Our Home ~ Summer

A few things first

(1) I was happily busy with Lion King the Musical this summer and a trip that I might have mentioned on this blog so the photos I took of my house this summer are lacking. Sorry for that.

(2) I think the rainbow Puffin collection of books is in every photo. I love those books. Sorry for that.

(3) I really only walk around and take pictures right before I take it all down so that I can remember what I 'did last year'. Mostly that is so I can look at my blog a year from now and say, "hey! Where is that pineapple garland? I forgot all about it!" So this post is boring for you. Sorry about that.

(4) And because I take photos right before I take it down it's kinda dusty. Not sorry about that.

With those four things said. Here we go. (remember what I said in #1 up there, okay?)

Sometimes I treat myself to a house redo. But not a shopping redo. Just shopping in my house. My friend Billie Jo did a post this summer on a whole new look in her kitchen shopping in her house.

I mostly move little piles of books around.

This summer the mantle looked like this (for Hawaii)



I really love felt garland





And when I needed a pop of color I stole the books from the mantle later in the summer. And then the mantle looked like this.



These my mom bought me. My collection of hardcover Little House has grown since this picture. I'll take a shot of the mantle this fall. Pumpkins go with Little House, right?



and added a little summer banner.



changed around the wreath.



and had a whole new look.









In our family room the mantle held a few favorites.



The Little Grey Rabbit books I found at a yummy used Children's book store. Published in England over 80 years ago.



But my favorite little children's books right now are the Brambly Hedge books by Jill Barklem (my favorites being Spring Story, Summer Story, Autumn Story, and Winter Story). Also published in England, Brambly Hedge

is on the other side of the stream, across the field. If you can find it, and if you look, very hard amoungst the tangled roots and stems, you may even see a wisp of smoke from a small chimney, or through an open door, a steep flight of stairs deep within the trunk of a tree. For this is the home of the mice of Brambly Hedge.

Just look at Summer Story.



It was a very hot summer so they dangled their tails and paws in the cool river. (delightful, right?)

A little fun in the dining room.




Yes, I wish I took other pictures of our house this summer. The front steps were lovely. Really. But all of this and the front steps decorations are down now and apples and back to school are up. Soon (swoon) it'll be leaves and pumpkins, and vines with autumn berries. (with twinkling fairy lights throughout) Oh, I really love playing house.

I could never in a hundred summers get tired of this.

"If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales.  If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales."  ~Albert Einstein 

(I hope to post throughout the weekend coming so that I can catch up and finally {someday} get to the goodness called the present here on this blog)