Vintage Cottage Weekend: Winter Sitting Area and the Baker's Rack

Winter décor is a time for me to clean the slate from the saturated colors of fall and the Christmas season. I love color throughout the year and I'm always ready for a new seasonal color scheme and vintage pieces. I've always been one to get bored with color and pattern no matter how much I enjoy them, so it's a good thing that there are the 4 seasons and holidays throughout the year.

Amber Glass for Autumn Displays

 Hello Friends, and all of you who love Fall and all the deep rich layers of this beautiful season. 

Today I'm sharing my Amber Glass pieces and collections and how I use them in decor, and in this case oftentimes in my harvest tablescapes. I only have a few pieces, all of them vintage. My favorite and most used piece is this vintage cake pedestal that I use for displaying vignettes under glass during Autumn. It's the perfect way to "elevate" and highlight small vignettes with a cloche in my dining room décor.

I'm using this pedestal this season to create a fall woodland cloche display with one of my favorite fall pieces; my paper mache squirrel box and a velvet bejeweled pear. I have it sitting here on the dining room table, and for an added boost in height, it's on top of a wooden column riser. Later, I moved this over to the buffet.

I'm not one to use a cake pedestal for cakes; cupcakes maybe, so this is usually how it appears each fall season. A small garland of fall leaves, nuts and berries, and some preserved fall leaves add a bit of embellishment.

Here's the pedestal that I used a few years ago to display a pumpkin in the Holiday Cupboard fall styling without a glass cloche. It worked beautifully along with the brown transferware.

Celebrating Fall in the Holiday Cupboard

In the garden room the coffee/table bench is frequently changing, with small vignettes for the season. Here I'm using a large vintage Amber glass jar paired with a small olive bucket candleholder, bittersweet, a mini pumpkin, and a single pear. Multi-hued fall leaves are all that's needed for an anchor on the table.

Embracing Fall in the Garden Room

Amber glass was first created to be used with contents that needed to be protected from sunlight such as medicine and foods that decompose quicker. Then Amber Glass was used in "Depression Glass" back in the 20's in many colors. This has been one of my all-time favorite coffeetable vignettes. The leaves and the bottle, and the pumpkin, pear and bittersweet perfectly sum up my feelings for the Autumn season.

Here's the bigger view with the sitting area that season.

And another grouping of Amber Glass with my set of vintage Fostoria,  Indiana Glass Cubist drinking glasses. This is a fall tablescape I created back in my first blogging house with a Scottish wool throw and brown transferware for Thanksgiving. This is one of my most read posts, and favorites of Fall.

Nature Inspired Thanksgiving Tablescape

I'm using the amber glassware with some antique Heisey glassware.

Mix and match brown transferware are one of my favorite settings.

I had fun putting together the windowbox used as a centerpiece, using deer shed antlers and fall foliage with pumpkins.

I'll be sharing the rest of my Dining Room later this week.

Thanks so much for coming by.

Using Vintage Dishes in Seasonal Decorating Hop

Hello friends, I'm so happy you've come by today and I hope you'll be checking out the fun that we're having at this bi-monthly Hop, Lifestyle of Love. Cindy from County Road 407 is our hostess with these wonderful vintage themed Hops. If you hopped over from Amber's blog, Follow the Yellow Brick Home, I know you loved her wonderful collection of vintage ironstone, pottery and dishes.

This month our Hop theme is "dishes" if you haven't guessed already, and I can guarantee that you'll find tons of inspiration on using dishes in seasonal decor. Whether you're a die-hard tablescaper and dish collector, or someone like me who just loves using them in vignettes and vintage decor, I know you'll love all the ideas from our group. 

Out and About and a Fall Vignette with Concrete Pears

Since I can't do a whole house Fall Tour, I'm just concentrating on small vignettes with Fall decor. Recently I've found a few fun additions to my Fall goodies lineup. Yesterday we celebrated my sister's Birthday with a trip to Spring Creek Antiques and Tea Room in Ozark, MO. One of the best lunch spots in the area, that is in the middle of a wonderful vintage market. If you're ever in the Springfield area this is a must experience spot.

If a Lamp Falls in the Forest...

In my "real world" time I would be giddy that the calender has changed over to September, but I now seem to be living in the alternate universe of packing up my house for a move. The daytime temps are cooling down and the evenings are wonderful. Even the trees on my street are beginning to show some beautiful shades of Autumn color.

Autumn Transitions Home Tour

Hello Everyone, and welcome to our

 Autumn Transition Home Tour 

I'm so excited to be joining this wonderful group of creative and talented gals who love Fall and enjoy decorating for the Seasons. We're going to be sharing our ideas and inspiration on welcoming the beauty of Autumn into our homes and decor. If you're coming from Our Southern Home, then welcome and I hope you'll stay with the Tour by visiting Decor to Adore a bit later. You'll find the complete list at the end of the post. A big thankyou to Amber of Follow the Yellow Brick Home for putting this fun tour together.

This time of year blogland is filled with posts about transitioning our decor from Late Summer into Early Fall. Our individual methods may be similar, but each person has their own unique style and ideas to make this a fun and easy change-over. The fact that bringing out the Autumn decor is one of my favorite things to look forward to, makes this a special time to savor and enjoy for me. Since I'm in the beginning stages of packing for our move this Fall, I'm sharing several photos that show how I have taken Summer to Fall in easy steps.

Seed Box Vignette on the China Cupboard

Since Easter, I've been puttering around here bringing in some vintage pieces that are seasonally "Spring". I just removed the "bunnies" on top of the china cupboard, and replaced them with a  vignette using an old wooden box decoupaged with seed graphics. It was a "make-do" attempt, but with that wonderful original green paint, it makes a perfect display piece for Spring.

10 Tips for Transitioning to Fall

Looking through blogland this last week, it's been filled with posts about transitioning our decor from Late Summer into Early Fall. Our individual methods may be similar, but each person has their own unique style and ideas to make this a fun and easy change-over. The fact that bringing out the Autumn decor is one of my favorite things to look forward to, makes this a special time to savor and enjoy for me.

Farmhouse Sunflower Tabletop

One of my favorite combinations for Summer is Sunflowers and Ticking... nothing fancy, just rustic and vintage. I thought I'd try something very "summery" this year on the Dining Room table, using one of my old wooden ice cream maker buckets. This old bucket had been a pretty vintage blue/green, but I painted it out in an antique white to make it more "decor friendly". Filled up with faux Sunflowers, sitting on an Indigo Ticking table runner, it says Summer Farmhouse to me.

Spring Forecast for Next Week

No matter what the weather might be like on the other side of the door; one week in the 80's with trees and flowers blooming, the next week lows in the upper teens ... it's Spring inside the cottage. I thought I'd share a few snaps of how Spring has Sprung this last week...

Starting on Spring...

Last week I mentioned a trip to my favorite local floral store. I guess they're sort of a local wholesale supply store for florists, designers, and shop owners. You never know for sure what they will have and if you're not an early seasonal shopper you just miss out. They're never sure if they'll get more in, so if you want it, you get it when you see it.

Coffee Table ReStyle

Hi Friends, a few weeks ago I needed to finally put away all my "Spring" rabbits, bunnies, and whatever... I'd been putting it off cause I hadn't felt so great, but when everyone started talking "Summer" it was obvious that my sweet little Bunny Man Basket needed to be tucked away for next year.

Basics for Building a Tabletop Vignette

Although I haven't been changing things up around here too much lately, boredom has set in big time, and I needed something fresh to look at here in the Living Room. Each time I think of putting together a vignette or grouping I panic. Good Grief, where do I start? Then I spend a lot of time hunting down and trying things, moving stuff around, then discarding them; generally wasting my time. Decor books and magazines help, but even then I'm sometimes left without an idea of where to start.

I LOVE doing seasonal vignettes, but no matter if I'm decorating for a specific Holiday or Season, or just something basic, I've learned some foundational "building blocks" that make it pretty simple to put together an "Easy Change" Tabletop Vignette.

Fall Birdies

Does that title sound like I've lost my marbles?

Like a crazy cat lady that spends all her time bird watching with her felines?

don't answer that...

Hope you all are having a great Labor Day Weekend. We stuck close to home except for a fun trip on Saturday to a new winery in the area. I'll show you a few pics and share a link with you soon. They also have a sheep farm, so that was the real draw for me. We've had a heat wave this last week, and it's supposed to break in the next few days. We had such a wonderful taste of cooler weather earlier. Hopefully, that will bring us back to the 70's. gosh, I'm more than ready. 

Daisy Botanical in the Entry

Just checking in to say Hello, as this may possibly be my last post for awhile. We leave early next week for my appointment with my new cardiologist. After all this waiting, I'm starting to feel a little anxious about it all. I've spent all week checking to make sure all my records have been transferred from three different sources, and it doesn't help the situation for calm when one of them keeps giving me the run around and putting me off... not surprised, it's their usual.

Getting the house listed and all the little details have about done me in. We've been trying to finish up, but now that Summer is here the garage has turned into an oven. My poor hubby tries to do things after work, but it's still too hot. Honestly, we're too old for this...word to the wise, downsize and get your junk dealt with before you are too sick or tired to mess with it. You AND your kids will be thankful. Do I sound tired and grumpy?

Time for a change in the Entry this week. I had a couple of raw canvases that I'd brought home with me from the other house. I love their natural oatmeal-y linen look with tattered edges and nails. I thought a botanical of daisies looked perfect attached to the front. 

Speaking of daisies, I had planted Becky Shasta Daisies and Black Eyed Susans several years ago and have babied and babied them, but they've been slow to get growing...until now. Now there is a profusion of them, just getting ready to bloom. Hope I can enjoy them just a little.

Google Images

We've had quite a few house lookers, so hope good news will be soon.

We're ready to move on to the next chapter in life.

Feels like we've been stuck in this one for a little too long.

My little heart topiary needs to be trimmed up,

 but I'm enjoying the wild look.

Little birdie is back on his bookstack.

 Yep, definitely needs a trim.

That's some good ol natural patina there on this clay pot.

just can't replicate that.

I'll try to check back in next week and let you all know what's going on. This has been a hard week, as I'm having some fun new heart related symptoms that have kept me in bed most of the week. I know this is just a "season" that God is allowing me to walk through, but it's hard nonetheless. I've missed the last year of my life feeling like doggy doo, (see...I still have a sense of humor) and I'm ready for whatever it takes to get well and get this behind me. 

Thank God for a husband that is my best friend.

He has a lot on his plate right now.

Almost forgot...this week is my 5 year blogging anniversary.

Here's my first post.

Keep up the good thoughts and prayers, I wish I could get back with each of you individually, and give you a big hug and squeeze. You all mean so much to me, and I'm super grateful for you all being there. I've been trying to keep up with your blogs, even though I haven't left comments...I've still been there. OK, this is sounding pretty pitiful, so I'll say...love you guys, talk soon.

Burlap and Brown Transferware

two of my favorite things...

Hi Everyone, Happy Sunday!

It really IS a happy Sunday, as I'm back home from the hospital and want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you who left comments on my last post. Blogger wasn't updating some blogs last week, (I was just one of many) so I hope this one will show up on your readers, email, and blog lists.

I'll give you some photos of my latest Late Fall Vignette where I wanted to say a BIG Thank You to Sherry of No Minimalist Here who hosted a wonderful Give Away this Fall for a generous gift certificate to Antiques Lifestyle. I used my gift certificate to pick out this beautiful Hand Stenciled Burlap Tablerunner. You can find more like it at Laurie's beautiful Etsy Shop. Thank you so much Laurie and Sherry!

My Dining Room table is currently "under construction" 

 for my Thanksgiving Tablescape, which I'll be sharing with you this week.

So one of my Bergere Chairs in the Living Room had to make do.

Isn't that design amazing?!

I can't wait to get it on my table!

So, back to the Late Fall Vignette in the lower level sitting area 

next to my French Doors, which let in the afternoon sunlight.

This was last Tuesday, you should see the amount of leaves out there now.

I gathered some of my Brown Transferware; platters, plates, sugars and creamers together to decide what I wanted to use for the Tablescape.

Just random bits and pieces of patterns...

I've been building my Tablescape Centerpiece with just naturals,

and here are some dried pods I was using.

I found the olive bucket on Decor Steals earlier this Fall.

It definitely was less expensive than any where else I had seen.

I was in the hospital Tuesday until Saturday night, and had lot's of tests run to see if we could understand where the blood clots are coming from and if there were any permanent problems from them. I've tried several blood thinning drugs, and we now feel like we have things under control. God has been gracious to me, as any one of them that was moving around in there could have caused a stroke, but it didn't happen. I may be going a little slower in blogging until I can get my self back, but the weekly parties won't change. Be sure and come by tomorrow morning, and throughout the week for The Marketplace.

You all are loved and appreciated,

thank you for the prayers and caring thoughts,

and thank you for being such good friends.

joining in for these parties:

Dwellings for Amaze Me Monday

Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm

Mod Mix Monday at Mod Vintage Life

Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life

The Scoop at Cedar Hill Farmhouse

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

French Country Cottage

Craftberry Bush

The Charm of Home

xoxo,