...awaiting a carriage ride ~

...happy autumn party!!

There is a slight chill in the air,

and the leaves are thinking about starting to display their fall colors...

I too, welcome the cooler mornings
if only to be able to wear a lovely sweater!

yes,
Fall has officially arrived!

Would you perhaps like to see
 just a few pretties
to help inspire the start of this beautiful season?
Well then my dears...

the inspiration carriage awaits you!!

WHAT???
(aghast air sound!)

You have never taken a ride on the inspiration carriage????

then come with me,
I'll put you straight away to the head of the line!

(I can do that you know! I am from the land of odds!!)

watch your step dear one...
and
Enjoy your ride!!
 ~

First up on this tour,
we have some very overlooked works of nature's art

~ Acorns ~

these particular ones have been made out of earthy fabrics

such as soft, nubby suede,

floral linen, heavy silk ~

and a colorful velvet leaf to adorn the top!

oh look!

a silver tray of them...

...and there are a few

green velvet pears too!

each one,

beautiful to look at and so lovely to hold in your hand

has been made out of vintage silk velvet

a few crystals were sprinkled on

and a brown velvet leaf and ribbon were added for whimsy!

aaahhhhh...

pears....... 

One of my favorite fall desserts
is pink poached pears. 

It's elegant and fruity, but not too rich or sweet
and so very simple to make.
Only a few ingredients are needed.

~Ingredients~

*about 3 cups of water

*1/2 cup raw (demerara) sugar

*1 12oz. bag of fresh or frozen cranberries
(sometimes I substitute raspberries!!)

*a healthy splash of grand marnier liqueur (wink, wink)

3 large pears (such as Bosc)

or 4 small pears (such as Seckel),
peeled and place in a bowl of cold water and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
 enough to cover pears

  (firm, slightly under ripe pears work best)

Directions

Combine all the ingredients except the pears in a pot and bring to a simmer.

meanwhile, cut pears down the center from the top to the bottom

Use a melon baller and scoop out the "seed center" so you are left with a nice hollow cavity

Carefully put the pears into the liquid, cut side down.

The cranberries should be starting to "pop" and render their beautiful pink juice!
Cover and simmer until the pears are tender, approx. 8 to 10 minutes.

Cool the pears in the cooking liquid before serving,

 or store them in the refrigerator (still in the liquid) for up to a week.

I like my pears warm with a sumptuous dollop of vanilla whipped cream

2 1/2 cups chilled whipping cream

2 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Preparation: Beat whipping cream, sugar and vanilla extract in large bowl until firm peaks form.

 Cover and chill. Can be prepared 4 hours ahead

...simple, elegant
and

DELICIOUS!!!!

~

Soon it will be October...
a month where magic is in the air

a month filled with pumpkins
and my hunt begins
 for just the right one ~

a great white pumpkin!
as big as a FULL MOON!!
(seriously, that's what they are called!!)

an oohhhh SOOOO elegant painted pumpkin on my front porch
can someone say f-a-b-u-l-o-u-s?!

and I simply must also find my most favorite pumpkin EVER

...the Cinderella!!
this is a French heirloom pumpkin variety with a brilliant red skin.
Flat and round, this squash has a yellow-orange flesh and sweet aroma.

and just perfect for

 ~ carriages!!!

this one is

a petite paperie pumpkin carriage!

with not one...

but two ~

white mice coachmen!!!

WOW!!

don't blink now ~ but there is the rare

pink pear sugar coach!!

I must be over the rainbow

or maybe one of my poached pears

just poached too long...

HA!!

ap-pear-antly

:)

I have a thing for carriages that I never realized until now!!!

and dare I reveal my long term plan

 dear carriage riding ones?

ssshhhhhhhh...

don't tell hubby o` mine

yet!!

as

I'm sooo working up to this

pumpkin coach!!!

I am soooo not even joking!!!

I would of course add a fabulous chandi...and some lace curtains...

and some gorgeous comfy seat pillows...

and most definitely a gorgeous coachman!!!!!!

What do you think? 

Would YOU like a ride for real???

I think it would be  ~ magical!!

this concludes your carriage ride.

I do hope you enjoyed it!

I'm joining along with 

 

French Cupboard

and 

Common Ground

here's to fall inspirations and pumpkin carriages!!!

ps. would you like to make your very own pumpkin carriage??

well,

just visit this Fantasy Pumpkin link

and you'll be off to the ball in no time!!

...W.W. ~ lavender bubbles

...dear dollie and I are doing the laundry on this White Wednesday ~
socks...
          towels...
sheets...

and dollies favorite ~

  white dresses!!

...we are ironing with white lavender linen spray ~

~well...

dollie is anyway!

she loves the smell of lavender

as she pulls her dresses over her head!

...I do too!!

dear dollie says that this is alot of work

and that she's going to take a nap!!

...I think I may join her ~

just NOT on the ironing board

...

although those socks DO look soft!

ha-ha!!

show us your "whites" over at Faded Charm's Cottage


here's to lavender bubbles and naps!

...today's post is brought to you by the letter R ~

...hello dear ones!!

aaahhh yes,

let's see

what can I say about 

the letter

R

...just look at it!

it has beautiful curves,

it sounds lovely rolling off of your tongue...

say it with me ~

rrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRR

see??

I told you!

isn't it simply a lovely letter??!

and

it most certainly does NOT have a thing to do

with it being MY first initial

no-sir-reee-bob!!

really!

It's today's posts sponsor!!

(say that 10 X's!)

~

continuing on...

I've been working in the studio this week

sketching some new designs,

designing some new shop tags

I really like how these paper rhinestone ex voto's turned out

ooohhhh....

sparkly!!

and I've been piecing vintage laces with strips of old satin wedding gowns,

creating a few lovely wrist cuffs...

I've also been playing around with

~ the blue chair ~

you know,

 the one I showed you last week...

well,

maybe after I show you the blue chair in these next few pictures

 you will have a different opinion on the reconstructing of the said blue chair!

hhhhuuuuuummmmm...

I don't know...

maybe I shouldn't reveal this

you may not like it...

it IS

KIND of

wellllllll.....

uuummmmmmm....

D-R-A-M-A-T-I-C

but..

this IS the kind of decorating that goes on

behind the lace curtain...

oh...

alright

here goes nothin`

may I present to you the

 "receiving chair"

hubby o` mine called it this

the night he walked through the front door

and saw it all put together and exclaimed

"Honey Bunns!"

(what? don't you have pet names that are only endearing if your love says them to you???!!)

anyhooo

he says to me ~

"Honey Bunns...is this your new chair for receiving visitors when they come for a visit????"

and I was thinking ~

smart *** how funny are you?!!

LOL!!!

well, this Marie Antoinette like backdrop did take a few days to construct

first,

there were the metal frames:

I picked them up for a song thrifting one day

they are from Italy and were a dark metal color

along with a gaudy gold shelf ~ with ROSES!!!!

until... 

I brought them home and took them apart.

Then sprayed them a creamy white!

This one is a picture of a lovely woman printed on silk.

I loved the texture

and her neck ruff!!

She was my inspiration and starting point for this whole

"receiving chair" backdrop!!

she is a little faded

but...

aren't we all??!!!

lol!!

these are the two smaller frames ~

I simply removed the pictures and glass

and replaced it with a few pieces of vintage lace

layed over some silk dupioni.

again

going for the texture...

I then added a few cream and blue tassels

and made frame collars out of coffee filters

and just hot glued these all the way around in the back until

I was happy with the fullness!

sometimes

I use coffee filters and cupcake liners

 whenever I'd like a little more body

 than tissue or crepe paper will give me

see how lovely a neck ruff and cupcake cuffs look made out of them on my Santos?

close up of her neck ruff... 

close up of her cupcake cuffs!!

I also sprayed the gaudy gold shelf

to put it all together ~

add in a-one lace panel

and

a-two beautiful silk dupoini panels

and

 a-three revamped metal frames

c-R-U-n-c-H!!

"yes, it takes three licks to get to the center of a lollipop"

HEY!!!!

Mr. Owl!

GET OUTTA` HERE!!

It's not time for a commercial break yet!!!

(I really don't like tootsie roll pops anyway!!!)

LOL!!!

ffeeeewwwwwwooooooooo

I think it was all the over spray from that creamy white spray paint!!!

now where was I???

Oh

yes

here

...the blue chair saga continues...

I really like how this drapes,

like the front of one of Marie's sumptuous dresses!

~

I do hope you enjoyed your visit today!

I've linked up with Debra's

Vintage Inspiration Friday

over at Common Ground

~

next week

I'll show you the side table ruffly treatment

and dear swanee's flower change!

ohhhh!

 I'm also putting together a special "happy 200th follower giveaway" surprise together

so stay tuned dear ones!!

and I'd love to hear your feedback ~

no

not about Mr. Owl

and the fact that you DO like tootsie pops

but

if this pertains to you

email me your address ~

and I'll send you AALLLLL of my tootsie pops from tricks or treats this year!

what's that?

you're wondering what I'm going to go as this year? 

(or maybe, you're wondering if I really go!!!LOL!!!)

ahhhh

do ya` think Mr. Owl magically deliciously got on this post by mistake??

no sillies!!

about the chair!!

I'm really leaning towards painting it a creamy white

and then covering it in a soft white linen...

but who knows...

that could all change again!!

here's to Marie's influence, coffee filters and the letter R!



...romantic notions ~

...loveliest of images

~ swirling around in my mind

...those beautious thoughts

~ being designed into studio creations

...while ethereal, melodious sounds of Loreena Mckennitt

~ seep through me...

~

here's to surrounding yourself with romance! 

I've linked up with ~ White Wednesday ~ at the Faded Charm Cottage!

...i've got butterflies ~ and the blues!

...hello dear ones

and happiest friday!!!

curious about what's behind the lace curtain today???

(I am!!!)

come on...

don't be shy

come in, come in!!

closer...

taaaaadaaaa!!!!!

here is my new blue chair.

well,

technically it is NOT new

but

it is blue

and velvet

and has carved roses on the top

I just love that detail

(hhhmmmm, I wonder why!!)

it has now officially been cleaned, steamed and placed into position...

right here!

when I spied it with my little eyes thrifting,

it had a halo around it...

no lie!!

and I was thinking

oh Rosemary, you most definately did NOT need

another chair...

but at the same time

OH! Rosemary ~ LOOK at that!!!!

ooohhhhh

aaaahhh

and I struggled with myself for all of about 5 minutes awhile

until someone else started eyeballin` it too...

and normally, dear readers,

when that happens,

I walk away and say allllll for you...

but

not that day!!!

not THAT chair!!

...

I also have the butterflies...

as I need to ask you

what YOU would do

if...

you were me ~

when I initially saw this blue chair,

I envisioned recovering it with burlap...

as it is all the rage right now

and

I do adore how it looks...

really I do!!

so, off to the fabric store I go...

 yah....`bout that.....

ok

here is the honest truth  ~

I can soooooooo

NOT

take the smell!!

could someone

p-l-e-a-s-e

tell me...how is that working in their home???

that ~

and it is

sooooooooooo

scratchy on my legs, and arms!!! 

well,

I will not be defeated now!!

so I hunted....

...and hunted

and I'm pretty sure the ladies at the fabric store thought I was the new security guard

as no fabric bolt was left unturned!!!!

but

I am happy to report ~ 

that I did find an alternative that I can be happy with

(and so can my nose and legs!!)

It is a linen toile de jouy

with the same blue color on the chair...

and an elegant lady feeding

are you ready for this???

A SWAN!!!!

I absolutely adore swans, and have many of these

oh-so-elegant creatures in my home

...fake ones of course!!

although, on my farm someday

I'd love a little pond with a few floating around!!

(focus Rosemary!!)

anyhoooo ~

I'm flounderin` like a fish out of water on this dilemma...

and need a different perspective.

that's where YOU come in!

I value your opinions

soooo...

here it is ~

do I strip it all off and burlap and stencil a french image?

or

do I strip it all, and paint the wood a creamy white and cover it with the toile linen?

or

not paint it and cover with toile

or  

....

or

....

HHHHHHEEEEEELLLLLPPPP!!!!!!

I'll just be over here...

sitting in my blue chair...

floating in the possibilities!!

...here's to friends like you, and vintage blue chairs and butterflies!!!

I've linked up to Vintage Inspiration Friday

at: Common Ground