Fall is in the Kitchen

Little bits of fall have come to the kitchen...

 I know I've shown you my little kitchen cabinet before.  But I couldn't resist taking some photos of it again this fall... it's one of my favorite things.  I remember taking three separate trips to the antique store before actually purchasing it because I wasn't sure it was the right piece for this spot. (smile)

I don't usually have anything displayed on my scale, but it was the perfect place for this little pumpkin.

 This is still one of my favorite patterns and although I have these displayed all the time, the colors really are perfect for fall. 

 Scents of fall have also come to the kitchen.  When my blogging friend, Julia, over at Blissfully Content posted a recipe for these ginger cookies this week, I knew cookie making was going to be a part of our day!

Whenever I mention baking cookies to Jillian, she nearly jumps up and down with excitement.  She loves helping in the kitchen.  

Yes, it means it takes quite a bit longer to cook something, but it makes me so happy that she takes such an interest in wanting to help. 

These cookies were so delicious I could not help but want to share the recipe with you.  I love ginger cookies, and these are (and I'm not just saying this because I like Julia and her blog so much) the best I have ever had.  The only thing I did different was omitting the raisins, but you can find her recipe here. 

P.S.  Rosetta was also around and fortunately Daddy came home from work just in time to share some batter with her.  (smile)

Fall Days in the Backyard

 It's days like these I'm reminded why I consider fall in the south to be the perfect season.  The evenings are cool but the days are warm.  The sun is shining and the leaves are turning. 

 We've been spending a good portion of our afternoons outside enjoying the beautiful weather.  This weekend my husband and I worked outside on our back deck.  He pressure washed while I tidied up and cleaned the windows... it felt nice to do some fall cleaning.

The past couple days I've been simply enjoying these perfect fall days and counting my blessings while the girls run around and play.

 I know I say this often, but I'm thankful for our little place in the country.  It just fits us.

The two little windows beside the back door are something I have loved since day one.  The back door leads into the laundry room, and the light streaming in always makes doing laundry a little more enjoyable.  (smile)

 Have I ever showed you our old well? We do have city water, but I often like to think of the days when this would have been their source of water. 

 One thing I had hoped to do this year was plant a line of hydrangeas all along the side of the deck.  We planted two this spring, one on each side of the steps, when we fixed our deck.  You can't even see them in this photo, but with the heat we had this summer, I'm just thankful they are still alive.  Since I never got around to it... what do you think, should I plant hydrangeas there or something else? 

 I love the huge trees on our lot... sometimes I wonder if they've been there longer than our house. 

And just down the road there's a little fall color as the leaves continue to change.  Every morning I love to look out the window and see if there's a little more color there than the day before.

 Jillian has been raking the leaves lately on the deck and then immediately Rosetta rushes over to mess them up.  (smile) 

We've still much landscaping to be done, but this is the first fall we've had a nice grassy backyard to play in and a fixed up deck.  It's a little progress and we are enjoying it so much!

A Barn Sale

I hope you have had a nice weekend!  With all that we have had going on lately, I realized this week that I forgot to post pictures from my first barn sale experience.  

Last month I saw an ad in a magazine for the Bella Rustica barn sale at a farm fairly close to us.  My mom and I made plans to go, marked it on our calendars and that very night Donna from Funky Junk Interiors wrote a post that she would be there as their guest.  After that I started hearing about Bella Rustica all over the web, so we were really looking forward to it.

 The farm was beautiful and it was a gorgeous day out.  The minute we drove up and saw the entrance, we knew it was going to be a blast.  (I will say that the entrance did not look like this when we arrived though... it was a traffic jam on an old country road!)

Vendors selling all kinds of fabulous goods filled up the inside of the barn.  There was so much to look at even beyond everything that was for sale... this is just a little picture of how creative some of the displays were.

 There were also booths outside the barn on the grass and under a tent.  It was a warm day so it felt good to be outside of the dusty, hot barn, especially with two little girls along (smile). 

Everywhere I looked I saw awesome fall displays...  I think this one was my favorite. 

 My highlight of the day though?  Getting to meet Donna from Funky Junk.  I have read her blog for a long time, so it was a lot of fun to meet her in person.  We knew she would be there but weren't sure if we would have the opportunity to meet her.  But we saw her within the first 15 minutes of being there, and fortunately I did not inherit my shyness from my mom... she had no problem introducing us right away, whereas it would have taken me much longer to work up my nerve. 

(I didn't notice until I downloaded these photos that there was a little hand reaching for her phone... phew, was I relieved that she didn't actually pick it up!)

 Not only did we have a chance to meet, but Donna also sat with us during lunch.  It was so neat to visit under a huge old shady tree eating barbecue.  I always knew Donna was talented and creative, but I also found out that she's incredibly sweet, warm and friendly too. 

 And I hope she doesn't mind that I'm borrowing a photo she took of us all on her phone. Not the best photo, but I'll never forget laughing as we all tried to cram in together.  

I've only had the chance to meet two bloggers in person, but what I've noticed is that their posts become extra special to read because you feel like you're visiting an old friend. 

 While I could have brought home just about everything I saw, I only came home with one treasure (yes, sadly, I went with a budget and actually stuck to it).  I asked my mom to be my model so you could see just how huge this basket is. I knew the minute I saw it that it would be a perfect laundry basket.

 Hopefully I'll see you next year, Bella Rustica!