Evoking November

November is a very special month...

It is a time for being thankful.

It is the month in which I was born...

and my son was born.

November means crisp autumn nights and auburn morning skies...

time spent indoors curled up in a blanket or someone else's arms

It is a time for pumpkin spice lattes and new york times best sellers...

of classic movies and late night scrabble games by the fire.  

It evokes the true sense of home...warm and serene

and the true sense of family...comraderie and love.

May November be just as magical for you.

(I should give credit to all of the images above as not one of them are mine-but I have no idea from which blog or website that I took them.  I just thought that they were so beautiful together.  I will try to find the sources again and post them in a later post.  The third image is from the Ralph Lauren Home website.  Please forgive me producers of these photographs and thank you for allowing me to share them.)  

Posh Pumpkins

Since pumpkins are the premier vegetable...or is it the premier fruit...

for the early autumn season

(Google even expresses some question as to which it is-which thankfully makes me feel a little less stupid for not knowing)

-and-

because they are a wonderful ingredient for pumpkin chocolate chip muffins

(go here for a scrumdiddlyumptious pumpkin chocolate chip muffin recipe)

-and-

because whether cinderella, jack-o-lantern or jack-be-littles...

all pumpkins make great decorative accessories

(go here to find out about all the different types of pumpkins-there are so many!)

-and-

are you still with me?

because I seemed to have acquired so many pictures of them..

I thought that this would be the perfect pumpkin post for this cool but lovely

October day.

I created my own version of the pumpkin display above

I will display some photos of my version later.

Please come again.

It's a Scary Subject

Halloween is drawing near...

...so is my desire to decorate for the season.

However-the season always seems to disappear 

before 

I have as much as a black wreath on the door or a skeleton in the window.  

I think that is why I adore 

gathering and glaring at photographs of other's Halloween decorations.

They make me feel as though I am there-

in the spooky spirit and haunted happiness 

of Halloween.

Simone Lagies

-the imaginative lady who evoked these eerie images-

certainly brings out the ghostly gawker in me ;-)

(All photos above except the skeleton hello and black crepe wreath 

were published in Better Homes and Gardens October 2007 issue. 

Skeleton hello is from a current catalog whose name I cannot remember because I tore it out without noting it..oops.

The black crepe paper wreath is from Family Circle magazine)

May you be enchanted too.

Nest Nostalgia

It seems that before I got married my house was just a little cleaner

 (who am I kidding it was a heck of a lot cleaner ;-)

and...a little more organized.

I miss that.

These photographs are from the house that I lived in pre-wedding vows.  

Seems like everything appears cleaner and more organized with a white canvas

hmm...I wonder if that would work in my sons' rooms ;-)

I thought these photos were appropriate for White Wednesday-so I am linking on up!

Inspiration via Organization

If a clean closet is a sign of a clear mind...

 then I am on my way to one crystal clear mind ;-)

I have been wanting to create a craft/office space in our basement closet 

for quite some time now.

Just recently...

 I decided to begin by clearing out the boxes and boxes 

of home decorating magazines

 that I have amassed through the years.

Every morning

I set the alarm 10 minutes earlier.

I shuffle to the kitchen to start the morning brew-

then I scuttle down the stairs to choose just the right magazine.

The next few minutes are bliss.

I sit at the kitchen island-

sipping my morning sustenance 

(usually a vanilla sustenance although fall puts me in the mood for something more like pumpkin spice)

and sift slowly through the pages.

While admiring all of the glorious photographs-

I choose some favorites and tear them out.

(storing pages is a lot less space consuming than boxes full of magazines). 

Not only is it a wonderful way to begin the day

-fully inspired-

and an efficient way to solve my storage issue-

It allows me to share my inspiration with you.

Now it is off to indulge in a little evening sustenance...

Good evening wherever you are.

Photographs courtesy of House Beautiful, Country Home and Traditional Home