Ducks In The Holiday Cabinet And Some Other Feathered Friends

Hello,

How are you? I hope you are enjoying this season. 

I love November. The weather is cooler and it finally feels like fall in Texas. While it seems that retail and social media have moved on to Christmas, I am slowing down and enjoying the present. I didn't do that last year and I got heartily sick of the Christmas clutter. I doubt my family wants me to pack up Christmas before Christmas day! 

 I have a vivid memory of our family at the park after a Thanksgiving meal. I can almost hear the leaves crunching under my feet and birds migrating overhead.  I was nature hunting while the more athletically inclined members of the family were playing football. This wasn't something we normally did. It was the first Thanksgiving after my father died and a family friend had motivated us all to get out of the house rather than sit around and watch T.V. It was a cool and crisp November afternoon at the park. 

  I've thought of that several times this week as I've sprinkled some migrating birdies around the house. 

My brother passed some of my grandmother's duck plates down to me a few years ago. 

I put them in the holiday cabinet in our garden room. 

I rounded up some other feathered friends to coordinate. 

All the duck figurines were thrifted except the green one which was carved by my father in law. 

Faux and dried cattails echo the graphic in a plate from 1911. My mom loved cattails and we had them in vases which is another vivid memory. 

Another plate is a bit larger. It's adorable too. I never thought of doing a duck theme until I received these plates. 

The cross stitch was a gift to my husband 40 years ago. 

Since I found it in a drawer, I think I'll store it with the other ducks from now on. 

Forty years ago duck decor was highly collectable. I was able to pick up the figurines for just a few dollars. 

The mallard thinks he will escape the bird cage but he's mistaken. I love decorating the bird cage. 

The mallard page from my Audubon bird book was framed in a vintage black frame. 

We attended a very soggy swap meet out in East Texas last weekend. 

This plastic decoy was only $5.00. He looks good even though he's plastic.

He's perfectly weathered and looks darling nestled in the garland. 

The kitchen niches got a few little touches. 

Is Fitz and Floyd making a comeback? I've seen it donated quite a bit lately. I found this little salt shaker recently at the thrift store. I love the fruit garland around her neck. 

The little brass duck was a recent find for a $1.00. He polished up beautifully. 

The quail is probably mid century. These were everywhere. Two of my friends have identical ones.  

I'd been looking for a brass pheasant but I've never seen one for a price that I'll pay. These clay brown ones were $8.00 each. I almost didn't get both because they are identical but I thought I'd regret it if I left one behind. 

They may end up as a centerpiece on our Thanksgiving table. 

Finally, a collection feathers congregate in a vase. I found another one recently which tickled me. Putting this little display in the cutlery box was my cousin's idea. 

That's all for now.

Have a wonderful day. See you soon. 

Katie 

Fall In The Garden Room

Hello, Friends,

It's been a while between visits, I know.

I hope you are all doing well. 

The last two weeks have been crazy!  

Let's see;

Cardiologist (check up and all is perfect)

Colonoscopy (Bill, not me, all is fine)

Cat check up (all is perfect)

Dinners with home group and some friends

Jury Duty (I got picked but it was over by noon)

Lunch and antiquing with family

Dinner with family

Sprinkler system install in the backyard 🙏

Fall decorating was squeezed in among all of those activities. 

The weather is finally cooler. It's not "cozy in front of the fire" cool but it's not blistering hot. 

I opened my book, Nature Notes From An Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden. 

I love this book. 

My favorite vignette of 2022 is this one with the mushrooms under the glass cloche. 

Plant corner is busting at the seams and we haven't brought in any of the outdoor plants. 

Caroline loves to hide behind plant corner. She does not mess with the plants, just fyi. 

Coffee time before jury duty. 

I only had one little pumpkin survive the squash bug infestation.

 It was greener but turned this color as it was stored this summer. 

I'm just glad it didn't rot. 

Here is a look at my great, grandparent's wedding chest. 

I have a thing for squirrel planters. I picked up this one off of Etsy last year. 

Here is another little mushroom vignette inside an old clock case. I found the squirrel cookie press off of Walmart.com. 

That's all for now. I'll be back soon, I hope. 

Happy Fall! 

Katie 

Vintage Fruit In The Corner Cupboard

I love fruit decor in the summer. Strawberries, cherries, black berries are early summer favorites. Apples and pears are late summer favs. I've decorated with lemons and oranges as well.
I have found some darling vintage fruit collectables over the years. These are plentiful at thrift and antique stores. I guess they are considered "old lady" collections. I'll own that!

These collections are separated and stored in bins in the garage for easy access.
I store lemon stuff with lemons, apple stuff with apples etc. It makes for easy seasonal decorating.
We've reached night time temperatures that indicate summer has arrived in Texas.
 You aren't living until you experience the heat and humidity of Texas. If you have ever flown into and exited DFW airport, you know what I'm talking about. That heat just smacks you in the face as soon as you leave the cool air conditioned terminal. 

It was time to do some summer decorating. I thought about which motif to use.
 I was digging through one of the totes and found an Italian made ceramic fruit basket.

I thought it would be fun to display since we just went to Italy last year. Similar ceramic fruit baskets were plentiful in the Italian souvenir shops but this one came from a thrift store here at home. 
The twinkle and shimmer of some beaded fruit caught my eye.
Should caution be thrown to the wind?
Should all the fruit come out and play together?
Let's go crazy!

I don't know what it is about beaded fruit but I just adore it.
It reminds me of Carmen Miranda and her fruit laden hat. Check her out on YouTube for a kick. 

Beading fruit was a popular hobby for the mid-century crafter. I would have been all over it.

I've made a lemon, a strawberry and even a tiny blackberry.
It was so much fun. You can make your own since a kit may be hard to come by.  Special beading pins are required. They differ slightly from straight pins.

The Italian fruit basket and the beaded fruit took care of two of the shelves. There are four shelves in this corner cupboard and I like each shelf to have a touch of seasonal decor. 

The fabric fruit from my Thanksgiving cornucopia was pulled into action.

This fruit is sold at one of my local boutiques. They told me that it is made by a dentist that lives in McKinney. I adore her craftsmanship.
It looks lovely in a glass bowl from Bill's grandmother Vi. Vi always brought a bizarre salad made with canned French style green beans and sour cream dressing. Bill hated it. I'd like to make it just to show it to you. If you have ever heard of anything like it, please comment below.

A set of mini ceramic fruit was in one of the boxes.
I had the four sets needed for the cupboard but the mini fruit was getting lost on the higher shelf.
I pulled it down and tucked it to the side of the beaded fruit. It looks sweet in a milk glass compote.

A mini pitcher was pulled into action for the last shelf until I remembered some wooden fruit.

 It was found at the thrift store last summer and had been separated out into the various bins which why it was forgotten.

Perfect.

The pitcher and other fruity stuff was placed in the corners.

It was fun collating this collection.
Thrifting withdrawals were quenched with some eBay shopping during our Shelter In Place Order.

This 5 inch pitcher is Fruit Basket Red Multicolor by Mason's.

I think it's so gorgeous.
There you have it. The tea cup holds a vintage Christmas ornament.

You can read about the corner cupboard in this post.

I keep the lights on it during the day.
Turning on the lights is a favorite morning routine.

I'll hit a blogging milestone today or tomorrow.
Thank you all for 8.5 years of loyal readership.
It's hard to fathom sometimes. I'm so thankful I found a group that shares my love for vintage, antiques, collectables and seasonal decorating.
Have a wonderful and blessed day.
If you know anything about that salad let me know.
Katie

Linking with:
Common Ground Blog
A Stroll Thru Life