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Today I'm thankful for the much needed rain that is pouring down,and for our postal service who still delivers packages despite the weather; for today, I received this gorgeous hand dyed silk ribbon.
I'm especially loving the copper and brown tones - perfect for fall!
Off to create something with all of this luxurious ribbon -
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Some of you may remember when I shared our girls' study room renovation which included opening up the hallway by adding a set of French doors. Well, on the other side of the hallway was a solid paneled door leading to the basement. Over the last month, my husband has been hard at work renovating the basement stairwell. New drywall, paint, molding and light fixtures were added and last Sunday, while I was cooking away, he installed the French door. It really does open up the space, and compliment the study room's French doors.
Secretly, I think he chose to put a French door there to entice me to go down to the basement more often. (I seem to have a problem carrying things down there.... or so he says!)
With the new glass door in, we now have a large blank wall at the top of the stairwell in need of a focal piece. To let our sweet New York City man, know how much we love him, I'm going to purchase a NYC vintage subway sign to hang on the wall, similar to this reproduction.
It will look great in the space, especially when lit at night, and he'll love the ties to his hometown.
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I don't know if it's the cooler nights and promise of fall, but I have been spending lots of time in the kitchen as of late. Not a bad thing, as back-to-school brings on lots of activities and hungry kids. My girls have always loved bringing salads to school for lunch and my husband loves all kinds of chicken salads. So on Sundays, I usually roast 4 - 6 chicken breasts so during the week they can enjoy green salads topped with barbeque or grilled chicken, chicken caesar wraps, or one of of their favorite chicken salad recipes. With the chicken already cooked, it's a snap putting together the remaining ingredients for the day. I rub a bit of olive oil on the chicken, add salt and pepper and roast it at 400 degrees for about 50 minutes. I think roasting it on the bone, with the skin, adds lots of flavor and it's easy to remove the skin after cooking. It also makes your house smell wonderful on a Sunday afternoon and brings everyone to the kitchen!
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The end of September is my favorite time to visit our Farmer's Market, which is just a few minutes from our home. Not only are the peaches and tomatoes their ripest, but all of the fall squashes and pumpkins begin to appear. Last Saturday we came home with four of these cute little sugar pie pumpkins. At only one dollar each, how could I resist their adorable curved stems.
I also brought home lots of butternut squash, and today I made a big batch of our favorite soup and served it in our little pumpkins.
I'm going to save the pumpkin stems to make more of these!
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We're still waiting for a few more items to complete sweet girl's college apartment, but I thought I'd share a sneak peek of a few of the things she selected and already has in her home away from home.
The platform bed, dressers and desk are a deep dark chocolate brown which is a nice contrast to the white walls. Around the area of the skylight, above her bed, she hung a collection of white lanterns from the wood ceiling and beams. For her bathroom she chose a grey and cream colored theme, featuring a ruffled shower curtain and floral bath mat. With the addition of her photographs, artwork, and little decorative touches, the room really reflects her personality. The fabric to make the curtain panels for the closet is still on back order, but once we get that installed, I hope to share some pictures.
Shower Curtain - Urban Outfitters; Bathmat - Anthropologie; Furniture - Ikea; Lanterns - Ikea
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It's always a pleasure to discover when one of my designs is part of an Etsy treasury, and even more exciting when that particular treasury is featured on Etsy's front page. One of today's front page treasuries, "A Fall Wedding in Paris", included my French inspired photo holder. Although my husband and I were not married in Paris, we were fortunate to spend some time there on our honeymoon, so I am particularly fond of being part of this lovely collection.
Earlier this week, I completed an order for custom wedding favors, based on my French photo cube. The bride wished to incorporate their names and butterfly theme for their fall wedding. Here is a peek at their custom favors which will be shipping off to Europe with every good wish for their special day.
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Remember my little collection of pocket watch faces?
I scanned a few of my favorites to create these wooden clock face ornaments. After adjusting them all to a three inch size, I printed them out and decoupaged them onto wood circle cutouts.
I love decorating the tree with lots of cream and white colored ornaments and these will be perfect for next December.
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On Saturday, we visited this beautiful home perched atop a hill in the Piedmont of Virginia - Thomas Jefferson's Monticello.
My favorite part of the interior of the home is all of the gorgeous windows and doors with antique glass. (Sorry, no indoor photography is allowed.) However, my favorite thing to do when visiting Monticello is to roam around the gardens, specifically the vegetable garden.
The last time I visited Monticello it was in the early spring when the seedlings were just being planted, so it was nice to return at the end of summer. I could spend all day just gazing at the garden and vineyard. Guests are welcome to enter the gardens and walk wherever one pleases.
I love the simple, but elegant, garden markers used throughout all of the beds.
There were lots of brightly colored cockscomb and even some grapes drying on the vines.
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As promised, today I'm sharing another Christmas project I've been working on. These French-Scandinavian inspired cones are embellished with a vintage religious medal, a hand-stamped French Christmas sentiment and jute twine for hanging. The addition of felt interlining gives the cone its lovely structure. I especially like the details of the scalloped edge.
I'm going to use these to decorate the backs of my dining chairs, but they would also look wonderful at a place setting filled with sweets, or on the tree. You can find these in the holiday section in my shop.
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I appreciate all things creative and am inspired by the smallest of details. Here is where I love to share projects, designs and favorite things. ~ (more)
