Thanksgiving Greetings and a Mantel I Almost Forgot

Friends, wow, I almost forgot to share pics of my Thanksgiving mantel. I like to keep a visual diary of what I do each year but I've been in a bit of chaos with packing away "fall" and transitioning to more Christmas décor. 

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.

Thanksgiving Baker's Rack and a Peek at Christmas

I still have a few bits left for Thanksgiving, but now I'm working on decorating for Christmas. I love Fall so much I always go overboard so moving from Thanksgiving to the Christmas Season can mean lots of packing up and storing away before I can really get to Christmas. I've been trying to make it easier, but as you know there's just no way around it unless you're a total minimalist, which of course, I am not. 

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.

Savoring Thanksgiving into Christmas in the Garden Room

Hi Friends, how are you coming along with this seasonal transition time? Have you put away all your Fall decor and going cold turkey (pun intended) headlong into Christmas? 

Cottage Review: Enter Thanksgiving

Hi Friends, I'm sharing some Thanksgiving to Christmas inspiration today of my Entry from a few years ago. For some reason, my Entry this year wasn't spectacular (tehe), so I'm sharing some the entry area posts from year's past. As I say Inspiration is Inspiration, no matter the year.  I especially loved this look because of the "Oatmeal Tree" and the neutral painted leaf wreath. 

I had a brief thought of just whizzing by decorating for Thanksgiving and doing a more Christmas look, but in the end I just couldn't get there. I love late Fall and Thanksgiving, and I just wasn't up for full on Christmas. So I compromised a bit and brought out my "oatmeal" tree (looks like oatmeal) and called it good.

Easy Woodblock Christmas Gingerbread Houses

It seems like each year there's a new trend in Christmas decor, and the Gingerbread theme has been popping up everywhere the last few Christmas seasons. I love Gingerbread houses and Gingerbread Men/Women/People cookies as they are so traditional and geared toward the "kid" in us. I think most of us at one time or another attempted a Gingerbread House or cookies. The fun is in the creative process. Also nice if it turns out cute and actually stays in one piece!!

Giving Thanks in the Holiday Cupboard

Probably most of you are thinking like me; "Where has this year gone?" I don't know why this surprises me because my lifestyle isn't particularly hectic or do I have a crazy schedule. But the weeks go by and I'm  amazed when Thanksgiving and Christmas roll around and come knocking on my door. I'm always thrilled to see them, but never really fully prepared.

Bronzed Turkey from Blah to Burnished

I know we all have holiday decor pieces that we've had for years; many of them holding sentimental feelings of family and tradition. Well, I have my share of pieces that are just simply part of the ritual of bringing out Thanksgiving and Christmas decor, but really need a spiff up to make them presentable and up to date.

Old World Nature Inspired Urn

Hi Friends, I'm sharing some of my favorite Fall and Thanksgiving inspiration posts from previous years, along with new posts with some fun ideas for making the transition of Fall and Thanksgiving to Christmas. Here's a magazine inspiration urn I put together several years ago from when I picked up a Victoria Magazine Special Edition, called Victoria Classic French Cottage . 

Heading to the Holidays

Hello Friends, thought I'd just wish you a fun start to the Holidays. So I found a couple of old buddies, living in the moment, that had it all together for the start of the Thanksgiving and Christmas Season. I'm doing my best to ease into both by celebrating Thanksgiving and looking forward to Christmas. Why can't we enjoy it all... real time.

We had a real deep freeze hit us this week with multiple night lows down to the teens, so I think I might be ready to start thinking about Christmas. I'm not ready for red and green, but I'm bringing some nature elements together that will tie November into December. 

I'm twisting my husband's arm for a drive in the country to enjoy the leaves. I remember one Halloween where my younger daughter and her friend Trick or Treated in the snow, but that's it. We usually don't have this cold weather until after November 1. 

Have Fun and Welcome to the Holidays!!!

Cottage ReView: Thanksgiving with Feathered Friends

Hello Friends, Here we go into the slide toward the holidays, so during the next few weeks I'll be sharing some inspiration for Thanksgiving and Christmas as I make the transition from Fall to Christmas.

French Country Dining Room for Fall

Hello Friends, welcome to the Fall Dining Room, where shortly it will make the transition to Thanksgiving. The mini French wagon is joining my Pottery Barn urn this season for a late fall look, that can easily transition to the Thanksgiving holiday with just a few minor change ups.

Cozying Up the Back Porch for Late Fall

We're heading into my favorite time of the year. Late Fall's brilliant color, cool days, and cozy nights have always been the season that renews my mind and heart. I always enjoy the change of seasons; winter to spring is my next favorite time of the year. But the brilliance of the leaves in late fall paints a canvas that undeniably lifts me body, mind and soul.

Late Fall Looks on the Sideboard and Cookbook Cupboard

Last post I shared my hearth room mantel and décor along with a few woodsy friends. I guess you could call this part 2 of the hearth room as the sideboard and cookbook cupboard are actually in the hearth room. 

Woodland Vibes on the Fall Mantel

Hi Friends, welcome to my late October Hearth Room! If you've known me long you know that I gravitate to woodsy, vintage themes in the hearth room and on the mantel, especially during the fall season. Quilts, pillows and accessories all take on the colors of the season to create a cozy space for relaxing and conversation.

Fall Leaves and Tea Time On a Tray

We're here in the sunroom today, which is also known as the Garden Room in the sitting area. This spot is such a great spot for coffee or tea, which is cozy, comfy and full of seasonal color.

Amber Glass for Autumn Displays

 Hello Friends, and all of you who love Fall and all the deep rich layers of this beautiful season. 

Today I'm sharing my Amber Glass pieces and collections and how I use them in decor, and in this case oftentimes in my harvest tablescapes. I only have a few pieces, all of them vintage. My favorite and most used piece is this vintage cake pedestal that I use for displaying vignettes under glass during Autumn. It's the perfect way to "elevate" and highlight small vignettes with a cloche in my dining room décor.

I'm using this pedestal this season to create a fall woodland cloche display with one of my favorite fall pieces; my paper mache squirrel box and a velvet bejeweled pear. I have it sitting here on the dining room table, and for an added boost in height, it's on top of a wooden column riser. Later, I moved this over to the buffet.

I'm not one to use a cake pedestal for cakes; cupcakes maybe, so this is usually how it appears each fall season. A small garland of fall leaves, nuts and berries, and some preserved fall leaves add a bit of embellishment.

Here's the pedestal that I used a few years ago to display a pumpkin in the Holiday Cupboard fall styling without a glass cloche. It worked beautifully along with the brown transferware.

Celebrating Fall in the Holiday Cupboard

In the garden room the coffee/table bench is frequently changing, with small vignettes for the season. Here I'm using a large vintage Amber glass jar paired with a small olive bucket candleholder, bittersweet, a mini pumpkin, and a single pear. Multi-hued fall leaves are all that's needed for an anchor on the table.

Embracing Fall in the Garden Room

Amber glass was first created to be used with contents that needed to be protected from sunlight such as medicine and foods that decompose quicker. Then Amber Glass was used in "Depression Glass" back in the 20's in many colors. This has been one of my all-time favorite coffeetable vignettes. The leaves and the bottle, and the pumpkin, pear and bittersweet perfectly sum up my feelings for the Autumn season.

Here's the bigger view with the sitting area that season.

And another grouping of Amber Glass with my set of vintage Fostoria,  Indiana Glass Cubist drinking glasses. This is a fall tablescape I created back in my first blogging house with a Scottish wool throw and brown transferware for Thanksgiving. This is one of my most read posts, and favorites of Fall.

Nature Inspired Thanksgiving Tablescape

I'm using the amber glassware with some antique Heisey glassware.

Mix and match brown transferware are one of my favorite settings.

I had fun putting together the windowbox used as a centerpiece, using deer shed antlers and fall foliage with pumpkins.

I'll be sharing the rest of my Dining Room later this week.

Thanks so much for coming by.

October Entry With the Snow Owls

I think we all have favorite décor pieces that have some sentimental significance for each season. I bring them out each year, but I do try to move them around and at least be a bit creative by using them in different settings and rooms.

Kitchen Niche with October Whimsy

Hello friends, here's a peek at my kitchen niche for October. This a fun spot in the kitchen that is yet one more flat surface that gets a seasonal update often. You know me, I can't leave a flat surface alone without a touch of some kind of décor.

Cottage Review: Woodsy Kitchen China Cabinet

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. 

Autumn Greetings from the Cottage Front Porch

Hello friends, so hard to imagine we've now moved into October, my favorite month of the year. And my favorite season to decorate the front porch. Welcome to the "Falling for Porches" Porch Hop hosted by our dear friend Laura from Decor to Adore.

September Styling in the Sitting Area

Did someone say that September is almost over? What? Where did September go? It seems like it was just yesterday that I was celebrating the fact that August was in the rear view mirror. 

Goat Carts and Wagons Filled and Displayed for Fall

Today I'm sharing some fun ideas for putting together a cart or wagon for a beautiful Fall display, indoors or out. 

I've been working on my front porch this week getting it ready for a Fall Hop where a group of us will be sharing our front porches next week. Creating a fall garden display in a cart or wagon is always my favorite theme. So I needed some inspiration for putting things together, then share some pics from some of my previous cart and wagon fall displays.

Cottage ReView: Botanical Calendar Art on the Fall Buffet

Hello my friends, today on the Cottage Review I'm sharing a post from our previous home's dining room, styling my buffet for fall. At our current house our buffet is under a lovely English Country paned window, and although it's a pretty setting it's not practical for photo taking. Our last house had the "Frenchy mantel mirror" above it, and it was the perfect spot for decorating.