Imposter China...

I always want to get an early start

on Christmas decorating...

 

I rarely do...

 

today,

I broke out the boxes

and began setting up trees...

 

then,

 I looked into my kitchen cupboard

and thought about packing up my fall dishes...

 

 

I realized

I hadn't shared my summer dish find with you...

 

at a good sale,

you know the ones...

 

I found this big box of Transferware under a table...

 

service for eight

serving bowls,

platters,

cream and sugar...

 

all the goodies!

 



 

garlands of roses...

Crazed

and in Love...

 



I heard them speak to me,

in an English Accent

inviting me to afternoon crumpets...

 



Japan?

 

I felt like a bit of an arse...

 

 

still,

the big box came home with me...

 

we have completely enjoyed

using them as everyday dishes this fall...

 

now it's time to pack them up...

 

bid them  toot a loo

or maybe that is

sayonara...

 

Thanks for stopping by....

Frozen...

As I tossed around birdseed,

and thawed my frozen humming bird feeders

 this morning...

 

I thought I would take you along

 on a mini garden tour...

 

to enjoy

the frozen beauty...

 

from the warmth of your own home...

 

 

an icy dusting,

purely magical...

 



so tender...

 



 

and



the Hydrangea... 

 



 

it's official...

 

 Fuzzy Socks

&

Hot Cocoa

season has arrived...

 

 

Happy Weekend

&

Stay Warm...

There Came a Killing Frost...

Our first big frost 

hit last night...

the leaves that were still hanging on the trees

now crisp,

freeze dried are falling rapidly...

luckily,

I snapped a few pics

 a couple days ago...

of my Apple Blossom Camellia

in bloom...

it's a Fall blooming Camellia

but, it was

a complete surprise,

because it has never bloomed like this before...

I had actually thought about pulling it out 

many times...

doesn't it just look like Spring?

especially 

with morning dew...

a stand out

among the mute Autumn shades...

the blooms came and went quickly,

the gardens last hurrah...

right now the thermometer is at 26 degrees,

there was even a teaser of snow in our forecast...

I love Winter,

there is just something about it that excites me...

Stay Warm...

Just a Dress...

Maybe it's the love of simplicity...

or maybe,

it's just lazy decorating...

I brought this sweet simple dress

home from a garage sale

over the summer...

hung it on my hall tree,

and

there it has hung since...

the only noticeable change,

the seasonal bouquet

next to it...

the Roses of Summer...

late Summer Anemone...

now a

single dry Hydrangea...

simple

I did spiff it up a bit,

with a nice hanger

and

some favorite girly accessories...

the dress greets me at the door each day,

the flouncy layers of the skirt,

beg to be fluffed...

a small Cinderella moment...



the vintage parasol,

one of my favorite treasures...

it is far to weak and tattered

to open...

but,

 it just whispers of

romantic days gone by...



seeded pearls

hand sewn on the straps...

it's just a dress...

but,

it just makes me happy...

Thanks for stopping by...

Harlow Carr...

 

A couple weeks ago...

 

I was happy

to find a lovely bouquet

of Harlow Carr Roses...

 

it will be the last "nice" garden Rose bouquet

of the season...

 



 

I paired it up

with Dusty Miller...

 

Dusty Miller's velvet lace leaves

are always a nice filler for Fall...

 



my favorite part of Fall

are the cozy candlelit nights...

 



this year

I added a little faux candlelight...

 

these tealight candles

are on a timer...

they are on for six hours

 and off for eighteen...

(the batteries are lasting about a month)

 

I've been tucking them

 into my votive holders,

all over the house...

 

they come on and greet me each evening

without the worry of flames...

 

I won't be giving up

my fragranced candles,

but I am really enjoying the twinkling...

 



 

one last sweet whiff...

 

Thanks for stopping by...

October Roses...

We enjoyed a mild October

here in the Pacific Northwest...

 

and although

 my garden was mostly quiet...

there were still

 scatterings of Roses here and there...

 

An October Garden
 

In my Autumn garden I was fain
To mourn among my scattered roses;
Alas for that last rosebud which uncloses
To Autumn's languid sun and rain
When all the world is on the wane!
Which has not felt the sweet constraint of June,
Nor heard the nightingale in tune.

 

Broad-faced asters by my garden walk,
You are but coarse compared with roses:
More choice, more dear that rosebud which uncloses
Faint-scented, pinched, upon its stalk,
That least and last which cold winds balk;
A rose it is though least and last of all,
A rose to me though at the fall.

 

Christina Georgina Rossetti  

 

November is our windy month,

only a few Roses

 now remain...

 

so fragile

 when brought into the house,,

the blooms only last a day...

 

still,

I pick them...

 

small bits of joy...

 

I hope you are finding small bits of joy

in your days too..