A Paris Street Market: September 2015

We've been busy getting ready for our next trip to the "Paris Street Market" in Littleton, Colorado, on Saturday, September 5, 2015.  We'll have some fantastic finds for you in our booth!  Plan to arrive early to snatch up some wonderful painted furniture as well as unique found items that will be perfect in your home this fall.


We can't show you everything...... but, we wanted to give you a little sneak peek!



We have one dining set with 4 chairs (one captain's chair and three side chairs) painted a warm distressed gray.  They will be upholstered before we bring them.  The dining table, with two leaves, has a beautiful wood top with the legs painted in the same gray.  You'll have to wait to see the table there.

This piano bench is also painted in a warm distressed gray.  The top opens to hold sheet music or whatever you like.  The vintage 3-drawer chest has a distressed wood finish and would work great as an end table or for bedside storage.  The fun "Antique" sign and fall gourds are the finishing fall touch.

This vintage sofa table has great unique legs and is painted in a distressed gray granite finish.  It would be perfect as a sideboard in a dining area or behind a sofa, or you could even use it as a writing desk.

Here are a few primitive pieces.  The old wood chest was possibly used as a blanket chest.  It has dove-tail joinery and was put together with hand-forged square nails which date it to the 1800's.  It has been "touched on" with love and would be a perfect coffee table.  Several of the rusty found pieces include an old tin can, a rake, and some antique wood presses.  The little wood high chair is precious too.  There is nothing quite like old wood and rust to warm up a home.

And a few more fall touches just to get you in the mood.......

Hope to see you at the Market,
Kandy and Karli

Fall Blessings: A Home Tour

WELCOME TO FALL AT OUR HOME.  I love this time of year. 

I have already taken all of my "faux" pumpkins to Church to decorate for our Harvest Home Celebration this weekend, so the front door area looks a little empty.  I can't put out real pumpkins.  It is already getting well below freezing at night and then heating up during the day. (That can make for a real pumpkiny mess!)  But, some fall décor is still in order.  A wreath, some hardy left-over flowers, and a new message on the chalkboard will let all guests know that we welcome them and  the Fall Season.

 Inside, in the entry, I placed the dried stems from my daylilies in a black urn and added some gourds in their natural state.  The daylily stems look a little like leopard and I think they are really cool.  This look is earthy and organic and not what you might expect.

At our house Fall also means that the wood must all be neatly stacked.  We burn wood to heat our home so it takes a lot.  I actually love to just look at the stacks.  I think they're beautiful, but they do represent a lot of work.  As Hubby says, you get "heated up" several times when you burn wood.
 

 

 

Then there are all those leaves.  So lovely to look at, but once again, work.

 
And so it goes, to everything there is a season.
Fall Blessings from our Home to Yours,
Kandy

Leigh's Wedding Party--A Fall Supper

My dear friend Kathy's daughter, Leigh, is getting married in November. Another neighbor friend, Pat, and I decided to host a party in her honor.

Since Leigh already had a shower, we thought a couple's party would be fun. After all, we wanted to get to know her fiance. How perfect to have a Fall Supper Party!

We enjoyed planning all the details for the big night. I'll highlight areas for you and share some of our photos.


The Invitations:

My artsy friend, Judith, gave me some beautiful khaki colored paper that worked great to make the invitations. I folded the paper in half and did a dry-brush stencil design in chocolate brown. I did the wording on the computer, copied it onto white cardstock paper, cut it with a paper cutter, and used double stick tape to attach it inside. I then repeated the stencil design inside and then again on the outside of the envelope. 

The Tables:

I recently used painter's drop cloths to cover a ceiling in a shed, see this post.   I really liked the fabric and thought it would make wonderful tablecloths for this party. I purchased a 9' x 12' size dropcloth at Sherwin Williams and from that I was able to get 4 card table size cloths and one to fit a 6' table. I then purchased one drop cloth that was 6' x 9' for the larger table. After washing and drying the dropcloths, I pressed them, cut them to size and hemmed them. That's how easy it was. I really love the organic texture...a cross between linen and burlap. Really perfect for a fall dinner party. 
 
We topped each table with a brown runner. (I made the runners for Karli's wedding three years ago and have used them many times since then.) On the runners were vintage wood boxes containing old white ironstone pitchers of various sizes.  In each pitcher was native wheat grass that I cut from along the fence row and dried. We included pinecones from Pat's yard, tiny white pumpkins, and small votive candles for sparkle. 

 

 

We wanted casual, but traditional. We mixed up the table settings, using some of my dishes and some of Pat's. We had blue and white transferware and brown and white transferware. We mixed up the stemware as well, using both blue and brown. Even the napkins were mix and match....brown print, blue and white, solid brown, and ivory. I think the effect was warm and inviting.
 

The Menu:

In keeping with our casual, rustic feel, we kept our food simple, as in "Fall Comfort Food."  Karli had helped us plan what we were going to serve and she helped with the food prep. (So glad my daughter can cook.)

Appetizers 

Spinach Dip served in a small Pumpkin

Mini Pretzels and Cracker Assortment

Cream Cheese topped with Raspberry Chipolte 

                           

Assorted Fall Beers and Micro Brews

 

Main Course

Fresh Green Salad with Cherry Tomatoes and Sweet Peppers

Homemade Ranch Dressing

Crusty Wheat French Bread with Garlic Butter

Hearty Beef Stroganoff

Buttered Green Beans

 

Dessert

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Chocolate Bundt Cake

Fresh Whipped Cream

Cream Cheese Mints

 

Here are some photos of the appetizer table. The little straw bride doll adorning the table is a vintage keepsake of Pat's.

The "Bar" area was special too. Years ago I had made this lattice divider when Leigh's brother got married. We used it at the reception. Then, when her other brother got married, we used it at the ceremony. It was only fitting to use it for some of Leigh's festivities. An old washtub sits on an antique kitchen table holding the ice and beers. Karli wrote the beer choices on old cupboard door that I had painted with chalkboard paint. We set this up outside on the deck. 

Another cupboard door, which I made freestanding, greets guests as they came to the front door. Karli did the writing on this one as well. (Sure glad she came home to help with this party.)

Karli and Bride-to-be Leigh were childhood friends, living down the road from each other. It was wonderful that Karli got to come home, help with the party and celebrate with Leigh.

My camera battery failed at about this time...lesson learned...always have a back-up battery in the camera case. I did not get photos of the rest of the food, or all the people at the party. I didn't even get a photo of Leigh and Jake, the Groom. I did however get one of Karli and Brent. Brent deserves to be in this post too. He worked hard...hauling all the stuff for the outdoor bar area and all that beer!

What a great evening we had! Now we can all look forward to the upcoming wedding and spending more time with these people that we love.

Kandy

Fall Porch Decorations

I'm really happy with how my front porch turned out this fall. It's my favorite season, so this is the perfect way to celebrate! Mom's post about the fall decor in her house inspired me to finally get this done...better late than never, right?!

I bought two real pumpkins and two fake black pumpkins from Target.

 

I also purchased two orange mums from the garden center down the street. I replaced the pink geraniums that had been in those black planters all summer.

I LOVE the chalkboard panel. I'm happy with how my chalk art turned out. Who knows what it will be come Christmas?!

I simply painted a piece of shelving. You can buy a piece for about $1 from Home Depot if you don't have any scrapes.

These little lanterns came from Ikea. Eventually I'll load them up with pine cones for Christmas!

And the mums!! I love orange mums this time of year!

I hope you're enjoying the fall weather.
~Karli

Decorating for Fall

I Love Fall...

I love the colors, the golds, the oranges.  I love pumpkins and leaves.  I love the smell of scented candles and home baked goodies full of spices.  I embrace the changing of the seasons and the cooler temperatures.  I get excited about bringing Autumn into my home in every way.  

Because I am a thrifty person, I use and reuse.  I keep tubs of fall décor that I transport to whatever location I may be decorating.   I have numerous "fake" pumpkins, leaves and garlands that have been used for numerous years.  Dust them off and you are good to go. 

I've tried using real pumpkins and for special times, like the Thanksgiving table, I do splurge.  We did tiny white pumpkins last year.  I loved it.  But if you are going to decorate before October 1 and leave it up till Thanksgiving..........think about it!!!   Those pumpkins are going to get a little old, and maybe even mushy!!!

Mix and match.  Some fake pumpkins mixed in with real leaves.  Then throw in some dried Indian Corn.  Don't forget the spice-scented candles.  It's all Fall and it's all wonderful.

Here are some Fall scenes throughout my house.


The Kitchen Bar Area

                      

This plate stand is perfect for seasonal décor.

                   


   A cake stand is great for the dining table.

     


  Can you tell I use these year after year? 



Just adding one tiny pumpkin to any area adds just the right amount of fall.

 


Another spot with one tiny pumpkin, the drop front desk in the living room.



Time for Fall décor!! The antique clock doesn't even run.



 A large urn full of real aspen branches greets guests in the entry area.

 


The colors are brilliant!

The pumpkins are "fake" but the Indian corn is the real deal.

     I have more real aspen leaves on the library table in the den.

I'm going to be decorating at Church soon for our annual Harvest Home Gathering. Then later, I'll be decorating for a Fall Supper Party. For that I am going to use some dried wheat grass that I cut out of the pasture last week. Look for the post on that coming soon.

Happy Fall,
Kandy