The Living Room and Leopard Print Pillows

Hi Everyone, things have been quiet around here and I've been keeping my nose to the grindstone so to speak, in regards to my quest in sorting through more boxes of decor and organizing my storage room downstairs. 

Thanksgiving Sitting Area

Time for the Thanksgiving Edition 

of the Kitchen Sitting Area!

I realize that many people in Blogland may not be all that interested 

in how my Kitchen Sitting Area changes with the Holidays and Seasons.

 But since you're here, I'm hoping you can enjoy the Seasonal Fun for what it is.

An Old Quilt and New Pillows in the Sitting Area

 Now that it's "Mid October" it's

time to bring more of the rich Fall colors

 into the Kitchen Sitting Area.

Kitchen Sitting Area Dressed for Fall

When I shared the Blogger Fall Home Tour put together by Brenda last week, one room didn't make the cut... that was the Kitchen Sitting Area. I had a few things left to get done. So, I have a few of those things done, but it's still not finished. I'm sure I'll have that done by the time to decorate for Christmas.

A Taste of Fall

I thought I'd share a few pics with you today of the Bloggers Fall Tour that will happening starting Tuesday and going until Friday of this week. I'm just giving you a little "Taste of Fall". I hope you'll take the Tour with all 28 of us, who will be sharing projects, DIY, recipes, decor and more.

"Pick Your Pillow" Fall Give Away!

   

Hi Everyone, time for the

  Great Fall "Pick Your Pillow" Give-Away

with my super talented friend Heather from
Elliott-Heath Designs

Pillow Re-cycle, Downsize, Re-Do

That may not make any sense to all of you, but this was a little project that I'd been wanting to do since we moved in last Fall. So do you remember these pillows that I found at the antique mall a couple of years ago? No...? Don't worry if you don't, because they haven't been shown much here on the blog, because...well... they're just too big!

Late Summer Kitchen Sitting Area

I've piddled around with this kitchen sitting area post so long,

 that if I don't show you all soon, 

I'm going to be ready to change it up to be the 

"Early Fall Kitchen Sitting Area".

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".

Pillow Change-up for a Summer Look

Sometimes, just a few small change-ups can make a space more seasonal. And since you all know that I'm a certified pillow fanatic, that's just what a pillow switch accomplished. Last week we had one of the warmest days so far, so I thought I might need to put away the furry leopard print pillows and the animal print PB throw. Instantly lighter and more "summery".

A little Birdie told me...

That it will be Spring in just one week!

I had to share this adorable little pillow from Judy.

It makes me want to chirp...

The kitchen sitting area is getting Spring-ified,

and some St. Patty's Green is coming out.

What are you up to this weekend?

Hope it has some green in it!

I've opened a FaceBook page

for the Blog,

CLICK HERE for some behind the scenes fun.

Maybe Instagram will be next,

who knows, I'm feeling crazy...

joining in at:

The Scoop at Cedar Hill Farmhouse

xoxo,

Valentine Birdies, a Photo Bomb, and a Winner

For me, Valentines Day signals the end of winter and the start of all things Spring in my decorating. Even though the weather sometimes doesn't agree, I put away all my evergreens and snowy winter-y things and concentrate on bringing in a few flowering faux branches, some lighter colors, and start thinking garden and seeds.

Entry Dressed for Valentine's Day

I'm so glad it's February! January felt long and cold and boring. To me, January feels like trudging through mud, creatively speaking. I'm ready for some hearts and flowers, chocolate, and little cupids flying around. So...I'm glad it's time that we can do a little fun decorating for Valentine's Day.

Adding some Valentine's Day fun and a Give Away

One of the easiest and fastest ways to decorate for any Season or Holiday is with throw pillows. Their seasonal colors and design bring instant "decor" into a room. See the little pillow below? I fell in love immediately. Those little love birds kissing, aaahhh...they're just the perfect Valentine's Day fun.

Coming Attractions...

Hi Everyone, I just wanted to give you a quick Heads Up for another fun Give Away from my friend, Heather, from Elliott-Heath Designs. I'm out the door for a little shop visiting, but I wanted you to be watching for it. She has some of the best pillow designs, for all occasions. If you have a minute go take a peek. We'll be doing another "Pin Your Pillow" Give Away!

See You Soon,

Toile pillows for the sitting area...

If you're like me this first week of January, you're wandering around the house looking for something to "change up". I loved my Red Tartan Plaids in the sitting area for Christmas, and I wasn't even tired of looking at them, but at the same time I needed to clear out the Christmas decor and make January "fresh".

Finding the Old Door and a Lesson for Blogging

When I was placing furniture here in the kitchen sitting area I knew I wanted it to have the "feel" of my previous sunporch. The old sunporch was full of vintage pieces, each of them with aged and chippy white paint. Anything vintage felt at home out there, and it was one of my favorite places to decorate and photograph.

An old white paneled wood door that was angled in the corner sort of grounded the settee, and gave me a place for a mirror and seasonal wreath. I have sold so many of my favorite white chippy pieces, but I saved the door and wanted to use it again, and so after a week of searching the storage units, I found it in the back corner with my white metal gate and gray shutters. (Hmmmm...was Hubbs subconsciously hoping I'd forget about them?) That wasn't going to happen. Anyway, the new sitting room felt off balance and odd with that corner hanging out all bare behind the wicker settee. I just had to try that door. 

We brought it in to the kitchen and for a moment the "new" of the new house tried to tell me that it was too chippy and banged up and that it's old hinges would damage the walls and that it would scratch the hardwood floor. The "new" house said "it will look out of place and everyone will think you're nuts for having some old crummy door in your kitchen". But once it was in place, I knew it was back home where it should be.

My clay sheep's head and the old vintage oval frame are here for now. Maybe this will be a place that I can change things out seasonally. I'm still looking for the mirror and wreaths...

Now my settee has it's old partner again, and I can sit here and enjoy a cup of tea in the afternoon, or read through a magazine while dinner is on the stove. My quilts, coverlets, plaid blankets, and pillows all have their old spot back.

Just a little more time to enjoy the hooked pillows and warm Fall blankets. And then it will be Christmas time, and I'll get to change it all up again.

I'm learning that there can be a balance of the things we love. That living with and decorating with "vintage" things is my first love. Capturing a feeling or essence of what makes a home comfortable, enjoyed, and reminiscent of our past is what's more important to me. I've realized this last year how much I've missed documenting the Seasons and Holidays the way I used to. While I admire all the bloggers that can give you 6 ways to do this, or 5 ways to do that, I know that that's not the real me. Finding the right light to show a flame of a candle, a delicate flower of a paperwhite, or an old religious print, is what I'm more about.

Oh, I'll always have a project to share, a painted something or other, and my latest decor idea, but this last year having had most of my things packed away, I've learned where my heart really is in blogging... and that's right where I started. Be yourself, and blog about what you love. Don't cave to the pressure to turn yourself into something you're not comfortable with. Take a rest and find your joy in life. It will show.

I'll be joining these get togethers this week:

Dwellings
Coastal Charm
Cozy Little House
A Stroll Thru Life
Cedar Hill Farmhouse
Savvy Southern Style
Mrs. Olson's
From My Front Porch to Yours

xoxo,

Kitchen Baker's Rack...it's back!

I know many of you are thinking "Christmas" about now... me too. I'm loving seeing all the Christmas ideas and inspiration out here, and I'm making plans. I go through this every year... I get antsy to decorate for Christmas, but I can't get there quite yet. I really need to celebrate Thanksgiving, first.

I really couldn't decorate for Fall at the lease house because we were packing and moving. I put out a few things there, but being in transition, I didn't get the full effect of enjoying Autumn.

So the first thing I wanted to do as we moved in to the new house on October 31, was to bring out some of my Fall wool plaid blankets, pillows, and Thanksgiving Turkeys.

So I hope you'll bear with me as I share a little November decor.

I've mentioned that I've been able to squeeze a few of the pieces I had in the sunporch into the kitchen here, to make up for not having a sunroom or porch. The wicker settee, a wicker chair, and the baker's rack all share the eat-in kitchen space. (just like the lease house) In some ways it's better, because the sunporch had no heat or air, and by this time of year, I couldn't really enjoy it on a daily basis. If we had company or a family gathering I brought in a space heater, but otherwise it was usually too chilly.

If the baker's rack looks a little sparse, it's because when these pics were taken, I still hadn't opened all the boxes marked "baker's rack". I got to them today, but I'm planning a little kitchen spot in the lower level, so I'll have some fun displays down there.

Here's a peek at how things are coming together in the kitchen dining area. Do you remember that old chippy white door? It looks pretty small here. This room has higher ceilings than the sunporch, so it looks pretty dinky. I haven't hung any prints or items on the walls yet; I've been waiting to unpack all the boxes of prints first. I'm not wanting to make any mistakes with a bunch of holes on those "perfect griege" walls!

Our younger daughter Aly has been helping me unpack, and I couldn't have made this move without her. I've always been the person who would and could, work all night or until the job was done. I can't do that anymore, so I want to give her credit for being there when I've really needed her. Here's a pic of both my pretty girlies taken a few years ago. Aly on the left, Erin our St. Louis gal is on the right. Don't know what I'd do without them. They're the best.

OK, so I have a few more pics of Fall and Thanksgiving stuff.

I like to have the blog as a diary of my Holiday decorating,

so hope you all won't get too bored.

Believe me, I'm ready to haul in all those tubs of Christmas fun!

xoxo,

It's a Pillow Thing...and you can win!

Fall is definitely here in the MidWest and there's no better way to add some warmth and coziness to your home, than with a few fun pillows in Autumnal colors and designs. Let's just say that I have a Thing for these great graphic pillows from Elliott-Heath Designs!

The super talented Heather of Elliott-Heath Designs has been a sponsor of Common Ground since I found her wonderful pillow creations several years ago. I've had several Pillow Give-Aways with Heather, the first of many, her Sunflower Pillow, has become iconic for Late Summer decor.

I have quite a few of Heather's wonderful pillow covers, and I've purchased several for gifts too. She has beautiful and unique designs for every Holiday, Season, and Occasion. Here's my latest, just waiting for the new house and the start of the Christmas Season.

Here are just a few more designs for the Christmas and Holiday Season.

... it's the perfect time to start thinking of snuggling by the fire this Fall.

Heather has so many fun designs for Halloween and Thanksgiving, 

you'll want to check them out, too!

This is a super easy Give Away with 3 chances to win:

1. Run by Elliott-Heath on Facebook and "Like" her page. Let me know in a comment if you have done this in the past, or if you're new to the page.
2. Head over to the Elliott-Heath Etsy Shop and Pin at least 3 Pillows for one of your boards, like Fall Decor or Christmas. Then come back and leave a comment saying you did.
3. Post on your own Facebook Page about the Give Away here at Common Ground, then let me know in a comment.

Hope you'll enter to win this beautiful pillow cover,

 it's perfect for Autumn into Winter.

Give Away ends a week from today, Monday, October 20.

xoxo,

Pear Branches and Some New Old Pillows

Our little city has been full of these wonderful blooms these last few weeks; tufts of small individual blossoms cover the trees, and give a haze of billowy whiteness. I hadn't been up close and personal with the blooms of the Bradford Pear Tree, but I was eager to clip a few branches that are in our new back yard to bring inside...

until I actually took a deep breath to inhale the delicate white blooms, that look a lot like Spirea, or Bridal Veil, and then I got a huge surprise... they're the stinkiest plant I've ever smelled!

Stink, Stank, Stunk!

So the kitty girls were curious too, 

let's just say one whiff and they were not interested any longer.

But I still brought them in because they're so dang pretty.

and besides, I wanted a new coffee table vignette.

This is one of the lanterns from Pottery Barn that I ordered last Christmas.

I wanted to keep things white,

so it's an iron rabbit, on a vintage flowerpot.

we see you...

on a frenchy farmhouse tray with a chicken wire bottom.

While I was taking pictures, I decided to add in this old paper mache tray for some more coordinating color.

It's been well used over the years, but the cottage is so charming, 

I looked past the damage.

Sorting out things for a garage sale, I realized that there were two pillows that might work on my new sofas. When I brought them over, I saw that the caramel really highlighted the colors of the vintage print. So I think they'll stay.

This is a tapestry upholstery fabric I used a couple of years ago;

an old bed pillow is inside.

I know it's kind of a stretch to use with a leopard print,

but it works for me, since there's not much pattern in here.

Here's the loveseat, and another pillow I had used in the living room on my Bergere chairs once they were "slipped".

I think the tans, browns, and creams pull it all together.

Hope you're having a beautiful Easter Week. 

(just stay away from stinky trees...)

joining in on these great parties:

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
Swing into Spring at DIY by Design
Blissful Whites at Timewashed
Share Your Cup at Mrs. Olson's
Treasure Hunt From My Front Porch to Yours
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home
Shabbilicious Friday at Shabby Art Boutique
Fabulously Creative Friday at Jennifer Rizzo
Simple and Sweet Friday at Rooted in Thyme

xoxo,

Today's Sponsor

Elliott-Heath Designs