Sunporch Shenanigans

There's a little more fun going on in the sunporch this week that I wanted to share with you.  I always have an ivy that sits in my wicker floral container, ok...funeral basket. I hate saying funeral basket. Is that the only time anyone ever had one of these delivered? I guess they were the closest thing to "disposable" back then. so anyway... back to the funeral basket...

I like to keep mine "upbeat" with some seasonal decor thrown in for fun.

So this month it's been an "ode to black cats".

I love any color cats, 

but in my lifetime I've had several of those sweeties

all named...

wait for it...

"Blackie"

I also had an adorable white kitty named "Whitey",

but today we're talkin' black kitties.

I think they get a bad rap.

My last "Blackie" was one of the sweetest girls around.

hmmm...this one could be a tuxedo.

but we'll just say it's black.

My girls were out here helping with the photos and trying to get a nibble

from the Angel Vine I just brought indoors.

They're naughty that way.

I found a wonderful little Elementary Reader a few years ago and used it to make some fun prints. That's a copy of the original 1920's page with another black cat and pumpkin image on top. I've always loved children's book illustrations from the 20's and 30's. When I was a kid, my grandmother had all my dad's childrens' books from the 30's. It broke my heart that someone cleared out the attic stash and threw them all away.

In just a few days, we'll be gearing up for Thanksgiving and the turkeys will take over. So for this week the owls and black cats, are still on the loose. Even one of my lambs wanted to join the festivities out here by sporting a new scarf...

don't tell him it's just a ribbon with a little glitter...

This is my second post today, the first one was "unscheduled" when I got these photos and texts from my daughter. Just wanted to share them and have a laugh, if you haven't read that post, CLICK HERE

Linking up with these wonderful parties:

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Inspiration Gallery at Ella Claire

DIY By Design

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

Stone Gable

No Minimalist Here

From My Front Porch to Yours

Today's Sponsor Bel Monili

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Buggy Wheel Door Decor and more...

What kind of fun are all of you up to this weekend?

I have a couple of little tidbits to share with you that were happening this last week. First off, I've had this old baby buggy wheel for years, but haven't done anything with it. I think it was the Junk Market gals, Ki and Sue that first had pics of these used as door decor. Of course I'm usually a day late and a dollar short, so I'm just now slapping some preserved leaves and a burlap ribbon on it and calling it "done".

My old picket fence gate with the great natural chippy white paint 

always seems to be the perfect spot to show something off. 

And my dear friend Becky from Timewashed sent me a couple of adorable fat pumpkins a few weeks ago, and I'm just now getting pics. Isn't that ticking stripe just the cutest? It matches my ticking pillows out here on the sunporch. She still has some cuties in her Etsy Shop and is starting on Christmas items. Can't wait to see what kind of goodies she will have.

thank you Becky, you're such a sweetheart!

and just a "Blogger" question...

anyone else out there having problems with it being slow?

takes forever to download photos...

doesn't read color or white correctly on photos...

Doesn't like "saving" the post...

acts like it's possessed?

I'm on Google Chrome,

any thoughts?

I've been pulling my hair out trying to do posts and get a new Fall header up.

If it's not "Blogger" then I'm skeert to think what it might be.

I don't like computer goblins.

(see what I mean, the background below is supposed to be white)

So, if you have this problem of your images turning grainy, mine were especially after saving them back to my file from PicMonkey, please read the comments below from Nita Stacy. She has the answer. Change the jpeg to png when you save it back to your file.

after changing it over to png.

YAY NITA!!!!

joining in at these great parties:

Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings

The Scoop at Cedar Hill Farmhouse

Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House

Knick of Time

Savvy Southern Style

I Love Junk Party at Thistlewood Farms

xoxo,

Decorating with Fall Naturals

I think we're seeing a trend in decor more and more each season, and that's decorating with nature's elements. I've found "mixing" faux and naturals goes a long way in making my home more inviting and giving it a more uncomplicated and spontaneous feel. There are so many beautiful, well made silks and faux elements that I'll never give them up, but finding that balance of combining the two has become a place where I'm enjoying the creative challenge.

If you read my post earlier in the week, you know that we've been literally neck deep in having a new roof put on our home. This was a more involved fix than just a composition roof, as after a really bad hail storm in June, we've decided to follow what everyone else in our 25-30 year old neighborhood has been doing, and that's replacing wood shake shingles with new super nice top of the line composition shingles. So, I've been under "house arrest" this week, as I didn't want my car out on the street for over a week. I opted to just stay home and not risk a flat tire or worse yet, vandalism.

So, I've had to play in the house this week, when all I want to do is get outside and do some puttering with plants and pumpkins. "Hedge Apples" are pretty common around this area; also called "Osage Oranges", I've been looking at them through different "decorating eyes" these last few years. What used to be a nuisance in the middle of the road, and half eaten messes, now I'm finding their wonderful color and texture to be something worth celebrating.

I bought two of these wonderful antique pottery flowerpots a few years ago,

after seeing them at Meloney and Brian's Seed Box Open House.

Anyone know the name for this type of flowerpot?

Somehow I got it in my head they were called "Vanilla" something or other?

You can see just part of Mel's great collection.

Sorry the photo is all blurry; that was 3 years and 3 cameras ago.

back to hedge apples...

I added some other natural elements on the coffeetable on the sunporch, so I at least could make a little vignette. Oh, and I added in a sunflower head that Julie sent me. love it!

Preserved leaves, hydrangeas, and bittersweet all join in.

And of course, anyplace you have sunflowers

 you will automatically have some birdies.

just a little nibble

Here's a really ugly photo of what I've been looking at all week.

30 years of tree debris, dirt, rotten shingles,

and torn off guttering looking out from the Living Room.

See the plywood against the house?

yep, that covered all the windows so it was like a cave downstairs.

I couldn't go down there it was so depressing.

what you can't tell is that this pile is at least 3 feet deep.

uh huh...

And this is what most of my prints and wall decor look like

after 5 days of pounding on the roof.

sort of like how my head feels...

But the good news is that most of the new roof is on and they're working today on the details, so the end is in sight. now for clean up... And making my hubby take me out for dinner!

Hope you're having a great weekend...

we're expecting rain, but I think we're covered.

joining in on these parties:

Blissful Whites at Timewashed
Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm
Make it Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House
Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House
Knick of Time Tuesday
The Scoop at Cedar Hill Ranch
Savvy Southern Style
TTT at StoneGable

xoxo,

Early Fall Changes on the Sunporch

Happy Fall...for reals!

OK, it just hit me that we are coming in to the last full week of September, I can hardly believe it. And if I want to show you any changes that I made for an "Early Fall" sunporch vs. the "Late Summer" Sunporch of August, it had better be now.

Because things will change again in October and I'll bring out a few of my vintage Halloween things. I don't "do" Halloween up big like I did when my kids were little. Now, I just like to have a few little things that remind me of all the fun Halloween was when I was a kid. 

One of the changes was this old straggly suitcase here on my glass nesting tables in place of the Linen Picnic Hamper for Summer. I brought out my big orange Butterscotch Wafers tin and snuggled an ivy inside. I also found the O'Cedar tin awhile back. It's pretty rough, but then I just love the color.

One of my little birdies found a spot to perch.

It's pretty bright out here, you may need to put on your sunglasses.

But that's what I love about my sunporch, I can go color crazy!

I made a few Fall changes out here on the Baker's Rack too. My black kitchen scales are back, I added an old open garden book, there's an orange pottery tea pot and tray, an orange plaid Thermos, and then my "Make Your Own Seedbox" that I made with Fall colors has shown up. I'd been saving it for this month.

Then, one of my little owl friends wanted to come out to play.

He's hanging out with another little friend in the birdcage.

and speaking of owls, did you catch my last post about "owls"?

The settee will get a change up for October too, 

I'm planning it right now...

hmmm...

This may happen this afternoon.

an antique sign I found a few years ago

 gets the "Bittersweet" treatment

on the chippy picket fence gate.

The black tole tray is still here holding some brown transferware, and I had to add a yummy candle to the mix. I have a candle burning most days from here on out. This one is Leaves, but good grief, the one in the kitchen is Pumpkin Pecan Waffle. That smell can make you go nuts...pun intended.

sitting in a cute wire pumpkin

I found a few sunflowers last weekend while I was out , but their little heads are now hanging, and they are dropping their petals. I'll be saving the heads to dry for next year.

Hope you're having a wonderful 1st day of Autumn!

I just put together a link on the sidebar and a new "page" on the header of my past "Autumn Projects and Inspiration". Hope you enjoy a look at some of the fun from the last 4 years.

If you have an Etsy Shop or Online Boutique,

 hope you'll join in tomorrow for 

I also have a new post out on my Spiritual Journey blog about "Being Available". My posts have been few and far between this last year, but I'm hoping to do better. Sometimes "life" gets a little overwhelming...

Joining in on these great parties:

Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings
Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House
The Scoop at Cedar Hill Ranch

Have a wonderful Sunday!

xoxo,