Thanksgiving Decorations Part 2

Hi, Friends,

I hope you are well.

I was on a roll the other day and cleaned the downstairs and decorated it for Thanksgiving. 

I shared about some vintage turkey decor in my last post but it was getting lengthy so I decided to share the rest in this post.

I used to be able to clean the whole house in one day. Not anymore! I was pooped but the downstairs looks and smells really nice. 

All of my scarecrows, squirrels and pumpkins are put away. I cannot explain it but as soon as Halloween is over, pumpkin time is over. It doesn't make sense given pumpkin pie but... it is what it is.

I took extra time this year to organize my bins. All of my favorite things fit in one bin. There are more totes and I was lamenting that fact until I gave myself permission to have multiple totes for fall. We don't have fall color until later in November. This year, even my dwarf nandinas aren't changing color yet. It's been a weird year. 

Can I get an "amen"? 

In order to have fall color in Texas it has to be faux. Once that dawned on me, I felt better about having totes full of autumn stuff. I'm not sure that Bill feels better about them because they are stored in his garage. Haha. 

I have one small tote full of Thanksgiving decor.

My vintage turkeys are so much fun and you can read about them in my previous post. 

We also have a couple of cornucopias on display. 

The fruit spilling out of the cornucopia on the dining room table came from the local craft mall. I love this crafter. She's reportedly a dentist from McKinney which is about an hour away so I'm shocked that she brings stuff down this far but I'm glad she does. 

Golden acorns and faux feathers add some texture and shine. 

There is an alpine tree in the corner. It was decorated for fall but I took all the decorations off. 

Instead of putting it back in the attic, the lights add some sparkle. 

The corner cupboard got a few bits. 

It is my favorite piece of furniture. 

A Old World Christmas turkey sits with a vintage gold mesh cornucopia. I love these two ornaments. 

The turkey puzzle was an antique find last year. The graphic is wonderful and as a former pre-school teacher, it had to come home with me. 

The china was hand painted by Bill's grandmother. She married later in life. 

In her 20s, she spent her evenings painting this set for her hope chest. 

 Bill's sisters passed on it and we didn't need it but Bill's mom really wanted us to have it. At our age it can be a struggle whether to add more to our collections. This time, I'm so glad we said yes and added this set. It is so "me." I adore flowers on a black background.  

Years ago, I found a Anarco cornucopia wall hanging at the thrift store. I paid $5.00 for it. 

The fruit has come unglued from the basket so ours has never been hung up. I had to ask myself whether it was cute or cheesy. 

Sometimes, with vintage, those lines are blurry if you know what I mean. 

 It's cute! 

 

A gold glass turkey on nest came from the old Cloth World. 

They became Joanns in 1998 so this might be considered vintage at this point. 

We recently got a new rug. It took me two years to pick one out. 

I'm glad I waited because this isn't what I would have picked two years ago. 

It is the Magnolia Home Graham Rug in Blue Persimmon. I chose a different rug from the line but when we got it home the Antique Ivory looked dirty to me. It wasn't but that is how it looked so I returned it. 

 I love her Joanna Gaines' rugs because they have an antique look but they are new. 

The blue dresser came from my side of the family. It was upstairs. We moved it down when the buffet went to East Texas. It reads more blue in this image but in reality it is a a blue black color. 

The mantel in the living room got one little turkey candlestick. 

I'm loving the clock that I thrifted for only $10.00. What a great find. 

I had a brilliant idea to use boxwood garland on our bannisters this Christmas. Greenery without the shedding of pine garlands. It will be fun to see it look Christmasy in a few weeks. 

I got this garland at Hobby Lobby in the regular floral section. It was on sale this past week so look for it to go on sale again.

That is all for now. 

Have a blessed weekend. 

Katie 

Vintage Thanksgiving Decorations 2021

Hello, Friends,

How are you? I hope you are staying well and encouraged.

Social Media is full of Christmas but I really love my Vintage Thanksgiving decor so I usually pull it out for a few weeks until I'm ready to decorate for Christmas. 

My home is usually in Christmas mode by Thanksgiving Day. My family understands my love for Christmas and that it takes over a week for me to decorate. By the time the Turkey carcass is in the trash, the trees are lit and our home is completely decorated or almost finished. It was started and driven by my teaching schedule but now it is routine. Bill has no desire to help with the decorating. If it were up to him, we would head out on vacation instead. That is okay. It is a lot of work but I do love it. 

Except for the trees, our Christmas decor is pretty understated so it's easy to have a "Thanksmas" or "Chrisgiving" look. The orange hues are gone and packed away for another year. 

I love brown and gold in November. 

Over the years, I've collected some fun vintage turkey salt and pepper shakers. 

My favorites have moodier tones of black and brown. 

I had some turkey figurines that were too orange. I spray painted them with black chalkboard paint and gold metallic paint. 

The gold was sprayed while the black was still wet so the two swirled together to create a cool effect. 

The thankful for graphic came from An Evening with Joanna Gaines. 

I met Chip. I should have stood in line to meet Joanna. 

This was after the first season before they were mega famous. They never did another event like this. 

I have two of these turkeys. Since they are place card holders, they are perfect for tucking in a little something.  
The matching one on the dining table holds a wonderful vintage postcard.

 My grandmother received this card about 100 years ago. 

My grandmother was born on November 28, 1898 so she was a young adult at the time.  

Here is the message: 

"Dear Friend, 

Congratulation to your birth day wishing you many happy returns of the day. Just asked your ma for your address when she told me about a box she was sending to you. Wish I was there." 

I love the many happy returns. She had many happy returns and lived to be 88 years old. 

I learned recently that my grandmother left home and was a house keeper for wealthier families in Milwaukee. This post card was sent to an address in Chicago.  I guess that is what she did there too. At some point she worked for Bell Telephone. 

I tried to Google the address but I can't find it. 

I took the turkey print out of my Audubon book. 

I adore the cupboard that we got last year. 

"Starsky, The Hutch" is so much fun to decorate for the seasons and holidays. 

Did I date myself? I think so. I had a crush on David Soul. 

I love, love vintage Gurley turkey candles. They have the same deeper tones that I love. 

These are just adorable. 

Harvest Time dishes by Johnson Brothers coordinate with brown transferware and another candle. 

I am in love with this Autumn Wreath candle by Yankee Candle. 

That is all for now. 

I still have a few more fun images to share with you, so be on the look out for that. 

Have a wonderful day. 

Katie

Vintage Fall Collectables And Vignettes

Hello, Friends,

How are you? I hope you are well and encouraged.

Seasonal decorating requires balance. I want our house to look festive but too much decor gets on my nerves. 

If it gets on my nerves, I'm tempted to pull it all down and then I've just wasted my time. 

You probably know this, if you have been around for a while but I just adore vintage collectables and our vintage items usually don't get on my nerves. Pulling them out of the tote each year is so much fun. 

Figurines with a squirrel motif can look creepy or cute and cute squirrel accessories are hard to find. 

Squirrels are infamous for being naughty but they are highly prized as a fall collectable. 

They are darling in a vignette. 

Bill found an adorable squirrel bookend years ago. This wooden mammal is just delightful on the mantel next to the new Victorian clock. Bill thinks this bookend is holding up his books somewhere. He doesn't realize that he's been absconded for decor. Bill doesn't spend a lot of time gazing at my amazing mantel displays. 

I found this planter on Etsy last April. CUTE! 

The planter below was thrifted. I loved that thrift store but it's out of business. 

My brother handed down a calendar duck plate to me a few years ago so I thrifted a few duck figurines to display with the plate. A mallard sits proudly in our new to us dry sink. 

I haven't gotten the plate out yet. I'll do that in November.

Pumpkin collectables are an obvious choice for October decor. 

I have quite a few favorite examples in my collection. 

It's been broken and re-glued but a ceramic pumpkin from the local annual craft show is one of my favorites. The crafter did well with this one. I never saw her at the show after that year. 

A glass pumpkin from the old Cloth World is also a favorite. eBay searches haven't yielded another to match. I love the curling stem. It has a very Morano glass look to it. 

In the last year or two, I actually prefer beautiful faux pumpkins for inside decorating. 

This year, Tuesday Morning had several from Poland. I chose this one. 

I love it. 

This one was hard to photograph but it reminded me of Beauty and the Beast. 

Everything looks special under glass. 

An acorn salt and pepper set came from my mother in law.

Years ago, my friend picked up a pair of brass quail at a garage sale. It took me several decades but I finally found one for a price that I'd pay. 

It's a cutie. 

Bill loves paintings depicting autumnal color. 

Three real baby boo pumpkins surround a new oil lamp. I picked this one up at Ace recently. 

It's got great fall ambiance and it's practical. These are the only real pumpkins in the house. 

A prized needlepoint pumpkin from sm Wollman Designs was snagged last year. They sell out quickly because they are so beautiful. 

That is all for now. I'll try to sneak in a few more October posts. 

At this point, I have no plans to reopen the Keep In Touch link party. 

I'm enjoying a more laid back approach to blogging these days. 

As always, thank you so much for stopping by. 

Let me know if you love seasonal collectables. 

Katie