Halloween 2020

Once upon a time I might have wondered what type of surgery was being performed here by these masked people.  

When I look back, my 2020 vision will remind me that this is the way we painted pottery.

Home again displaying the masterpieces.

We went with the plan that Jaxson would paint a jack o' lantern, but soon everybody got in on the action.

Jaxson LOVES Halloween so during his recent visit we did our best to make memories.  He rode his dinosaur out to the patio for a photo shoot.  You can see the foliage in the early stages of fall splendor in the background.

Cookie decorating gave us another opportunity to be creative and make memories together as a family.  

🎃🎃🎃

No doubt about it, 2020 has been filled with tricks.

For Halloween we are focusing on the treats.

Hope your day holds a few special treats too.

🍬🍬🍬

Happy Halloween!

👻

House Hunting

After many years of living in a condo in the city, my son has decided that he is ready to buy his first house.  We have been happy to tag along as his search gets underway.

The house above was one that we looked at over the weekend.

After taking the virtual tour I could hardly wait to see it in person.

Seems I wasn't alone.  Right after it went up for sale the showing calendar was nearly full.  We were able to get an early morning appointment so off we went.

As soon as I walked in I was charmed by the details.

The leaf cabinet pulls and tiles gave the kitchen some personality.

The stained glass piece was an interesting valance over the kitchen sink window.

I wouldn't mind doing dishes here one little bit.

This house had so many interesting little touches.

The inlaid leaves on the first step of the staircase were so unique.

The little shelves under the staircase housed a small collection of  kaleidoscopes.

Often when selling a home we are told to put away all of our personal objects so the prospective buyer can picture themselves living there.

I understand that thinking, but sometimes I tend to disagree.

When I saw this area of the great room I knew instantly that this would be where morning coffee would be enjoyed.  Nestled in between two windows overlooking the lake with those sweet little shelves tucked into the corner.  Swoon!!

In another area of the great room the homeowner positioned a desk behind the sofa, all of which overlooked the lake.  Very nice.

But, what really caught my eye here is the interesting bookcase set-up.  I am always drawn to a closer look when it comes to bookcases.

As a kid I would have loved this little built in child sized reading spot.  There was even a wall mounted reading light in there.  I was very curious to know what was behind those little doors.  I know if I lived here it would be my collection of vintage children's books.

Another swoon worthy feature was this little playhouse on the property.  So sweet.

A wee little sparkly witch sat on the entry mirror.

🍁🍁🍂🍂

Despite all of the special touches, this house isn't the right fit for my son.  Later in the day we looked at another house which fit his needs better.  Last night he put an offer in.  It was a very nice house too, but vacant.  Not nearly as fun to take pictures in ; ).

Kitchen Views

That space above the kitchen cupboards seems to follow trends just like everything else home decor related.

In my last house I was thrilled to finally have that space to play with.

Didn't take long to fill it with plenty of fake ivy and assorted kitchen themed objects.

It was a source of pleasure for years until the day it looked like a bunch of clutter.  Dusty clutter at that.  Who wants to get way up there and dust?  Not me.  So down it all came.  For the next few years it was a welcome relief to see nothing but empty space up there.

Now, it's been almost two years since I moved into this house.

There are a lot of white cabinets in this kitchen with a lot of long walls of space above them.

After awhile it seemed something was lacking up there.

After watching this video I learned that decorating up there is back in vogue, although the rules have changed since the fake ivy days :).

Seems like now it is all about:

- Vignettes

- Varying Heights

- A Cohesive Style

I like the idea of some texture and less color in my vignettes.  Just something interesting without a jolt of color.  

This was our weekend project.  Brett raided the construction dumpsters for 2 by 4s and plywood.  He then constructed platforms to raise the vignettes up.  He went up the ladder while I handed things to him and indicated a little right, a bit to the left... just right.

My part of the job was easy, other than worrying about falls off the ladder or the countertops.  Geesh, I don't remember worrying about that when I used to do it by myself walking on the countertops while hanging onto the crown moldings.  Just another reminder that we're not as young as we used to be.  The only benefit to that is when the dust and cobwebs start to settle up there we won't be able to see it as well.

 

Welcoming October

Welcome October

Yesterday I went for a long walk through the neighborhood.

The sky was oh so blue, the air was cool and crisp... in other words a perfect day to be out walking.  At this time of year I enjoy seeing the colorful displays of mums, pumpkins and cornstalks decorating porches and garden beds.  By the time I got home I knew it was time to spruce up my own front porch.  So, off we went in search of a little decorating material.

That barn above is near our last house.  It looks like it's out in the country when it's really in amongst strip malls and subdivisions.  When I used to drive by it weekly I often wondered why it was still standing as it is very dilapidated and looks out of place in it's current surroundings.

Perhaps it is because every year the farmer who owns it brings in his fall harvest and creates a delightful place to go for all of your festive fall feels.

When I asked the farmer how old the barn is he couldn't remember exactly.  He said it was older than Days of Thunder which is at least 30 years ago by now.  Wondering how Days of Thunder related to the barn he told me that it was used in the filming of that movie.  He looked at the barn, smiled and said "Tom Cruise has been in that barn".  Well now, perhaps this is part of the reason the barn still stands.  Trying to remember if I'd ever seen the movie, I searched it out on the internet and learned Tom Cruise played a Nascar driver.  Being that this area is the heart of Nascar, it all made sense.  Being that the movie was about Nascar, I most likely never saw it ;).

Anyhow, back to porch decorating...

While I wasn't quite sure how I planned to decorate, I figured I couldn't go wrong with choosing a few pumpkins and some gourds. In the process of making my selections this scarecrow caught my eye and I knew that he needed to be on the welcoming committee. 

For some reason Brett thought this guy should be part of the welcoming committee.  EEK!!  I don't think so.

Normally Brett doesn't care one way or another when it comes to decorating things.  He seemed pretty adamant about Mr. spider, however.

So, we settled on a smaller version.

He's hairy with red eyes.  Just creepy enough.

By the time we got home darkness had descended, but the full moon and the porch light made it possible to assemble our finds into some semblance of order.

All ready to welcome the new month.

🎃🎃🎃