valentine's day Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

valentine's day

 With all of the Fall displays out there on all of the blogs, we were inspired to get over to a pumpkin patch I had heard about on the levee along the Sacramento River. Dave's Pumpkin Patch is the place to find all of the exotic pumpkin varieties I was looking for: the Fairy Tale pumpkins, ghostly grey pumpkins, white pumpkins, big, small and everywhere in between, Dave has them. 

We only had Sunday to make it to the Pumpkin Patch...so we decided to go rain or shine. Ahem....it was rain.

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 There was a down side...most of the fun stuff, like the Hay Maze...was a bit flooded.

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 And the Hay Pyramid was surrounded by mud.

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 But on the upside, we had the place to ourselves! We found all of the pumpkins we could ever want, and we had the full attention and the gratitude of owner Dave and his sweet kids. There was free apple cider, hot chocolate and popcorn for all of us, and I can't be sure, but I think we got a bit of a discount on the pumpkins for weathering the storm (they were awfully well priced!!!).

Perhaps we were a bit, well, low on good sense. Even the livestock knew enough to get out of the rain:

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But I prefer to call it a bit of an adventure. One we will more likely remember.

Dave is the best...and there will be sunshine this weekend I hear. So you can expect that the pumpkin cannon will be in operation, there will be carnival games to play, pig races, pony rides and the fields are still full of pick 'em yourself pumpkins. Hop on over!

Have you gotten your pumpkins yet?

valentine's day Changing Things Up for Fall

valentine's day

 Things have been very busy this Fall, in a very good way! I am working hard with clients who are wonderful, and I will have lots to report on that front in weeks to come!

But it was time to take a little break last night, and my daughter and I had some fun arranging some little pumpkins and gourds on our front room table. The light was not the best, but you get the idea. A few wicker bottles, ghostly white pumpkins, and an antler or two, with the best pumpkin taking pride of place under a glass cloche.

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I had picked up the pumpkins while grocery shopping, but when I saw Grant Gibson's front stoop display HERE, I realized I have to stop and smell the corn husks.....that is, take a bit of a break from the weekend work hours and head over to one of the many local pumpkin patches with the family to get some bigger pumpkins!

After all, Fall is my favorite season...it is time to enjoy it!

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 Are you decorating for Fall?

valentine's day Happy Weekend!

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Our front porch just a week ago. The leaves have almost gone now, and the Christmas lights have taken their place to warm the chilly nights. It is time to get the Christmas tree inside and decorate it this weekend. The boxes of ornaments are waiting. But I will miss this sight from our front porch.

Until I can get my home in order for Christmas, please take a moment to hop over to my good friend Scot's blog, Tartanscot.

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He has put together a beautiful video of his home all set for the holidays. And the accompanying music is brilliant: Scot is a part of the San Francisco Concert Chorale and it will warm your soul. So start a fire, sit down with a hot toddy and enjoy.

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Have a brilliant weekend!

valentine's day Acorns and White Porcelain

valentine's day

The Oak tree out front is trying to tell me something: "Fall is fast approaching".

valentine's day

I was just playing around with some of my white "objets". I have things that are not quite perfect.: broken coral, a weathered concrete balustrade piece I made into a lamp (it still has green and brown paint on it that has worn through), a chipped vintage porcelain lunch pail with a metal lid. But I find them all beautiful and intriguing. Maybe more so than if they were perfect.

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I found the lunch pail at the latest Sacramento Antique Faire and don't know a lot about it's origins. Has anyone seen one before? As I mentioned, it is white porcelain and has what appears to be a zinc lid that has clasps that wrap underneath the front and back. With all of it's imperfection, it is the perfect size for letters and postcards, photos and other small remembrances.

Perfectly imperfect.

valentine's day Fall Dinner Party

valentine's day

Last Sunday, we had some friends over for dinner to celebrate the Fall Season. It gave me the push I needed to add a little Fall decor to my house. I rearranged the front table in my Living Room adding a piece of art done by my sister-in-law for a wedding gift, some pumpkins from the Farmer's Market, and a beautiful arrangement of corn stalks, seed pods and wild grasses put together by a wonderful vendor also from the Farmer's Market. I wish I could take credit, but when you have it right in front of you, why pass it up?! (Plus, for only $4, what a steal!!!!).

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I put the Fall foliage in an ironstone master jar, and added two ironstone footed bowls, the small from H&Co, the large from Thomas Hughes. I think I will fill them with walnuts.

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At the Dining table, I started with a table cloth I made from inexpensive natural burlap. I find that if I use this as a base, I can put all different sizes of smaller cloths on top. The white one here is a vintage cotton cloth with fringe on each end. I used a pair of antique mercury glass candlestick holders in which I put some brown fun faux bois candles I found at Target. More pumpkins from the Farmer's Market and leaves from the yard make a very easy center piece. I added a few votive candles among the leaves.

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I used simple large white plates, and my silver, hand blown glass water glasses from Anthropology, simple wine glasses that are always available at Cost Plus or Ikea, and Hotel Napkins from William Sonoma. Easy and very quick to put together!

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We had a Fall menu starting with goat cheese filled dates with toasted bread crumbs as the appetizer, and then a French Onion Soup, which was pretty easy and delicious! We made grilled Cornish game hens with a Dijon Mustard and Riesling marinade on a bed of sauteed carrots, turnips and cabbage and an Apple Potato Gallete. There was Schwelmer Hefe Weizen Beer and a Dry German Reisling to choose from. Good food and good company!

(All of the recipes for this dinner can be found in the William Sonoma Entertaining Cook Book)

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valentine's day Fall Decor

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Grey and White Pumpkins from Happy Mundane Blog

Now get decorating this weekend!

Have a Happy One.