Vintage Autumnal Delights from Etsy

   If you step outside in the early morning, there is a distinct sense that fall is in the air. The grass may still be green, but the early morning dew is heavier and a few of the leaves on the trees are beginning to turn a burnished coppery gold.
   Here are a few vintage Etsy goodies to help you get in the mood to rake leaves, carve pumpkins, drag your sweaters out of storage, and set your clocks back.

This cotton chenille pumpkin from Snooks just tickles my fancy. 

So cute and guaranteed to impart some happiness year after year! 

Okay, I cheated. It's really not vintage, but it looks like it could be. Sorta.

 

 

Check out the gorgeous colors in this fabulous circa 

1950's dress by Calpreta. It also helps if you are short and skinny. You can find it here.

Pair that dress with this lovely vintage rhinestone set from Weiss. 

My little grandmother LouLou would have loved wearing the ear bobs and necklace.

In that day and time no well dressed woman would venture to town without
a handbag that matched her outfit.
Check out this 1960's velvet carpetbag. Divine!

Or if you want to try for a more subtle look, this hand-tooled leather purse might do the trick!


Does anyone remember monkey pod wood? Who knew that it would now be considered
super chic? It's also super functional!

And in case you were wondering, brass IS back!
I love that it is low maintenance and brings
a warm touch to any decor!

I'm also in love with this vintage tablecloth replete with acorns and leaves. 

It's also vintage 1950's, of course!

Set your table with these charming woodland squirrels 

who just happen to double as salt and pepper shakers.
Guaranteed to bring a smile to your face!

Check out this vintage harvest gold food warmer. Funky and fun!

 

Tea anyone? Look at the lovely lines on this little teapot. I so want to make it mine. Today.

I am loving the pop of color this retro clock would bring 

to just about any room in which it finds a home!

Remember those rainy afternoons when you used to while away the hours with
your paint-by-number set? This will send you back down memory lane...

Happy browsing or happy shopping!

Etsy is full of treasures to enliven and embolden your fall decor.

These are a Few of my Favorite Things...

   Raindrops on roses, but definitely not whiskers on kittens...

It's odd the things you think of as some of your favorite things. 

I am naturally drawn to people when I start thinking of things I treasure 

but instead I offer you these things which serve to bring a smile to my face...

on a day when it is much needed.

Lily of the Valley

When we moved into our house twenty-seven years ago, it was August. 
The next spring the flower bed beside my back door was filled with these dark green plants that shot up out of nowhere. 
I had no clue what they were. 
Around Mother's Day, I discovered what the plants were when the fragrance nearly bowled me over. 
I was overcome with joy. I have always loved these exquisite bell-shaped flowers that hang on tiny stems. 

White thick snow that coats the branches and bends the boughs to the earth.

The sound of running water

A wonderful soak in a bathtub

An antique find.

The smell of new mown grass on a spring day.

The first daffodils

Fireflies on a summer's night

Raindrops

Happy tears

Laughing so loud and so long that it hurts.

A shared sunset 

The well-worn patina of vintage linens

A cold drink of water on a hot day

Crunchy ice.

A smooth stone

Pink peonies

Beautiful paper in a good book

Su Blackwell (www.sublackwell.co.uk) turns books into
 art using painstaking skill, and a whole lot of imagination. 

The color and feel of silk.

The smell of a new baby

The softness of old hands.

There, I feel better already. Don't you?

To Keep or Not to Keep

   My friend recently inherited a set of French Provincial furniture. If you were a little girl growing up in the 1950's or 60's you know exactly what I am talking about. Every little girl I knew wanted a canopy bed and white desk and dresser just like the one pictured below. I remember showing my own Momma this very same ad from the Sears catalogue, but she wasn't buying it. We had Ethan Allen furniture instead. 

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   No offense to any of you who might still be enamored with this style of furniture, I am no longer nor is my friend. In fact this white, somewhat prissy furniture could not be further from my friend's personal style. However, she is in desperate need of some sturdy furniture to provide additional storage in her bedroom. So it's off to the web to search for solutions to her dilemma...all involving some repurposing of the said French Provincial bedroom furniture into something a little more up-to-date.

   As you might well imagine, I found everything from exotic to moderately attractive to terribly tacky, so there's a wide range of ideas from which my friend can choose. Despite the way the pieces look at the moment, I am a complete advocate of keeping the furniture and applying different paint finishes to at least a couple of the pieces in order to break up the monotony and add some interest and variety to the room.

   Here are some options for that oh-so-boring dresser of hers.

This is a before shot to give you an idea in case you forgot about any 

of the features endemic to these stylistic gems...

How about this after? Not too bad in my book.

I confess I am a fan of this color combination

I also like this color palette that includes applying both a darkening stain to the original wood along with a paint treatment.

Check out this relatively simple two-color paint application, one that changes the character of the piece and gives it a different vibe. Note to painter: this definitely requires a steady hand.

If my friend decides to go with a pop of color, these are colors that pack a singular punch

And if she decides to bring a little pattern into the picture, this could work:

or this

or this available for purchase at this Etsy store.

At least knowing my friend like I do, I know that she is NOT going to end up with
anything remotely resembling this! But as they say...to each her own!

Party Pretties

   The Daughter turned me on to the flowers at Trader Joe's. I am now officially hooked. Instead of spending a minor fortune at a wholesale flower house, I actually found that purchasing the flowers for a party at Trader Joe's was a much cheaper option. Who could have guessed?!
    Take a look at the flowers that I pulled together for a sweet little Sip-n-See in honor of a new baby girl!

Here is the "Before," and yes, that is my thumb partially obscuring the clumsy photo taken with my iPhone!

And here are the "Afters"

Ranunculus just might be my new favorite flower. I paired them with white tulips, hyacinths, pink flowering branches, hydrangea, spray roses in two shades of pink and also white, and some lovely bluebells for added height. The fragrance of the hyacinths nearly scented my whole house.

 As soon as I knew that this little one would be making her debut

 I started scouring the antique malls for some vintage

baby planters. I arranged flowers in them and scattered them on the main table

 and throughout the house.

I love this little lamb...so sweet!

Here's a close-up of that little vintage lamb planter!

When I discovered these little pink ceramic McCoy shoes on one of my forays, I snagged them

right away. They looked perfect on the table filled with pink spray roses!

To display the yummy petit fours, I simply used an oblong silver footed tray on 

which I placed a small pink cake stand. 

In the center was a tiny pink shoe filled with more roses and a bit of pink heather!

 Here is another look at the petit fours. Hands down, these are the best I have ever eaten.

A friend referred me to the baker, who works out of her home. 

If you need a custom cake or more of these amazing petit fours, call Katie at A Perfect Bite.

 As you can well imagine with a baby girl, it was pink, pink, and more pink EVERYWHERE!

 These gorgeous pink pressed glass plates with the lattice design once belonged 

to my mother-in-law. I have always loved them. 

One of my favorite touches was this banner that I purchased back in December

 at Catherine Clement's Christmas on 18th Avenue Show.

(If you have never been, you simply must!)

She uses vintage linens and some lovely fabrics to create the perfect look. 

I added the ribbons for a special accent.

 The little bunny is sitting on the entry hall table in homage to the baby's grandmother, 

my dear friend Ann (the little baby girl, the honoree, is named for her). 

Ann had a thing for antiques, bunnies, and flowers.

Her daughter is much more contemporary in her choices, hence the tiny Chuck Taylors!

The little bitty chair was mine as a child and was made from an oak barrel
purchased in England in the 1950's.
I had it recovered some years ago in a vintage circus fabric.

 I apologize for the poor quality of the photos which were all taken with my iPhone.

The Husband was off galavanting at the Final Four and of course, he

had the good camera with him!