Rustic Transferware Tablescape for Thanksgiving

Hello friends, I'm re-sharing a favorite Thanksgiving tablescape post that I created back in 2013 at our original "blog house". I bring this out of the moth balls every few years because to me it's still up-to-date for a vintage style holiday gathering. I know it's later in the Thanksgiving season, but it might give us a last minute idea or two for our own holiday tables using vintage dishes and ironstone with autumn (or any season) color. 

Old World Nature Inspired Urn

Hi Friends, I'm sharing some of my favorite Fall and Thanksgiving inspiration posts from previous years, along with new posts with some fun ideas for making the transition of Fall and Thanksgiving to Christmas. Here's a magazine inspiration urn I put together several years ago from when I picked up a Victoria Magazine Special Edition, called Victoria Classic French Cottage . 

Nature's Wild Victorian Springtime Wreath

Hi Friends, today I'm sharing a wonderful wreath that's a bit of a different take on a natural look for Spring. This is the perfect time of year to look to nature and the outdoors for our decor inspiration. What we might see in a leisurely country walk; bird nests, vines, wildflowers, and moss all come together here with an antique wooden frame for a wild and beautiful Victorian look.

Foraging for Fall on the Potting Bench

Hello friends, hope you're having a lovely Fall weekend! Earlier in the week I shared my meager Fall Cottage Front Porch with a few fall accents, mums and pumpkins. So today I want to show how I foraged around my yard to put together a couple of floral arrangements gleaned from bushes and the last of the summer flower containers. I'm out on the covered patio out back with the Potting Bench.

Backyard Naturals Bouquet

One of the reasons I love Fall so very much is the change in the coloring of leaves, flowers, and shrubbery. Where Spring is full of greens and lovely pastel shades of flowers and buds, Fall can be just as amazing visually with all the glorious brilliant color. 

Early Fall Naturals Garden Tote

We finally had some rain Saturday afternoon, 

which always causes tree debris to fall.

We headed out with our yard containers but I quickly 

got waylaid with some interesting leaves, walnuts, and acorns.

Before I knew it I grabbed one of my chippy white totes

and put together a fun gathering of natural elements.

(Ok, maybe one or two faux, that brought in a little fall color.)

Decorating with Spring Naturals

Hi Friends, hope you're having a wonderfully warm and sunny weekend. So maybe not everyone will be... but hope it's a good one. We're doing a few "house things" and I want to get the back porch at least swept out of leaves that have been congregating there all winter. I'm loving all the Spring Inspiration that's out here and I've put together a few Spring-y natural vignettes to get things looking optimistically like Winter may be over and done with.

Fall Naturals on the Mantel

I've been putting the Mantel together in the Hearth Room for Fall, so I've been on Pinterest searching for inspiration. I found several pics that I Pinned and have kept coming back to. Can I just say that when you type in "Fall Mantel" you will be looking for hours. I realized that they all had several elements in common...

Nature Inspired Autumn Urn

I've had this Nature Inspired Autumn Urn in my head since last Spring, when I picked up a Victoria Magazine Special Edition, called Victoria Classic French Cottage . I'm hoping it will become a yearly publication, because it was filled with wonderful features of French and French Inspired Cottages. There was one particular image that completely captured my imagination, from an article called Living With The Past.

Nature's Treasures

We spent this last weekend on a trip to Eastern Missouri, Hawn State Park, and then visited the soon to be State Park of St. Genevieve, Missouri, which is one of the oldest settlements west of the Mississippi. It was a wonderful trip, very remote in the middle of 5000 acres of pristine woodland and river. Many of the leaves there are already starting to change. I was near giddy at seeing the golden leaves flutter to the ground along the river's edge.

Decorating with Fall Naturals

I think we're seeing a trend in decor more and more each season, and that's decorating with nature's elements. I've found "mixing" faux and naturals goes a long way in making my home more inviting and giving it a more uncomplicated and spontaneous feel. There are so many beautiful, well made silks and faux elements that I'll never give them up, but finding that balance of combining the two has become a place where I'm enjoying the creative challenge.

If you read my post earlier in the week, you know that we've been literally neck deep in having a new roof put on our home. This was a more involved fix than just a composition roof, as after a really bad hail storm in June, we've decided to follow what everyone else in our 25-30 year old neighborhood has been doing, and that's replacing wood shake shingles with new super nice top of the line composition shingles. So, I've been under "house arrest" this week, as I didn't want my car out on the street for over a week. I opted to just stay home and not risk a flat tire or worse yet, vandalism.

So, I've had to play in the house this week, when all I want to do is get outside and do some puttering with plants and pumpkins. "Hedge Apples" are pretty common around this area; also called "Osage Oranges", I've been looking at them through different "decorating eyes" these last few years. What used to be a nuisance in the middle of the road, and half eaten messes, now I'm finding their wonderful color and texture to be something worth celebrating.

I bought two of these wonderful antique pottery flowerpots a few years ago,

after seeing them at Meloney and Brian's Seed Box Open House.

Anyone know the name for this type of flowerpot?

Somehow I got it in my head they were called "Vanilla" something or other?

You can see just part of Mel's great collection.

Sorry the photo is all blurry; that was 3 years and 3 cameras ago.

back to hedge apples...

I added some other natural elements on the coffeetable on the sunporch, so I at least could make a little vignette. Oh, and I added in a sunflower head that Julie sent me. love it!

Preserved leaves, hydrangeas, and bittersweet all join in.

And of course, anyplace you have sunflowers

 you will automatically have some birdies.

just a little nibble

Here's a really ugly photo of what I've been looking at all week.

30 years of tree debris, dirt, rotten shingles,

and torn off guttering looking out from the Living Room.

See the plywood against the house?

yep, that covered all the windows so it was like a cave downstairs.

I couldn't go down there it was so depressing.

what you can't tell is that this pile is at least 3 feet deep.

uh huh...

And this is what most of my prints and wall decor look like

after 5 days of pounding on the roof.

sort of like how my head feels...

But the good news is that most of the new roof is on and they're working today on the details, so the end is in sight. now for clean up... And making my hubby take me out for dinner!

Hope you're having a great weekend...

we're expecting rain, but I think we're covered.

joining in on these parties:

Blissful Whites at Timewashed
Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm
Make it Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House
Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House
Knick of Time Tuesday
The Scoop at Cedar Hill Ranch
Savvy Southern Style
TTT at StoneGable

xoxo,