Sweet Home Architecture: pumpkins

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Simple but beautiful Thanksgiving decorating ideas...

10:06 AM | Labels: autumn decorating, corn candle holder, holiday decorating, pumpkins, table setting, thanksgiving decorating, thanksgiving ideas, vegetable candle holder

I'm going to my parents for Thanksgiving this year, so aside from a few ornamental gourds and pumpkins I haven't done much Thanksgiving decorating. But if I was hosting this year I'd definitely being making some of these ideas my own...

For a more modern spin on a harvest theme, paint some leftover Halloween pumpkins white and use them on your Thanksgiving table.

Use some autumn colored leaves in place of these green ones if in your climate they're no longer green. You could also try pine branches or just interesting bare branches.

We're used to seeing a lot of dark and earthy tones in Thanksgiving decor, but I actually like these fresh, light spaces. See the little pumpkins hanging from natural-fiber rope in the back?

images above via Digs Digs

Some really pretty ideas for dressing up candles.

I absolutely love this table setting

and this chair is gorgeous
via The Portfolio of Vickie Lan

Are you hosting Thanksgiving this year - what Thanksgiving decor do you like to use?

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Halloween inspired interiors -great ideas and inspiration

12:48 PM | Labels: autumn decorating, black interiors, fall, gild gourds, halloween decorating, pumpkins, spooky decor, table settings

Because I haven't lived anywhere with any real storage yet, I don't really have much in the way of decor. I still like to look at holiday homes though..and I think the ones below are all completely doable decorations!

I don't know how safe it is to put candles on the floor. Either go the flameless route, or make sure there are no kids/pets that could knock them over.

via Gap Interiors

so cute!

This table scape is seasonal but still sophisticated...
via 2 above via Trend Hunter

via I Heart Shabby Chic

via Lebaron Interiors

via Material Girls

via Trend Hunter

Do you like to decorate on the holidays? How do you decorate for Halloween ?

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An Autumn Sunday

7:02 AM | Labels: autumn, fall, harvest, mums, pumpkins

Sunday morning, and as I sit at my desk and look
out the window onto the front porch, I can see leaves drifting down from the trees onto the grass;
there's a pumpkin at my front door and pots of mums tucked in the borders.

Green leaves are giving way to the golds and russets of Autumn already;

it really is Fall.

Yesterday, Howard brought home a half dozen mums that we placed here and there,

and he pulled our two stick scarecrows out of the shed; they are back on sentry duty for the season.

Autumn is change and contrast -- it's the bounty of the harvest against the shriveling of the vines.

It is, as I wrote in a post just about a year ago, the silk of Summer

against the crunch of Fall.

I'm re-running that post today; I hope you missed it first time around!

****************************

(October 10, 2010)

The more things change, the more they remain the same.

It is remarkable, how one little patch of God's green earth

changes its wardrobe from a summertime riot of silky fresh color . . .

. . . to the crisp and crunchy textures and colors of Fall.

All in the blink of an eye.

I learned just a few years ago that the autumn colors of leaves --

those russet reds, those golds and browns, the yellows and plums -- are actually the real colors of the leaves.
Those colors have been there all along, lurking, hidden by the green.

The green is a costume.

A chlorophyll phantasy.

(Our technicolor forsythia in autumn. The only time it's as beautiful is when it's in bloom.)

Knowing this has changed how I look at autumn color.

Now, I look at an Autumn hued tree and think, "Ah-ha! I'm seeing the real you!"

That maple tree in the corner of your yard?

She's been hiding her glorious Titian hair under Plain Jane green all summer.

How kind of Mother Nature to clothe
her jewel-colored trees and bushes in quiet green

for the summer, leaving all the colorful glory to the flowers.

And how kind to give those trees and bushes
a riotous chance to shine before bleak winter.

Enjoy the color in your own backyard! -- Cass

Linky Parties
At The Tablescaper, it is Seasonal Sunday. Click here!
And at Happy To Design -- Sunday Favorites is on the menu. Click here!
Seasonal Sunday Teapot copy

P.S. My apologies to the science teachers out there. I should have paid attention in class, lo those many years ago!

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A Peek Ahead, A Peek Behind

10:00 AM | Labels: butlers tray table, craigslist, halloween, pumpkins

A peek behind?

Don't worry, not that behind.

We don't peek there, you big silly.

Behind in years.

I recently came across a Rubbermaid bin

that had been hiding in the attic for too long.

Since we moved, in fact.

Inside its plastic depths were some vintage Halloween things.

At least, vintage according to Etsy's "older than 20 years" edict.

For instance, this cheap plastic Halloween trick-or-treat bucket.

There is a black handle, but it's bent inside the bucket.

This one belonged to Alida; her name was written on the bottom

by her careful Mommy, and it's dated: 1990.

Alida was 4-1/2 years old when she got this;

Annie had a matching one bought that same year.

Hers will surface also, I'm sure, as I continue the attic excavations.

In the bin was a calico pumpkin my Mom
made for me long before I had kids:

And some things my girls made as children.

In this collage, 2-dimensional wood cutout pumpkins; The Rag Shop used to sell them for 99-cents,

and I'd buy them every year, beginning when Annie was 2 years old. There are also pictures of cotton pumpkins

she and Alida did as Brownies; I used to love coming up with fun projects for my Troop, and this was a favorite.

Annie's handiwork:

And her sister's:

I like beautiful, stylish Halloween decorations as much as the next guy,
but really -- does anything top the stuff our kids made 'way back when?

Well, maybe a crystal pumpkin, but that's another league entirely.

Did you see the plastic Halloween pumpkin coach that sold for almost $600 on eBay last week?
Un-be-freaking-lievable.

Meanwhile, last Friday I showed you some furniture listed
on Craigslist that we were going to check out over the weekend.

We didn't get this big French-style triple dresser,
much to my disappointment -- it was nice -- beautiful lines, excellent quality.
But the sellers' Doberman Pinscher was determined that Howard and I were not to be in their house.
She had very large teeth and raised hackles, was snapping and snarling, and her owners were not controlling her.
So, we left. And I see that the dresser is listed again on Craigslist for this weekend.
Here's a hint to the sellers: Put Doggy in the yard! She's terrifying.
Now don't get me wrong. I love dogs. But this is more our speed:

And if any visitor is nervous around our Dion, he goes in the crate. Dion, I mean, not the visitor!

But
we did come home with the butler's tray table,
from a different seller, for $15.

Don't you love how you can put down (or up!) any one of the leaves. The hinges just stick in place, like magic!

Love those brasses. They are going to be polished up, all ship-shape and Bristol fashion.

As for the wood, it's going to be painted a brilliant blue.
This is my peek ahead -- to when our beach house living room is a blue and white delight,
similar in colors and woodwork to this room:

My sister Peggy found this picture in a realtor's online ad for a rental home in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
She noticed it particularly because of the natural wood trim, which is what our beach house has -- so
while this room is more decorated and formal than ours will be, it's a nice example of colors and overall look.

Anyway, right now Sherwin-Williams has a 40% off paint sale going on,
so I'm thinking I'll hit up the local S-W for some marine blue, once this rain stops.

Yes, la deluge, right behind the house. Notice the waterfall over the granite step,
and even over the edge of the border, upper left corner.

As for the one-drawer stand from last Friday's Craigslist gleanings,
those sellers never returned my email.
I haven't found anything I must have for this weekend . . .yet.

I did see a listing that carried with it a threat:
if their old armoire didn't sell by Sunday, the sellers said they'd be thrashing it. Ouch.
Don't you love Craigslist typos?
If it's raining in your world, stay dry! -- Cass
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Link Parties

Miss Mustard Seed hosts Furniture Friday. Click here!

LaurieAnna's Vintage Home is the place for Farmhouse Friday. Click here!

At My Romantic Home, it's Show And Tell Friday. Click here!

Feathered Nest Friday makes its home at French Country Cottage. Click here!

The Charm of Home features Home Sweet Home on Fridays. Click here!

It's Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground. Click here!

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Summer is leaving and fall arrives soon...Sommer verlässt uns and der Herbst kommt bald...

7:20 PM | Labels: Acorn Squash, Ambercup Squash, Golden Hubbard Sqash, Hardy Hibiskus, Hibiscus moscheutos, Pieter's Appleyard, pumpkins, Roseneibisch

Time for squash and pumpkins...
Zeit für Kürbis...from Pieter's Appleyard
http://pietersappleyard.com/

The fall is always our best time.
Der Herbst ist immer unsere beste Zeit.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Fall flowers ...Herbstblumen...

Hopfen und Clematis in unserem Garten...

Für Johanna...
http://silber-rosen.blogspot.com/

Zu empfehlen... der Roseneibisch (Hibiscus moscheutos), oder Sumpfeibisch. Eine Pflanzenart aus der Gattung Hibiskus (Hibiscus) in der Familie der Malvengewächse (Malvaceae). Winterhart und mehrjährige krautige Pflanze. Sie erreicht Wuchshöhen bis über 2 Meter. Bei uns im Garten sind es buschige Pflanzen. Die oberirdischen Pflanzenteile sterben im Winter ab; treibt aber im Frühling neu aus dem Wurzelstock aus.
In der Collage sind verschiedene Pflanzen zu sehen, die seit 2007 in unserem Garten wachsen.
Die Blüten haben einen Durchmesser bis zu 30cm und lieben einen sonnigen Platz.

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