Adopted southerness

Changing the windows to reflect the season has always been a daunting task for me.  You can check—I almost always open my posts about my windows with a similar comment.  You will note, however, that most of my blog posts about my windows will be about fall or Christmas displays.  You will also note, that with this particular season, my frequency of blog posts will increase.  Why is that?   Well, if you will pardon me as I allow a little bit of my adopted southerness to show . . .

I love me some fall, y’all.

 

 

So, here we go . . .

The tradition in this window is to display and indoor and outdoor scene.  I hung the vintage window screens right next to my windows to give the impression you are looking through the windows to the outside.  Patty thinks it’s time for a change and that I should take them down; I know she is right—the screens have been there for years now—but I’m just not ready.

 

I picked-up that pasture gate early this past summer and it’s been part of a display in the shop, but when I was planning the windows, I decided it would be the best focal feature to make you think “outside” when you’re peeking in.  

The swing is a new addition to the shop.  It is available in three sizes and well as a single-seater circle swing.

Then there is our little campfire scene—the warm glow of the fire and the ingredients for s’mores are at the ready!  The growler of beer from The Blackhorse Pub and Brewery will be enjoyed, as well.

The we shifted our attention to the inside scene of the same window.  This was a quick change of a few items.  Having removed the dining room display we had for the summer months, I added a side table and vintage, cane-back rocker.  A few of our signature Haunted Memories changing photos, fake cobwebbing and we’re good.

Look closely for the before and after of Aunt Maggie below.

Now we’re transitioning to the other window where we have a bed and a few other vignettes surrounding it.

 

The French café scene came to me when I decided to move the hand painted Café de Flore door into the front corner—not an easy feat for this old lady, but I managed it, then kept the scene simple with a dress form and a market basket.  the table in the display is an authentic English pub table (yes—I realize I’m mixing my countries of influence), that extends to seat 6.

We’ve dressed the bed in a red matelesse –style quilt; added a mix of pillows and a vintage camp-style blanket for the fall bedroom scene I wanted to achieve.  The floral displays in our gorgeous pottery urns would transition very nicely to compliment your winter décor, as well.  You also see the lovely limited edition print from the talented Judy Lewis of my favorite building in Clarksville; already framed and ready to hang in your house.

 

Well, that about wraps-up the tour of our windows.  There are a few other details I haven’t touched on, but I need to give you something to see when you get here.

Thanks for your indulgence.

A Plush Fall

I love transitioning into fall.  Even if the weather isn’t cooperating fully—just seeing mums and pumpkins in front of Kroger makes me happy!

I am always so excited to decorate my home and the shop for fall, although, I believe that I tend to decorate with a fall theme year ‘round.  It incorporates the colors and accents I love, so why wouldn’t I use them all of the time?

At the house, I’m holding back a little.  I’ve put away the “summer” banner, the cobalt hurricanes and the shell encrusted orbs.  The candles are changing from ivory to brown and the candle sticks from glass to well- patinaed (apparently you can’t shouldn’t past-tense “patina”) brass.  

But  at the shop we have added the Halloween inventory and a plethora of pumpkins—plush and otherwise!  There are oat standards and a variety of other decorative accents you can use to make changes of your own.  I have taken a few pictures and hope you will come back to check-out our ideas.  For now, though, I thought I’d share some of our Plush Pumpkins.

Folks often ask how they should display their Plush Pumpkins, so I thought a few pictures might help.

You don’t have to have a baker’s dozen for your display.

A grouping of three pumpkins is my favorite display, but if you only want one—they can make a solitary statement, as well (note the pumpkin atop the scale).  Also, just because they’re velvet, doesn’t mean they can’t be displayed with your favorite rusty junk.  In fact, the juxtaposition makes a wonderful eye-catching display.

Of course, they are right at home surrounded by glitz and gold, as well.

So, don’t let the issue of “how will I display mine” keep you from taking a few home.  Remember, we are always available to help you brainstorm a few ideas for your own arrangement.

Hope to see you in our Plush Pumpkin patch soon!

Thanks for your indulgence,

Plush Pumpkin Season Approaches

. . . and I couldn’t be more excited!  It’s my favorite time of year and I am ready to make the transition to Autumn.  I will however restrain myself a while longer.

In anticipation of this wonderful time of year, I will be placing an order for Plush Pumpkins.  I’ve decided to make a special offer . . .

Any prepaid orders for Plush Pumpkins, placed before August 24th, will be discount 20%.  Now is the time to place your order—remember, too, that they make great gifts! 

All pumpkins are handmade in America and are accented with “really real” squash stems—making each pumpkin truly one-of-a-kind!  (how great is that?!?)

The color samples are below—choose your color(s) and size(s), then call the shop during business hours (We’re on summer hours until after Labor Day, so call between 10am -  4 pm, Mon – Sat) to place your order.  You are, of course, welcome to come in to see the fabric samples “live and in person,” too.

2” pumpkins  $9.95

3” pumpkins $15.95

4” pumpkins $22.95

5” pumpkins $30.95

6” pumpkins $39.95

8” pumpkins $47.95

10” pumpkins $53.95

 

Still not sure if you should order some?  Take a look at how we’ve used them throughout the shop (throughout the year, too!).

 

If I get enough orders, I will place two orders, one on the 17th, then again on the 24th (for the fence sitters)—the earlier you order, the earlier you receive!!!

Time for thanks

was it just last week?  it seems like at least a month ago.
we gathered together—family and friends—to celebrate the national day of gratitude.
the menu was much the same as it always:   turkey, dressing and the rest, but this year we tried a few new recipes.  my favorite among the new dishes was the the cranberry relish.  it was a last minute recommendation from my mom—she had enjoyed it when our friend, sherry, prepared it last year.  a quick search on the epicurious website yielded the recipe we sought.  a few improvisations made it my new favorite.  I’ll share it below, but first a few shots of our dining room on the big day.







Okay, the recipe . . .
Cranberries in Bourbon

• 
  1 pound (about 4 cups) cranberries
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup bourbon

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine first 3 ingredients in 9x13-inch baking dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake until cranberries are tender and sugar is dissolved, stirring once, about 1 hour. Remove from oven and stir in bourbon. Refrigerate cranberry sauce until well chilled. (Can be prepared 1 week ahead.) Transfer to bowl and serve.
Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Bourbon-Cranberry-Sauce-2715#ixzz2DuEYh53B
my changes:
I used two packages of cranberries (didn’t measure); 1 cup sugar and one cup of light brown sugar; the cinnamon and I added about 2 tablespoons of finely chopped, fresh ginger root to the roasting process. 
it was delicious!
the other change this year was that I prepared the turkey using a brining method.  I am sold!  we always smoke our turkey—as we did this year—and I love it prepared this way.  the additional step of brining made the turkey even more moist and tender—if that is possible.  the brining ingredients are simple, but there are a lot of them—so I made it simple by using a prepared jar of brining spice I purchased at our local culinary shop, Ingredients.
Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Bourbon-Cranberry-Sauce-2715#ixzz2DuEQc0Ue
Thanks for your indulgence,

it takes a Friendly Village

This is my second attempt, in as many days, to write a blog post.  I actually wrote one, but it turned so long and pathetic, I decided to  trash it and start over.

I have, instead, decided to share the best part.

On Saturday, in between all of the “have to” stuff, I decided to make a run to one of my favorite antique shops.  It was actually a “have to,” too, because I was looking for the some props for my window display.  I plan to hang the plate rack I painted at The Hayloft and I was trying to decide what would look best displayed on it.  Then I thought of my favorite dishes.  Sure, I could have used something I already had in inventory, but where’s the fun in that?!?

I’ve decided to transition my window from fall to Christmas the week of Thanksgiving.  I mean, it’s bad enough that I already have five fully decorated Christmas trees!  Anyhoo, the plans for the windows are coming together and they will involve:

Anyone who knows me, knows of my affinity for Johnson Brothers Friendly Village.  It is the pattern I use to set my tables for any event from November through February.

 

I bought 8 more dinner plates, cereal bowls and bread & butter plates.

Those square salad plates . . . my first!  Love them.

A box full of a variety of loot.  The Pilgrim’s Progress book is for my personal collection—it’ll be part of my Thanksgiving display at the house.

 

Love this turkey platter with gold trim.  The beauty of Friendly Village is the variety of color mixed with the fact that it doesn’t have a Christmas specific theme, but the snowy scenes imply the holidays.  The blue  trim on this platter will blend quite well.

 

The mugs are a first, too.  I’ve never had them before. 

Well, there you have it.  The beginnings of a winter window . . .

Thanks for your indulgence.

fall porch

No way!  Are you kidding me?!?  It’s already the weekend before the first weekend in November???

Well, that can mean only one thing . . . it’s time to pull-out the Christmas decorations at the shop.  argh!

Please don’t hold it against me.  We’ve got to play by some of the rules set-up by the big guys.  heck, if you gauge me by most of the “big boxers” you will find me lacking.  I’m sorry.  I am doing my best.

So, today it began and I am amazed at how much we were able to get done.

Around the house we are enjoying the warm glow of the fireplaces, but falling behind on the current holiday season, let alone the future ones. 

I finally got the front porch situated, sort of.  I hung a tobacco basket instead of my fall wreath.  I found several at the flea market a few months ago.  The really cool thing is that they were all marked with  Clarksville, TN.   I was already fascinated with the barns all over Tennessee.

I moved the wicker chairs we once used in the kitchen to the porch.  I tried wrapping the legs with sisal rope (the wicker wrapping has come undone); it probably would have worked if I started the process a little differently, but for now, they could stand a little more attention.

 

A few weeks ago, I participated in a wonderful barn sale hosted by Shirley and Knox Thomas.  When I went out to see the barn—prior to the event—I noticed stacks and stacks of tobacco sticks.  (These are the sticks the tobacco is hung from while curing in the smoking barns.)  Shortly after returning to my shop, I messaged Shirley to ask if I could buy a bundle of the sticks from them.  She happily obliged and even delivered them to me!  I’ve decided to display a bunch of them (7) in the rusty milk can on the porch.

 

Note the planter above.  This was an idea Patty found on Pinterest.  We used a vintage floor lamp and a wire hanging basket with a coco liner.  The Pinterest pic had the planter filled with succulents—it was lovely.  Mine is filled with ornamental cabbages and mums.

 

I need to find a better color for the wicker chairs.  I had painted them a greyish-taupe when they were destined for the kitchen.

 

 

Those tall flowers blocking the view of the porch were a mistake, but I cannot get rid of them.  I think if I took the time to cut them back before they develop those white blooms (which blow around like dandelion seed), I think we’d have far fewer, but . . .

 

The others, the peach colored asters at the front should be named Clarksville official flower.  There are actually more of them than the tall white-flowered things (can’t remember their names) in our yard—on Dog Hill—all over Clarksville, for that matter!  They are prolific.

My yard has more color in the fall than the spring.  Is yours like that?  I’d love to hear from you.  Thanks for sticking with me—especially while I’ve been a sporadic blogger.

Thanks for your indulgence,

free FALL, part one

my question is . . . why do we even have to mess with summer? 
sure, it feels good . . . for about a week—I enjoy the flowers, the green grass and the pool.  after about a week, though, the flowers start to fade, the grass goes brown and the pool is no longer refreshing.
but, ahhhhhhh, autumn!
the temps have dipped—ever so slightly—I am in full-on free FALL! 
I’ve decided to adopt a new rule of social etiquette.  not only will I not wear white shoes after Labor Day (well, actually, ever), but I will wear my cowboy boots beginning the day after Labor Day.  here they are—they make me smile!

but, the reason you’ve tuned in, however, is the home décor, right?

below is a pic focused on our signature mixed-pattern silver plate flatware, a Farmhouse soy wax candle and a celery vase filled with acorns.



 my new favorite cookbook, The Romantic Prairie Cookbook, our iron rooster napkin rings, and a favorite cheese dome on on  a willow tray.


the beautiful new, ironstone pitchers with wheat and ivy patterns are difficult to distinguish from their vintage inspiration.


I have a particular penchant for brown transferware . . .


one of our uncomplicated, but favorite displays—the dried hydrangeas in our beautiful urn along with vintage books in our French wire baskets and our embellished globe.


ooh, that cheese dome!  and the owl pitcher (anything cuter?); in  the background a reproduction sugar mold.


here, the hint of the door I painted in homage to the Café de Flore in Paris.


apothecary jars, a mouse and moss.


we hope these subtle changes throughout the shop will help you make plans for transitioning your home into this wonderful season. (there are more to come . . . thus, the “part one”)
now to get to work transitioning my own home . . .
thanks for your indulgence!