Pumpkins on the Patio

It's a beautiful fall day here in Alabama. 
That means temperatures in the 80's.  What a nice day to enjoy my terra cotta pumpkins on the porch.  It's too warm for a fire, but I'm enjoying this area of my yard without the benefit of the flames.

 There's a little breeze blowing so it's quite nice this afternoon.

 

 

I have planted a few pansies for when we have cooler weather.

 

 

I'm ready Halloween--

it will be here before we know it.

 

 

Now have you seen these at your local Wal-Mart? 

 Yes!  It's a vintage-style olive bucket planter! 

It's not as tall as my genuine olive bucket, so it is

perfect for the pot of mums that came with the bucket.

Aren't they just wonderful together?

Just right for enjoying on a fall afternoon.

 

 

I have a pot of rosemary on the table between the two chairs. 

 I love the smell of rosemary--so relaxing!

The comfy cushions are from World Market.

 

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

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The Scoop at The Farmhouse Porch






Nifty Thrifty Tuesday with Coastal Charm


Vintage-Style Halloween

I'm getting ready for Halloween. 

Do you decorate for Halloween?  In the last few years, I have begun to make my decorations just a little bit creepy and different than they have been in previous years.  I find it fun to create new and different looks for the holiday--it really gets my imagination going.  I like that part a lot.

So, my new look in my dining room began with this black urn that I removed from a neighbor's trash pile.  Yes.  I admit it, I saw it with that left-over, tired, worn-out little light up Christmas tree in it and I took it.  I left the tree for other scavengers, though. 

I added some tarnished silverware.

I added the little candle holder

 I got at a flea market this summer. 

It is tarnished, also.

I added this ledger from our family

business.  It is from the year 1954.

It is in great shape and all the

 entries are written in fountain pen!

I got four silver-plated goblets at a recent estate sale.

  They are super tarnished and were $1.25 each.



I thought my green soda bottle might

 look good with the new design.

There's the urn that started it all.

I already had the feather wreath

 and I thought it made the look

complete with a few black birds tossed in

for good measure.  I love the new look in my dining room!

It was so fun to be creative and to come

 up with a few new ideas.

Yes, I know I'm in the picture!  I later made more pictures without my self portrait, but the light wasn't very good anymore.  So, I'm sacrificing perfection for better natural light.

I came up with this idea for my lantern last year,

but never posted a picture on my blog.



Here's a picture of my foyer. 

I love this look!





I have some pictures of my kitchen table that I'll share now.

A holiday that centers around candy--can it get any better??

Have you done anything different for

Halloween or fall this year?

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The Scoop

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WOW Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style



Inspire Me Tuesday


Share Your Cup Thursday
at Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

Come Over for a SPELL

I have been decorating my home for Halloween for years.  I love to entertain, but our Halloween parties have been outdoor events over the last twelve years.  Last year, I decided to have a coffee and invite friends over to see my decorations, visit and enjoy refreshments.   It was fun, so I decided to do it again this year. Since I'm blogging now, I decided to take pictures to share the party with you.

Come Over for a SPELL.....(that's what the invitation says)

Here is my front door-decorated and ready for guests.

I've already shared many of my Halloween decorations

so I thought I would share with you

 the food I served today at my Creepy Coffee.

I came up with funny Halloween-sounding names for the refreshments I served.

I invited adults and teens to the party.  I thought all the kids would love these Wizard Wands.  I think everyone has heard of Harry Potter and I thought they would like these pretzels with candy coating and sprinkles.  The wands were popular with the kids and the adults, too.

I served a sour cream cinnamon coffee cake but called it a Cinnamon Coffin Cake.

I made these marshmallows dipped in royal icing last year and wanted to make them again this year.  I called them Eye of Newt.  They are fun and easy to make.  You put the marshmallow on a sucker stick (Wilton makes them) and coat with thinned royal icing.  The best part is decorating the icing-coated marshmallow with sprinkles and putting the eye in place.  It doesn't take much to make me happy!

I had so much fun making these Melting Monsters.  They are brownies with marshmallows covered with royal icing and decorated with sprinkles and eyes.  I don't think I have ever used so many sprinkles since I was a kid decorating my Christmas cookies with my friends.

I made a cheese Eye Ball that I served with crackers. 

Here are some delicious toasted pecans that I called Owl Toes.

We had a fun morning and it was a perfect day for the party.  Everyone enjoyed the decorations, food and fellowship.  I'm glad I could share my party with you.

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Halloween Home

I know I have a lot of Halloween decorations.  I started my collection over 12 years ago and it has continued to grow a little bit more every year. Most people have NO idea that I have these Halloween decorations in my home (from the outside, there isn't much of a hint that I love Halloween). Slowly, I have begun to share my Halloween home and decorations and everyone seems to be delighted. 

I love vintage-style Halloween decorations.  I know you might not think it, but I am VERY particular about the decorations I select.  I like unique items that you don't see in every store.  As a matter-of-fact, I started out trying to make Hallowen items when I couldn't find what I wanted in stores.  I would see a pictue like this in a magazine and I would want the vintage-style decorations that I would see on those pages.  If Martha Stewart had a Halloween party table set, I wasn't looking at the cupcakes, I had the magnifying glass out trying to get a better look at some cute decoration off to the side.  I searched for several years on line before I finally began to find the items I wanted. 



So here we go...

Vintage-style is very appealing to me. I brings back the joys of my childhood when you could Trick-or-Treat with a friend...as long as you stayed together and you didn't cross the street.   It was a time when it was safe to be a child...

It was okay to be a witch when I was growing up.  Was it okay for you, too? 

Here's my Witch Coffee Table.  The little witch figure is an original from

Debra Schoch of  Hop Hop Jingle Boo

 (she makes Easter, Halloween and Christmas in papier mache').

I love to put out pictures of my daughter in her Halloween costumes.

  Here's her version of a little witch (in our neighbor's yard).

 

I like details.  Here are some balls I picked up at

Michael's last year.  I found the giant candy

 corn at another store.  I thought about

making it myself, but it was priced low

enough that it was cheaper to buy than to make it.

Here's a fun photo scrapbook I made a several years ago.

  It has pictures of Halloween adventures inside. 

 Here's a complete picture of my coffee table.

 

This desk is in my family room, too. 

 Here's what it looks like most of the time. 

 I like to add a few Halloween touches here, also.

Here are a few close ups of the decorations I have on the desk. 

 I try to work things in so they are easy to see without

 changing too many of my regular decorations.

My husband is so sweet.  He gives me a gift certificate at

Christmas to a local store that has a lot of my favorite

 kind of Halloween goodies.  I wait until the Halloween

 decorations arrive and then use my certificate.  Thank you, Sweetie!

This is Miss Moon.

Our Halloween kitchen table.

Here's the Butler's Pantry between our kitchen and our formal dining room. 

 This is how it looks a lot of the time.

I have to "Spook" this, too.

 The pumpkin on the cat's head lights up. 

 The little figure is "Simon the Sorcerer" --he's displayed on Harry Potter books

(The Sorcerer's Stone, of course). 

 I made the other pumpkin--it is a treat box.

How about some "Creepy Coffee" in a Mummy or a Frankenstein mug? 

Here are a few more collectibles I have in my kitchen.

I just love this vintage-style bucket with the cat.

  Sometimes I put candy in it, but I most often I use it for one of my plants. 

I hope you have enjoyed visiting my Halloween Home.

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