French Country Christmas Courtyard

 Welcome to our Christmas Courtyard!

 Decking the halls begins with the exterior, and for me, it is the wreath on the door that says "Merry Christmas" and "Welcome" to our home.  Happily I partnered with Lynch Creek Farm,  a family business located in the Pacific Northwest that sells elegant evergreens from their farm.  Living in the New England, I have decorated our home for many years with local evergreens from big box stores and small garden nurseries.  Lynch Creek Farm topped them all with their big bountiful and beautiful wreaths.  I couldn't be happier to pass the word along, as well as give my readers a chance to win their own wreath or centerpiece in a Lynch Creek Farm giveaway!

For my french doors in our courtyard I chose the 26" Blended Bay Wreaths with moss green bows. 

 The style of this wreath felt most like something you would find in the French countryside. 

Full and lush with bay leaves, cedar and balsam greens, and pinecones, adorned with a moss green burlap wired bow. They come with or without bows, with bows in either an apple or moss green color.

 Piper and I set the stage for a Christmas courtyard, starting with the old

cast iron urns, that we filled with cut lengths of birch, followed by balsam clippings

around the edges.  It is a simple treatment for outdoor containers and it will look

good all winter long.  The natural Blended Bay wreaths will go the distance too, 

as appropriate as they are for ringing in the holidays, they will look still look great 
during the long winter months when the snow begins to fly.

 A pretty winter dressing for the courtyard is just what I had in mind.

Understated elegance, and it all looks wonderful with the rustic nature of the space.

Of course Lynch Creek Farm has a huge variety of wreaths, with everything one

can imagine~velvet bows in rich holiday red and cranberry,  magnolia leaf wreaths,

themed wreaths for wine country and whimsical styles as well.  

The Blended Bay should be renamed the French Country Wreath if you want 

my opinion.....haha!

One tip for filling outdoor containers is to stuff them while the weather has yet to

get too cold, so that the potting soil will accept the branches and logs, and then when

it freezes it will keep them in place all winter long.  You can add berry twigs or ribbons
or keep it simple, like I did.  I do plan to add some twinkling white lights to each urn
for a bit of extra sparkle and magic to our entry. 

Piper is pretty pleased with how it all turned out.
She only ran off with one birch log while I was busy hanging the wreaths.

Caught in the act!  Oh well, she is still just a big puppy.

 It couldn't look nicer, and now I wish I had one more of these wreaths to

decorate my little garden shed.  When they first arrived, I took one up to the 

shed and tried it out....and it looked so darling. 
 Guess I could use one more...

Simply gorgeous.  
These wreaths will last for months when hung outdoors

in our cold climate.  They can also be hung indoors and will last for weeks

with a regular misting of water to keep the greens fresh.

Before we know it, Christmas will be here! 

Our guests will be entering our home 

through the courtyard to celebrate the season.  

 My wreaths from Lynch Creek Farm set the tone for what lies ahead...

a bountiful and beautiful holiday home.  

Now for the Lynch Creek Farm Giveaway!

All you have to do for a chance to win a centerpiece or wreath is to visit 

Lynch Creek Farm and come back and tell me what item you would love to win.

For more chances to win, leave a comment on each of my blogging friends posts

as well!  Also, make sure you leave your email address in the comments so we 

can contact the winners.  The giveaway is limited to residents of the Continental U.S.

and Canada. The deadline is midnight, Sunday, December 3, 2017.

See their beautiful homes via the links below~
Click and visit!   Good Luck and Happy Holidays!!

Houspitality Designs   Savvy Southern Style   Duke Manor Farm   Maison Decor     Home is Where the Boat Is     French Garden House

Read more »

Grey velvet curtains, gilded cornices and Piper

 Velvet draperies are so luxurious.  Hard to tell from this shot, but the velvet

warms up the room, making it nice and cozy for the cold weather months.

I found these 96" lined velvet pinch pleated panels at HomeGoods, in case

you are searching for some at a reasonable price.  Their drapery department has

been pretty impressive lately, as I also found Belgian linen panels earlier this year.

I have had white smocked curtain panels from Pottery Barn hanging in this room

for years now, underneath white metal cornices that I made from vintage cornices

I found at an antique shop in New Hampshire.  They were stamped brass metal, in an

old gold color.  Hmmmm, I kind of wish they were the brass finish now.  At any rate,

I didn't like the look of the grey velvet under the white cornices so I painted them with 

Paris Grey Chalk Paint by you know who.  

 After painting them, I outlined the top with some gilding wax in gold.  Its a quick project

that I was able to do in an hour.  Getting ready for the holidays around here now, so I am envisioning a very Versailles Christmas in my mind's eye.  That means gold and gilding and velvet and of

course that wonderful blue color that Marie Antoinette loved so much.  Its much the same as my wall color in the living room, Woodlawn Blue by Benjamin Moore.  Imagine a white christmas tree with blue and gold....maybe some velvet ribbon.  Yummy!  In the latest Horchow Collection catalogue they have a Versailles Christmas ornament and ribbon collection!  I almost fell out of my french chair.  The only thing I didn't care for was that they added red to the blue and gold collection, which will never happen on my tree.  And thats the awesome thing about Christmas decorating, or any kind of decorating....you get to put your own stamp of personal style and vision together.  And each year its always a bit different, and that makes it fun for me.

So forgive me if Christmas decorating starts making an early appearance on my blog, but I am more than excited this year to get my trees up!  I think Reeve will love seeing the twinkle and the sparkle and the wonder of it all.  I am hoping little Piper can keep her composure around the trees and not make a mess of it.

She's pretty curious about just about everything. 

Read more »

Thanksgiving Inspiration Starts at Home

 If you love to decorate or simply take pleasure in setting a nice table for Thanksgiving,

then you are like me! This year I will be hosting again, and I always look forward to having family come to our home and celebrate Thanksgiving.  I don't run out and buy new decorations, but instead look to use what I already have in a new way.  Taking a look back at last year and the year before at what I did in my home inspires me to tweak and change the bits and pieces in my fall stash. Do you do the same thing over and over? Or do you change it up?  I think we all have our own best ideas, and by looking back in the past, its nice to remember the better ones to guide and inspire.

 Although Fall is the season I decorate least around the house,  a few pumpkins with some wintery looking pillows or throws is how I approach it.  Pillows are magic when it comes to decorating, and just by switching them out, you can change the look and feel in a room.  

The dining room is the most important room for Thanksgiving.

This table was perhaps my most favorite table of all.  

I loved how the colors all felt soft and monochromatic.  

The Cinderella blue pumpkins from Trader Joes were a big part of the table design, 

with a few white pumpkins added here and there.

 A vintage compote urn I found at Boston's Vintage SOWA market was my centerpiece.

You can visit this awesome Vintage Market every Sunday, on Harrison Ave in Boston to find your own special treasures.

 I do think a white table cloth adds a formality you can't replicate for holiday formal dining.  But last year I wanted to have a more rustic casual feeling, mixing fancier items, like sterling silver flatware with gold luster and transferware plates, but without the white cloth. I used my large French napkins under each place setting.

 And it just wouldn't be Thanksgiving at our home without my purple transfer ware dishes!

I'm taking my favorite ideas as inspiration and then seeing what I come up with

for this years Thanksgiving table.  With my new granddaughter Reeve bringing her parents along, its just going to be so much fun!  Of course she won't be eating any turkey or stuffing, but she will bring  joy to the occasion, and thats what Thanksgiving is all about.  And although I don't talk about this very often, many of my readers may remember, it was on Thanksgiving 2015 that Reeve's aunt Taylor suffered her heart failure and was hospitalized.  And then it was around the following Thanksgiving that Taylor got her new heart...

We give thanks for Taylor being healthy, and for having Reeve Taylor Power

 as the youngest member of our growing family making 2017 quite a special year.  

Read more »

Purple Transferware Wall Display and Floral Arrangements

The purple transferware collection I have amassed is displayed in our dining room.

The latest bowl was picked up at Matthew Mead's Estate Sale last weekend, and it 

is a piece made by Wedgwood.  Quite old and it bears a few chips, it is lovely nonetheless

and for now it sits in a stand where I can admire it front and center.  It was the only piece I 

spotted and I was surprised to even find it at his sale, as I know he has a fondness for the purple

stuff himself.  His mother has a purple transferware dinner set herself, and Matthew grew up dining 

off of these pretty dishes, as I am doing now with my kids and family.  

 Since the wedding has passed, so have all of the beautiful floral arrangements, and I 

have to say I really missed having the gorgeous bouquets in our rooms.  I think flowers bring

a room to life, and I can tell you they are the number one decorating weapon for magazine and book

photo shoots.  The rooms look lifeless without them.  I found myself in Trader Joes and picked up 

 two separate bouquets that had the color purple in common. One even had a stalk of decorative kale

and pincushion flowers, and you just can't beat the price at Trader Joes.  So treat yourself and your

rooms with a bouquet and get a lift everytime you walk by....I know I do. 

 The floral arrangements for our DIY wedding were not DIY, but I think I could have 

made a good effort if I had needed to do so.  Either way, the table was lifeless without the flowers, and when I saw these pics I snapped the morning of the wedding. They were loaded in my camera

and I haven't seen them since.  I think the tables looked so pretty.  

So don't forget to treat yourself to some flowers, whether its the 

supermarket or a florist or your own backyard.

Heading into the weekend with this "tip".  

Get flowers. Enjoy. Relax. 

Read more »

Simple Pleasures of Life

 Autumn has arrived in New England, but its the warmest I can remember.

With the courtyard wedding in the rear view mirror, we are now enjoying the normal pace of regular days around here.  We have decided to put less furniture back into this courtyard after seeing how spacious it felt with everything pulled out.  After adding the outdoor wicker grouping we decided that  it looked best with less stuff.  I think in general, less stuff looks better,

 but I don't always follow that rule.  

 Everything looks so pretty, but soon the mums and cabbages will die off.  I picked up a hundred pink Darwin tulips to plant in this cabbage bed, and can imagine how nice it will look in the spring.  Last year I was too busy to plant any bulbs, and I did regret not making the time to do so.  

My days are spent oftentimes with Reeve, and I had a hankering for this style carriage to take her on long walks. Nowadays the three wheel carriages are quite popular, but I just didn't think it gave a smooth ride when I tried out the one Reeve had, which makes sense for city living.  I can recall these big white wheels on a Perego carriage that I had for my boys, and when I looked around recently on Craigslist I didn't find any....but when I mentioned it on Instagram, an old high school friend of Reeve's dad said her mom had one that I could have....and just like that we are riding in style.  I LOVE this carriage, its an Emmaljunga stroller and its just wonderful.  Reeve loves taking a walk, and so does Piper, as it turns out.  Colby is too strong to take for a leisurely walk with me, Reeve and the stroller. Colby has taken to going to work with his dad, leaving me and Piper and somedays, Reeve.  

 Piper is almost 6 months old, and she trots along the side, never pulling or getting ahead.

  Its a dream to walk them around.  The baby conks out from the fresh air,

 and the dog and I get a little exercise.

Is she not the cutest little baby?

I am head over heels for her, and understand now what all the fuss

 is about when it comes to having your own grandchildren.  

October was filled with lots of family and friends and a few noteworthy events.

 Our friends, the Metzgers,  from Virginia came up for a weekend, and we hadn't seen them since we were roommates in the Chateau in France three years ago.  What spurred the trip was that my pal, style guru Matthew Mead was selling off his 25 year collection of antiques and props from his magazine business career as it was an overwhelming amount of STUFF.  (Not to worry, he kept about a third of his collection).  Janet and Bill drove up and we headed to his sale as did hundreds of others.

It was held in the warehouse where he kept all the stuff from over the years.   The same warehouse where he and I filmed videos for Wagner SprayTech company.  Lines of people were there, all day long!  It took us about an hour to get inside and there was SO MUCH STUFF!  

I wasn't sure what I was looking for, and I have to say the stuff I found kind of found me.

 Copper molds, pink lustreware, pink and purple Christmas decorations,

 old pink baby plate, purple glassware and transfer ware, and other odds and ends. 

I found a pink Nantucket style basket that he had painted for some magazine layout, old Bristol glass, and even a white opaline wineglass, which is rarer than I can even explain.

Matthew is still in the business, as many have asked is he retiring? 

 No, he is simplifying!!

I can relate. But I do have a plan for this pink and purple Christmas stuff, and just imagine some of

it on a white Christmas tree.  Which is going to happen.  But I digress... So while Bill and Janet were visiting we decided to take them out to a very special restaurant in Boston, North Square Oyster. 

 It is in Boston's North End, and has been taking the restaurant scene by storm.  In fact it just landed the cover of Boston Magazine's restaurant issue of the City's Top 25 New Restaurants!! And why does this thrill me?  Because it is where my son, Justin Power, works as the designer and managing partner.  That meal on the cover is the Lobster and Oxtail Bolognese, which is what both my hubs and Janet's husband ordered for dinner.  Of course we started with an oyster assortment and they were the BEST I have ever had....I highly recommend this spot if you want delicious food and drink with a great atmosphere in the heart of a historic neighborhood.

As a matter of fact, here we are standing in front of Paul Revere's house, which is the next door neighbor to North Square Oyster!  Seriously.  Paul Revere walked through that door. 

 This amazing local history, is right under our noses!

A fun night in the city for me and Mr. Maison Decor, which was so nice to share with friends.  

Another big night we enjoyed this month with our family was my dad's 88th Birthday.

 Those of us that live nearby came together and we celebrated.

  Our kids, a few of my siblings and both my parents along with me and hubs 

made for another night to put in the memory books.

These are special times that come along once in a while....

but most days its the simple pleasures like caring for a granddaughter.

 Little Reeve is a happy little girl with a blossoming personality.  

 My other baby, Piper has stolen my heart as well.  I am thrilled with the new additions to our family. Looking forward to gardening for the upcoming Spring, and making yummy dishes that the cold weather brings.  My parents have returned to their home in Florida, escaping the cold New England winters.  Still hoping for a nice fall so I can continue to walk my pair of babies.

It makes the three of us pretty happy.  

And thats what life is all about. 

Read more »