Dressing Up a Centerpiece with Gold Gilt Pears

It's easy for me to get into a bit of a rut in my Dining Room with Christmas decor. If I find pieces that I like, I tend to rely on the same look from one year to the next. I have a lot of vintage "kitch-y" fun stuff that I use in the Garden Room, but in the Dining Room I like to do something a little more French Country with some "rustic elegance". Tartan plaid can still be found in here, but I've wanted to try some new and different ideas with a more frenchy country vibe.

French Country Urn and Thanksgiving Centerpiece

Hello everyone, so glad you're here today to join us for the Grateful Gatherings Thanksgiving Hop hosted by our wonderful friend Laura from Decor to Adore.  If you're following the Hop and coming by via Lora Bloomquist at Create and Ponder then an extra special welcome and Hello. What a wonderful time of year to have a gathering of friends as we share our own way of celebrating a grateful Thanksgiving occasion.

Paint Refreshed Tote for a Farm Table Vignette

Hey friends, Here we are in November and it's all about the upcoming Holiday Season. Call me old fashioned or a traditionalist, but I can't bypass Thanksgiving. It's always been my favorite holiday and season so I'm sharing some late November decor posts and Thanksgiving, and then also bringing in some Christmas decor and inspiration too. Even though I love Thanksgiving, I too am ready to see some Christmas inspiration and ideas. Let's have both!!!

Dough Bowl Pumpkin Centerpiece On the Antique Sideboard Buffet

Hi Friends, this post is a bit overdue as I had wanted to get this out at the beginning of "Pumpkin Season", but I had to be out of town for a bit. I think most of us try to refresh our faux pumpkins every few years to keep them updated and looking crisp and new. I had a few in my fall squash stash that really needed a mini makeover.

Vintage Laundry Basket for a Fall Centerpiece

The Fall Season brings out the creative vibes for me more than any other season. Here's a centerpiece I put together last Fall on the farmtable in the Garden Room. I knew I wanted to try something different on the farm table for early Fall for a centerpiece. I usually have my big wooden vintage ice cream bucket filled with faux florals, and I love it... just wanted something a bit different. When I find something that works well in a space I sometimes get a little lazy and do the minimum. But after my vintage shopping trip a while back I had some new inspiration and ideas to try.

French Country Easter in the Dining Room

Hello Everyone, are you all ready for Easter? We'll probably have a quiet Sunday around here and just the two of us celebrating at home. I'm so glad you're here today because I'm joining in with a few friends to Celebrate Easter with a fun Hop hosted by my sweet friend Amber from Follow the Yellow Brick Home. Let's find some fun and inspiration for Spring and enjoy this wonderful time of Easter Week.

Easter Picket Fence Centerpiece

Monday I looked out my kitchen window and oh my gosh, there were little yellow blooms on one of my forsythia bushes. Now there were only a few, but how fitting that they show up in time for the official start of Spring! So today, all four of the bushes have blooms and I'm hoping to get out this weekend to snip a few branches to bring indoors.

Fall Centerpiece Basket with Pumpkins

I knew I wanted to try something different on the farm table this early Fall for a centerpiece. I usually have my big wooden vintage ice cream bucket filled with faux florals, and I love it... just wanted something a bit different. When I find something that works well in a space I sometimes get a little lazy and do the minimum. But after my vintage shopping trip a while back I had some new inspiration and ideas to try.

Christmas Lookback in the Dining Room(s)

I've been busy decorating for Christmas, but the weather hasn't been cooperating for photos. It's been gloomy and rainy around here, which is typical for this time of year, so I thought for now I'd share a few pics from past posts of my Dining Room/s.

This is just a peek at what I've been up to in here.

 My mantra this year for seasonal decor has been "don't get stuck in a rut!"

So I made a point to do something different from past Christmas centerpieces.

A Simple Centerpiece for the Garden Room

It's been fun seeing the shrubs, plants and flowers that have emerged here at the new place this Spring and Summer. Mid Spring, I was so excited to see a row of Forsythia at the back of the property line, and even though they were pruned to within an inch of their lives they are now becoming full and giving us a little more privacy.

Patriotic ReView

Hi Everyone, I'm always surprised at how fast summer flies by. This weekend will start a wonderful extended weekend for many of us, lot's of family and casual fun inside and out, so here are a few photos of one of my favorite Holidays, Independence Day! 

Lighted Twig Pumpkin

Each year I see the wonderful twig pumpkins all lit up with fairy lights and I think, "I'm going to get one of those next year!!", and each year it escapes me until we're already into the season. So I thought of this idea, not near as much "wow factor", but still pretty. It would work for a Thanksgiving or any Harvest Tablescape, since it wouldn't interfere with conversation across the table.

Pumpkin Roundup in the Dining Room

Hi Everyone, I hope you're having a wonderful week. We've had a taste of Fall here in Southwest Missouri these last few days with the trees getting more vibrant, a day of gray skies and soaking rain, and some much cooler temps. (High of 63). We'll hit 80 again, but it was sure nice for a change.

Summer Buffet Scape with Ticking Tablerunner and Sunflowers

A few weeks ago I shared some inspiration of one of my favorite Late Summer decor combos; Indigo Ticking Stripes with anything "Sunflowers". Ticking brings to mind lazy breezy summer afternoons on the porch swing, and Sunflowers are those wonderful happy faces that let us know that Fall isn't too far away. 

I have a cupboard full of mismatched ironstone and transferware, and that includes a stack of old platters that I use for cookouts. A good steak or Bar-B-Que requires something substantial so I put a few things together for an impromptu Summer gathering.

Velvet Pumpkins for a "Timewashed" Give-Away

Becky and I have been wanting to do this Give Away since earlier this Fall,

so we're sharing this opportunity now, still in time 

for you to create your own wonderful 

Fall and Thanksgiving Centerpiece.

Contemplating a New Fall Centerpiece...

That's what is going on...

I'm thinking about a new centerpiece display for the Dining Room Table. I haven't really made a commitment yet, because I'm not ready to start bringing the turkeys out. But since October is flying by, I'm putting together some ideas. It's a work in progress...

Patriotic Summer Kitchen Tote

With the 4th of July just around the corner, it is time to break out the 

 Red White and Blue!

I've been working on changing up the Kitchen Sitting Area, and giving it a patriotic feel. The kitchen needed a good dose of "Summer" so I'm giving it a punch of RED. I started with the kitchen table, and gave it something different to wear. So here's just a peek at my Vintage Summer Kitchen, with a white tote filled with vintage utensils.

Change-up in the Kitchen Sitting Area

Yikes, it's June and it's that time once again...

The week before Memorial Day I was ready for a change in the sitting area of the kitchen. I thought about bringing out my Patriotic things and be ready for July 4th, but I just wasn't ready. It's been a long rainy Spring, and I was craving something that just looked like "Summer".

A Temporary No-Sew Table Runner

...or the "I'm lazy 

and I don't want to sew this right now",

table runner.

Last week I was sharing with you all my love/hate relationship with my sewing machine. That I'm not too fond of sewing, but I find myself frequently needing a change-up in decor with pillows, table runners, curtains etc. And actually, my sewing machine is (a) over at the storage unit(s), (b) it's too cold to go hunting for it, (c) I'd have to bribe my hubby to go spend an hour or so messing with it. (Do any of these excuses sound reasonable?)

It All Starts in the Dining Room

I'm not sure why, but I always start my seasonal decor on the Dining Room Table. My choice for the centerpiece and tablerunner seem to sort of set the stage for the rest of the house. This year I fell in love with a burlap fabric my sweet friend Judy was working with in her Etsy Shop, 20 North Ora. She was creating tablerunners and I just had to have one.

I had Judy looking all over town trying to find more fabric to fit my table. I've threatened to paint this table more times than I can count, but my interim fix is to just cover up as much of the big brown wood top as possible. Anyway, Judy came through and I love how it turned out. I just put it on top of another raw burlap fabric piece and then gave it a stripe of red Tartan. (gotta have some plaid)

The ribbon isn't attached,

 and I would like to find a wider one, 

but for now I think it adds a little fun!

Last year I wanted Preserved Boxwood wreaths and topiaries, but never found them. So for something different this year I ordered 3 of the Preserved Boxwood Cones in cement vases to go inside the newer smaller windowbox. You can find them HERE.

Judy also sent along a sweet pillow, just right for my end arm chair.

Thank you so much, Judy!

For the chandy, I left the twiggy garland and removed the Fall leaves,

 replacing them with faux red Winterberries,

and then tied on a little Tartan ribbon.

Decorating this year is proving to be a work in progress.

I started with the basics the week before Thanksgiving, 

and I'm adding a little more each day.

Who knows, I might even have it done before Christmas!

(more coming in the Dining Room)

Joining in with these great parties:

Savvy Southern Style

DIY by Design

City Farmhouse

The Style Sisters

From My Front Porch to Yours

Daily Cup at Mrs. Olson's

No Minimalist Here

French Country Cottage

Craftberry Bush

Shabby Art Boutique

Dwellings

Coastal Charm

Cozy Little House

A Stroll Thru Life

Mod Vintage Life

xoxo,

p.s. Santa brought my white lanterns and they're 

HUGE

Now I just have to find a place to put them!

Today's Sponsor 

is Judy from 20 North Ora