Late Summer/Early Fall Decorating

Hello, Friends,

I hope you are well.

In the mist of thinking about and bookmarking all things farmhouse, I took some pictures of our early fall or late summer touches. 

I thought I'd show them to you. 

We visited Giverny three years ago in mid September. The late summer flowers were gorgeous. They were tall and almost buoyant with vibrant blooms that thrived with the slight drop in temperature. 

Oh, that my borders would look like this. 

I was captivated. 

We visited Monmartre which is where Sacré-Coure is located. There was a market right outside the church. Bill and I bought some precious little watercolors. 

I cannot believe that it has taken me this long to pop them into a frame. Especially, since I already had frames that would work. Are they the best frames in the world? No, but this is a season of using what we have. I wanted our decor this August to have that feel of a mature garden. 

One of the paintings is on the dish dresser in the garden room. 

I put the other one on the mantel. Don't ask me why they aren't together. 

The artist told us where these were painted but I do not remember. 

They reminded me of that visit three years ago.

 

The mantel is essentially the same. I try to change it up like a good blogger should but I end up putting it back the way it was. For a slight change, it got some old gold candlesticks and a new to me candelabra. 

I found this beauty for $4.75 at the antique store. I'd just seen some @ French Country Cottage but I never dreamed that I'd spy one so soon after noticing hers. 

It needed crystals which we had in my stash. There used to be baggies of crystals at the thrift store for only $2.99. That was before chandeliers became popular again. Those were the days. 

The ticking chair next to the hearth got a darling sunflower pillow with a brown background. 

I've had this one for years and I love pulling it out for late summer. 

The arrangement on the little brass table is comprised of faux black eyed Susans, branches from the woods, and dwarf nandina from the yard. Bill thought it was all real. 

The majolica pitcher is a reproduction but I've had it so long that it is approaching vintage status. 

Unfortunately, grocery store sunflowers do not last very long. 

My first batch for 2020 was pretty with burgundy alstroemeria and branches.  

Another brown needlepoint pillow rests on the couch in the background. 

The yard was slim pickins for flowers since it was unbearably hot so I bought some.  

There are some late summer touches to see in the garden room. 

My red truck from Hobby Lobby got a makeover with some Rust-Oleum Spray Paint in Moss. 

This is my favorite color spray paint. The truck fits into my style better now that it is green. 

A burlap sunflower sits in the bed. The thrifted little corn cob is a tooth pick holder. 

I'm so happy to have the dish dresser back in this room. 

Bill made it for our second house and it is so special to me. 

It calls for more of a casual look than it can get in the entryway. 

The grocery store sunflowers dried which was a surprise. Usually, they don't dry very well. 

The farm stand wall hanging from Raz Imports also got spray painted. It was red as well. 

One coat of hunter green covered the red. Vaseline was dabbed on in spots so that the lighter Moss green would look chippy. 

Late summer flowers spill out of the cart. 

Here is the elusive and rarely seen corner where Bill sits. 

I didn't bother to straighten the books for you. 

If all goes well with the farm, the secretary may end up out there. 

A string of light provides a cozy glow in it. 

A few other farm touches echo a late summer look. 

I pulled all this out before we saw the farmhouse. 

Hopefully, it is a providential foreshadowing. 

The inspector and a foundation guy will be out to look at the property on Monday. 

We have a few concerns. Hopefully, it isn't anything that would be a deal breaker. 

I'd be disappointed but we'd just keep trusting and looking. 

Have a wonderful weekend. 

Bill is going to add a few details to the arbor. 

I rummaged in the attic for antique beds and chairs to work on. 

I'm a purger so there isn't much left. 

I'll show it all to you. 

Katie 

Our Exciting News About An Antique Farmhouse

Hi, Friends, 

How are you? 

I'm on pins and needles over here. 

If you have been following for a while, you may remember that there have been a few houses that have intrigued and tempted us. 

There have been a couple that we can't seem to forget and I've enjoyed taking you along on our house journey. 

There was the less than perfect Little Lake Property.

There was the Sinking Bungalow and the sweet Sunset house. 

There was the Faux French Chateau. 

I'm a big believer that everything happens for a reason. When we lost Sunset last summer, it took a little while to understand that loss. Now with the lockdown and Covid, I think our staying here has been a blessing. We know our neighbors and our neighborhood. They have been our only companionship for the last five months. (From across the street, of course.) 

Bill and I have always wanted a place in the country. We have talked about that dream for the last 37 years. 

We wanted a manageable amount of acreage. 

I've had a longing for chickens and for growing food. Bill needs to tinker with things. He wants geese. 

But why? Why, when we have been blessed with a lovely home? 

Why would God want us to have a second home? We are blessed enough with this one. I've spent a lot of time in prayer about it. 

During the last third of our life, we thought we would travel. When will we be able to do that again? 

We thought we would have little feet visiting us. That's not on the horizon and now with the pandemic, I doubt our children will want to bring little feet into this scenario. I could be wrong but I doubt it. 

  There have been times when we have been discouraged and the dream seemed out of reach. 

One of things that has hit me during this virus situation is to have peace in the things that I cannot control. I've always had a feeling that if the right house or property was out there, we would know it and that it wouldn't be that hard to find. I've seen God work in my life enough that I know this to be true. 

 Our realtor has had us in a couple of search matrixes. We get emails everyday about a downsized suburban home and country properties. 

It's a lot of emails but there was nothing for sale that looked interesting. 

Bill would get the emails and he would look at the links. He forwarded those to me that intrigued him. 

Most of the time, I've been "Nope, I'm not living there with you." 

Last week, he got an email which led him to another link. It was a house that had just been put on the market. When he clicked through the pictures of the property and the house, he wanted to see it. We were already going to be out in that direction, so he set up a showing. 

I hadn't seen the pictures or the listing. I didn't even know that we were house hunting. I didn't even really want to house hunt. We were supposed to be relaxing.

 

We pulled up to the house. 

I didn't even notice the picket fence. (I have always wanted a picket fence.) 

The acreage had vista and interest. "Okay..." 

I walked up to through the front yard and stepped up onto the porch. I got a warm and tingly feeling. 

That tingly feeling means nothing if Bill sees something he doesn't like ~ just FYI. 

We opened the front door. 

"This is original shiplap!" 

The realtor and I began to talk about the original doors, beadboard ceilings, the original kitchen cabinets. 

There are original door knobs.

"How old is this house?" 

The realtor said the house was built in 1932 but it's had some recent work and a hodgepodge of floors.

There is a big unfinished addition which caused me to think that Bill would never go for this property. 

 

We walked through the house and the yard. We walked out to the barns. 

There is a big one that is falling down and a little old chicken barn. 

We got in the truck and drove to two other houses. They were "No."  

Bill and I chatted in the car. 

The work was not too daunting for Bill. 

Yes, there are things that the inspector needs to check and we have concerns. 

Bill was not deterred by the addition. If fact, he thought it was a good thing that it was unfinished because we can finish it the way we want. 

The more we talked, the more we became sure that we needed to make an offer. 

We saw the house on Friday. We put our offer in on Saturday.

We didn't think that we would hear on Sunday. It's the country and there is "country time".  

As Monday stretched on, we started to feel like the owner had gone with another offer. 

It was the Sunset house all over again. 

I prayed and told that Lord that whatever happened was okay. I'd be disappointed but it was okay. 

At almost that moment, Bill walked out of his office and said, "He accepted our offer." 

I got goose bumps all over again. 

There is work to be done but a lot of stuff has already been done. 

This project may take five years to get it exactly how we would like it.  

This house has details that I'd never dreamed we find. 

We still have to get it inspected and we still have to close but we hope to have a little weekend farm by Thanksgiving. 

It almost doesn't seem real. 

I'll be back to talk through some plans, room ideas and show you some family heirlooms that have been hoarded for such a house as this. 

Thanks for following along on this journey. 

Katie 

Update - we had to pull out during our option period due to excessive damage to the eaves, 5 or 6 layers of roofing and poorly done additions. We continue to search for a perfect weekend retreat. 

Keep In Touch #124

Hi, Friends,

Welcome to Keep In Touch.

How are you?

I hope you are well. 

 This week we got away for a long weekend.  We did not have as much time to relax as we had hoped but it was a very exciting weekend. It was really good to get out of town but poor Bill didn't even get a nibble on a fish. He pulled the boat out of the water after a sufficient number of boat rides, however. 

Dixie loves the boat. 

We stopped in at my favorite antique store with the intent on finding a new buffet for the dining room. I'm looking for something that will match the corner cupboard. 

Instead, Bill spotted this gorgeous hutch. I wasn't sure and hemmed and hawed. This place is like Macy's or Kohl's. Where you never how much you are going to pay until you check out.

 Here, the owner tells you the best price while you are thinking things over. I think it's a little incentive to push you over the edge to buy. 

I couldn't hear him but he gave Bill his best price of $260.00. There is no way that we would pay anything that low in the "big city." I said, "Sold!" 

I switched from something for the dining room to something for the entryway that befit our new floors. After getting the new floors last year and then my stepmother dying a week or so later, I couldn't face moving more furniture around. Bonus time was the last week of February. I'd plan to shop then but we all know what happened the week after that. 

"Shut it down~!" 

This hutch is a perfect match for the corner cupboard. It has a very primitive look that I love. I filled it with ironstone and crusty old books. We broke one of the glass panes getting it home so we need to get that replaced. 

Fans of the dish dresser will be happy to note that it is back in the garden room where it can resume it's role as the holiday and seasonal cabinet. 

It's just waiting for pumpkins! 

"But Katie, what about your rule of 'something comes in - something goes out'?" 

Quite a few things will be going out if all goes according to our hopes and dreams. 

Have you guessed it yet? 

Please, come back and I'll share our exciting news in my next post. 

Please be sure to check out my last post. It was Pinterest Challenge time this morning. 

Now for the features. 

I love this post by Cindy of Cloches and Lavender. 

Those limelight hydrangeas are stunning. The containers are utterly gorgeous. 

This wreath is adorable from Naush @ Doodle Buddies. Can you guess what it's made out of? 

So fun for fall. 

Thanks to all of you that linked up last week. 

You are simply the best. I appreciate every visit and every comment. So many that visit my blog don't comment. I can't respond to many of you that do. I did want you to know how much I appreciate it when you take the time to comment. Your comments mean so much to me. 

Now for the link up. 

Katie 

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Dollar Tree Trash Basket Into Wire Cloche/Pinterest Challenge

Hi, Friends. 

Welcome to the Pinterest Challenge for August.

Can you believe that August is almost over? I'm so glad since it has been 100 million degrees this month. 

Our host is the adorable Cindy from County Road 407. Please hop over and say hi. 

If you are coming from, Thistle Key Lane, welcome. Those raffia pumpkins are adorable. 

Our inspiration this month comes from Home Stories A to Z.  It is not too early to begin thinking about fall decor. 

The first thing I noticed in the photo is the brick wall. So gorgeous but this isn't about the wall. 

We are supposed to focus on the cloche. 

What is a cloche? 

A cloche is a glass dome that was used to protect tender plants from frost. Cloche is bell in French. As is typical with fun garden stuff, they were brought inside and used for decor or as terrariums. I use glass domes for decor but wire cloches are a good dog deterrent for my garden borders. Several wire cloches were made this spring to keep Dixie out of the flowers. They look so cute in the garden. 

In the inspiration picture, I see the cloche, white pumpkins, hydrangeas, acorns, and an unexpected rope element. 

The rope and the brick wall add texture to this vignette. 

I've been watching a lot of YouTube when I take a break in the afternoon or evening. 

 (This is code for "taking a nap".) 

There is a genre of YouTube videos featuring Dollar Tree DIYs. 

Some are like, "Okay, I can see where you are going with that." Others are, "Wow! That's genius." 

That is what I thought when I saw a video that inspired my cloche.

I ran up to Dollar Tree to grab one of their black waste paper baskets. 

  

Heavy duty scissors cut through the plastic coated wire so that the bottom of the waste basket could come off. The bottom became the top of the cloche. 

With some floral wire and a needle, I began sewing through the top row of wire diamonds in order to gather them together so that a dome shape could be created. The floral wire wasn't working. Twine was the next option but it broke about half way around. Between the wire and the twine, I was able to gather the basket a create that dome shape. 

A series of washers was needed to hold a cute adornment for the top of the dome. 

I have a small collection of old cabinet knobs to use on projects like this. 

 

I went with something French Provincial. 

It sits in front of a watercolor that we found in France. 

Faux pumpkins from Hobby Lobby got a bit of gilding with some gold gilding liquid. 

They are nestled in with some dried hydrangeas. I order hydrangeas from Oregon off of eBay. Roses are a piece of cake to dry and these are from the new rose bushes that I planted during lockdown. 

The brass tray is a vintage piece from my mother in law. 

Gold accents warm up the space for early fall. 

The wire texture in black is so pretty. I'd just been looking for a wire cloche when I saw the YouTube video.  I love this spin on a traditional glass dome. 

My brick wall doesn't have the rosy glow like the inspiration picture but it will have to do. 

This was fun to make. Who knew that a trash basket could become a cloche?

Be sure to stop by and see Laura's cloche at Everyday Edits.  So cute. I love the leaves. 

Be sure to stop in and visit the rest of my Pinterest Challenge friends. 

Katie 

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Click here to enter