Farm Animals in French Country Decor

Somewhere deep in my DNA I have the Farmer/Shepherd gene that has been dormant for many years. When I was growing up my dad always kept a few beef cattle at the farmhouse, but we weren't allowed to name them or pet them because well, you know why...  So, next best thing is to just collect cows and sheep to decorate with in my vintage Cottage, Farmhouse, and French Country decor.

Christmas in July Ideas and Inspiration

Hello Friends, today I'm doing something a bit different, this hot and humid day in late July.  Actually I'm going for a mental "reset" with an opportunity to start thinking about and grabbing some inspiration for the Christmas Holiday that will be coming before we know it. I'm joining in with a fabulous group of talented gals that have amazing ideas throughout the year! Our friend Rachel from The Ponds Farmhouse has put together this fun Hop and if you're coming from visiting CoCo at The Crowned Goat, thanks so much for coming by and continuing the Hop. Lets get going with some Christmas ideas and inspiration slightly ahead of the curve.

Coastal Vibes with a Seashell Buffet

Hello Everyone, do you love Coastal Design... and Vintage... and Summer? Well, you're in the right place because today a group of us are sharing our Summer Coastal Vibes and how we use all those elements in our decor. Amber, from Follow the Yellow Brick Home  has put this great group together and if you're coming from Christy's at Our Southern Home, Hello and Welcome; so glad you're here!

Cupboards and Cabinets in Decor

Hello Friends,

I'm so glad you're here, because today I'm joining a great group of bloggers as we share our love for all things vintage with the Lifestyle of Love Blog Hop, hosted by our wonderful friend Cindy from County Road 407. We were given the topic of "How we use Cabinets and Hutches in our decor". Well, let me tell you I was jumping for joy when I saw that I would get to share one of my favorite pieces of furniture. 

Yes, you guessed it.

The Holiday Cupboard!

Winter Botanical Tabletop Garden

Hello Friends and Welcome to a very fun 

and a bit different Blog Hop

that my friend Amber from Follow the Yellow Brick Home

has put together in this very cold and dreary month of January.

Yes, you read it right, it's a Hop where we're sharing 

our "Winter" Botanical and Garden ideas.

Thanks so much Amber, for putting this all together

to share some fun ideas and inspiration for winter into spring.

A Season of Thanks Blog Hop

Hello Friends, Welcome to 

"A Season of Thanks" Blog Hop!

We all have our favorite Holidays, and for most people it's usually Christmas. But for me it's always been Thanksgiving. With Fall being my favorite season, it's just natural that the warmth and love of family and friends lends itself to the this wonderful Holiday celebration. Our favorite Hop Hostess,  Amber from Follow the Yellow Brick Home has gathered a group of us to share our love of Thanksgiving with all of you. If you're coming from Marty's place at A Stroll Thru Life, Hello, I'm so glad you're here! If you haven't visited Amber and Marty, please be sure and catch them during the Hop.

Cozy Winter Home Tours

Hi Friends, glad you're stopping by today as I'm joining in with some wonderful ladies who are sharing our take on a "Cozy Winter Home". After all the Christmas decor is stashed away it can look a little bare around the house. In January I'm ready for a more neutral look with soft and warm textures and spaces. Give me a cozy chair, a warm quilt or throw, a couple of squishy pillows, candles, a hot drink of something yummy, and of course a fire (if you can get one.) Our hostess, Amber from Follow the Yellow Brick Home came up with the perfect idea to get us in the mood for winter. If you came over from Marty's lovely living room decorated for winter at A Stroll Thru Life, thanks so much. Glad you're here.

Vintage Tea Party Vignette

I have sweet memories of the times when my two girlies were young, that our church would host a Spring Tea Party or luncheon in honor of Mother's Day. Moms and daughters would dress up in their best Springtime dresses to come and celebrate with teas, cookies, cakes and tiny tea sandwiches. Surrounded with flowers, ferns and fun pastel accessories, antique tea sets and china were part of the festive decor.

Vintage Easter Inspiration on Palm Sunday

Hello Friends, I hope this Palm Sunday is a beautiful day for you all. I'm sharing some pics from a Vintage Easter Vignette I put together a few years ago, inspired by the book "Fairytale Easter" from Jeanne d'Arc Living. I also want to let you know that a group of us who love Vintage, will be sharing our Vintage Easter items and decor this week, Tuesday March 27 and Wednesday March 28. Then on Friday we will all be hosting a Link Party for you all, Spring and Easter Joys Bloggers Link Party, Starting at 8 AM Central. We're hoping you will all join us to share your Spring and Easter Vignettes and Decor.

(This is not a sponsored post)

A January Re-Set for Winter Decor

How do you like to decorate when all the Christmas decor is packed away? Maybe it's just something that doesn't include glitter. Do you like to do something fresh and new? I know I love to start a clean slate in January with the brand new year, and that usually means minimizing "color" and using a more neutral lens with my decor.

Hello Fall on the Silver Tray and Fall Home Tours

One of my favorite ways to Welcome in the Autumn Season is with a scented candle on my vintage silver tray on the Kitchen peninsula/bar area. I keep the tray there year round with one of my vintage silver coffeepots and a Topiary, then change up the seasonal goodies accordingly. This candle has a great font graphic that says it most appropriately... Hello FALL!

The Official, better late than never, Spring Home Tour

Hi Friends, after the last post, there's probably no doubt in your minds that I've been a little cray-cray this year, but I realized that I've never posted a complete Spring Home Tour. I like to keep an "Official" Tour on my sidebar and on my "pages" for each season. I just rounded up most of my photos from earlier this Spring...before Easter, so here they are, all in one spot.

Living Room and Sitting Room Spring Home Tour

Hi Friends, are you feelin' all the "Spring" Love this week? It's overflowing here in Blogland with all the Spring Home Tours filled with beautiful decor and ideas to get us out of the winter doldrums and bring us into all the fresh colors and warmth of the new season. 

Spring Dining Room with Hello, Spring Blog Tour

Spring officially arrives today, and I'm here to celebrate with the Hello, Spring Blogger Home Tour with Katie from Let's Add Sprinkles and a wonderful group of talented Ladies. I'm so glad you're here. I'd love to share my Dining Room for Spring.

Don't Miss these Home for Christmas Features

I hope you're enjoying this week,

 I know some of us still have some things to do before next weekend gets here,

 But it's not too late to come by and Link-Up to the

Home For Christmas Link Party. 

This is a Linky Party for anyone wanting to share their Christmas Posts,

past and present.

The Link will be live until Christmas 

so come by any time and join in.

I love hosting a Link Party,

 because it gives me a chance to meet some new Bloggers,

and to reconnect with some old friends.

Here are just a few of the wonderful Links from the party so far...

My first love is Vintage,

so when I saw this oh-so-creative 

stacked box and basket Christmas Tree I totally fell in love.

Having the little Evergreen perched up there,

 made it over-the-top fun!

JoAnne from A Pocketful of Blue 

Home For Christmas Blog Party Link-Up

Hi Friends,

so glad you're coming by to celebrate with us at the Blogger's Party

Home for Christmas, 

and to hopefully join in on the Party Link-Up today.

Brenda and I invite you to share your favorite Christmas Posts
 as you celebrate your 

Home For Christmas.

You can link up to 3 of your posts from this year or previous,

please just have them be related to Christmas...

Home Tours, Christmas Decor, Family Traditions, Recipes, DIY, 

anything Christmas!
*Please have a link to the party in your post.

I thought I'd share a few more pics from our Home this Christmas,

as I'll be sharing a complete Christmas Home Tour a bit later in the week.
These are mostly room views, which I usually don't get around to taking,
but since it's Christmas, there's a little more to see.

House Tour for Christmas 2016

Hi Everyone... and Welcome to my

2016 Christmas Home Tour

I know there will be many new visitors besides my own readers this Season

so I hope you'll feel welcome, as I show you around.

Today, I'll be sharing from several areas of our home on the main level. We have a newer walkout basement Open Concept home that we've lived in 2 years, but this is our 3rd Christmas here. The Entry, Dining Room and Living Room are basically in one large space. It's easy to decorate, but at the same time, it's important that I have a theme and a plan! 

One of the ways that I keep a look going is to use wired ribbon to coordinate through all the rooms. This year I found a fun metallic gold polka-dot on a burlap/linen look background, that I paired with my favorite Christmas accent, Stewart Red Tartan Plaid. Here in the Entry, I kept things in neutrals with just the gold polka-dot. I used it to hang the Boxwood Wreath and to adorn the vintage look tree in an iron urn. I found the "Merry and Bright" wooden plaque at Hobby Lobby. It really stated the message I wanted to share this Christmas.

When you come through the Front Door, the Formal Dining Room is to your left. It's not a large space and all my big furniture really fills it up. I love antiques and vintage decor, (if you hadn't guessed) and I feel most at home with using old and new pieces alongside one another. Decorating with the seasons keeps things fresh and interesting for me, and part of that is changing out the

 table runner and decor here in the Dining Room.

My first plan when thinking about Christmas Decorating, was to find a Red Tartan Plaid fabric piece to use as a base for my burlap printed Holly table runner. I found a large tablecloth instead, and just folded it in two lengthwise. This year I used a large white lantern from Pottery Barn and Holly Topiaries that I made many years ago, in Restoration Hardware pottery by Guy Wolff. I love the high ceilings in this house, but anything that's used as decor on this table has to be good sized, otherwise it's lost.

An antique market basket on wheels holds seasonal faux floral stems.

 I use Hydrangeas for every season, and here they are paired with Red Winterberries.

I didn't use the large white tree this year, so this smaller Entry tree is standing in.

It's wrapped in a White Printed Burlap Ribbon sitting in my galvanized olive bucket.

This is a view looking back from the fireplace toward the Dining Room;

that's the staircase as the room divider. 

I have a love/hate relationship with this fireplace. I love having a fireplace, but this is a little bigger than I would have designed. I'm a small person, so whatever I do up here has to be done on a step ladder. And like the Dining Room, it has to have some "heft", otherwise you can't see it. This year I wanted to use my Antique Rocking Horse as the focal point. He's adorned with the Tartan Plaid Ribbon, as are the smaller Pottery Barn Lanterns.

I really do LOVE Plaid, and what's better than just Plaid for Christmas?

A Gold Metallic Reindeer ON Plaid, of course!

The main Living Area moves into the Kitchen Sitting Area,

that has become my favorite spot in the house for decorating.

I have a Christmas Morning Tablescape set here on the old oak table, 

that I'll be sharing right before Christmas.

A Baker's Rack that I've had for years,

holds my seasonal vintage decorating odds and ends.

Each Season and Holiday finds it's way to the Baker's Rack for display.

My Kitchen China Cupboard holds my Brown and Red Transferware dishware.

I don't have "sets", just orphaned bits and pieces of various patterns.

A few of my Vintage Shiny Brite ornaments are displayed alongside 

some of my collection of old Putz Houses and Churches.

Our previous home had a small Sunporch that held my wicker settee, chair and Baker's Rack, but since I don't have one at this home, I'm enjoying them here in the Sitting Area. My love for Plaid is right at home here on the wicker, and I use this old cobbler's bench as a small coffee table/foot stool.

If you're new to my Blog, I hope you'll come back to visit.

There are several ways to stay up-to-date on my sidebar.

 I'll be sharing much more of these areas in future posts.

Thank You so much for coming by!

Tartan Plaid Lunchbox with a Little Christmas Kitch...

Hi Everyone, have you made a big dent in the Christmas Decorating,

or are you still recovering from Thanksgiving?

I've reached the place where the big things are done,

and now I get to "play" with the vignettes and details.

I've seen several fun boxes, lunchboxes, sewing drawers etc. 

filled with Christmas "kitch" and odds and ends on Pinterest.

Those pics got me excited to do a little project on my own.

If you're like me you have lots of small vintage minutia

that floats around at Christmas.

So I decided to put a few of them together for a little 

display on my Baker's Rack.

The light wasn't the best when I took these pics.

(Typical November here: gray and cloudy, and misty rain)

so I came into the Dining Room for a better photo op.

"Home For Christmas" Blogger's Link Party

Hi Everyone, 

so, raise your hand if you've been snacking on leftovers 

while simultaneously decorating for Christmas.

I just wanted to let you all know that Brenda and I will again be co-hosting

a Linky Get-Together to celebrate with all of you, our homes for the Christmas Season.

We'd love to have you join in by coming by our blogs December 13, early morning,

and link up your Christmas and Holiday decor, recipes, crafts, traditions...

anything that "says" Christmas!

Share Your Style #6 Spring Blog Hop

Are you ready for some fun?
Well, you're in the right place,
for a Link Party that's all things 
Spring and Easter Inspiration.