Wine Club's Halloween Party

Our wine club met here Saturday night and we had a frightfully good time!  Since everyone brings an appetizer,  it was not a very labor intensive event.  As an example, the flowers here are very simply mounded into Oasis.  With a black tablecloth, I needed some contrast, so I used an antique doily under this felt trick-or-treat bucket from Target.  

Then these brilliant orange roses co-operated perfectly and were fully open just in time.  

Here's the table before any food.  I hadn't even taken the chairs away yet.

Love these napkins from Target!

This greeted the guests on the outside of the door.  This iron grill has a little "speak-easy" type door behind it.  When the doorbell rang, we cranked up the fog machine for a good puff of fog, slowly opened the little door, and stuck a mechanical skeleton hand out.  It was fun to hear the giggles on the other side.  Call me immature, but these things never get old!!!

These glittery pumpkins that I used as a fall centerpiece earlier in the week for my bridge luncheon (post to follow) were moved to the sideboard and I added black glittery pumpkins and a skull with orange votives.  I placed them on that gauzy "creepy cloth" from the Dollar Store. 

The other chest in the dining room had a few lovelies on it.  See that hand?  It's battery operated and that's what I stuck out the little door in the entry door.

In the living room, the coffee table got a few fun items.  The other candelabra and a black urn with the rest of the white mums gave it some height.

And this plate held some glittery bones and skull.

My little French shepherd girl moved over to this side table.

On the kitchen counter, I put this wire witch stuffed with moss.  See her broom?  I added a black cat and a small pumpkin in the straw.

The wine glasses are lined up in the bar.

And for later, the coffee cups.....

and the set up for coffee are ready.

Here's the dessert table.  I put my salted carmel cupcakes in this white wire basket and served a terrific pumpkin praline cheesecake with them.

She's ready to count the calories for us.

I always make sure the powder rooms are ready for a party.

Just a few touches make guests feel welcome.

This is the one room in our house where these colors work well!

I still love this glass log and the way it can be used so many different ways.

Each couple got a little booklet with information about each of the six tastings.  I chose all wines with a Halloween theme.  It took a long time, and reds were easy with lots to choose from, but the whites made me work!  I chose "Twisted" Pinot Grigio , "Ghost Pines" Chardonnay, "Black Cat" Reisling, "Vampire" Pinot Noir, "Cult" Cabernet, and "Poizin" zinfandel.  All but one were a hit.  Not too bad!!!

I planned on taking more photos after dark, but as soon as the candles were lit and I was ready to shoot, the doorbell rang, and our first couple was there.  They were 15 minutes early.  Whooooo does that?????

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Brown and Yellow Sunflowers

We've got a very busy week, with a luncheon on Tuesday (post to come) and our wine club here on Saturday.  Even so, when I saw these wonderful sunflowers, I decided I had to do a quick outdoor table for Mr. Pressed Pants for dinner last night.  We had to eat a bit early before it got too dark, but we sure did enjoy this last warm weather.

I picked up the yellow and the brown colors for the table and set it over a simple white caterer's cloth.

This placemat is probably supposed to be a daisy, but today, when I put the charger over it, I pretended it was a sunflower!

Here's the way the place setting looked.

I loved these faux bois salad plates at Pottery Barn the minute I saw them a couple of years ago.  Then, as I was checking out, I noticed these matching dark brown pottery saucers that were greatly reduced.  I decided to grab them for chargers.  They look good, but they are soooo heavy, I can't believe I ever was able to carry eight of these home.  I used our every day white dinner plates in between.  The often-used dark wooden handled flatware worked fine.

Dark brown cotton napkins were used with these napkin rings made from real wood that I found at Homegoods.

I use these stems so much in the fall.  They have leaves and acorns etched into them in brown.  The store I bought them from is now closed.  I remember they carried them all the time and once a year they had a buy one/get one free and I stocked up!  (This white tablecloth is starting to photograph blue in this light.)

Just to have a little more color, I grabbed these yellow straw coasters.

Simple, but the high contrast of the brown/white/yellow works for fall or summer.

Faux bois salt and pepper shakers.

I set the table with these oak barley twist candlesticks.  As we sat there, I ran into the house twice to get more candles.

And look!  This bottle of wine was in the cooler and I thought it was perfect.  And it was!

This was very little work, but made a very nice evening.

Last fall, I used these same dishes with this as the centerpiece.  Which do you like better....the brown and yellow sunflowers in three faux bois vases, or these classic sunflowers in one faux bois chachepot? 

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That's What Friends Are For

It's been quite a weekend here for us.  We have held our breath through a scary breast biopsy, celebrated a birth, attended a funeral, and danced at a wedding.  These events all concerned us because we have been blessed with special friendships with these people.  It occurs to me that not only do these signify the circle of life, but they illustrate how you have the opportunity to share the hopes, dreams, and burdens of those you care for so much.  Birth......death.......understandably opposite.  The funeral was about as simple and beautiful as could be in a tiny country church on the edge of the Chattahoochee National Forest.  No casket, just the work boots and guitar of  a fifty-three year old who left this earth way too early decorating the altar.  Four hours later, we were dressed in black tie, sitting in a most elegant Episcopal cathedral in midtown Atlanta, celebrating the stunning wedding of two very sophisticated young people.  When you open yourself up to friends, you sign on to BE THERE.  It's an amazing life, isn't it?  

French Shelves for Halloween

I always rush to decorate for fall, but delay the Halloween decor, because frankly, I love it, but tire of it.  So, here's my first Halloween display.  These French shelves in our bar are always fun for me to decorate.  In my previous home, they were hung much lower, so I decorated the top of them, too.  

One reason I was looking forward to this year's Halloween shelves is because one of my dear Bridge Buddies gave me these darling plaid plates last year.  I was so surprised and thrilled.  I thought of a million ways I wanted to use them, but this display won out.  (At least for now!)  

There are six plates with four different designs on them.  The top row allows a taller plate, so I backed the dessert sized ones with our everyday white dinner plates.  I love the way they show up against the wood here.  Then on the bottom shelf, I needed a smaller plate, so I found these black rimmed salad sized plates in my stash.  They don't show up as well, but they looked too small without them.  Then I  used real pumpkins and black glittery ones and filled in with black glittered garlands that I cut up.  The black stuff came from Michael's, but they are all out at my store now.  I was looking for more yesterday.

Since I needed eight plates to balance the display, I used two of the salad plates by themselves.  They looked too stark, so I added a black raven in front of each one.  Better!

I have a special watercolor that usually hangs under this shelf, but it detracted from the black and white and orange.  I removed it temporarily, and hung a bit of felt garland flags. The rest of the garland went on the front of the table.  My daughter bought me this last year.  Thanks, Susie......I love it!

On the table below, I used a white caterer's linen tablecloth covered with black netting from the Dollar Store.    Then I raised two big pumpkins on small glass pedestals and used the rest of the black garland around them. This table will be used next weekend for desserts when my wine club meets here, so I made sure that I can put up the drop leaf and have lots of room.  The front of the table has the remainder of the felt garland.

Several years ago, my favorite store, Boxwoods, in Atlanta sold this pair of glittery Halloween crowns.  They have sharp picks on the bottom which keeps them on the pumpkin.  I chose this one for the girl pumpkin.  Then I added lipstick and press on eyelashes tipped in gold from the drug store.  She's something, isn't she?

Her prince is apparently the strong, silent type.

Oh yes........there's a little uninvited friend checking out the whole thing.  Hope he's here stag!

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Tour of Fall Decor

 I thought I'd take you on a tour of our home dressed for fall.  Come on in!

Here's what will greet you at the road.  

These mums will soon show a lot more color.  I buy them in bud so that they will give us color until Thanksgiving.

At the Y in the driveway, we've put this little grouping.  That is not a strange weed to the right.  It is a pumpkin vine that sprung up from last year's pumpkin.  It got to be about 8 inches around and then it disappeared overnight.  Did the deer eat it?

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

Through the gate, the garden is sadly done for the season, except for the mums.

Then, come in the front door.  So many of our pumpkins and gourds came from Whole Foods.  They have a great variety of heritage pumpkins and they are very reasonable.

Out in the back, we've continued decorating, as we have so many windows and doors that look out to this area.

Beside the fireplace.....

the French boy is gathering harvest, too.

Inside, in the living room, the mantle gets a small vignette.  I'm not usually one for an overdone mantle with layers and layers of seasonal stuff, so this is a lot of decor for me.

A LOT of stuff.

Unfortunately, I broke this black metal pedestal.  I'm still trying to replace the middle rod.  I'm carrying it around from hardware store to hardware store.  I am NOT giving up! 

These orange roses are so lovely.  I wish they would stay this way all fall, but they'll be done soon.

This faux bois vase always holds birch sticks from the yard, but for fall, I've added the Chinese lanterns and bittersweet.

In the dining room, on the sideboard, I've done a vignette with real and paper mache gourds.

 

And on the chest, these faux bois pedestals are filled with fall colored flowers.

They are so vibrant that they look fake, but they are real, I swear.

This step back cupboard in the breakfast room just gets a slight nod to fall.

In the bar, another grouping of gourds and small pumpkins.

And some small pumpkins filled with fresh flowers.

Soon I will get out the Halloween stuff, and we'll enjoy that, but I'll wait a couple of weeks, as I get very tired of  that.  Love it, but it's too much for very long!

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