Pumpkin Carving

Right now the girls are sleeping and Scott is at Home Depot or Lowes buying the teal colored spray paint we can't find from last Halloween.  We always spray paint a pumpkin teal so that trick or treaters that come to our house know that we have non-food treats for them.  So those last two little pumpkins in the picture will have to be sprayed tomorrow morning.

But for now...

Can I just start with this?  Two year old Anna?



I truly don't know how she went from that to this.



But she did and she's lots of fun to be with. This whole pre-teen years are new for me. I never pictured that my children would outgrow Raffi or learning how to read. But they did. And I love them even more now!











The weather has been so georgeous this month.





And our tree turned it's brillant golden right on cue.

Anna's New Desk

We were searching for a new kitchen table.  And we ended up at a few antique stores.  Although we knew that a desk for Anna was coming soon we weren't looking that day.  Not at all in our heads.

The girls were loving the antique store and were several booths behind us looking at all of the loveliness.  Scott and I turned the corner and when I saw it I gasped out loud (my hands to my mouth) and Scott had the biggest smile.

It perfect in more ways than we could image.

Size ~ tiny for the little space it needed to be in

Colors ~ perfect match to her beautiful room

Style ~ made for her castle painted room

And to top it off, this girl of ours loves vintage and sweetness. (vintage dress, vintage tea cups, vintage tin boxes)  The perfect combination for this desk.



I don't have it all decorated just the way I wanted it but for now the roses added just the right touch







And her chair (that we found in another shop) reminds me of the fairy tale theme in her room.



Love it closed up too



Scott recovered the chair to match her area rug.



We didn't bring home our new kitchen table that weekend but we were all so happy to have found this happy little space for our Anna.

Playing House

I can remember being a little girl and loving all things home.  I love to watch my Mom prepare for each season, each holiday.  I loved that my growing up home was cool in the summer and warm in the winter.  Dinner was always at 6:00 and home felt calm and peaceful. My Dad found the perfect Christmas tree each year and spent a whole day stringing it with tiny colored lights and candle lights from Sweden.

I can remember how much fun it was almost 20 years ago now when Scott and I bought our first house.  Oh how I loved that tiny colonial with the red door.  In 1996 I started playing house, in my own home, and I still am.  

This October I didn't walk around and take photos of every single Halloween decoration.  Just a few things that I love.

~Emma Bridgewater 'Year in the Country' mug and my October afternoon tea



~ tray, creamer, and sugar bowl from my grandmother ~ tea pot given to me by Anna last year Christmas ~

~ blue plates on the wall from my Aunt Kathy ~ from all around the world and long ago telling a family love story so good I have to blog in one day ~



~ painting above my tea cart painted by my Dad (I didn't really take a photo of it but had point it out... little bird in the snow ~



~ there are those long ago plates again ~





~wedding crystal I picked out twenty years ago ~



~ wedding china ~ and wedding silver ~



When I married Scott I knew I wanted to live in a traditional colonial. I loved the open staircase right in the front of the house.















~ fairy lights on the seasonal tree with felt pumpkins ~









~ and one looong puzzle...







~ she desperate to finish this puzzle by Halloween when it will promptly be taken down for a Thanksgiving one ~





~ my grandmothers silver coffee pot (does it have a more formal name?) ~ the joy of gardening book from my grandfathers collection ~



~ Truly the best decorations are the ones handed down to me.  Memories are so sweet.

Pumpkin Patch

Weather perfection. I like it really chilly. I like hats and fleece, sweaters, and gloves. But not too cold. Just the need for them. Weather perfection.



We found the best pumpkin patch this year off the beaten path.

(baby in her arms)


The kind of pumpkin patch where they are all still on the vines. And the trator/hay ride is real (un~disney) because there is no way you could get from the farm house/stand to this patch of pumpkins without it.



The kind where the farmhouse dog follows the tractor all the way down, watches you pick your pumpkin and they follows you all the way back up.



Cozy



Grey skies but leaf beauty.









Loved this sign and pumpkin o meter!







"Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves, We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!" ~ Humbert Wolfe