Tartan (Plaid) Is More Than Just for Christmas!

As I think back, I think I’ve always loved plaids, and especially the traditional tartans. (As an aside, according to Wikipedia, “Tartan is often called plaid in North America, but in Scotland, a plaid is a tartan cloth slung over the shoulder as a kilt accessory, or a plain ordinary blanket such as one would have on a bed.” Isn’t that interesting?) So…"Tartan plaid” is a repetitive term, thus my title having plaid in parenthesis.

I wish I’d had time to look for a picture of myself when I was probably 4 or 5, dressed in a a Black Watch (cotton) dress with a matching Black Watch purse! It was taken at the Havana airport when my parents and I were traveling to or from the US to Cuba. I’ll have to find that and share :).

As a family we’ve always recognized the Epiphany, and lucky children that we were, the Three Kings made a stop at our home even when we came to the US. AND they did not visit American homes! Lucky us! Now that we have grands and we’ve started also hosting a party to celebrate the Epiphany (HERE), it seems that we’re enjoying the Twelve Days of Christmas even more. So much so that this year, unlike other years, I was in no hurry to take the tree down! By the time we had the party we’d already de-Christmased by putting a way the Santas, the stockings, and other decorations that started to say “Christmas” a little too loudly, and what was left felt glow-y and calm. We didn’t even take the tree down until January 10!

Our Christmas china cabinet went from this:

To this:

The Boehm Chickadee and Holly china stayed because it’s not a Christmas pattern—it’s a winter pattern. I took away the feather Christmas trees, the poinsettias, etc., and left it as a winter scene, including touches of red (I’m loving red this January—could it be to add color to my world, given all the snow and rain and gray, very cold days we’ve had??). Anyway, more on the china cabinet in another post.

So, in my “red” mood, I decided to BRING ON THE TARTAN! I hadn’t really been able to do much with plaids at Christmas, and really, tartans are a year-round design element, but particularly effective during the winter months.

  During Christmas this writing desk was the playful area—it’s where I placed the two gingerbread houses the two oldest chickadees made, and that set the tone for a candyland setting (that too, will be another post, now probably closer to Christmas 2014).

My father’s suitcase (you can read about it HERE), as well as the old wood trunk had lived under the writing desk already, so I was happy to put my dad’s suitcase to use by filling it with plaid throws and tablecloths. The now-ubiquitous-to-my-decorating hydrangeas filled the blue-and-white cachepot.

I’ve always loved the mix of tartan and silver and gold, so the vignette consists of shiny, mellow silver pieces and blue-and-white pieces. The roses in the background are from the Three Kings Celebration! They’re starting to show their age, but those of you who’ve read my posts on roses know how much I love roses as they age ever so gracefully.

Blue and white and silver…classic.

The cordials are set in a smaller gallery tray that then sits within the larger gallery tray, to provide more interest and texture to the setting, softened by…you guessed it, hydrangeas! (I keep them in a large plastic bin, which makes it easy to reach for them as needed.)

These vintage damask napkins with their plaid touch are near and dear to me—they, and the matching tablecloth—were often in use at our dinner table when I was growing up. My mother and grandmother (who lived with us) always, always, always set the dinner table with a tablecloth.

This corner is bringing me a lot of new-year cheer, because it showcases many of my favorite things: blue and white, silver, crystal (the vase), and plaids.

Not to mention actually having my dad’s suitcase in use in a more “interactive” way.

 

So tell me, how do you feel about tartan other than at Christmas? Do you use it other times of the year? Are you one of the luckies who have a room with plaid upholstery, OR even plaid wallpaper? If you do, I’d love to see pictures! I hope you’ll share!

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you’ll leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I’m thrilled to know you stopped by, and I’ll always visit back and comment too. If you like what you see, I invite you to follow me (I promise to follow back), and please—Pin away and follow me 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!

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

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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

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

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Cuisine Kathleen at http://www.cuisinekathleen.com/

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

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

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

Tablescape Thursday at http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

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/

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

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

From my nest to yours~

Zuni

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

Furniture Rearranging

Several months ago we thought it was time for Baby Love to start piano lessons, so of course it was a package deal—the piano had to go along with the lessons, so our piano now lives at her house. It’s the piano her Papá and uncle used to learn practice ummmmm spend our money—that’s what it was!—so it seemed only right that she have it now. It didn’t get played much at our house, and when we had it tuned recently we were pleasantly surprised to learn that it’s in very good condition!

Once the piano was gone, it gave me the opportunity to re-think our furniture arrangement. It had been a focal point in our home, and I had loved using it for vignettes (if not for playing, LOL). Here’s where it was~

We played musical furniture (thank heavens for those slider-disk things!), and our vintage buffet came to the former piano spot…that was it! Loved it! That’s where it needed to live! ~~

And guess what’s gracing the sterling punch bowl my MIL gifted us many years ago?! Hydrangeas, of course! Today was a perfectly beautiful day, so I took advantage of the beautiful weather to harvest more of them for future use—I’m thinking Christmas, but my ideas are still a secret (to me too!—I’m thinking…I’m thinking…).

I thought you might be curious about the three pictures to the left of the buffet. The top picture is of my parents happily walking down the aisle after their wedding. The second is a portrait of my mother and me, taken in our home in Havana, and the last is of me with my father at the beach—in perfectly clear water (also in Cuba).

~~~~~~~

The move of the buffet created a void, of course, and after more musical furniture we settled on my MIL’s writing desk. It had been living in our bedroom (it’s the surface you see in The Nook and Old Ladder post {HERE}). Now it provides me with the opportunity to gather some blue and white~~

The vase on the desk is another perfect vessel for drying more hydrangeas. The black-and-white pictures are a collection my husband and I put together at our other house and repeated it in this home. It’s a collection of pictures of us and the generations before us. (Some adjustments need to be made to the collage, since I had to take some of them down with the new furniture piece.) Sometimes we talk about taking them down and doing something different there…we’ll see, but it’s interesting to me that after so many years of having them up I still enjoy looking at them. For example, there’s a picture of my beloved grandmother holding my baby brother and I’m sitting real close, right next to her. There’s one of my husband eating an ice cream cone that’s almost as big as he is, and an 8x10 of him deep-sea fishing with his parents in Mexico. Lots of good memories.

The sunlight was playing its lovely games when I walked in the room, and I quickly grabbed my camera.

Aren’t they drying beautifully? I know many of you dry your hydrangeas—how have you used them? Have you used them for any Christmas decorations?

I’ve been on the hunt for blue-and-white bowls, and recently I found this beauty at the antique shop where my SIL has a booth. Guess how much?? I HAVE to share the price because it’s so pretty and it was such a buy--$6.00!! It has no flaws, and the gold rim and base are perfect. See the reflection on the desk?

The rest of the vignette—blue and white plates on brass plate racks/candleholders. I got these candleholders years and years ago, I think from the Pier 1 catalog, because I wanted to display not only our boys’ Bunnykins plates, but also their mugs, and I was able to hang the mugs from the arms. It was a precious vignette in our other dining room. (Hmmmm…I wonder if I have a picture of them? They wouldn’t be digital, that’s for sure.)

I’m looking forward to your ideas on how to use dried hydrangeas, so please share them with me, and if you have pictures, please share those too! I can’t wait!

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 Expressions at http://creativehomeexpressions.blogspot.com

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

Metamorphosis Monday at  http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Tuesdays at http://www.astrollthrulife.net/

Tuesdays at http://hickorytrailblog.blogspot.com

Wednesdays at http://diybydesign.blogspot.com/

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

Be Inspired Friday at http://www.Commonground-do.com/

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

Fridays at http://rootedinthyme.blogspot.com/

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

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

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

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

From my nest to yours~

Zuni

Hydrangeas Galore

I’m so excited about my hydrangeas this year—we have tons of them! I don’t know what variety they are (I wish I did), but they usually start blooming around mid-August, which is perfect, as we were able to use them for our Baby Love’s baptism reception back in 2008 (to see a re-make of that day go to HERE)—here’s one of the pictures of that table/post, already graced by the start of hydrangea season at Chickadee Home Nest, even though I did the post in late July:

My birthday is in mid-August—could the timing of the hydrangeas be any better?—and I mentioned Southern Living’s tiered basket over at Ballard Designs to Mr. CHN. Well, three or four days later a package from Ballard Designs appeared at our front door :).  Sweet, sweet man. And perfectly timed to further enjoy our hydrangeas.

The possibilities with this basket are endless—it’s useful for every single season. I have a feeling you’ll be seeing a lot of it at Chickadee Home Nest.  In this vignette, the first tier holds three small medicine bottles I bought from my compounding pharmacist (!). They no longer use them for medicines and were selling them 3 for $2.95—what a deal! I hope they still have more, because I could’ve used NEED more. I digress, but I had to share my bargain. So the first tier holds sweet cuttings of the freshest and newest hydrangeas to bloom.

The second tier is cuttings of the larger clusters in full bloom, and the third tier holds three good-sized bowls full of another favorite—shells gathered over the years while on vacation—embellished with…HYDRANGEAS!

~At this point I should warn you…lots of pictures to follow. I just can’t seem to get enough of the beauty.~

No words necessary…

My favorite part of the basket is this handle…it looks like a garden shovel’s, which insinuates gardening, earth, plants, flowers…what a perfect touch!

Having ample supply of HYDRANGEAS, I moved on to create another vignette at the bar that faces into the kitchen. This time, I left the silver ice bucket and tray in their tarnished, “old” state—I liked the contrast with the fresh, white, dainty flowers, and my “perennial” favorite—a blue and white vase.

As I walked by at one point I noticed the reflection on the granite. If you’ve read my blog for a while you know how taken I am with the unexpected, fleeting gifts of shadows and reflections. They are magical moments that you’re blessed to see simply because you’re there at that precise moment.

Someday I’ll do a post that will probably be called The Saga of the Picnic Table. Suffice it to say that I now {finally} have the old picnic table that I’ve wanted for a long time, and now {finally} it’s on the patio—painted and ready for family meals, which was no minor feat (but like I said, that’s another story for another day—probably in the spring, to allow some “distance.” Are you getting my drift?? I’ll laugh about it by then {maybe}).

But I AM already enjoying the “new” picnic table, and the fact that as I glance out through the screened porch I can see it, in its soft teal splendor. Already it has served its purpose in several ways: 1. The babies have eaten there; 2. It brings me joy to see it out on the patio; and 3. It’s yet another surface to “pretty up” and make the view even prettier.

So I’ll let you guess how I prettied up my view!  Yes! Of course! MORE HYDRANGEAS!

This wood planter has seen its better days. For some reason my husband had it before we got married (did he really plant something in it?!), and that was almost 30 years ago. For the last 10 or so it’s been abandoned at the entrance to our business (empty, I’m embarrassed to say), so it’s been in the elements for that many years and then some. You know that look men give us when they have absolutely no idea what we’re thinking or why we do the things we do? It’s a look of surprise, mixed with curiosity and resignation. Well, that’s the look I got the day I asked Mr. CHN to bring the beaten-up, ugly, brown thing home. And then it sat in the garage for a year or two, but bless his heart, he never once asked why I he’d brought it home. (I, of course, knew…it was going to be a centerpiece someday! :) )  And THIS was the moment. The place. After it’d gotten a quick whitewash!

Don’t you just love the contrast of the dainty, sweet flowers against the rough wood and smooth metal strip?

And the contrasts even within the flowers themselves? Some pinkish, some white, with spots, some browning to a beautiful final stage. The stages of a flower are like the stages of a woman’s life—beautiful even as they reach their final stage.

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 you can’t imagine how it means to me that you took the time. And if you like what you see a lot, maybe you’d like to +1 or Pinterest them too! Thank you!

I invite you to follow my blog and to follow me on Pinterest. 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

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

Metamorphosis Monday at  http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Tuesdays at http://www.astrollthrulife.net/

Tuesdays at http://hickorytrailblog.blogspot.com

Wednesdays at http://diybydesign.blogspot.com/

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

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

Thursdays at No Minimalist Here: http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com/

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

Be Inspired Friday at http://www.Commonground-do.com/

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

Fridays at http://rootedinthyme.blogspot.com/

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

Plus I’m joining the Creative Home and Garden Hop at :

Kathy at Creative Home Expressions, http://creativehomeexpressions.blogspot.com/

Mary from Back to the Basics and Mary’s Kitchen

Alison from Mumtopia

and Lisa Lynn from The Little Homestead On The Hill

From my nest to yours, ~Zuni