Something Old; Something New

I guess it is the change of seasons, but I have been in a mood to change things up.  I rearranged my living room furniture, changed out my decor to more subtle colors and have even started changing out to some fall clothing, even tho it is still in the 90s here.   I have also visited some vintage shops and estate sales and came away with some treasures - old  and new  

One of my favorite new items is a sweet throw pillow handmade by Judy at a wonderful blog called http://20northora.blogspot.com  Judy has an Etsy shop where she sells some of her wonderful needlecraft creations.   https://www.etsy.com/shop/20northora.  I am totally in love with this pillow.  It is a beige linen fabric with a vintage doily sewn on the front and a precious pink rose shaped button in the center.  I just redid my bedroom in pink and white so this pillow is perfect!  Check out her shop and her blog!  This is not a sponsored post -- I saw the pillow, bought it and then asked her if I could share on my blog so everyone could see her beautiful work.  

She also tied a bit of vintage silk as a tassel on the top right corner.  Very sweet

In my living room I added this vintage wood and iron piece along with my urn filled with my daughter's bridal bouquet that I dried.  They were cream colored roses and they dried into this beautiful soft creamy pink.  

I also changed out my china in my breakfast room hutch to my grandmother's Johnson Brothers Olde English Countryside transferware.  This is such a warm, beautiful scene and it is perfect for Fall.  

Found this fabulous chippy wood mirror at an estate sale!

Bought some faux hydrangeas for the galvanized watering can that I found at the side of the road a few weeks ago.  

My next project is to find some little white pumpkins, acorns and pine cones for a table centerpiece.  I don't use orange in my decor cause I have so much pink in my house.  I prefer to stay with creams, greens and browns - always with a touch of pink.  

I am really enjoying seeing how other bloggers are changing things for the new season.  Whether we call it nesting, fluffing or, as I like to say - preparing my den to hibernate - this season seems to bring out a need to create a comfy, nurturing indoor space in preparation for the winter ahead. 

Do you feel this change in the air?

Falling into Autumn

I am ready for fall and from all of the posts I am reading, it seems others are too.  I am excited for a little crispness in the air and being able to open my windows to let in the fresh air without constant air conditioning.

I am; however, trying to embrace the late summer beauty, knowing that soon the leaves will fall and the flowers will fade.  With all of the rain we have had this summer, there is lush greenery everywhere.

I saw this on my walk this morning growing at the foot of a tree.  It was so delicate and complex.

I am transitioning my decor to more late summer/early fall colors.  Made a trip to HomeGoods this week and found these fabulous pillows to refresh the sofa in my sitting room.  I love decorating my home with muted greens, browns and creams in fall.  In Spring and Summer I tend to use more creams, whites and pinks.

The patina on this urn found at a yard sale adds to the cozy, natural ambience I love.  It stands on its own in my living room.  I'd love to find some silk hydrangeas or dried ones for it.  I haven't had any luck drying hydrangeas myself.

I went to a party last night and this beautiful arrangement was on the table and I got to bring it home!  Perfect late summer bouquet!

Found this great metal tray at a garage sale for $1.00.  I am perusing Pinterest for ideas to make it into a pretty fall centerpiece for my breakfast room!

I am making myself wait til Labor Day to do more transitioning but couldn't resist these little refreshes.

How about you?  Are you making any changes in your decor yet?

Stories that Blend Past and Present

With the continuing hot weather I have found myself doing a lot of reading.  I want to share an author I found who weaves stories joining the past and present, usually involving a certain item that provides the common thread.  Her name is Susan Meissner.  

I especially want to share her work because so many of you love vintage items like I do and I think her writings may appeal to you.    

I love to think about the history and the story behind treasures I find at estate sales and antique stores.  I am fascinated that someone else in some other time and place possessed the item and wonder what stories it could tell -- what has it "seen"?   What events has it witnessed?   Whose hands have held my "new to me" piece of history?

Susan Meissner's writings bring this thought to life.  Her books tend to blend present day situations with the past in a beautiful way. 

The one I started last night is "Lady In Waiting".  The item that "travels" through time periods is a small ring engraved on the inside with a mysterious inscription and the name - Jane... Below is the description from Amazon.



https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003E8AIZ2/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1


Description:
Content in her comfortable marriage of twenty-two years, Jane Lindsay had never expected to watch her husband,  Brad, pack his belongings and walk out the door of their Manhattan home. But when it happens, she feels powerless to stop him and the course of events that follow Brad’s departure.

Jane finds an old ring in a box of relics from a British jumble sale and discovers a Latin inscription in the band along with just one recognizable word: Jane. Feeling an instant connection to the mysterious ring bearing her namesake, Jane begins a journey to learn more about the ring—and perhaps about herself.

In the sixteenth-century, Lucy Day becomes the dressmaker to Lady Jane Grey, an innocent young woman whose fate seems to be controlled by a dangerous political and religious climate, one threatening to deny her true love and pursuit of her own interests.

As the stories of both Janes dovetail through the journey of one ring, it becomes clear that each woman has far more infl uence over her life than she once imagined. It all comes down to the choices each makes despite the realities they face.

Review:

Praise for Lady in Waiting“Lady in Waiting is sheer beauty set in two time periods, both equally captivating stories. Meissner writes characters I care for, root for, and pine alongside—and she does so while weaving enticing, heart-wrenching plots. This book proves why I’m an ardent Susan Meissner fan.”—Mary DeMuth, author of Life in Defiance

“Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner: The pacing, perfection. Transitions between centuries, seamless. Capturing the nuances of relationship, flawless. Put anything written by Susan Meissner on your “must read now!” list, right beside Barbara Kingsolver and Elizabeth Berg. I couldn’t put this elegant novel of love and choice down. A completely satisfying read.” -Jane Kirkpatrick, award-winning author of A Flickering Light and An Absence So Great

The first book I read by Meissner was through my bookclub and is entitled "A Fall of Marigolds" and my club considers it one of the best books we have ever read.  This time, the treasured item is a beautiful scarf.  This is the book that turned me on to this author.  Here is the description from Amazon:




A beautiful scarf, passed down through the generations, connects two women who learn that the weight of the world is made bearable by the love we give away....

September 1911. On Ellis Island in New York Harbor, nurse Clara Wood cannot face returning to Manhattan, where the man she loved fell to his death in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. Then, while caring for a fevered immigrant whose own loss mirrors hers, she becomes intrigued by a name embroidered onto the scarf he carries…and finds herself caught in a dilemma that compels her to confront the truth about the assumptions she’s made. Will what she learns devastate her or free her? 

September 2011. On Manhattan’s Upper West Side, widow Taryn Michaels has convinced herself that she is living fully, working in a charming specialty fabric store and raising her daughter alone. Then a long-lost photograph appears in a national magazine, and she is forced to relive the terrible day her husband died in the collapse of the World Trade Towers…the same day a stranger reached out and saved her. Will a chance reconnection and a century-old scarf open Taryn’s eyes to the larger forces at work in her life?

Review:
“Like the golden threads of a scarf sprinkled with marigolds, Susan Meissner weaves two unspeakable New York tragedies—the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and 9/11—into a shimmering novel of love and acceptance. Meissner’s heroines, Clara and Taryn, live a century apart, but their stories are connected not just by a bright scrap of fabric but by love lost.  A compelling novel, A Fall of Marigolds turns fate into a triumph of spirit.”—Sandra Dallas, New York Times bestselling author of True Sisters 

Because she is a prolific writer - she has her own page on Amazon - AND her books are available through the public library - I will be reading as many as I can get my hands on.  

Her storytelling has captivated me and satisfies my passion for the common threads that run through all of our lives and the generations.  It appeals to the sentimental side of me that prefers vintage treasures with a history to new things that have not developed the patina of life, love and experience.

Have you heard of this author?  When you find an author that you love, do you read as many of their books as you can?  Do you wonder about the stories the treasures you find could tell?  


-Lyn


Once again - I get that weird white background when I cut and paste.  One of these days I will figure that out.  :)

Are Seasonal Vignettes just a Southern Thang?

I LOVE "smalls" - those fabulous treasures that are displayed so temptingly on tables and shelves at antique stores and estate sales.  I am a sucker for vintage vases, picture frames, bowls, pitchers, statuary, etc., etc.  I have so many, in fact, that I can't display them all at one time and because I love so many different types and colors of things, I have always created seasonal vignettes, especially in my sitting room and dining area.  I usually get the craving to do this at the beginning of each new season - July for Summer, September for Fall, December for Winter and March for Spring. 

Recently I was telling the girls at work that I had put out my summer decor and one of them said "that must be a southern thing".  She is from up north and she said she has only seen and heard of changing out decor with the seasons since she has been in the South.  She only does special decorating around the holidays -- specifically Christmas and Halloween - but even then she is just adding things to her current space - i.e., Christmas tree, wreath on door, maybe a centerpiece on table or mantel decor.  Another woman, who grew up out west, said the same thing. The other women, who were from the south, said they change their decor seasonally and their mothers did as well. 

I was raised in Tennessee, grew up in Memphis and have lived in Nashville since 1979 so I am definitely a southern girl.  I don't move my furniture around much, but I do love to switch out my "smalls" to reflect the seasons.  Below are a few pics of some of my vignettes.  NOTE - I am not patient enough to "stage" so what you see is how it is.  I only have my iPhone camera so the pics aren't great so I apologize for that. 

I feel most comfortable and at home with vintage, repurposed, junk chic decor.  I adore found objects and I will generally leave them in their original condition except to maybe add a coat of paint.  My sofa has a slipcover and I am a lover of white wicker. 

How about you?  Do you change your decor/vignettes to reflect the seasons?  Do you think this is a "southern thang"? 

My sitting room  This is my favorite spot in the house and where I sit and relax when it is not nice enough to sit outside. Summer = light green throw, green and white bird pillow.  The white wicker table holding plants was $5 at an estate sale.  Hey - one man's trash is another man's treasure!

Also in sitting room - for summer I use my white bird bowl, a  floral pillow on chair and light colored items.  The mirror is an old window frame made into a mirror that I found at an antique store.  I found the old sewing machine table discarded by a neighbor and painted it white  

This favorite of mine is in my breakfast room - $10 at an estate sale!! For summer it is outfitted with pastels, I love bunnies so my bunny items are always part of my spring and summer vignettes.  Also the white frames, teapot, pink and white vintage glassware and botanicals reflect summertime.

This is my breakfast table centerpiece for summer.  The dried roses are from my daughter's bridal bouquet.  The white iron basket was an antique store find and the pink/white bowl in it is from TJMaxx!  Table runners switch out seasonally. Oh - and, or course a bunny and a bird. lol

My front porch - and MORE white wicker!  Hey - I know it isn't "on trend" but I have always loved it and am happy when someone else has it for sale for cheap!  The pillow on the chair changes with the seasons.  My dogs, Nicki and Harley are looking out the front door . :)

Also front porch.  The galvanized watering can was sitting at the curb when I took a walk a couple of weeks ago.  Sooooo - I picked it up and continued my walk carrying it.  I'm sure I looked kind of funny - but - hey -- what a treasure!!!!  

 Nothing fancy about my home -- it is modest, small and simple.  But it is my sanctuary!