Easing Into Fall Decorating With Apples, Pears and Warm Rich Tones

Hi, Friends,

How are you?

Fall in Texas is an odd time. By the time the leaves begin to change, it is time to decorate for Christmas. 

Clipping branches in cozy fall colors just doesn't happen here in a time frame that is reasonable and a plethora of plastic pumpkins just doesn't do it for me anymore. That being said, I do enjoy a good fall decorate with me video. Some content creators decorate for fall in September and then decorate for Halloween in October. I don't have Halloween decor anymore so that isn't an issue for me. Orange is my least favorite color, so I tend to limit its use until October. 

As well, it was 109 degrees yesterday. Our never ending summer is getting on my last nerve. While we yearn for fall, it's no where close to arriving. 

A few early fall touches are appropriate and I've layered a few into our decor. I thought I'd show them to you. Decorating for fall can be a gradual process and it's my preference. 

I sprinkle sunflowers about in August. Their arrival in the grocery store is the signal that it is time for them. 

Apples and pears are put out in September and pumpkins and other fall tidbits arrive in October. 

I'd love to have a bowl full of beautiful Honey Crisp Apples or Red Anjou Pears but we cannot eat them and they will spoil. Because of that, I've gone with faux. A few years ago, I rounded up the best looking faux fruit that I could find at our local stores. Tuesday Morning had great faux fruit.

I've dotted in some apple knick knacks. My old classroom caused me to be on the look out for apples that could sit on my desk. 

A ceramic apple from a retailer sits next to an apple painting that I found on eBay. When the painting arrived it was so much more diminutive than I thought it would be but never the less, I love it. 

It sits on the window sill. Getting granite sills to match the counter was an excellent idea from my granite guy. I love these. They are easy to clean and they never need repainting.

A few copper pieces were pulled out of storage for the cozy months. 

Copper is a great way to transition into the russet tones of the season. 

It also gives the kitchen a European feel. 

A stone apple and some dried florals also ease our home into fall and the coming cozy weather. 

The flowers are remnants of our cooler than usual spring. 

You'd think that Texas has a long growing season but our flowers really stop blooming with the arrival of the heat. 

I love the little marble apple with the brass leaf. Brass accents are a great nod to the richer, warm tones of fall as well. 

An apple painting got a remake. You might have seen it if you follow me on Instagram. 

Here is what it looked like before I repainted the background, cut it down, and then framed it. 

I didn't really understand what was in the background. 

I loved that it had grapes to coordinate with my aunt's teapot. 

A little posy full of faux dried flowers looks really real. Can you spot the one real rose? 

A tiny printable of summer flowers can sit out all year long. 

I found a Victorian music stand at the thrift store for $29.00. We love books so it's perfect to nestle in some of our collection. The little plant stand with brass trays was found the same day. It was marked $49.00 but all furniture was on sale. The music stand was marked housewares so it wasn't on sale. 

I adore this duo of tables. 

Remnant pieces from my grandmother's tea set have a fine, hand painted gold detail. 

These had been tucked in a cabinet for the summer. 

A Royal Doulton figurine with a coral cloak is safe behind glass. It continues the color story. 

The vase has Nandina leaves that are an accurate depiction of the outside. 

We had a big thunderstorm last night after our extremely hot day. It knocked out the power for a bit but thank heavens it came back on a few hours later. 

Our high today is a mere 96. It does signal that change is on the way after our historic summer of heat. 

Can we just stop with history making weather events? 

I'll be back soon. 

My sweet Aunt Susan died August 26th.  I'll be back to write about her soon when I feel up to it. 

I'm a tad emotional right now. If you have been with me a while, you will know that piddling around the house helps with grief. 

That's all for now! 

Katie 

Moody Early Fall Decor

Hi, Friends,

How are you?

I hope you are well. 

I've been watching all of the royal happenings in the U.K. It seems surreal that the queen is gone. 

In between events, I've been slowly adding a few early fall bits to our home. 

It's too early for too many pumpkins but I do have a few darling squirrels scampering about. 

I love squirrels. 

Our Dixie Girl loved them too. We really miss her. 

I'm not sure why but squirrel collectables can be hard to find. However, this year I've found three. 

I found a darling nut cracker and a little brass squirrel at my local antique mall. 

The squirrel planter in the first photo came from the same mall but was found several months ago. 

I passed on it the first time I saw it because it does have a slight crack but it had to come home with me when I saw it again. It was $6.00. 

Starsky, The Hutch got a refresh. 

Pale ivory roses with pink centers were placed in a majolica pitcher. I seem incapable of saying "No" to a sweet pitcher. They make precious containers for flowers. The Cotswold cottage print came from a recent sojourn to the antique mall in our new East Texas town. It seems fitting to honor Great Britain a bit in our hutch display. 

I have jumped on the amber bottle train. I'm not sure why because they are only old medicine and beer bottles. The bottles we found in our woods went to recycling but these I bought. 

Why? 

The browns, pinks and moody, crusty books do denote a subtle touch of fall which I love. 

The majolica plate was thrifted for $2.92.The white ceramic apple was also thrifted. 

I plan to let the roses dry in place. 

The hutch has a Dark Academia feel to it. 

This little concrete squirrel is one of my favorites. He was a First Monday Trade Days find ages and ages ago. 

I've had a some success drying grocery store hydrangeas. They have to be the dark blue and purple variety. The lighter blue ones seem to wilt before they dry. Any attempt to dry my home grown hydrangeas have failed. 

The Wollman Designs pumpkin is on display. It is just stunning. If you have been around, you will know how much I adore old needlepoint. Another one is headed here soon. 

That is it for now. I hope you've enjoyed having a look at some of our early fall displays.

As always, Thank you so much for stopping by.  

Katie 

Apple Decor For Sweet September

Hi, Friends,

How are you? I hope you are well.

I'm so grateful that September weather is here. I marvel that we made it through such a hot summer. 

I've sprinkled a few seasonally appropriate items about our little place in East Texas so I thought I'd share before the month gets away from me. 

We were in the midst of a scorpion fest out in East Texas last September so I didn't do any decorating out there. We continue to catch them on glue traps but we're not as freaked out about it. We are there almost every weekend so I like it to have some seasonal decor. 

Years ago, an appliqué handmade skirt was passed down to me. It didn't fit so I took it apart and made a vest. I wore that for about a decade until it was thread bare. I took it apart and framed each of the sections of fruit. The apple above is one of those sections. It's one of my favorite seasonal items. My grandmother and her family is in the farmhouse photo.  

Faux apples congregate in an antique tureen. The tureen and platter came from one of my favorite East Texas antique stores in Quitman. 

The dry sink is my favorite piece at our house out there. 

It's fun to adorn for the seasons and holidays. 

A little plate on the mantel is all that is needed to add a little seasonal touch. 

This plate is by Blue Ridge Southern Pottery. It has a whiter background than the more plentiful Franciscan Apple pattern so it coordinates better with our color scheme. 

One of my favorite primitive tricks is to display stamped tags in a flower frog. 

The little wooden apples were crafted from scraps of wood and a few spangles from the limited craft supplies that are kept at that house. I was tickled with the result.  

More faux apples snuggle in another small tureen. If a vignette works, why not repeat it? 

I like faux fruit instead of real because we would never be able to eat so many apples. 

The brass frame displays an antique botanical graphic from The Graphic's Fairy. 

The apple slice pick was found at Michael's last year. I love that it is a bit of a different take on the apple theme. 

A deep red apple in front of a black transferware plate is a stunning combination. 

A seasonal doodad is always placed on the window sill in the kitchen. 

I tiny watercolor from Italy is a charming accent. 

 

That is all for now. 

Thanks so much for stopping by. 

Katie 

Cozy Fall Inspiration

Hi, Friends, 

How are you? I hope this finds you well. 

We are slowly getting back to normal after the sudden death of my mother in law. 

She was about to 89 so it wasn't too unexpected, given her age, but it was still unexpected if that makes sense. 

She had a very interesting life. I'd like to write about it but I haven't quite been able to formulate the words. Our home was central to the funeral home so it was a buzz of activity for about a week. 

When it was over, everyone went on with life but we are still coming to terms with the loss. Bill and I have been a bit zombie like. 

I've spent the week, culling the spent flowers from arrangements and thinking about cozy, fall things. 

The weather has cooperated. The afternoon after Jane died, it started pouring. It's rained off and on ever since. Jane was a strong person. I imagined her telling the Lord that it was too hot and too dry and that He needed to do something about it. Bill says my theology is off. Ha. 

I'd hoped that since July acted like August, August would act like September and it did. A break from our oppressive heat has been more that welcome. 

I'm not ready to jump into pumpkins quite yet. Instead I've sprinkled a few apple accents and warmer tones around the house. 

I shopped the house for the apple painting. The squirrel came from the antique store today. The berries were thrifted recently. 

Summer throws and pillows are slowly being replaced with richer and warmer tones. 

We had a couple of very futzy, needlepoint chairs. The chairs were very delicate and Bill detested them. I decided to pull off the needlework and stitch the canvases into pillows. The chairs were recovered and donated. My great uncle, my aunt and my mom all did this type of needle work. 

I'm not sure who stitched the one in the image above. It is so much better as a pillow rather than a seat cushion. I'll enjoy it more this way.  

When a friend offered a similar chair, I knew exactly what to do. This darling pink example was washed and framed in a recent estate sale frame. 

A little apple painting was an eBay find years and years ago. 

There are a plethora of fall inspiration videos on YouTube. 

The pie, below, was inspired by Mother Thyme and Bargain Bethany. 

It was so fun to make. 

The apple graphic came from The Graphic's Fairy. 

I'm loving deep moody tones and I look forward to cozying up our homes. 

That is about all for now.  

You will see more of my vignettes in coming days. 

It was fun to take a brain break in order to recover and to get inspired for the fall days ahead. 

See you soon, 

Katie