Welcoming Fall Outdoors

When you arrive at our home, you'll be greeted by this at the road.  Minus those wreaths, I'm afraid.  Between the time I took this picture and when I posted it, someone pilfered those wreaths on the gates.  From now on, I'm using zip ties on any decorations.

The mums are also a bit more open by now.  And I have added some orange ribbon and bows to the corn stalks.

As you come up the driveway, you'll pass the cutting garden.

If I took you through the gate you' d see a garden in dire need of tidying up!

At the front door, I've arranged a pile of pumpking, mums, and flowers. 

Don't you love these stripes?

If you turn around at the front door, you'll see this.

I just love how this Japanese maple lights up in the sunshine.

This is out the back door.  I have often wished that I had a shelf on the fireplace chimney so that I could decorate the face of the fireplace, but I've had to choose other places to "pretty up"!

We had a dinner party recently, and I put tablecloths on all three of the outdoor tables.  This the one on the main patio.

The throw pillows on the patio have morphed from turquoise and coral to these brown leaves.

This is the table on the lower terrace.

And this is the table on the upper white deck.  We had cocktails outside, as it was a perfect fall evening.

Since these pillows had orange in them, I added them for a little comfort.

I tried to make several areas of interest reflect this beautiful season.

This statue has a basket of flowers in his arms, but I added an orange ribbon and some more signs of fall.

Even the fountain had a nod to fall.  After Thanksgiving, all of these pumpkins and gourds go into the woods for the deer and squirrels.  The mums will be planted in the cutting garden in hopes that they come up in the spring.  We feel so fortunate to celebrate this season of bounty with so many decorations and such beautiful weather.  But, probably the most beautiful of all is not what I add, but the incredible carpet of leaves and acorns that Mother Nature is supplying!

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21 Rosemary Lane

Super Bowl Sunday

All set for a Super Bowl Sunday lunch tomorrow.  There is nothing precious or fabulous here, just sort of low brow and fun.  Everything is from some discount or party store and just a cheeky nod to any team you choose to root for.

The ref's shirt plate is topped with a salad plate that looks like the football field.  The green handled flatware is from World Market.  I toyed with a black handled set, but green seemed more fun.   

I bought these football shaped glasses a couple of years ago, but I saw them at Kroger's this week and they are being marketed by Libby.  I put the yellow napkin in them to resemble a penalty flag.

A simple white ceramic pot held white simple white flowers from the grocery store.  Then I wrapped it in brown construction paper trimmed out with a bit of white to remsemble a football with laces.

I just mixed two sizes of white mums.

No matter what team you root for, high school, college, or professional, this very simple table will do.

Here's the overhead shot. 

Then, after I shot the photos, I returned from shopping with four plastic whistles, and I decided to use the napkins like this.  I might change my mind again before tomorrow, but the are sort of cute.

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The Happy Scraps

Seven Barks Thanksgiving Crackers

 

Check this out!  If you follow this blog, you know that I'm crazy about the paper products from Seven Barks.  They usually create items that reflect the sporting life....dogs, horses, boating, fishing, etc.  They add a few table top items each year, and their new offerings this year include these awesome party crackers.  They have a gun powder strip (for the pop!) and small toys inside, just as the traditional English crackers do.  You can see their entire line here.

The poppers and these mums inspired this table.  These are about the only mums left in the stores or nurseries around here.  That's ok because I love them.  I've got them in the living room, the dining room, and some are still flourishing outdoors, but I think their days are surely numbered. 

Here's the way I worked things together in the breakfast room.

I set this outdoor table using a lot of these same items early last fall. 

You can see the rest of it here. 

Doesn't this look like it will be a fun, casual get together? Our bachelor neighbor will be joining us tonight, and he's about the most casual guy you ever met, so I never let things get too over the top for him.

I pulled two pumpkins in from outdoors around the pool.  I think they were glad to come inside.  Then I stuck some of those mums into a brown crockery mug.  I think it is old, but I'm not totally sure.

I added some yellow ornamental peppers.

Then I stuck one bloom into the napkin ring.  They are from World Market, and the orange napkins are from the Palm line of linens.  I love the quality of them.

This rattan charger is from World Market, too, and the white plates are our everyday, no-name dishes.  The orange/white plate is from a bridal shower I did  several years ago.  I think I went to every Homegoods store in the Atlanta area getting enough of them!

Because I wanted this to be very informal, I used this yellow polka dotted flatware.  I think it came from Homegoods, as well.

Don't you love this guy?  

I just had to buy a box of their Christmas crackers, too.  I love this Victorian goose badge on them. 

We'll have dessert and coffee tonight, so we'll use these.

This is a bit of a departure from most fall tables, in that it is so screamingly bright, instead of fall's usual earthier tones.  I'll save those colors for another table.

After all, it's a bright and beautiful day outside.  It will be dark by the time we eat, but for now, I'm sure enjoying the sunshine.  I know so many of you are experiencing unusually early, cold weather, and I know the feeling of dread that I always had with the first snow.  Delightful and beautiful, but the winter can be so loooooooong. 

Cheerful and bright as this is, tonight might be our first fire of the season.

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Blue Bird

Sometimes a dish can whisper and sometimes it will ask for a colorful party table.  That's the case here.

See this little guy?  I found him at Homegoods and I did not intend to pull the green out of the dish, but it was kinda bossy!

So here we are!  You almost need sunglasses.

I started with a turquoise tablecloth from the Palm line of linens.  If you see them for sale, jump on them, as they are great quality and launder beautifully.  

I'm disappointed at how this charger photographed.  It looks so yellow, but it was really a bright grass green.  I think I got it at World Market.  The dinner plate was so large that the charger barely showed, but the turquoise tablecloth and the turquoise plate needed a break from each other.

The glassware was a mix of green glass stems from Swoosie's and Waterford white wines.

I know you are asking yourself two questions:

1.  Why didn't she iron this cloth?

2.  Why didn't she straighten this spoon?

The white wicker napkin ring freshened up these layered napkins.  I rarely do this, because guests seems so stumped as to what to do with two napkins, but today, I thought they could handle it!

I added a white porcelain bird at each place, and later sat a hand lettered placecard beside him. 

More white birds in the salt and peppers......

and atop the butter dish.......

and around the two vases that held screaming green mums.

In the center of the table, I sat a chicken wire cloche with ferns, eggs, and a little green bird.

Can you see him in there?

I had one more bird dish that I used for rolls.  I didn't even use a napkin in it, as I didn't want to hide the bird.

I wasn't sure I could handle all of this color, but it was perfect for this group and everyone's need for spring.

Besides, I've been using a lot of neutrals and I was getting in a rut.

Here's the tea tray.  Do you see that the lid for the sugar bowl is missing?  Do you have one I can buy?  Really?  Please leave me a comment if you could part with this sugar bowl.  It came from Homegoods a couple of years ago.

Every time I get this out to use, I am afraid that bird will break off.  Probably because I've had a run of klutzyness.

I used this for lemon and mint.

And look who else joined the party......

these little lovebirds in just the right color.

And on the other side of the room, the sideboard held my annual spring display.  You can see how I put it togorether here.  I have a string of spring entertaining planned, so the fact that this is all faux material will make it last.  Come around often and join us!

I guess I did this post just in time to join Cuisine Kathleen's April Let's Dish linky party on April 9.  She is inviting bloggers to join with posts that feature birds, nests, or eggs.  Should be inspiring!

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