Don't be scared.... c'mon in!

We are getting ready for Halloween! Meet Fat Rat, our doorman. He's mostly harmless, just gnaws on your ankles a bit.

Some of our mums have faded but others are just getting going:

Come inside!

Boo! Have a spooky October!

Random Fallness

Shiny stuff.... I can't resist it! I got a few minor things at Home Goods a couple weeks ago, including this little pun'kin teapot. I also recently bought the glass spire thingy to help replace some of my recently shattered mercury glass, sacrificed to the Harry Potter party cause a couple months ago. The picture of great-great aunt Esther has been in the family for years. Like, 10 years, since I bought the photo in a box lot at an auction and stuck it in this frame. (I don't have any pictures of my actual relatives, so I borrow other people's... sssshhhh)

Also, I guess these might be considered tacky by some, but I just love my little leafy window clings in my front door sidelights. I got some rats and bats for Halloween, but they must wait for Mandy to come home from college this weekend and help decorate.

I am partial to snowflakes for winter, so be on the lookout after Thanksgiving.

More shiny stuff! I got the pumpkin last year on after-Christmas sale (50% off of the clearance price) at Tuesday Morning, so this is the first year I have it out. I bought the green pitcher at Home Goods a couple months back, attracted by the shiny bronze-looking handle. I just recently bought the tureen. Look at that shiny little metallic knob! I also love the creamy finish and the texture of the pattern. Shiny stuff makes me happy.

What makes you happy? Have a good week!

Metamorphosis Monday - Spring to Fall

It's time for Metamorphosis Monday, thanks to Susan!!

The last couple days have been very Fall-like here, cool and rainy, which put me in the mood to rip out my dying annuals and replace them with a few mums. My foyer is extremely dirty right now from my tracking mud through it yesterday, but I got it done.

Spring:

Fall:

I love mums, they are happy flowers.

I got this beautiful Cinderella pumpkin yesterday. I just love these!

Have a great week, everyone!

Cloche Party Time!

Marty's long-anticipated Cloche Party is upon us. I am showing a few cloches I have dressed up a bit for fall with things I already had around the house. I have a couple of acorn tureens that are a perfect size to fit inside, and I also used a flameless candle with some small Dickens volumes, as well as a ceramic pumpkin. I'm hoping to get more ideas from everyone else participating!





Happy Cloche Party!

Getting ready for the cloche party

Don't forget, Marty is hosting a cloche party on Friday! OMG!! Did you see?? The linky thing to Marty's blog works! I never did that before - thank you Susan!! (Ha-ha, I did it again!!)

Rooster Party!

I'm joining in at the last minute on a Rooster Party hosted by Barb at Bella Vista (http://barbsgoodlife.blogspot.com/2009/08/show-us-your-roosters-party-time.html)
I've got a few of them hiding out in my kitchen and dining area:





Happy Friday, have a nice weekend everyone!

Off on a cooking tangent, and Steph & Simon's House

At this stage of my life I am well aware of what makes me tick, and one of my idiosyncrasies is getting myself immersed in different interests until I get bored with them. Sometimes this does not take long, sometimes it takes years. Several weeks ago I picked up the book, "Julie & Julia" for a bit of light reading, and now I just feel like cooking a lot.

Honestly, despite an extensive cookbook collection, I've never been much of a cook, I'm more the type to throw a chicken in a crockpot or make something out of a box than to do any real cooking. But if Julia Child could start learning at 37, I can start at ... somewhat older than that. In the past few weeks, I've been really cooking, and it has not been pretty, so I haven't blogged about it. Not that things didn't turn out, they did, but I find I need to concentrate on what I'm doing, so keeping things tidy and remembering to take photos is sort of out of the question. I'll try to work on it though.

For my birthday, I got a couple of new cooking toys, a toaster oven from Steph and Simon, and a Tramontina enameled dutch oven which I got with birthday money from my parents (thanks Mom and Dad!) I've subscribed to the Cooks Illustrated website and they had a pretty high opinion of this pot, and since I don't have $300 to spend on the Le Creuset version (and probably wouldn't even if I did), I'm giving this one a whirl.

In other news, my daughter Steph and her fiance Simon bought their first house, a three story townhome laid out similarly to mine. Last weekend I helped them paint, and then move in. Here are a couple photos, the paint colors are really much better in person, but you get the idea. Dramatic red in the living room:

Deep mustardy gold in the dining room/kitchen. This looks AMAZING in person, wish I knew how to capture it properly.

I can't wait to see it all set up with the furniture!