Autumn Decor

I got a whole box of old clay pots at a garage sale.  All for $2

Habanero and chili peppers from a friend.  Habaneros are almost too hot for us to use in cooking but they make a lovely centerpiece on the kitchen table.

Time for the 'greenhouse' to come back inside.  It is perched on top of my refrigerator.  And I'm liking it better ever day!

My dining room nook.  Again.  I really like how this vignette looks:)

My kitchen window.  The rosemary was a lot taller but I used a bunch of it to make Pioneer Woman's Rosemary Potatoes.  I really really hope I can keep these plants alive for a few months anyway.  Fresh rosemary is the best. (Along with fresh basil. I should try to grow it inside too.)

Don't forget to enter my giveaway in the post below this!!  Ends next Tuesday, November 1st. 

Indian Summer

We really haven't had 'Indian Summer' this year. 

Think we might still get one???

I would be ecstatic if November turned out WARM.  Really warm.  Really Really warm would suit me just fine:)

I found the following information interesting.  Thought I would share!

An Indian summer is a meteorological phenomenon that occurs in the autumn. It refers to a period of considerably above normal temperatures, accompanied by dry and hazy conditions, usually after there has been a killing frost. Depending on latitude and elevation, the phenomenon can occur in the Northern Hemisphere between late September and mid November
The modern use of the term is when the weather is sunny and clear, and above 70 °F, after there has been a sharp frost; a period normally associated with late-October to mid-November.

The expression 'Indian summer' has been used for more than two centuries. The earliest known use was by French-American writer John Hector St. John de Crevecoeur in rural New York in 1778: "Then a severe frost succeeds which prepares it to receive the voluminous coat of snow which is soon to follow; though it is often preceded by a short interval of smoke and mildness, called the Indian Summer." There are several theories as to its etymology:

• In Colonial New England and New York, Indian Summer referred only to a January Thaw, when American Indian Raiding parties could be expected in the western and northern areas: the ground had briefly lost its snow cover so tracking the Native American raiders back to their winter camps was much more difficult for the Colonials.
• In The Americans: The Colonial Experience, Daniel J. Boorstin speculates that the term originated from raids on European colonies by American Indian war parties; these raids usually ended in late autumn (due to snow covered ground), hence summer-like weather in the late fall and mid winter was an Indian Summer, a time raiding parties could be expected.
• Two other known uses of the term in the 18th century are from accounts kept by two army officers leading retaliation expeditions against Indians for winter raiding parties on settlers in Ohio and Indiana in 1790, and Pennsylvania in 1794.
• It may be so named because this was the traditional period during which early American Indians harvested their crops of squash and corn.
• In the same way that Indian giver was coined for people who take back presents they have bestowed, the phrase Indian summer may simply have been a way of saying "false summer".

Why Indian? Well, no one knows but, as is commonplace when no one knows, many people have guessed. Here are a few of the more commonly repeated guesses:

• When European settlers first came across the phenomenon in America it became known as the Indian's Summer.
• The haziness of the Indian Summer weather was caused by prairie fires deliberately set by Native American tribes.
• It was the period when First Nations/Native American peoples harvested their crops.
• The phenomenon was more common in what were then North American Indian territories.
• It relates to the marine shipping trade in the Indian Ocean (this is highly dubious as it is entirely remote from the early US citations).
• It originated from raids on European settlements by Indian war parties, which usually ended in autumn.
• In a parallel with other 'Indian' terms it implied a belief in Indian falsity and untrustworthiness and that an Indian summer was an ersatz copy of the real thing.

Fun in the leaves

Fall

Fall has come.  In all its chilly beauty!

Fall Decor

For awhile now I've been less than enchanted with my shelf in my living room.  It's funny how I can love it when I get it all arranged and it can be just what I want, and I have fun changing things out for the different seasons.  Then slowly it becomes just a jumble of this and that and nothing really resonates with me anymore.  So while my quest for just the right furniture is still being worked on I did completely empty off my 12+ foot shelf and gave it a complete makeover.  And now I love it again!  The large black frame is the same I just removed the artwork and added the crown of thorns.  Other pieces have been here before also but it's a whole new look.  Thanks to my Mom for the hydrangeas, I clipped her bush clean!

Tiny dress form from a doll house set.  I couldn't resist:)

My nook in the dining room got a makeover too.  It was very much high time for it too.

Having events doesn't leave much time to fluff your house!

Aren't these baby shoe lasts just daring?? 

Tiny pennant banner made out of old maps.  Made by Marcy and sold in our booth at the event.

Small broom from Kara.

Fun wooden acorn.

This paper flower is such a darling little bright spot!  I love it.  It was made by Lauren who also had a booth at the event.  She featured these on her blog before the event and then didn't bring them!  Marcy and I gave her a rather hard time about it so on Saturday she arrived with one for each of us.  They are just too cute.

It's cider weather!

I found this picture on a blog recently and saved it to my 'creative ideas' folder.  Wouldn't this be a fun way to serve hot cider?!  And I'll bet my kids would love to do the hollowing of the apples for me!  Who wants to come over for some hot cider?

Cute Fall Decor

Both of these paper projects look so fun and are so cute.  I pulled them off of a blog I follow.  Anyone want to come over and have a crafting day???

Bring your fun old papers and lets make some fun fall decor!

Beautiful Fall Decor

A little wreath I picked up yesterday at my very favorite shoppe in the entire world. Such beauty! Sara made this from things sold in the store and I just HAD to have it! So I convinced the shopkeeper to sell it to me even though it really wasn't for sale! I think they may make up kits of stuff so you can make this yourself. If they do, I just may have to have another!!
Just some shots of a few of the places I put it for fun.


And here is it's final posing place for the moment, on the inside of the exterior door in my kitchen. So kitcheny with the jeweled fruit and it really adds a fun pop of color. It may just hang there year round! Thank you Sara for this wonderful piece, you are very talented.

Fall Fruit pieces all glittery and ready to pop into a display or creation! Some of these were used in the wreath Sara made.

Beautiful Ribbons to add fun to fall decor or to add flavor to my ribbon box!

A shot of the old tablecloth I've been hording for years now. It will soon hang in my new bathroom as a 'creative concealment'. Check out The Inspired Room and search for creative concealments on her site. There have been some really great ones!

And we are definitely getting there! T took tomorrow off so hopefully by tomorrow evening I will have my final 'after' shots. Can't wait.

Fall Nesting!

My light became part of my decor since it will be awhile till this one gets installed. Fabric is from Anna Maria Horner I just love her fabrics!

Then End. Of summer that is!

Just a few places I put some fall things. I doubt my walnuts will last very long but they were the best thing I could think of for getting some fall decor out of my yard at the moment!