For our second Christmas in the house, I had a little more time to get creative with the mantel and built-ins surrounding our fireplace. For the first time in my life, I started decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving, and it felt good!
One thing I knew I’d be using was this old window I found at a barn sale in October. I just love it hung with a wreath and surrounded with lights. I balanced it with my shipping old greenhouse on the other side.
I have been loving all the flocked greenery I’ve seen online, so I bought a couple small trees and a garland that are flocked. I just love the snowy winter feel!
For the mantel, I paired the garland with a darling creamy white Pom Pom garland and some rustic bells. I supplemented the garland with some additional greenery picks and, of course, twinkle lights!
I also tried the asymmetrical trend, and I love it. My symmetry-loving husband was skeptical (once he noticed 😂), but he gets to keep his big speaker on the mantel so he doesn’t have a say in how I style around it!
If you’re like me, you typically transition to Christmas decor right after Thanksgiving. In fact, this year I started even earlier! Who wants a Thanksgiving centerpiece full of orange and gold that will look out of place the very next day?
This year, I decided to design a Thanksgiving centerpiece that would still look good when surrounded by Christmas trees. I also wanted to try my hand at designing a centerpiece using foraged greenery and grocery store flowers.
The base is a vintage Italian soup tureen. I’ve had it for years but have never used it for a centerpiece. I used the scotch tape trick to create a grid.
The table setting incorporates my wedding china, Wedgwood Chinese Flowers, as well as Waterford Colleen goblets. These elements are also vintage, given how long I’ve been married! 😂
Blue and white is always right, even for Thanksgiving! To prove it, I designed this table using a new Indian block print tablecloth I received that includes blue, red and brown.
These delft plates are vintage. I bought them on eBay, from a gentleman who found them in an estate sale. They are at least forty years old.
I recently found the lacy white chargers at Hobby Lobby, and the napkins were inherited from my mother. I kept the glassware simple to let the other elements shine.
You might recognize my pretty delft vase, the basis for my centerpiece, from a previous fall tablescape. I use this piece everywhere — it’s one of my favorites. This time I filled it with magnolia leaves and surrounded it with pumpkins in muted tones.
When my kids were in elementary school, I was always stressed out on Halloween. Invariably I volunteered to do something time-consuming at the school Halloween party, we were up late the night before making their costume visions a reality, and it was a mad rush after work and school to get home, get homework done and get real food into the kids before trick-or-treating.
When I thought about what to make for dinner, I often came up with something warm and hearty like chili. Something that could cook all day in the crock pot or even be cooked the day before and reheated. Something that would fill them up enough to keep them warm and fueled for the trek through the neighborhood.
I’m sure I never gave much thought to the table setting for this dinner back in those days. But now that my kids are off in college, I can reflect on what I might have done that would make the dinner special. That’s the inspiration behind this Halloween tablescape.
This isn’t a scary table. I’m not a big fan of eating in the presence of gory decorations. This table is all about comfort, warmth and a slightly festive but calm atmosphere. Why wind the kids up any more than they already are on this day?
Whether you find yourself stressed and harried, facing an empty nest or trying to entertain kids who are being deprived of the usual Halloween delights, I hope this table shows that elaborate isn’t always necessary. Happy Halloween! 🎃🦇🧡
Here is my fall tablescape featuring my beloved blue and white china AND fall colors.
If you’ve been following me at all, you know I love delft, and by extension ALL blue and white china. So naturally, when I visited one of the best flea markets in the world, I was on the lookout.
For any vintage lover or Francophile, le Marche aux Puces just outside Paris in St. Ouens is the premier destination for French flea market finds. And in 2015, I had the opportunity to spend a morning there. Here is my story. 😂⚜️
I got directions on how to get to the Marche aux Puce from this blog. And I am very thankful I did. Although my BFF Amy has lived in Geneva for years, and has been to Paris multiple times, she had never been. So when we planned a weekend in Paris, I was in charge!
Please follow the directions and don’t be scared as you wind your way through the less than reputable vendors on your way. Once you arrive, you will be met with a charming warren of truly French shops that offer an array of beautiful goods from authentic French households.
I was looking for some very specific items. First, blue and white china. Especially dessert/salad plates that could pair with what I already had. Second, FLAT items and small pretties I could fit in my carry-on luggage. (Yes, I packed only a carry-on for my trip to Europe.)
Look at these plates. I found these in a small shop full of dishes. They were in a precarious loft that I bravely climbed to find them. I allowed myself only six (although there were more). My friend, who is more fluent in French than I, especially in money, negotiated for me. Before I knew it, they were MINE for 45 euros! and then we had lunch in the flea markets!
I did acquire some other items at the marche, mostly small gifts (like postcards) for family and friends. But considering we hiked many miles that day after we left the Marche, it’s a good thing these plates were the heaviest thing I bought.
Here are the stairs to Sacre Coeur that I climbed while carrying these plates that day. When we finished touring that beautiful church, I offered to pay for the cab home!
That day will remain as one of the best days of my life. I talk about it often enough that my family has made a joke of it. (Wait, you went to PARIS???) I’m just thankful I have these plates — and the memory of that delightful day! ⚜️💙
In a normal year, I always make sure to decorate the entryway for Halloween. After all, it’s the one part of the house — aside from the front porch — likely to be seen by trick-or-treaters and their parents. With the big sideboard we have in our foyer, it’s also a perfect stage to welcome guests with seasonal decor.
I guess old habits die hard. Even though I’m not sure we’ll get any trick-or-treaters this year, I still put some thought into the decor here, changing it up from the early fall neutrals to a moodier, spookier vibe.
I knew I wanted a new foundational piece — a little set of drawers or cubbies — to add height and display some small, cute and creepy little pumpkins I’ve had for years. When I went to a barn sale last weekend, I found the perfect thing, this little cabinet of industrial drawers. That rusty red patina almost looks like wood or leather. Just what I was looking for!
Once I started playing around with the chest, I had a couple ideas to bring the space together. First I got a diptych of photos of my ancestors from the early 1900s. By itself, it’s not creepy, but put in a Halloween setting? There’s something about those unsmiling faces peeking out of early photographs that can be a little unsettling.
Second, I got the idea to do a raven-themed craft project. I have a lot of bird decor, and spooky birds are a natural for me. I’ve seen art made from old book pages, and I love the look. I had two black frames, so I took a deep breath and ripped two pages out of an old book. On one, I drew a raven — first in pencil and then ink. On the other, I used stamps to print “nevermore,” from the Edgar Allen Poe poem.
Add my cute witchy owl, a candle, an amber bottle (to which I added a temporary “beware” label), some foraged foliage and some old books, and I’m very happy with how it all turned out!
It’s the first day of fall, which is my favorite season for entertaining! While we’re still spending as much time as possible outdoors, the day is coming when it’s too chilly to entertain outside, so I’m starting to think about indoor settings.
For a small lunch or brunch, our breakfast area is just perfect. Surrounded by windows and overlooking our yard and stream, this spot offers guests a cozy place to gather and spot the wildlife outside.
I loved using my vintage delft china for this tablescape. I’ve been collecting delft pieces since we got married, but I was lucky enough to snag eight place settings of this china a few years ago on eBay. I had never seen such a complete set, and for such a great price. I could not hit “Buy it now” quickly enough! Look at those adorable teacups!
I paired this china with my husband’s vintage glassware. We call these his “goosy” glasses because they feature a pattern of frosted flying geese, a common sight around here in the fall. His grandfather used to drink his manhattans out of these glasses.
What is your favorite vintage possession? Did you find it or inherit it?
This is the first house we’ve ever owned that had a real front porch. Our new porch is small, but it finally has a roof to protect from weather and enough room for a piece of furniture.
I found this acacia wood bench at the closing sale of a lovely little home and garden shop back in March. They had contactless pick-up and I got it for a great price. I was thinking of painting it, but for now I’m going to see how it looks through the seasons.
I’ve been excited since March to decorate the porch for fall. My spring and summer decor was simple, because there was so much to do elsewhere, but in the fall I can really concentrate on the area that welcomes guests!
One constant is a blue pot with a bee motif. I filled it with pink geraniums for summer, but they were getting long and leggy. You couldn’t even see the bee! Here’s the before shot.
I swapped them out for a fall arrangement. (And you can bet I saved that asparagus fern to bring inside!) Can’t wait until that copper coin mum starts to bloom and fills the container out completely. 🧡
Rounding things out with another mum (a pomegranate color this time) and a stack of heirloom pumpkins just seemed like the right thing to do, don’t you think? 🎃😍
I will be tweaking this porch decor throughout the season, adding Halloween lights in late October plus a cute rustic sign I have on order through Etsy. I’m also hoping to rework the small garden bed in front. So stay tuned! 🍂🧡
We’re making the most of the weather these days by entertaining friends safely outside. I loved this table setting that incorporates both late summer and early fall.
My husband strung lights on the upper deck last week, and our evening with close friends was a perfect time to show them off.
For this dinner, I used our simple white plates and grass mats as the backdrop, then added sunny yellow napkins from Provence to match our sunflowers from the garden. Red zinnias emphasize summer, while a white pumpkin hints at fall. Also, peep that gorgeous linen runner from @southhousedesigns! I put it on the diagonal to keep things informal. I’ll be using these in many settings all season long.
We had a lovely evening and enjoyed the cool breezes that hinted at fall. If only this season would last longer!
Wexford Lane 