Puttering and Decorating

It's been a wee bit since I last posted any photos of stuff around the house, aside from the laundry renovation anyways. Since I've been puttering about, doing my Autumn cleaning (is anyone else more of an Autumn cleaner than a Spring cleaner?) and starting to set out some of my Autumn decorations I figured I'd snap some pictures to share.

Come in, come in! Just around the pumpkin flag and up the driveway. Since the beginning of Summer, I've had the urge to tuck decorations in to the garden, something I never thought I would do. But as it turns out, I am indeed my Mother's daughter and so there is now a flag, some solar lights, a gnome and a few other odds and ends sprinkled throughout the grounds.

In to the living room you'll go, just beyond the front door with it's grapevine wreath and evil eye charms. Don't mind the big white mess on the hallway wall, that's where I fling paint on my BIG paintings! My studio, alas, isn't a good place to hang the boards due to its' decorative chair rail, but it's all good as I can paint and spend time with my love as he plays banjo, watches TV or plays games from the comfort of our first brand new furniture purchase... the sectional!

Mind the bookcases as you come around, they're filled to capacity! We're in the process of planning and saving pennies for new, improved, huge ones; visions of glass doors and shabby chic distressing dance through my brain. *wistful sigh*

These two cheeky pocket Gods are busily fooling around with my ancient collection of leather bound classic pocketbooks. On another shelf, a hand painted potions book and the wand of Severus Snape sit amongst my first edition Harry Potter hardcovers. I own the whole series in trade paperback, but have been slowly acquiring the hardcovers from the local second hand shop as they come in. I'll try anything in paperback, but a book must be truly beloved for me to seek it out in hardcover.

Around the corner, atop the Curio cabinet that was passed down from my parents to me, you'll find the first gleanings of Hallowe'en fever! Most of these characters stay out all year long, though they are re-arranged and accompanied by other seasonal decor as the holidays and seasons change.

And at the front of the room, you'll find our wood burning fireplace and the mantel that holds my holiday displays! For Autumn, I've covered it in my pumpkin collection, I've bought a new one each year since Joe and I moved in together.

Ooops! We've interrupted Luna's beauty nap! Shh... quietly, in to the kitchen.

Not much has changed in the kitchen since my last tour of the house, but there are a few little changes and details I'm just dying to share! My best friend got a new dining room table and so we inherited his previous one, which is larger and sturdier than our old one was. I've bitten the bullet and done something else I never thought I would do and purchased seat cushions and placemats in complementary colors! Owning a home sure does bring out one's inner domestic, doesn't it??

In the center of the tables lives a collection of wee treasures: a pair of kitchen witches a friend was kind enough to swap for a print, a glass decanter set from the 1960's that I purchased at a steal at the flea market ($10! with all four glasses in perfect condition!), a small black enamel teapot that I can't use for tea as it's cracked (I keep trinkets in it), a vintage brown glass bottle with two metal roses (one copper, on stainless) that Joe gifted to me, a sweet robin and a raw amethyst. These will most likely change in and out periodically, but for right now I'm so in love with it!

And lastly, but certainly not least, I continued my quest to get rid of all the overbearing black dish ware, etc. in the kitchen and brighten it up to suit my current tastes. And so, a friend offered me some of her vintage mason jars and I jumped on them! Swapping out my large black canister set for the mason jars. It's funny, they take up more space on the counter, but it sure doesn't feel like it!

Little by little and bit by bit, our little cottage is becoming more and more homey. :)