Gearing Up

It's time to start polishing up a few things for the upcoming holiday, but I find that more and more I like my silver with a little tarnish.

The items put to actual use on the table will be given a soft gleam. The silver gravy dish and the flatware, for instance.

But a few others used merely for decoration will carry their muted amber and russet tones.

I love silverplated pieces with monograms the best. Such a mystery about them. But also the varied fonts can be so interesting.

I like the heft of the weightier vessels, and the intricate designs, and the romantic look of a collection of silver flickering in candlelight.

I tend to have too much of tarnished silver peeking out of boxes, drawers, and cupboards. I want to present it for sale all polished up and gleaming, I tell myself. But it is labour intensive and the last thing I ever get around to doing. 

And it is often just too big a task deciding what to part with, and what to keep! This old creamer is never used for cream anymore these days, but wouldn't it be wonderful for holding extra spoons or sauce on a Thanksgiving table?

Or for pretending to be Lady Astor for a day? (Some days call for that.)

The recent news and gloomy afternoons have put me in a funk. One dark day can energize me, but more than that makes me eat and yawn too much. This is sunny New Mexico after all! And it's time for gearing up!

Time to select and ready the linen for the table. . . . 

But my guests will like my new old shakers well enough just as they are.

Really, can one ever have too large a rugged shaker collection all lined up like so many rooks and pawns?

and hinting of some other life so much more exotic?

Musing is much more gratifying than blackening my hands with silver polish! Maybe I will go back to reading my novel for awhile, while waiting for the sun to come out again. (See what I mean?) 

Hoping for brighter days ahead!

And wishing for a good week ahead for you!

Jacqueline

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Cupboard Secrets

Truth be told, I think the secrets are all out! My old English cupboard has little mystery left in it. It was one of the very first things I blogged about years ago, and it has taken on a few different looks over the seasons and years. But mostly subtle ones.

My relationship with this piece of my life is both delicately complex and understated. The very definition of subtle.

I don't make too many bold strokes on these shelves. The quiet colors of nature feed and soothe me. I feel most comfortable with the familiar, the tried and true, and the intimate friendliness between me and my sideboard. (I love this mix of both real and faux in these acorns.) 

A storybook cupboard is iconic to cottage life. Can you have a little cottage without one? Not only is it all about small spaces and cramped storage, but it is about the inner life of the owner. What does one hold on to? What does one let go when there is only a wee bit of room left to work with?

There is the chapter on my favorite laces.

And a page for small new narratives to tuck into the story.

Like these soft and silent forest enchantments. . . .

My wooden shelves are only a bigger version of the shoebox housed under the bed of childhood. A collection of shiny objects and found treasures. And of maybe no longer so secret desires.

If I may not take hold of a Toad Hall mansion, I can have the illusion of Mole End close to my heart! (*smile here*) And why not?

I keep tucking in twigs and ideas here and there, and fill in the little spaces with the current season.  

As my collections grow and change. . . .

The tale weaves on with every new object set next to the old.

This year I found these sweet little putz cottages to add to my fancies. (at Michael's craft store) I like how they can be put up in November and stay all through winter.

It may be all the twinkling snow that we will see here over the season!

It is the very kind of small happiness that one can sneak into an ordinary day.

Like a little whispered secret between special friends. . . .

What is your personal equivalent to the secret shoe box under the bed? It's funny how all my children are split fifty-fifty on how they are either collectors or not. Some of us just have a bigger need for fairy tales I guess! Either way, I hope it is an enchanting time of year for you!

Have a great weekend ahead!

Jacqueline

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Dressing The Mantel

There's a war going on in my living room. I always think I want to be minimalist. You know, that modern clean farmhouse style that seems so practical and liveable and pretty?

But I love so many more vintage things than grain sacks and ironstone. My brain sees in vignettes, and my heart still loves little vintage German sheep, old French books, and a beautiful Victorian lady photo button in fall colors.

I actually don't change things up that often. but when I brought this crochet valance home from the fleamarket recently, I wondered how it would look covering my dark wood mantel.

I liked it right away. The transformation from dark to light was instant, and since the light has changed in this room, with mostly northern exposure, the mornings are a bit gloomy in here.

There are running gaps on one long edge for this piece to hang from a rod in a window. It would look lovely there.

But a bit of crocheted lace lifts my spirit like sunshine. So it will stay in here awhile longer.

I keep my mantel pretty clear most of the time, both because it is narrow, and because I don't like a cluttered look. I didn't give much thought to what I placed here this time. I just wanted what was handy to keep the cloth in place and then went from there. It changes the entire character of the room! (There are a couple more versions of this mantel at both extremes (empty and full) that you might want to see down on my sidebar.)

A basket and a demijohn at each end, and a few sea stars and a an old stair knob to balance everything out. . . .

A bit of the mirror detail. . . . (This wall is plastered adobe brick which has a softer character than regular brick does.)

The tin tile insert covers the fireplace opening when we are not using the fireplace, and one of my favorite chippy old  picture frames that I feature in autumn with its little gold leaves.

I have thought of painting it a French grey or white. (I would leave the leaves gold.) But I never do. 

 I am enjoying home and being settled after an especially active spell. Fall nesting feels so comfy. We have been trying out a variety of one dish soups and stews. And I'm ready for the warm smell of something lovely baking in the oven. A good book. A soft wool throw. Home and hearth just feels like the best place for me to be this first week of November.

  

Is it getting cozy for you too?

It's time to keep those home fires burning!

Jacqueline

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