Valentine's Day in the Holiday Cupboard

Hi Friends, I cannot believe it's actually February

and in a little over a week it will be Valentine's Day...

So I wanted to do my monthly/seasonal "restyle" of the Holiday Cupboard.

I have so many little odds and ends that it's always fun

to give them all someplace to go hang out.

Cows in the January Cupboard

How do you feel about January?

Are you excited about a clean slate and look forward 

to putting together some fun fresh decor 

or does it take a while to get out of the post Holiday season blahs?

I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. 

I love the  excitement and cozy Christmas decor with lots of color and twinkle lights,

but I'm usually ready to put it all away and look forward to 

a more pared down and neutral look.

Woodsy China Cupboard for Fall

Hi Friends...

I'm getting ready to tweak my "Early Fall" Holiday Cupboard, to an October version that has more current seasonal color and vibe to it. When we were living at our last home I didn't have a spot for the Holiday Cupboard, so I focused with seasonal dishes on my Kitchen China Cupboard. I used more dishes than odds and ends, but it was still fun to "decorate" with natural and seasonal bits of bittersweet and leaves. 

Long Lost Crockery in the Holiday Cupboard

A few weeks ago my hubby called from our storage unit asking me if I might want him to bring home a few boxes that he'd stumbled over... literally. The problem with moving twice in 5 years is that it's easy to lose track of what's been taken to storage and when. He texted me a pic of a box labeled "crockery" that I hadn't seen in 7 years. WHAT???

Holiday Cupboard for Easter

Hi Friends, it doesn't seem possible that this is Easter Week....

Back in February I changed up the Holiday Cupboard with a few pieces of my green Transferware to give it a Spring-y feel. I've kept the green here during St. Patrick's Day and now that it's Easter it works as a good background for the pastels of Spring. I've just tweaked a few things along the way, and I've added a few vintage and repro Easter postcards, decorated eggs and candy molds.

Starting on Spring with Green Transferware

After Valentine's Day I'm starting to think about Spring and Green and needing a change from the cold and dreary February weather. It's too early to be going all "Easter Bunnies" for me. But as I was thinking about my Holiday Cupboard in the Garden Room, I realized that bringing out some of my Green Transferware might be the first step that I needed.

Garden Room China Cupboard with Transferware

This cabinet used to be known as the Kitchen China Cupboard, but now it's going to have to be known as the Garden Room China Cupboard since it's not technically in the Kitchen any longer. It's really wonderful having all this extra space and the windows out here. I hadn't wanted to have anything blocking the light, but I didn't have the right spot other than this. 

A few misplaced things...

Even though we're working on the new house with it pretty much in disarray and a lot going on, I still have that need to scatter a little Fall Decor about. During August and September I was able to get a jump on some packing, especially some of my decor pieces like old dishes and vintage odds and ends. I found a few things that I don't think I'd shared on the blog for awhile so I thought I'd try to use a few of them for the season.

French Country Styling on the Baker's Rack

As we head towards August the color scheme sees some subtle changes around here. I like to bring in the deeper colors of golds and greens; more neutral tones. Sort of "harvest-y" colors. In the Spring and Summer the kitchen sitting area is all about bright fresh color and a garden feel; now I'm ready for something different.

A Mixed-Up Christmas Brunch

Last year I put together a fun little Christmas Brunch Tablescape here in the kitchen. Of course, it featured Plaid and my Red Transferware, but this year I thought I'd mix it up a bit. I have a few place settings of Green Transferware that I usually keep in the cupboard that only come out in Spring or at Easter.

Styling My Buffet for Fall

I've been trying to spread out my Fall decorating over the last few weeks. It's given me a chance to try out a few different ideas, and also taken the pressure off to get it all done in a couple of days. I used to make myself and my husband crazy by going into a marathon décor frenzy. Now I'm taking my time and looking for inspiration from Pinterest and Fall Magazines from my many year stash.

An Ironstone Pitcher for an Endless Summer Bouquet

I've been watching my Hydrangea bushes in the back yard, waiting for the right time to snip the blooms and bring them inside for drying. Several websites and bloggers say to wait until the blooms have gone to a deeper color and that their petal texture has become delicate and paperlike. Whoops... I almost waited too long.

Christmas Brunch in Tartan Plaid

A week or so ago, I had a little trial run to set a Christmas Breakfast or Brunch with my Red Transfer ware. I had been looking for Red Tartan Plaid placemats, and found these on Ebay. They were half the retail price from last year, and were brand new in the original packaging from Penneys, so I was glad to find these. I bought two sets, since when I need them, I'm usually setting a table for six.

Thanksgiving Tablescapes with Transferware

There are photos of hundreds of lovely Thanksgiving Tablescapes, but today I wanted to share with you Fall and Harvest Tablescapes using Transferware. Brown is my favorite by far, I guess because it's so easily used with a Fall theme. If you have bits and pieces of it you're set, just stack them together; a mix is wonderful, or even used with white china or pottery. The key is keeping the color palette the same. Anything goes...

Instagram

Kitchen China Cupboard for Fall

Earlier this Fall I found bags of these adorable glittered acorns

 at (I think) Hobby Lobby.

I knew I'd use them somewhere for a bowl filler or accent. 

They ended up here in the Kitchen China Cabinet. 

It would have been fun to make them myself, but since they were half price,

I did the lazy crafter's thing, and saved myself a lot of mess.

My kitties girls love them a roll in glitter, 

which in turn gets everywhere.

Glitter Kitties and more to clean up.

Summertime Seashell Vignette

Since it's still Summer, I wanted to try to use my antique Blue Willow Transferware Tureen here on the Entry Hall Console. I've had it out with some other "blues" for my Patriotic decor so, I hunted down some of my shells to replace the summertime potpourri.

Easy Festive Votives with Plaid and Boxwood

Hi Everyone, I hope you're having a wonderful weekend.

 Getting the Christmas decorating in hand, shopping,

making plans for this busy time of year...

 and enjoying your loved one's companionship.

An October Entry

My house tends to look a bit overdone if I'm not careful;

especially this time of year.

OK...most of the time it's a little too cluttered.

Blame it on blogging and enjoying sharing it all with you.

Blue Willow Transferware Tureen

So, let me ask you a question...

Do you do "Blue and White"?

Do you have an obsession with 

Blue and White Urns, Ginger Jars, Tureens, Transferware,

and all things Blue?

Me?...not so much.

Snippets from the China Cabinet

I hope you're having a wonderful Fall Day.

The treetops are changing to various hues of red, orange, and yellows.

It's warm, but you can feel the Fall changes.

I've been adding Autumn to my Kitchen China Cabinet...

The mismatched plates, cups, saucers, and tureens each become a work of art

...when Bittersweet and Leaves nestle around them.

Both the bovine and the birds...

are celebrating the wild garden within the walls of glass.

xoxo,