Our Halloween Home Tour

Last week I shared our fall and Halloween decorations on the front porch and the screened porch (you can see them HERE). Today, I’m sharing what we did inside, when Baby Love came to “help” me. :) She’s almost six, so as she opened each bin we brought up from the basement she was delighted to find decorations that she now remembers.

First we worked on the buffet, where we used our terra cotta Jack-o’-lanterns ~

Now, of course I couldn’t just plop them on the bare furniture, right?~~ I had to have my decorating fun too, so the layering started early. Do you see that there’s someone or something inside the big Jack-o’-lantern???

Yep! Shadow, her and her little brothers’ black-and-white kitty cat, and Shadow’s baby peeking out. In years past we’ve had the “Jacks’” hats off and the kitty cats climbing out of them, but this year she wanted to hide them in there.

For the more grown-up touches I added a sterling footed compote with tiny gourds, buckeyes, and other fall touches, as well as a beautiful tan paperweight that was a gift from our DIL’s uncle—he MADE it, and I LOVE it! A crystal candleholder serves as a pedestal for a small pumpkin.

These rusty pumpkin candleholders are special…they’re from our son, and I bring them out every single fall, but I don’t think I’ve ever coupled them with the Jacks. Nice filler for the vignette.

We also worked on the china cabinet, leaving the blue-and-white color scheme I’ve had there for several months, since I’m not ready to move that out yet. After Halloween, we’ll move to more fall colors there as well. For now, we added touches of Halloween, and that was fine with her.

Her decor on the bottom shelf was a bit more…shall we say age-appropriate for her? I wanted to honor her efforts and taste, so I tweaked it just a bit after she went home, but quickly put it back to her liking before she and her little brothers came back. I’m glad, because as soon as she walked in she brought the older one over to show off her decorations!

A more subdued look :) with touches of fall.

This is one piece I couldn’t wait to fill with fall flowers, so I managed to get it done as she found more treasures!

And of course, hydrangeas. Some dried, some fresh off the Endless Summer bush I bought this summer. The variations are so beautiful. And the “vessel”? A recent GW find!

I’ve had this little witch vignette for many years. She stands on a log that’s decorated with bittersweet flowers/berries, and twigs and moss, and a cute ghost, so I put her out for them too—on a silver tray, of course! :)

The final fall touch for this decorating event was the Southern Living Ballard Designs tiered basket on our table ~

This basket is so versatile, that I always have an idea of what I want to do next, but the center basket has become our real fruit basket—it’s perfect! It saves counter space and yet keeps the fruit handy.

Remember the geraniums I was rooting out on the screened porch toward the end of summer? I put more cuttings in these little apothecary bottles I got from my compounding pharmacist, and look at their roots now! They’re very happy with the amount of light they get at the table, and their leaves add nice texture and color to our fruit.

These pumpkins and awesome leaves are also from years ago, when I was doing holiday boutiques. Do you recognize the Pottery Barn lantern as one of my auction box lot finds? Love it! Wonder what I’ll do with it for our Christmas decorations??

Well, that’s the fall and Halloween tour of our home! I hope you enjoyed the tour. Do you do Halloween AND fall decorating, or just one or the other? I try to not buy too many new things and to use what we’ve had for years but in different ways. This year I bought the small pumpkins for $1 each…just six or seven of them. What about you? Do you get your head turned when you walk into stores? :) (Pssst….I try to not go to stores…that’s how I keep from buying more; it’s not will power. It’s lack of. LOL)

I wish you a fun and safe Halloween.

NOTE: Some of the items I use in my posts are in my Etsy shop, but many are not, simply because I haven’t updated my shop. If you see something you like and wonder if it’s available for sale, email me at coral5252@gmail.com and let’s talk!

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you’ll leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them! And if you like what you see a lot, maybe you’d like to Google+ this post or pin it on Pinterest too! Thank you!

I invite you to follow me. If you’ll let me know that you’re following, I’ll be sure to follow you back.

Sunday Showcase at http://www.bystephanielynn.com/

Sunday Creative Home and Garden Hop at http://creativehomeexpressions.blogspot.com/

Mop it Up Monday at http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com

Metamorphosis Monday at  http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Masterpiece Monday at http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com

Tuesdays at Our Home at http://mariaelenasdecor.blogspot.com/

Tuesday’s Treasures http://www.myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/

Inspire Me Tuesday at http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/

Wow Us Wednesdays at http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

DIY by Design Party at http://diybydesign.blogspot.com/

What's It Wednesday at http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/

Home and Garden Thursday at http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/

Open House Party Thursday at http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com

Transformation Thursdays at http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/

Feathered Nest Friday at http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Home Sweet Home Fridays at http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Thrifty Things Friday at http://thethriftygroove.blogspot.com/

Vintage Inspiration Friday at http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/

Show and Tell Friday at http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

Fresh-Cut Fridays at http://rosevignettes.blogspot.com

From my nest to yours~

Zuni

Fall, on the Porch and Inside

Mid-October, and the days are still in the 70s here in central Ohio…the shift to fall has been slow and easy, not rushed by the weather or too-early color, and for me, that’s just about perfect!

So now that I’m “into fall,” our surroundings are too.

As my mind made the transition into fall I’ve been mulling over lots of decorating ideas. The one I could.not.wait to carry out was:

…a fall twig arrangement in my vintage red-plaid Skotch Kooler.

This cooler used to be store our charcoal for our grill until I promoted it to the front porch this summer, where it held a large pot and also served as a small table when needed, since it was right next to the rocking chair.

These twigs usually live in our blue and white umbrella stand, first next to the piano, and now next to the buffet, but there was a very specific reason why I wanted to use them on the porch! They LIGHT UP!

The fall decor on them is simply two garlands wrapped through it,

and at the base, as anchor, are pinecones, berries, and a pumpkin with lots of leaves that gives a nice texture and is a great filler.

Now for the rest of the porch…

The fall pitcher was a gift from one of our sons many years ago, and I use it every.single.fall, either as a pitcher at the table, or more often as part of our fall decor so it’s out and visible.

You’ve seen this wood box many times…it seems to now be a staple, because I love its rustic nature.

I’ve had this beautifully painted pot for many, many years. It was a sweet and unexpected fall gift from my cousin’s wife, and year after year it’s part of my fall decor—sometimes in the china cabinet, sometimes holding bittersweet, sometimes outside somewhere.

The old bird’s nest is filled with faux pumpkins and gourds, but the BUCKEYES are VERY REAL—after all, Ohio State is our alma mater and THIS IS BUCKEYE COUNTRY!

Now, back to the rest of the porch ~

Can you see the guy holding the mum is a pail with a jack-o-lantern face? A simple nod to Halloween.

And to honor my most-pinned item on Pinterest…

About 350 pins on this garland wrapped around our front-porch light! With such popularity, I of course had to do it again!

And now for a quick tour of the screened porch ~

With little grands around the house, something fun for Halloween…Oh, and let me introduce you to Wilbur, there in the background. He’s been around our family for many, many years, and his clothes are definitely starting to show it, but that makes him all the more perfect for his role in the family!

On our shelf we still have a lovely mix of summer flowers and sunflowers…the summers are still happy to be around, and I can’t bear to get rid of them.

Another nod to Halloween…

Since Baby Love came over to “help” me decorate for Halloween/Fall, she decided that her “amiguitos,” which is the Spanish word for “little friends,” should be part of the decor, since they’re all dressed up in costumes! (The rag dolls were all her dad’s and uncle’s, which I saved for the happy day when their children would play with them too, and that day is happily here.)

Oops! She couldn’t find Raggedy Ann’s clothes!

Happy Halloween and Fall to All!

If you don’t have little ones around, how much do you decorate for Halloween versus fall? We did some Halloween inside too, because we’re blessed with little ones around. I’ll share that next week.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you’ll leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them! And if you like what you see a lot, maybe you’d like to Google+ this post or pin it on Pinterest too! Thank you!

NOTE: Some of the items I use in my posts are in my Etsy shop, but many are not, simply because I haven’t updated my shop. If you see something you like and wonder if it’s available for sale, email me at coral5252@gmail.com and let’s talk!

I invite you to follow me. If you’ll let me know that you’re following, I’ll be sure to follow you back.

Sunday Showcase at http://www.bystephanielynn.com/

Sunday Creative Home and Garden Hop at http://creativehomeexpressions.blogspot.com/

Mop it Up Monday at http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com

Metamorphosis Monday at  http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Masterpiece Monday at http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com

Tuesdays at Our Home at http://mariaelenasdecor.blogspot.com/

Tuesday’s Treasures http://www.myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/

Tabletop Tuesday at http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/

Wow Us Wednesdays at http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

Wednesdays at Ivy and Elephants: http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com

DIY by Design Party at http://diybydesign.blogspot.com/

Home and Garden Thursday at http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/

Open House Party Thursday at http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com

Transformation Thursdays at http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/

Feathered Nest Friday at http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Home Sweet Home Fridays at http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Thrifty Things Friday at http://thethriftygroove.blogspot.com/

Vintage Inspiration Friday at http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/

Show and Tell Friday at http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

Fresh-Cut Fridays at http://rosevignettes.blogspot.com

From my nest to yours~

Zuni

Thanksgiving Dress Rehearsal

I haven't done a tablescape for a few weeks; afterall, we did have a wedding to prepare for--and happily.  But amazingly, I've missed my tablescape blogging friends, and since I'm new to blogging I have now realized that there are different friends for different types of posts.  I'll get this all figured out soon, I hope.  :)

I've done quite a bit with fall now, so I wanted to do something a little different.  I decided I wanted to do a fall table, but using my blue and white floral Spode...something that I could maybe use for our Thanksgiving table.  Hmmmm.  I usually think of blue and white as a cool, summer setting, or perhaps a winter one, but fall?  I really had to think on that one. 

Then it came to me--add brown.  Not orange (I'm kind of OD'd on orange right now).  I envisioned small twig pumpkins for each placesetting, but how many stores would I have to hit before I found them (I did hit 2--nothing of the sort).  So "shopping" at home was the next best thing, and here's the end result.

My first challenge was the table cover/linens, because I wanted the warmth of textile.
My pashmina/silk shawl, in blues and browns and golds fit the bill.
For the real Thanksgiving dinner I think I'll use a neutral tablecloth, and use the shawl as
an additional layer.

Because the shawl has gold in it too, I wanted to work with golds instead of silver...
and it just so happens that my dear grandmother gave me a set of gold flatware
years ago.  It was starting to come together.
I used our Lenox Eternal dinner plates as chargers, only to bring the touch of gold and
additional dimension.
Blue & white dishes:  Spode Delamere
Brown turkey plates:  Royal Stafford
Water goblets:  Pottery Barn, many years ago
Wine stems:  Pristine by Reizart/Gorham

Amazingly, my shawl has blue accents...perfect for the dishes.
Isn't it awesome how things sometimes just come together?
We might not know where we're headed with a tablescape, and it slowly begins
to evolve as we shop the house.  FUN.

More accessories falling into place...
The acanthus leaf centerpiece from my mother years ago, snippets of brown leaves
from the fall decorating bins, and candles and crystals from
our son's recent wedding.
Repurposing!

Remember Bombay Company? Much of my blue and white is from there...still miss that store.
The beautiful paperweight was a gift from our DIL's uncle--handmade by him!  What a beautiful piece!

Rumpled linen napkins (Crate & Barrel) to match the rumpled shawl.

See who's watching all the goings on??  Jack-o-lanterns!  They're making sure
I don't forget THEIR holiday and go directly to Thanksgiving!

Daytime...Chance to see what the REAL table will look like.

So tell me...will you be serving Thanksgiving at your house?

Do you know how you're going to set your table?  I'm glad to have my table setting

"issues" resolved!  But I'm wondering about the candles.  Do you light candles

during daylight meals?  And if no, do you still have them on the table?

I love to hear from you. Every comment goes to my email, so I won't miss it.  And if you're

kind enough to follow me I promise to follow you back.

I'm joining these fabulous parties this week, and I hope you will too.

 The Tablescaper's Seasonal Sunday at http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/

 Homemaker on a Dime, Sunday at http://www.homemakeronadime.com/p/link-parties.html

 Motivated Monday at http://becolorful.typepad.com/  

 Debbie’s Newbie Party on Monday at http://debbie-debbiedoos.blogspot.com/

 Marty's Table Top Tuesday at http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/ 

 Kim's Wow Us Wednesdays at http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/ 

 Susan's Tablescape Thursday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

 Open House Party Thursday http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com

 Courtney’s, Feathered Nest Friday at http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

 Honey's Potpourri Friday at http://twenty-eight-0-five.blogspot.com/

 Inspiration Friday at http://www.atthepicketfence.com

 Creative Princess at http://acreativeprincess.blogspot.com/