It's Fall!

It's pumpkin-spice-a-licious Fall! And although our budget is far too tight for me to load up my cart with all the tempting crafty treats out there I'd love to have, I did manage to pull out a few treasured bits of eye candy. First of all, I thought I'd show off the chair I'd salvaged from the dumpster a few months back. Some odds and ends of trim paint, and 'voila!' , it just begs to be a resting place for a big pot of chrysanthemums. 

  

Our dear Anna cat, otherwise known as the Duchess, has claimed this chair for her own. We are fortunate that she doesn't seem to shed a great deal. She left it for a moment, and I'd thought I'd show some simple changes I'd made in this nook. The doilies came from the Dollar Store, the plant is a silk version of what is known as 'lambs-ear', and the two books are authentically Victorian, both dating back to the 1800s. One is a famous treatise on thrift by Samuel Smiles, and is an actual favorite of mine that I've read several times, while the other is a children's book of Mother Goose rhymes. The bowl looks fancy and fragile, but is actually plastic...a good thing considering that Anna often sunbathes in the near window.  Recently, our lamp flew onto the floor when little ballerina kitty missed a step, something she hardly ever does, but I realized that perhaps the lamp would have to be moved.

A couple of the Halloween trinkets so dear to my heart; I delight in 'pretties' like these...

The lovely napkins underneath, that so remind me of an October sky, were a gift from a dear friend who knows how much gorgeous linens thrill me. 

The hand-made pottery cup brings the colors of sunset to the parlor tea table, a gift from a fellow artist and dear friend. There's nothing better than objects in a home made by people you personally know, love, and respect.

Watch out if you come into the kitchen. Boo!

 And out comes my Grandma Ellen's gorgeous dresser runner, still in great shape after over, I am guessing, at least seventy years. (And of course, she is the namesake of this blog.) She loved to embroider, and her stitches still are as bright and precise as they day that she made them.

The little honey pot with the bees on it is also vintage, and those of you who collect Depression glass might be able to identify the little golden pitcher on the table. It belonged to my great-grandmother. I suspect it might be a bit valuable in a monetary sense at this point, but I would never part with it.

 What I find with seasonal decorating is that everything does not have to exactly correlate with the holiday. For instance, the bowls above will make appearances in different parts of the house from roughly September through November, because I love their golden color. They came from hubby's travels in Asia. Another thrift store place-mat adds a bit of blazing autumn orange.

I LOVE these placemats...again found at a local thrift store.



I don't do much in our downstairs family room, but really enjoy making one focal point near our television. A handful of brilliant sunflowers brings the an easy touch of Indian summer.

Thank you for touring my autumn house, and don't hesitate to come on by for a trick-or-treat!