The "Wait Till Thanksgiving is Over With" Mantel

I still have tons of boxes to unpack, and I can't get my hands on a few of the things that I'm looking for, but I thought I'd show you my quick fix for my "Late Fall/Wait Till Thanksgiving is Over With" upstairs mantel. I've had a running joke with a few of you over the fact that my Fall Mantels go through 4 or 5 transitions before Christmas. What can I say...Fall is my favorite time of the year!

I'm lazy when it comes to decorating the mantel. If I find the "basic" elements that look good, and that I can "add to" for the seasons, then chances are they will stay there. The big mirror is bolted on so there won't be any mishaps, so that will be staying. I love my Wolff Pottery urns, and I can change the seasonal flowers and greenery easily, so they're a staple also. Ditto for my mantel lamps. They are easy to work around and I love the warm glow they give in the evening.

I love the versatility of a Preserved Boxwood Wreath, especially in the cooler months. And so my wooden monogram from a couple of years ago was the natural addition. I'd like to use a seasonal ribbon to hang them with, but Hubbs would have to get a ladder and make that happen. With all that's going on to still get unpacked here, get the lease house cleaned and ready to turn back over to the management company, and then get ready for Thanksgiving and company, I haven't made that request. Maybe next weekend I can  persuade him get that accomplished.

Just pretend that this cute little leopard print ribbon is holding up that wreath and monogram...doesn't it look pretty?

And speaking of Leopard Print ribbon, I made a quick change on the front door basket with a few pieces of faux greenery and leaves, just taking out the sunflowers from the "Earlier Fall Version".  Next weekend, it will be reworked for Christmas.

You can see my reflection in the glass...BTW I'm still in my leopard print fuzzy pajamas taking pictures with the door open while cats are escaping to the front porch. Sure hope no neighbors were out there. They've already been warned about my crazy blog photo habits.

My two large boxwood orb topiaries fit perfectly here on the hearth. I imagine they will stay there, at least for a while. I wanted to add a little Fall color without going overboard, so a few preserved leaves and Bittersweet were added. I'm not sure what direction I'll go for Christmas decorating, but I'm sure it's going to be "simple" whatever it is. I always love a "natural" approach with greenery, some ribbon and a few small touches. I have my Christmas boxes and tubs in the garage, but it's been so cold, I haven't even looked through them.

OK, I'm headed toward the garage to rummage around a little. I want some new ribbon for Christmas...don't know what that will be. Guess I better see what I have first...  Have you started Christmas shopping yet? Amazingly, I have a jump on things from ordering over the Internet. The credit card has been smoking!

Thanks so much for all the sweet comments from the last post about my old door and blogging, I read and appreciate each one. I've started Cardiac Rehab and it seems to be wanting to take over my life. Going to the gym has never been something I've ever wanted to do, but now I have no choice. Also, I'm having to endure old men wanting to flirt. Please Lord, make the next 12 weeks go quickly.

Have a great weekend!

xoxo,

Finding the Old Door and a Lesson for Blogging

When I was placing furniture here in the kitchen sitting area I knew I wanted it to have the "feel" of my previous sunporch. The old sunporch was full of vintage pieces, each of them with aged and chippy white paint. Anything vintage felt at home out there, and it was one of my favorite places to decorate and photograph.

An old white paneled wood door that was angled in the corner sort of grounded the settee, and gave me a place for a mirror and seasonal wreath. I have sold so many of my favorite white chippy pieces, but I saved the door and wanted to use it again, and so after a week of searching the storage units, I found it in the back corner with my white metal gate and gray shutters. (Hmmmm...was Hubbs subconsciously hoping I'd forget about them?) That wasn't going to happen. Anyway, the new sitting room felt off balance and odd with that corner hanging out all bare behind the wicker settee. I just had to try that door. 

We brought it in to the kitchen and for a moment the "new" of the new house tried to tell me that it was too chippy and banged up and that it's old hinges would damage the walls and that it would scratch the hardwood floor. The "new" house said "it will look out of place and everyone will think you're nuts for having some old crummy door in your kitchen". But once it was in place, I knew it was back home where it should be.

My clay sheep's head and the old vintage oval frame are here for now. Maybe this will be a place that I can change things out seasonally. I'm still looking for the mirror and wreaths...

Now my settee has it's old partner again, and I can sit here and enjoy a cup of tea in the afternoon, or read through a magazine while dinner is on the stove. My quilts, coverlets, plaid blankets, and pillows all have their old spot back.

Just a little more time to enjoy the hooked pillows and warm Fall blankets. And then it will be Christmas time, and I'll get to change it all up again.

I'm learning that there can be a balance of the things we love. That living with and decorating with "vintage" things is my first love. Capturing a feeling or essence of what makes a home comfortable, enjoyed, and reminiscent of our past is what's more important to me. I've realized this last year how much I've missed documenting the Seasons and Holidays the way I used to. While I admire all the bloggers that can give you 6 ways to do this, or 5 ways to do that, I know that that's not the real me. Finding the right light to show a flame of a candle, a delicate flower of a paperwhite, or an old religious print, is what I'm more about.

Oh, I'll always have a project to share, a painted something or other, and my latest decor idea, but this last year having had most of my things packed away, I've learned where my heart really is in blogging... and that's right where I started. Be yourself, and blog about what you love. Don't cave to the pressure to turn yourself into something you're not comfortable with. Take a rest and find your joy in life. It will show.

I'll be joining these get togethers this week:

Dwellings
Coastal Charm
Cozy Little House
A Stroll Thru Life
Cedar Hill Farmhouse
Savvy Southern Style
Mrs. Olson's
From My Front Porch to Yours

xoxo,

Kitchen Baker's Rack...it's back!

I know many of you are thinking "Christmas" about now... me too. I'm loving seeing all the Christmas ideas and inspiration out here, and I'm making plans. I go through this every year... I get antsy to decorate for Christmas, but I can't get there quite yet. I really need to celebrate Thanksgiving, first.

I really couldn't decorate for Fall at the lease house because we were packing and moving. I put out a few things there, but being in transition, I didn't get the full effect of enjoying Autumn.

So the first thing I wanted to do as we moved in to the new house on October 31, was to bring out some of my Fall wool plaid blankets, pillows, and Thanksgiving Turkeys.

So I hope you'll bear with me as I share a little November decor.

I've mentioned that I've been able to squeeze a few of the pieces I had in the sunporch into the kitchen here, to make up for not having a sunroom or porch. The wicker settee, a wicker chair, and the baker's rack all share the eat-in kitchen space. (just like the lease house) In some ways it's better, because the sunporch had no heat or air, and by this time of year, I couldn't really enjoy it on a daily basis. If we had company or a family gathering I brought in a space heater, but otherwise it was usually too chilly.

If the baker's rack looks a little sparse, it's because when these pics were taken, I still hadn't opened all the boxes marked "baker's rack". I got to them today, but I'm planning a little kitchen spot in the lower level, so I'll have some fun displays down there.

Here's a peek at how things are coming together in the kitchen dining area. Do you remember that old chippy white door? It looks pretty small here. This room has higher ceilings than the sunporch, so it looks pretty dinky. I haven't hung any prints or items on the walls yet; I've been waiting to unpack all the boxes of prints first. I'm not wanting to make any mistakes with a bunch of holes on those "perfect griege" walls!

Our younger daughter Aly has been helping me unpack, and I couldn't have made this move without her. I've always been the person who would and could, work all night or until the job was done. I can't do that anymore, so I want to give her credit for being there when I've really needed her. Here's a pic of both my pretty girlies taken a few years ago. Aly on the left, Erin our St. Louis gal is on the right. Don't know what I'd do without them. They're the best.

OK, so I have a few more pics of Fall and Thanksgiving stuff.

I like to have the blog as a diary of my Holiday decorating,

so hope you all won't get too bored.

Believe me, I'm ready to haul in all those tubs of Christmas fun!

xoxo,

Thanksgiving Vignette Blog Hop

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to the Thanksgiving Vignette Blog Hop

hosted by Sherry from No Minimalist Here

When Sherry asked if I would like to be a part of this Blog Hop, I was thrilled, because with two moves this last year, I haven't had much opportunity to decorate for Holidays. Most of my décor and Holiday items were packed away in storage bins, so I haven't been able to participate in much blogging fun. So, with just having moved 2 weeks ago, I planned ahead to have a few Thanksgiving boxes within reach.

One of the few new Holiday items I've found this year is this fun little 4 ft. LED Snow Tree. It has a dusting of "snow", but I added some faux Fall leaves to make it work for Fall and Thanksgiving. My painted white Mr.Turkey, a glass cylinder with candle and some faux leaves, and a wonderful tweedy pumpkin are sitting on my petite dresser that used to be in the Entry at the other houses.

(It's lighted, but hard to see in the daylight)

I wanted to try something different this year,

 and I think the little lighted tree adds some fun.

Sorry for the distraction of the blinds,

 this is a south facing window and the sun can be just too bright.

Isn't this little birdie the sweetest?

 He's perched on my brown tweed mega pumpkin 

from Becky at  Timewashed.

I just got in on the "tail end" of Fall decorating here at the new house, but I'm enjoying having a few Fall vignettes before it's time for Christmas. I'll just remove the Fall leaves and add a few snowflakes and icicles to the tree to be ready for Christmas.

I hope you'll check out the other participants for some great Fall and Thanksgiving inspiration. If you missed Wednesday's group you can find the links below. Thanks so much for coming by. Have a wonderful week, and stay warm! To continue the Blog Hop, please visit Shirley at Housepitality Designs. Thanks so much for including me, Sherry!

Wednesday 

No Minimalist Here
Uptown Acorn
The Vintage Nest
Dixie Delights

Thursday

Common Ground
Housepitality Designs
The Essence Of Home
Northern Nesting

Friday

Miss Kopy Kat
21 Rosemary Lane
A Stroll Thru Life
All About Vignettes

A Thanksgiving Vignette...

Just take a peek at this sweet little guy...he's sitting on a wonderful tweedy pumpkin that came from my sweet and talented friend, Becky at Timewashed. He's part of my Thanksgiving Vignette that I'll be sharing on Thursday morning for the Thanksgiving Vignette Blog Hop. 

Do you need a little jump start on those Thanksgiving Tablescapes and last minute decorations for friends and family? Hope you'll start tomorrow morning, Wednesday November 12, with Sherry at No Minimalist Here, our hostess.  I'm excited to see what all these talented bloggers have to share!

Wednesday 

No Minimalist Here
Uptown Acorn
The Vintage Nest
Dixie Delights

Thursday

Common Ground
Hospitality Designs
The Essence Of Home
Northern Nesting

Friday

Miss Kopy Kat
21 Rosemary Lane
A Stroll Thru Life
All About Vignettes

See you Thursday morning.

joining in at
Savvy Southern Style

Kitchen China Cabinet with a New Look

You've heard the old saying "It's got to get worse before it gets better." That's exactly what happened here at the new house this weekend. We rented a U-Haul trailer and made several trips from the 3 storage units back to the house with all kinds of boxes...kitchen dishes, decor, china, crystal, pillows...etc. Hubbs brought some of his fun stuff, and it all ended up opened and stacked on every flat surface available. After 6 loads of china and crystal going through the dishwasher, we started putting it all away.

Of course it took longer because I decided that I wanted to put my transferware into the kitchen china cabinet instead of my French Faience. (You can see this cabinet at the old house decorated for Christmas).That meant having some kind of a plan. I'm still missing some of my Old British Castles in Brown, but when they show up I'll just rearrange a little. Decorating can slow you down, you know...

And this morning before taking pics,

 I knew I needed something on top of the cabinet

So I added a few pumpkins to the mix and some bittersweet.

This cupboard has glass doors that stay closed, but I opened them up so you could see inside without at bunch of glare. I'm having to figure out the best time of day for photos at this new house, because this room has south facing windows and the blinds cause a lot of issues for photographing.

This is a newer cabinet that we purchased when we moved into the other house 12 years ago. I went back and forth on this one or a hutch and top cupboard, but in the end I chose this one. It matches the kitchen table and chairs with a somewhat creamy distressed finish.

I really enjoyed putting this all together, it's just a mix of my brown and red random pieces. I'd had the Faience in it for a long time, so I wanted to change things up a little. In the Spring I may go back to the florals and pastel dishes, but for the Holidays I wanted to stick with predominately brown.

A few of my old friends are here too, like the cows and cottage ware teapots and sugar and creamers. I have more of these...somewhere. Oh, and good news...Hubbs found the Dining Room chair slips (YAY!!) and they are now waiting to be washed and ironed. We literally looked for that specific box for hours, and of course it was hiding at the very back behind my outdoor garden goodies. He had packed that last storage unit with all kinds of various random boxes, and he knew not to come back home without it.

If you noticed, a few pieces of wicker found a spot here in the kitchen dining area. It makes me feel a little better for not having a sunporch at this house. Now, if I can just not "over-decorate"...I don't know if that's possible.

I'll be a part of Sherry's (No Minimalist Here) Thanksgiving Vignette Blog Hop this week, starting Wednesday November 12 through Friday November 14. Please come visit us for some Thanksgiving fun and inspiration. 

I'll see you again on Thursday for my Thanksgiving Vignette

 with the rest of the gals.

I'm linking up here this week:

Dwellings

Cedar Hill Farmhouse

Coastal Charm

A Stroll Through Life

Cozy Little House

Stone Gable

Have a great week!

xoxo,