Happy Halloween ~

Wishing you all a happy and fun filled Halloween

...don't let and ghosts or goblins get you!

Two for one decorating ~

I have been busy painting the guest room. I love the paint color that I selected; it looks wonderful with the new drapery fabric. The walls and ceiling are now done and I am starting the woodwork.

Meanwhile,

I decided to take a little time to finish decorating for the up-coming holidays

I love decorating for Halloween and Thanksgiving, it's so easy and usually, with minor changes I can use the same things for both. 

In one of my kitchen cabinets this year I decided to display my Franciscian Apple dishes, they had been languishing in a cupboard and deserved to be used. Perfect I think for this time of year.

My daughter gave me this wonderful Jack-o-Lantern, after Halloween I just turn him around. Voila, with a little turkey added this vignette will be perfect for Thanksgiving.

Two for one...easy as can be!

Hummm...now just where did I store the turkeys?

Happy Halloween!

This post has been linked to: http://www.frenchcountrycottage.net/

Un peu de beauté pour la journée ~

I love Dahlias and I added quite a few to the garden this spring. They have been blooming for several months, giving me much pleasure and enjoyment.

I have lots of different colors and sizes but this one is my favorite. The flowers are not particularly big, about three to four inches wide; making up for it's size is the wonderful color combination and its prolific bloom.

I thought they looked rather pretty in this tulip vase...a little beauty for the day.

Have a wonderful  weekend. It is finally cooling off a bit here just in time for fall clean-up and planting.

Halloween in a box ~

 For Halloween and Thanksgiving I was planning to fill my new box with white pumpkins and dried hydrangeas, but when I brought up the decorations from the basement and started going through them I found some adorable Halloween plates from Debbie Mum that I had forgotten I had.

I simply had to use them.

So...the white pumpkins and dried hydrangeas will have to wait,  

and,

here is my version of Halloween in a box. 

Love this cute little witch, she's not the least bit scary and reminds me my other little witch that is currently holding court in the media/library.

Doesn't she look like Old Black Witch in the book?

After Halloween I will trade out the plates, add a couple other things, and be all ready for Thanksgiving!

This is such a fun time of the year!

Thank you for visiting, I hope you have a lovely day.

 

This post has been linked to: http://modvintagelife.blogspot.com/

Fairy flowers ~

Bulb season is here!

It is the time for planting spring blooming bulbs, this year, maybe because of our drought, the selection seems to be limited and so far I haven't been able to find any of the dwarf Daffodils I love.

But, I did find Leucojum bulbs which I really wanted to add more of this year.

I love their dainty little flowers and they adapt well to our climate.

 They naturalize in semi-shady areas, requiring absolutely no care.

No Lily-of-the-Valley for us, so Leucojum is my substitute. Now if I could only find something that would stand in for Peony's I would be very happy indeed.

Such pretty little flowers.

 I took these pictures last year after a light rain; it is enchanting how the droplets cling onto each little bell.

These are the perfect flowers for a fairy garden...I must sneak out early some morning when they are blooming and see if I happen on one.

Thank you for visiting, I hope you have a magical day.

Catching up ~

I have been busy over the past week catching up with lots of those pesky mundane chores that add up and can no longer be  avoided. And the weather cooled off for a few days allowing me to spend some much needed time in the garden. Alas this weekend it is going to warm up again, hopefully for the last time.

But I did find time for some fun stuff...

A new flag for the front porch which has been washed down and cleaned up for fall. I see so many beautiful pictures of  pristine outdoor spaces in magazines and on Pinterest and I don't know how they do it, I seem to be in a constant battle with dust, dirt, and all of the semi-wild critters that like to lounge on , chew on, and basically destroy exterior decorative items. One morning I came outside to see the whole back garden festooned with stuffing from pillows I had put in the gazebo...why I don't know, I had a feeling it just must have been a fun thing for a raccoon to do! 

Secondly, I finished reading Betty Halbreich's excellent new memoir. For those of you unfamiliar with her she is the grande dame of Personal Shopping, and has worked in this capacity for over 40 years at Bergdorf Goodman.

Anyone that loves fashion and style will thoroughly enjoy this book and may also like the new film, Scatter my ashes at Bergdorfs. The two rather go together, as I understand Betty is featured in the film. I haven't seen it yet but it is number one on my Netflix queue and should come to me this week, I can hardly wait!

Finally, and most importantly, I made the final decorating choices for the guest bedroom, I ordered the fabric this morning. It is a Waverly fabric, Emma's Garden Jewel. The gold stripe will be used as an accent on the day bed dust ruffle and perhaps a pillow or two. The paint, Behr's Vanilla Delight. 

Now all that's to be done is the work...it is time to get out my paint roller and brushes and thread up the sewing machine!

Thank you for visiting