Vintage Cottage Weekend and the January Cupboard

Hello friends and Happy Weekend! For a few weeks in January we have a small bit of time that's totally dedicated to warm, cozy, and comfy. After Christmas and before Valentines Day; it's a time to relax in front ot the fire, read a good book, watch a movie, and curl up in a soft warm blanket... without a ton of shopping, big meals to cook or a deadline looming on the calender.

Winter Whites Tabletop Vignette

I don't share this little table often because it tends to be a catch all for whatever I'm putting together in the Garden Room. But it has a sweet little shelf where most of my ironstone pitchers live year round and my vintage silver tray and a mix and match coffee service. It turned out that it was a perfect spot with just the right amount of space to pull together a "winter white" look for these early days of January.

Decking the Halls with My Christmas Collections

French Cottage Kitchen Niche for Fall

I have this little cabinet niche here in the kitchen that I think was originally created for a TV/sound system by the former owners of our house. But I prefer a smaller TV on the counter, so we were left with either using it as display shelving or try to match existing cabinetry. I could use it as open shelving by adding another set of shelves, but I chose to leave it as "was" and just make a spot for seasonal kitchen display.

Cozy Up to Fall in the Hearth Room

Welcome to my mish mash of early fall pics here in the Hearth Room. I shared my Mantel with Transferware and Ironstone earlier this week, so today I'm sharing the rest of the room. Things change pretty quick in September so I need to stay current week by week!

September Mantel with Ironstone and Transferware

Does decorating for Fall sound better once it becomes September? I think there is a subtle shift in my brain's ability to bring out some pumpkins and leaves once we're officially past Labor Day. I've had my Fall tubs out for several weeks, but I just couldn't get excited until this last week. Plus the weather has cooled down a bit and the light seems to be making those longer shadows that don't happen till Autumn is on our doorstep.

Summer to Fall Garden Florals in Vintage Containers

Today I thought I'd share a few pics and posts with my garden grown Hydrangeas from this house. I've really enjoyed the large lush bush out front and start snipping those blooms in late June for display and drying. After a few weeks of enjoying the fresh cuttings, they can be dried into lovely delicate dried specimens that range from delicate pinks and greens to darker mauves and purples in the Fall.

A Winter's Walk in the Holiday Cupboard

Hello friends, since Valentine's Day will be here in a few weeks, I knew I needed to share my January edition of the Holiday Cupboard. January has been cold and often dreary here, but I'm trying to be present and look for the good to enjoy each season... including winter. One of the fun ways I celebrate each month and season is to refresh my old pie safe, aka "The Holiday Cupboard". 

Foraging for Fall on the Potting Bench

Hello friends, hope you're having a lovely Fall weekend! Earlier in the week I shared my meager Fall Cottage Front Porch with a few fall accents, mums and pumpkins. So today I want to show how I foraged around my yard to put together a couple of floral arrangements gleaned from bushes and the last of the summer flower containers. I'm out on the covered patio out back with the Potting Bench.

The Holiday Cupboard is for the Birds

Hello there, Friends! I hope you're having a wonderful week and that you're enjoying warm pleasant late spring weather. We all seem to have some outdoor projects we're trying to get to, but golly, it's been chilly and rainy around here... again. I'm not sure why this surprises me because it's often cool and rainy in early to mid May, but I'm sorta over it.  You can remind me of this when I'm complaining in September that it's too hot and dry. I've been wanting to get my outside containers put together and it's been too cool to get out and do much. I did finally get to the nursery over Mother's Day weekend to pick out some flowers so maybe I can get those finished up by this weekend.

Using Vintage Dishes in Seasonal Decorating Hop

Hello friends, I'm so happy you've come by today and I hope you'll be checking out the fun that we're having at this bi-monthly Hop, Lifestyle of Love. Cindy from County Road 407 is our hostess with these wonderful vintage themed Hops. If you hopped over from Amber's blog, Follow the Yellow Brick Home, I know you loved her wonderful collection of vintage ironstone, pottery and dishes.

This month our Hop theme is "dishes" if you haven't guessed already, and I can guarantee that you'll find tons of inspiration on using dishes in seasonal decor. Whether you're a die-hard tablescaper and dish collector, or someone like me who just loves using them in vignettes and vintage decor, I know you'll love all the ideas from our group. 

Backyard Naturals Bouquet

One of the reasons I love Fall so very much is the change in the coloring of leaves, flowers, and shrubbery. Where Spring is full of greens and lovely pastel shades of flowers and buds, Fall can be just as amazing visually with all the glorious brilliant color. 

Garden Bouquets and Transferware

I've been inspired by all the beautiful garden bouquets out here in Blogville. I wasn't able to get a lot of flower containers planted this year, but I do have several pots filled with the small mixed zinnias and trailing variegated petunias. I also have a large hydrangea out front that has given me quite a few pretty ever-changing blooms. 

January Cupboard in Candlelight

For me, January is a month for settling in for Winter. Here in the lower Midwest we do have a few beautiful warmer days during Winter, but for the most part the days are gray and cold and spitting something wet. In January I'm all about staying warm and cozy indoors. To combat the short dreary days I like to have some spaces in the house that evoke a feeling of warmth and comfort.

French Farmhouse Table in the Dining Room

My last post I was telling you all about my after Christmas need for a more neutral palette. I always love a lot of color at the Holidays and I sort of overdid it this year here at the new place. I'm kinda over red/green for now. I'll be ready for some red again next month for Valentine's Day, but for now, my eyeballs need a break.

Christmas Holiday Cupboard and the Garden Room

Hi Friends, time for the Christmas Edition of the Holiday Cupboard. I've had so much fun decorating this old cabinet out here in the sunroom aka the Garden Room this last year. It's the first Christmas styling I've done with it, and I've found a lot of fun vintage goodies to decorate with in my stash. This cabinet was storage at the last house, but now it's been organized to allow me to have some more display space for holiday pieces.

The Fall Dining Room and Needlepoint Pumpkins

It's now October, but since the weather hasn't been very Fall-like, I'm still feeling the need for the "lighter version" of Fall Decor. When I was first adding Fall to the Dining Room I was going for Fall colors, but not anything dark and heavy. I don't want a bunch of that when it's 90 degrees outside. I started thinking about maybe using a vintage print on the buffet that had all the Fall feels, but still added some lighter color and a little "white".

Fall Vignette on the Washstand

I have a favorite little corner in the Dining Room that's not easily seen from the rest of the house. It's only visible if you walk from the kitchen to the Dining Room, but it has some very sweet vintage pieces. The washstand with the marble top was in my childhood home, right inside our Entry at the old farmhouse. I've had it for the last almost 20 years, and finally painted it a few years ago to become the lovely little cabinet that it is today.

Back Porch and the Potting Bench

This has been the week to finally share my outside spaces... good and not so good. Earlier in the week I posted my front porch that's in the middle of a facelift. That post is a kind of a cringe-worthy "before photo", but I know it's going to get better. So now to the back of the house. I'll show you the potting bench first, since it's the most fun to look at.

A few more touches in the Dining Room

Over this last weekend we finally got a few things up on the walls. We've had so much to do, and my hubby only has the weekends to help me do things, so this decor fun was moved on down the list. I explained to him that I needed to share some things that were not Garden Room or Hearth Room related here on the blog, haha. Time to get to share some other rooms.