In The Forest

Before I throw away the rest of the pumpkins, I was eager to try this treatment of succulents on an heirloom pumpkin.  All of these succulents have been in planters in our cutting garden, and while I know that they won't winter over outside, I also know that I'm just not good about remembering to care for them out in the potting shed.  So, I had no reservations about cutting them up to decorate this lovely Cinderella pumpkin.  I photographed it on a white paper background to get a really good photo for you.

Then, the day was so beautiful and the woods so inviting, so outside I went!

In order to elevate the pumpkin from the table, and give a little more room, I thought it was the perfect day to use this wooden compote dish with carved acorns around the edge. 

 

I decided to tuck a few leaves around the base of the pumpkin, since it didn't sit level on the dish.

This green and brown plaid tablecloth is really two very wide runners of dupioni silk.  Well.....polyester that looks like dupioni silk!

These salad plates were on sale at Ballard's outlet a few weeks ago.  Didn't take me long to get those puppies in my cart!

I used them with some dark brown chargers that are really pot saucers from Pottery Barn, and some cream scallop-edged plates from ZGallerie.

Oh, mama!  Don't you love these napkin rings????  They were gifted to me from my very dear friend, Barb.  You often see lovely things on this blog that were given to me from her, because she has the best, best, best taste and is very generous.

And look here!!!!  This incredible salt and pepper set is another gift from her!  Am I the luckiest girl?

My standby wooden handled flatware suited me fine for this.

Lime green stems and raffia wrapped glasses fit the bill.

These bow back chairs from the breakfast room were softened with pillows from the keeping room.

Since these guys are still hanging around, I thought they looked cute here.

The way the sunshine hit the table was the best part of the day.  You just can't fake this feeling.  

Although winter is not harsh here in Georgia, we sure do store up these last mild days.  

As I soak in the beauty and joy of this season and the land we own, my heart goes out to those in the northern part of our state and the agony they are experiencing from the wildfires.  Our air quality has been terrible from the smoke, but it is a small inconvenience when I think of their loss.  We are all praying for rain. 

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21 Rosemary Lane

   

Back to Gold!

Gold!!!!  It's been in, it's been out, and for sure.....it's back!!!!  Suddenly, it has a contemporary vibe and I particularly like it used with more rustic items.  These beautiful napkin rings from Art of the Table were a gift from a beautiful bride, and I stuck in a feather to bridge the luxe and the informal.

I started gathering up some gold items to make a simple fall table.  Nothing is new, just used in a different way.  

Years ago, when Martha Stewart first made gilding pumpkins popular, I found these canvas placemats with gold leaves.  I was pretty proud of the way my gilded vegetables looked with these linens.

Then I pulled out my trusty gold chargers and used them with these brown,  mottled dinner plates.  The pattern is called "Leopard".

I played with several different sets of flatware and settled on this French cream set.  I have never cared for gold flatware.  Even the contemporary gold that I am seeing now just doesn't float my boat!

I have seen these glasses for sale several different places.  This summer, my close friend in Charleston had them on her dinner table when she entertained us, and I had great glass envy!  By the next weekend, I owned some of my own!  

Phil the Pheasant made his seasonal debut.  This resin bird shows up often on the table, and is always part of our decor.  

Two of my favorite tables I ever posted had him as a centerpiece.  Look here and here.

Isn't he a handsome devil?

He is nestled in this wreath made up of natural, gold, and copper leaves.  

The old wood barley twist candlesticks that I started with were not very exciting, so I replaced them with these gilded ones.  They are heftier and the gold sort of lifts the look up a bit.

I also used gold embossed place cards.

I thought this horn salt and pepper was a good choice for this table.

I'm loving the gold!  It is certainly on trend, but remains too classic to be considered trendy.

Joining:

 Tablescape Thursday 

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Between Naps on the Porch

Dishing It and Digging It (Sun.)

at

Rustic and Refined

Inspire Me Monday

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My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Share Your Style (Wed.)

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No Minimalist Here

The Scoop (Mon.)

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Cedar Hill Farmhouse

Inspire Me Tuesday

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A Stroll Thru Life

Home Sweet Home (Fri.)

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The Charm of Home

Feathered Nest Friday

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French Country Home

Foodie Friday

Designs By Gollum

Wow Us Wednesday

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Savvy Southern Style

Monday Funday

All Things Heart and Home

Make It Pretty Monday

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The Dedicated House

Moonlight and Mason Jars (Wed.)

Amaze Me Mondays

Dwellings

Celebrate It Sunday

at Celebrate and Decorate

Share It One More Time (Sat.)

designthusiasm.com

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21 Rosemary Lane

  

Squirrels on the Table

Happy to Design has such a fun blog party......."Sunday Favorites"!  Her premise is that weekends are too busy to blog much, so she invites bloggers to post something that they have already done.  It's sooo nice to get a little more milage from some of your favorites.  Isn't that a great idea?  Thanks, Chari!!!

Here's one I posted early last fall, just after I began blogging. 

This shiny little guy inspired a tablescape with a woodland feeling.  I wanted to make it feel like he was still in the forest.

This is where he usually hangs out....in the bar between two  wonderful acorn and oak leaf candlesticks.  They were gifts from a houseguest with great taste!  What's with that one candle?

I just love these tiny acorns.  Actually, I love any acorns and we seem to have them all over the house.  I once joked that they were the estate logo and someone took me seriously.

Here he is as a centerpiece for our first fall tablescape of the year.  I took a morning stroll around our property, looking for some material to make the centerpiece.  Now he's nestled in with sticks, ferns, mums, leaves, and lots of moss. I brought him home from Boxwoods in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago, resisting him the first time I saw him, but going back to get him the same day.

The aged terra cotta saucer is from Boxwoods, too.  It's very heavy.  I've had it for quite a while, usually using it as a base for a large glass cloche.  It's so much more interesting than the usual straight edged saucer.

You can see the three elements with maple leaves here...the napkin, the stemware, and the small plate. The cream colored dinner plates are from Target, and so are the dark brown salad plates.  I've had them a while, but they are still for sale there.  The leaf dishes came from Boxwoods a couple of years ago.

The flatware is light-colored ribbed wood from Martha Stewart's line at Kmart.  I started out with dark wood handled flatware, but it didn't show up on the twig placemats.

These cute little candlestick holders are from Homegoods.  I love the subtle colors in them.  I can use them with lots of taupe and cream as well as the soft sage green candles I have here.  You can see the texture of the linen runner in this photo.  It's from Pottery Barn.

Tenille and Company carries these glasses.  They had them "buy one, get one free" last year and I stocked up.  See the acorns/pinecones on them?  Which do you think?  I'm going with acorns, of course.

These darling squirrel placecard holders are from Pottery Barn.  They come in a great little burlap bag with the blank cards.  They look like carved wood, but they are a heavy metal of some sort.  They even have a tiny felt circle on the bottom so they won't scratch your table.

I love embroidered linens.  This napkin has wonderful scalloped edges and a maple leaf.  I've had them for ages.  I have a runner that goes with them, but I never use them together....too matchy, matchy.

These napkin rings are my standby grapvine ones.  I use them more than any other sets I have.  Some of them are even coming apart.  You can see the flatware better in this photo.

Sugar anyone?  Just another woodland friend gracing the table today.  This faux black forest carved wood is delightful, isn't he?

More faux bois.

These are really twig votives, but I used them as vases, since I wanted a little more color on the table.

They match the twig placemats.

We're drinking wine made by our friend, Tuck Beckstoffer.  Try a bottle!  I always use a wine coaster, especially with red wine.  Another crooked candle!!!

Here's an overhead view.  This is not the easiest shot to get, ya know!

This has such a casual, fun feel.  Nothing fancy, and nothing "in your face" fall.  Not a pumpkin in sight.

Even the Staffordshire spill vases on the sideboard got a bit of autumn.

Fall colors work well in this room.

They don't hold much, but from time to time, I do fill them with some small florals.

This silk arrangement in faux horns has the perfect fall colors.  It goes from place to place all over our house.

I'm linking up with Tablescapes Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.  Log on to her site at betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com and see how easy it is to view all sorts of tabletop design.