Mantle Project and More Fall decorating

Good morning, I hope you are all cooling off and feeling more fall like in your area.  I'm loving the weather in Indiana lately! When I attended the Country Living Fair this last weekend I found some galvanized buckets that I had been looking for.  I was inspired by Aunt Ruthie's Mantle.  I sort of combined a few of her looks here.  I bought some raffia and burlap ribbon at Jo Ann's.  My son and I gathered some twigs outside (free!) I love that.  They wanted 7.99 for some at the craft store. I spent a little over 20 dollars on everything.  I still have a ton of raffia left too.  So here is the new look...

 top of my pie safe dough bowl

my dining room table

cute lil' cinnamon pumpkins

the upstairs mantle

I have a few more pictures to share I've been having issues with pictures the loading the last few days.  I have some new recipes and a trip to the apple orchard to share. 

Have a blessed day!

Carey

Gooseberry Patch and Country Living Fair

I'm one happy girl after visiting the Country Living Fair yesterday.  It was so neat!  The highlight of my day was definately meeting Jo Ann and Vicki from Gooseberry Patch!  I brought one of my favorite cookbooks Welcome Home for the Holidays to sign and then couldn't resist the urge to buy a few more!  LOL!  They had a show special so I was able to get 3, one gift and 2 new ones Homemade Harvest and Homemade Christmas!  By the way, these are on sale right now and they're having a contest you can enter to win the Harvest one on their website.

I didn't take too many pictures, it was so crowded and I wasn't sure of the policies of many of the booths.

Vicki and Jo Ann recommended I go over and try some dessert from this booth after mentioning I like pie.  However, the line was incredibly long and they were just serving cobbler so I passed.  It looked yummy though! 

It was very windy and hot so there were a lot of tents and goodies blowing over.  I felt sorry for the vendors.  I was overwhelmed with all the tents and vendors.  I would love to go again next year with someone and make a weekend of it.  I think the early bird might be worth it.  I got there at 10 and the exit was completely backed up.  I didn't even need my GPS.  There was a variety of decorating styles, lots of candles, arts and antiques.  I loved the prim shops the best.  I already had made up my mind that I wasn't go to buy much unless I found that one of a kind thing that I just couldn't pass up.  I searched but never found it.  I did buy some signs, very reasonable.  He has a blog called Berries in the Meadow Art and a shop on etsy too.  He was a very nice gentleman.  Some people had folding carts and they did offer a drop off station where you could rent space to put larger items.  It was so far from the fair to the parking lot, I think that makes you think twice before purchasing things. 

Well, my family and I are off to visit the apple orchard today for some apple cider donuts and fresh cider.  Have a blessed weekend, enjoy the season!

Carey

Fall is Finally Here!

That means a few things my beautiful daughter has a birthday, she is growing up way too fast!  She turned eleven on Monday. We're having some major issues with clothing choices lately.  For the most part she is just choosing things to make her look older.  We have had countless discussions.  She just loves fashion and I think it's fine to encourage her to look her best but she has taken it a bit far.  Any advice...for a soon to be mom of a teen??

showing off her goodies

making a wish

And now for more Fall pictures of my home...

sofa table

little nook

I found this crow at a Fall festival.

My new favorite Creamy Pumpkin candle, if you like bakery smells this one is for you!

Stovetop Doughboard

the little bowl contains a styrofoam pumpkin I sprayed with glue and rolled in spices and I put a little wreath around it all, grapevine pumpkin my DD bought me last year, preserved leaves

my kitchen

my new creamy white pumpkin, Slatkin, QVC

has pumpkin patch scent inside but I can reuse it over and over

Stay tuned for more Fall pictures coming soon!

Have a blessed day!

Carey

Fall Thyme

Hey folks are you ready for some Fall decorations?  I have worked hard to put the house together a little differently this year.  I also have more things all unpacked, settled and just generally moved into spots I like better.  Last year I was just moving into our home and I was in such a hurry to get everything settled.  Can you believe this journey has been a year?  I know I can't time sure has been flying...

Welcome to my Fall home!

Come on in the cider is warm...

the entry

This cupboard is full of my white pumpkins and brown colors.

This lil' box came home with me the other day, from Warmglow.

Recognize this little pumpkin, I won it from Sunnyside, Thanks Amy!!! Go check out her blog she is very crafty and full of great ideas.

Family Room

As you can tell in keeping with my white theme, I have my favorite white pumpkins, white star, white cutting board, and pitcher.  I decided to leave out the mums in my pitcher.  I do like that the sign has some color in it.  I had to have my crow here too.  The pumpkins are sitting on some black candle holders I just tied on the raffia.

my scarecrow, I just love Harvest more than any other kind of decor

I noticed the other day that not one but two of my favorite blogs have decided to permanently close and did their last post.  I have a quick thought here.  Is this a trend?  Do you think people are on technology overload?  A lot of them seem to have taken a break over the summer and then decided to leave permenantly.  This got me to thinking that this a problem for people.  I know I feel overwhelmed with all the posts I need to keep up with and reading but I try the best I can.  I think it's unrealistic to read every blog and write comments etc.  One person said she hated feeling like she had to take pictures of everything and wanted to just get back into decorating for the enjoyment of it.  That's not all I've noticed several friends deleting Facebook accounts saying it was causing problems and taking too much time. I know I can't blog everyday or even set standards for myself.  I blog when I have something I want to share and now that I'm working I feel like I can't do it as much as before but it's not something I'm ready to give up. What do you think?  Are we becoming a society who is living a life online (more than real life) or is it a passing phase that will go by the wayside.  I'll be back soon with a lot more pictures.

Harvest Blessings to you and your family,
Carey

Favorite Weekend Meal

With Fall looming in the air I thought I'd play along and link up one of my favorite recipes.  We like to have pizza and movie night on Friday's usually at our house.  I've shared some of these recipe before.  While pizza is great we do Stromboli about every other week.  I like that it can be dipped in the sauce

If you want to get the recipe check it out here:


Stromboli

Check out more recipes with Colleen

Have a great weekend with your family. Don't forget our fallen heros on 9/11, gone but not forgotten...

Carey

The Frost is on the Pumpkin...

Hello blogging friends!  I've been working on decorating my house for Fall for a few days now.  I'm looking forward to sitting back and enjoying the season.  I can't wait for hot cider, long walks, changing leaves, baking some yummy pie and attending fall festivals.  How about you?  What are you looking forward to this season? 

I've been inspired by all the blogs I'm reading lately.  I love revisiting my old Fall magazines, it's like when an old friend comes for a visit.  In decorating my home, I look for ways to get inspired or be creative each season. I get new ideas from checking out shop displays.  Sometimes it might be the way it's all arranged.  It could be a simple twist on an old thing that really gets my attention.  Then other times I fall in love with one particular thing or vignette in the display that usually comes home with me.  This weekend I spent some time at an outdoor show, checked out one of my favorite places in my town, WarmGlow candles and went to a Fall festival.  The show was nice I picked up some pumpkins and corn stalks and that got the ball rolling for my outdoor decor.  The festival was disappointing but I did come home with a crow.  Imagine that?  LOL!  Warmglow was pretty inspiring too, I'll show you my goodies from that later. 

Look what I added to my table

Among the Trees are Apples and Leaves!

love my runner

My DS found some giant punkin's

Farmer's Pike Festival

my kiddos

I'll be back soon with some projects and Fall decorating!

Carey

Pumpkin Butterscotch Muffins

Fall baking season is upon us and with a cooler weekend forecast I'm ready to go.  I got up early and fixed these for my kiddos.  Then made up some more after they left for school for those busy mornings when I can pull them out of the freezer.  I was checking out blogs and found a link from Colleens blog And Baby Makes Five menu planning.  I would love to be so organized and do this on my blog but I just haven't been brave enough yet.  I do menu plan and I highly recommend it if you find yourself on a budget or just going out to eat way too much. 

These muffins were delicious and don't worry your kids won't even notice the fact they contain some whole wheat flour!  My son ate three this morning! 

Here's the link and be sure to check out what everyone else is making too!

Pumpkin Butterscotch Muffins

Hope you have a great holiday weekend, I am going to a craft show and fall festival! 

Carey

Fall Wreath Party

Today I'm linking up to play along with Sunnyside's Fall Wreath Party.   This is the beginning of my Fall decorating.  I will be adding slowly here and there as I have more time. 

Here's one idea for the front door:

I picked up this little basket at an antique shop near St. Louis, MO.   I use it for every season, I just love that it's so versatile.  For Fall, I just add mums, leaves, some Fall sprays and it's all done.  I placed the slate Autumn Greetings sign on it too.  I like the idea of a sign and greeting.  I picked it up a few years ago at Jo Ann Fabrics. 

Here's another wreath that I like too for the door.

Here's a close-up that shows it has lil' pumpkin pods, orange berries, wheat and stars.

Which one do you like better??

Have a great day, remember it's September 1st so get inspired and get that Fall Wreath on the Door!

Carey