Autumn Hydrangeas

Adding freshness to the front hall with the Autumn display of our Oak Leaf Hydrangeas.
Loving using my iPhone Blogger App to take photographs, add some text, and post all while standing up.
Blogging is fun again!

Halloween Tablescape For Two

This week I set up the kitchen table for two on my faded place mats and napkins. They are old but only get used during Halloween so they have held up pretty well. The pumpkin on the black pedestal came from the Hobby Lobby this year.
The leaf plates are from Big Lot's in Mt. Pleasant before they closed a few years ago. The green base plate if from Pier 1 last year. We got the little all bees wax votive candles this year at the Victorian Festival in Novi. They are sitting in my old little green depression glass cups that hold syrup in them when I make pancakes for the kids or raisins when I make them oatmeal.

The three tiered stand came from The Basket Tree, a cute little shop in Mt. Pleasant. Last year I bought two of them, one for me and one for Dana for Christmas. They have really come in handy for creating height in seasonal decorating. I think the fruit topiary also came from Big Lots along with the leaf plates. The amber glasses you have seen before.
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The flat ware is what we use every day and has been in many of my tablescapes but I do not think I ever said what kind it was. It is Reed & Barton's, Francis 1st. My Mother started buying it for us, a place setting at a time, for Christmas many years ago. Over the years I have added different serving pieces to the collection and now have a nice set. I have a set of Ice Tea spoons on my wish list if anybody is interested ,).

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Thanks for coming by. Susan at Between Naps On The Porch is the lovely hostess for this weekly event.

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Happy Tablescape Thursday,
Hugs,
Sue

An Autumn Tablescape

The mellow tones of Autumn inspired this tablescape. Our mallard and drake Italian soup tureen takes center stage. During the spring and summer it rests in storage but come fall and cooler weather it becomes the centerpiece of our table.

I retrieved my amber goblets from a box in the basement, they came from a junktique shop years ago. The modern majolica asparagus and artichoke are Fitz and Floyd Classics.
The place mat, napkin and solid green plate are from Pier 1. The salad plate is by Mottahedeh and is a reproduction of an English plate circa 1765, in the collection of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Here is a closer look at the amber goblets. I like these heavy thumbprint goblets that you can still find in amber, cobalt blue and red. We have the cobalt blue tumblers and juice glasses that we use everyday but I would like to find some red ones for Christmas. My Mother and Dana have some of the red ones, we all seem to gravitate to many of the same things.

These majolica pieces were designed as cream and sugar vessels but they get use more often around here for holding little bunches of flowers or serving jam. The little artichoke has a ceramic spoon that is handy for spreading the jam on a nice warm piece of toast.

Even though this tureen seldom serves its original purpose of holding hot soup, because it is really to big to be functional, it brings back fond, warm memories of fall when the children were small and enjoyed seeing the ducks back for the season.

A lovingly set table is such a welcoming sight to see for family and friends when they come in from a hard days work or after a busy week of meeting the needs of others. What a pleasant tradition that Susan at Between Naps on the Porch has brought back into focus here in the blog world. Thank you Susan for all your effort that goes into providing this venue for us bloggers to help keep the tradition of setting pretty tables for our loved ones alive. Her invitation to join in or just view others creations is a Thursday treat that you might want to take advantage of by clicking over to:

Between Naps On The Porch

Spooky House Tablescape

Welcome to tablescape Thursday.
I set up a little simple tablescape for lunch.

The centerpiece will stay here throughout the fall.


Not traditional fall colors, but the MacKenzie-Child's stemware & Honeymoon plates in different colors seems to work with my spooky house.

Fuzzy picture with a big ol' box in the background, but you can get a peak at the back of the spooky house just the same ;)

Ditto, this side shot.

I tried to make it look like a house on a hill.

To see more Tablescape Thursday go to Susan's at Between Naps On The Porch. Thanks for stopping by, it is good to be back.

Hugs,

Sue

Happy Fall

Happy fall y'all!
I have been around reading and enjoying some of your blogs but haven't taken the time to blog myself. A lot of reasons for it but I won't boar you with them. Anyway, I'm back, decorated for fall and ready to blog away.

When I decorate seasonally there are only a few spots that I focus on. First are the centerpieces for the kitchen and dining room tables. Next come the kitchen counter tops and surrounding areas. The mantle, the space on the entertainment center, a couple of tables in the great room, and the buffet in the dining room get some fluff. A wreath on the front door and that is pretty much it.

In some of my older posts people have asked about where we store all these decorations. Each season our holidays trimmings, other than Christmas, are kept in no more than two storage bins per event. Some bins like fall are bigger than, say, the 4th of July. The bins go on the deep shelves John built in the basement when we first moved in here. There is only so much space so if I add something I have to then get rid of something else to make more room.

The collection of seasonal decorative accessories that we have are the result of years of gathering them and are pretty much edited down to the things that adorn a specific spot. Most of them have some kind of meaning to me and our family. Some are chosen for their height or shape to fill out a display. All are a delight to revisit with the changing of the seasons.

Enjoy this day that the Lord has made.

Stop by Rhoda's today at Southern Hospitality to see more fall decor at her "It's Fall Y'all" party.

Hugs,

Sue

Post Trick or Treat

Hope you all had a good time yesterday and last night with your little ones. We have two big bowls of treats left over that have to find a home today.

Fall Fun

Hi! We have been busy around here enjoying fall. Not any time to blog. Hope y'all are having a great fall too.

Happy Fall Weekend

We are settling in for a cozy fall weekend at home. Hope you all are safe and sound in your cozy homes.

Hugs,

Sue

~ Cupcakes ~

While dropping off the cleaning at the dry cleaners I spotted a new cake shop in the strip mall. I couldn't resist stopping in to see what they had and these pretty cupcakes were just too sweet to leave behind. Up here on these cake plates, all decorated up, they might be safe from a cupcake binge. LOL

~ Harvest Kitchen ~

Good morning, so glad you stopped by today. The weather has finally cooled off around here and the remnants of Ike seem to have passed by. Thought I would share some fall with y'all.

Hugs,

Sue

~ Harvest Mantle ~

Hi, how is everybody doing? This rain, clear up here in Michigan from the hurricane, is something else. Yesterday I drove home from up north in it and it took me forever. The drive gave me lots of time to pray for the people of Texas and the rest of the gulf coast that where hit so hard, I can't imagine.

Today it isn't raining yet but it is pretty gray out so I decided to put a few extra lights up and fluff up the mantle for the season.


While up north I picked up a new garland for fall that fit well as the base for the mantle decoration.

A little cluster of bittersweet berries gives a little height.

I really don't know why there are two of almost the same pictures...........

Here's a close up of the apple garland and the little fall black bird.

Hope you are all safe and sound and enjoying your fall decor in your snug houses since outside it sure is ugly, at least in these parts anyway.

Hugs,

Sue

The Kitchen Dressed For Fall

' Hi, come on in, says the scarecrow that greets you at the back door. Our kitchen is almost ready for fall.

We still need some fresh mums and a few pumpkins to decorate the center island a bit.

We wish you were here with us so we could share some fresh tomatoes from the garden with you.

Hope you enjoyed your visit to our fall kitchen. As the season progresses we will add more of the harvest and some baked goods to share with you.

Hugs,

Sue

Finally Feeling Fall

It finally feels a bit like fall here today. After posting all the pink yesterday I thought I better move on. LOL

Here is the fall decorating progress. First everything comes off the top of the cupboards and counter tops and gets piled on the kitchen table. I wish I could tell you that everything gets washed off before putting it away for the season but it doesn't. But, so you don't think I'm a complete slob, the counter tops do get a good scrubbing ;)

Here is the almost bare kitchen getting ready for the fall decorations.

Starting at the top and working my way down seems to work best. Our little scarecrow lady lost an arm somehow while in storage but with a bit of a tilt she is good to go.

Some leaf plates over the pantry door and a couple of pumpkin dish towels brighten this corner.
Hope that where ever you are you are enjoying this day as much as we are here. Stop by for a visit, but please excuse the mess. I know you will understand.

Hugs,

Sue