea Resorts.

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This one is in Maldives.

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If they don't have an ocean, they build the ocean in Berlin.

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You can hire these guys if you're interested in one yourself. ;)

(How do they DO that? Excavators in the ocean?)

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If you are looking for an aquarium hotel in Singapore, I've got just the one ...

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Or you could visit Atlantis, the Palm in Dubai.

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I'm a close-to-home kinda girl, though ... and I would be just as happy with this home in Orlando, FL. Would you?

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Hey, there's always Sea World!

~Natalee

Sea Fare: It's What the Pilgrims Really Ate

Have you read those articles that claim that everything you learned in grade school was a sham? Have you heard that they may not have even had turkey on Thanksgiving at all?

I'm not one to get my knickers in a twist about these things, keeping my focus on the point: THANKS GIVING. After all, turkey is a tradition by now, simply because everyone I know has had turkey for thanksgiving since they were wee little tots.

But you won't catch me looking down on those who go for the no turkey Thanksgiving. After all, according to History.com, non-traditional fish and shellfish (as well as many other items you didn't see on your Grandma's table) were most likely a very big part of the first Thanksgiving. In fact, historians agree that seafood was most likely quite abundant.

So in that light, I thought it would be fun to feature an ultra traditional, non-tradtional Thanksgiving menu -- a Coastal Thanksgiving Menu featuring gifts of the sea. Even those strict Pilgrims knew that everything is better with a coastal flair! ;) Just click on the link beneath the photos for recipes.

:**Disclaimer: if you haven't eaten in a while, this post will most likely induce the case of the munchies.

~Natalee

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Coastal Living Showcase Home 2013

Well, since it's almost 2014, we'd probably best get on with taking a look at the Coastal Living 2013 Showcase Home. It will probably be summer of next year before the new one is open for viewing, but since there is so much to love about summertime I think it's only fair that we save a little bit of fun for the cold, dark days.

The Coastal Living Showcase House, also called the Coastal Living Idea House, is exactly what you think it is: it's a dream home in a coastal town, with builders and interior designers handpicked by Coastal Living Magazine and sponsers galore. Win, win for everyone.  Even you and I get to win because we get tour the house and get great ideas for coastal decorating from the pros.

There are lot of photos, so let's just look at the main ones that give you a flavor for the house. You can go here to see the rest of them.

First impression: love at first sight! Beach homes can come in all shapes and sizes and budgets, but when it comes down to it a more traditional looking beach house is going to rise to the top of my favorites list every time. A bonus: the trusses on the exterior of the house that give you the feel of a Bahama shutter, often seen in southern/island architecture.

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I guess the only thing they could have done better would be to actually install Bahama shutters, but I'm going to let them go on the grounds that they picked an awesome paint color for said shutters. Favorite front elevation feature: grand entrance stairs. Again, my southern roots are showing. Homes in the deep south often don't have basements because of the low water table and floods brought on my hurricane season, so having to go up to the front door is common. Besides, it makes a great statement. The back exterior is no less grand and beautiful, and also has the entrance stairs:

I always like to jump right to the main rooms of the house because I think they give the best flavor of the house. The next two photos show both sides of the living room. The kitchen is behind this aqua couch. Nice choice of Seagrass Rug for the floor. It gives texture and keeps the integrity of the coastal look.

The kitchen is a winner too, although I would have chosen a subtle color for the backsplash.

And while I do love the hanging ceiling lamps, I would have chosen to add a little color. Three of these Madera Pendants in the teal crackle finish. (All of our white sconces and finishes are customizable. Email us at stylishbeachhome at gmail.com to order this pendant and for finish details!)

Teal Crackle Finish

You can't go wrong with this killer view, and these designers made the most of it by situating the dining room with full visual access to it. Comfortable dining chairs keep your guests cozy during the lingering after-dinner conversation.

Not like these nooks are crannies aren't completely satisfying and exciting -- they are. Maybe even more so. 

Almost every interior space of the home, including the home office, has access to some outdoor space. They kept it simple, but it's a job well done. This is a good example of how to incorporate outdoor furniture of one type with side tables and accents that coordinate but don't match.

Seville Garden Stool

Get the look!

Key West Bamboo Rug :: Teal Geometric Pillow :: Harborside Buoy Ottoman :: Teal Chevron Pillow

Here are some other rooms in the house. I'll just let you have a moment with them. They are very well done.

Master Bedroom

And now we need to talk about something.

I tend to go easy on other bloggers (bloggers are our friends!) or owners of beach homes (maybe they don't know any better and didn't hire a pro ...) but I don't feel the need to go easy on the big guys over at Coastal Living. I mean, they can take it from little ol' me. What am I getting at?

I don't like this room.  At all. I can appreciate being bold, mixing patterns and colors in unexpected ways ... Sarah Richardson of Sarah's House does it all the time. And I love it.

But this ... doesn't go with the rest of the design at all and it just doesn't speak to me. Maybe it will speak to you. It's OK if it does. We can still be friends.

But let's end this on a good note. There is so much to like about the Coastal Living Showcase Home of this year ... let's celebrate that.

~Natalee

Rustic Thanksgiving at the Beach

Welcome to my imaginary rustic beach house where we will be hosting Thanksgiving this year. It's warmish here at the beach, so we're planning a Thanksgiving outside.

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I raided the yard and lopped off the tops of some ornamental grasses that I have, cut some flowers and some various vegetation, and created a casual, rustic centerpiece for my Thanksgiving table. The burlap runner and fabric underneath aren't even finished ... we are talking about comfortable, casual, quaint Thanksgiving.

It's all about the details, so I dressed down the wine bottles by wrapping the label in twine and placing some fresh nuts and some candles on a nearby side table for some ambiance.

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For my place setting I chose more of nature's offerings ... each one of these leaves were selected by my real children in my imaginary scenario. Rustic is simple. That's the charm of it.

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Our Thanksgiving menu is quasi-traditional: a nod to the traditional meal with a bit of flair thrown in.

Here are the recipes:

Cornish Hens with Morels and Leeks
Roasted Garlic and Basil Mashed Potatoes
Thyme Butter Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Apple Glazed Baby Carrots
Streusel Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin Crunch Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I'll probably be wearing something like this:

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And after the meal, we plan to walk on the beach and create these Thanksgiving memories:

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And maybe even get our Christmas card photo, because we are on the ball like that. We are in the final countdown, folks! Are you ready?

~Natalee