cottage – Cottage Green on the Lake

Thanksgiving Tablescape…Tips for Styling & Setting a Stunning Tablescape

“Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer.” Maya Angelou

Yesterday was a very special day in The United States of America…a holiday aptly named “Thanksgiving.” Thanksgiving is celebrated every year in America on the fourth Thursday in November. It’s the day we set aside to thank the Lord for all He has blessed us with and brought us through in the past year…a grand day celebrated with feasting, family, and friends!

Today, I’m going to show you how I decorated our Thanksgiving table and give you some tips that will help you style your own table beautifully for any occasion.

How to Make Succulent Arrangements…Summer Project in the Greenhouse

During these hot, summer months this garden project allows you to “get your hands in the dirt” without much exertion…and even if you don’t feel like you “have a green thumb” you’ll find making these succulent arrangements, easy and rewarding.

There’s something satisfying about getting your hands in the soil.”

~ E. A. Bucchianeri

Setting a Cozy Winter Tablescape and Decorating the Mantle

Our kitchen nook glowed invitingly, with winter weather just a windowpane away…

Setting a cozy winter tablescape and decorating a mantle that brims with rustic charm and elegance is easy using a cozy plaid, a fir swag, and a variety of different sized candlesticks, silver pieces, and crystal.

Creating an Outdoor Centerpiece for Thanksgiving

Today was another beautiful November day and the perfect day for assembling a centerpiece for our outside table. The centerpiece splays across the table and is made up of “twig-ery and poke-ery” and other autumn finery, and candlelight twinkles over the tabletop. An outside dining area easily becomes an extension of your living area and an enchanting way to beckon company outside.

Making Homemade Potpourri & Afternoon Tea…in the Cottage Greenhouse

…my warm, little hovel filled with plants, garden tools, baskets, old paintings, antique glassware, forgotten bird nests, flower frogs, and lichen covered bark, would be a delightful place for mixing potpourri.

In my last post I wrote about the charming nook, a “flower apothecary” of sorts that I created in our cottage greenhouse. (click here to read)
Since then, I’ve been stirring up all kinds of mixtures and potpourris made from dried rosebuds, daisy petals, lavender, vanilla, jasmine, and other fragrant flowers and scents.

In the Cottage Greenhouse…Setting Up a Flower Apothecary

As I looked around the greenhouse, my idea began to grow; my warm, little hovel filled with plants, paintings, antique glassware, forgotten bird nests, flower frogs, and lichen covered bark, would be a delightful place for mixing potpourri…an apothecary of sorts.

During this time of the year, “all is calm, all is quiet” on the lake and it’s a lovely time of year for playing in the cottage greenhouse. Not only did my plants need watering, but I had come out to the greenhouse to check on the roses and statice I’d left hanging upside down from the greenhouse rafters to dry.

Antique & Flea Market Finds

Last year after I wrote about our antique and flea market trips, many of you wrote in the comment section and in letters, that you enjoyed reading about our shopping trips and seeing the treasures we found. We’ve been on several shopping adventures since then and I’ve been saving some of my favorite finds to share with you!

I like adventures, and I’m going to find some.
Louisa May Alcott

Cottage Green on the Lake…Summer Re-Cap 2023

..this was wild and beautiful, unlike the beaches of Florida we were accustomed to seeing. We drove down lanes covered with sand, past groves of orange trees in sunny fields, then our pathway would wind back under the shade of trees covered with moss. I was amazed to see beautiful palmetto palms and ferns growing wild everywhere I looked. The writer within me loved the mystic appeal and charm of it all.

Our summer days are always so busy, I never seem to get a chance to write on my blog until the new school year has begun. Today, before I can embrace September and begin writing about all things autumn, I’m writing about our summer. Wanderlust and floating on the lake days…watermelon and homemade ice cream days…lots of red, white, and blue days…hammock and firework days…sandy toes and sunburned nose days. Summer days that were forged in a blaze of heat that faded into sultry evenings and the beautiful blue of twilight would descend upon the lake and the fireflies would flick on, one by one.

Ah, but after sundown, that’s when those brilliant flirts, the fireflies come out.
Vivian Swift

Part 2 Spring in the Cottage Greenhouse…DIY Whimsical Spring Arrangements

…the wild iris kept waving and beckoning me to come over. Finally, worn down by their flirting and persistence, I stopped working and went into the cottage greenhouse to fetch my trowel.

Dainty wood violets, wild irises, perky daffodils, fragrant hyacinth’s, azaleas in all shades of pink, creamy white Lady Banks roses, and woodland ferns are making their spring debut at Cottage Green!

Getting Ready for Halloween…DIY “Not So Spooky” Halloween Wreath

It’s almost Halloween, and this week I’m getting ready for our family’s traditional chili fest…always a fun, pumpkin filled evening with lots to eat, and festive treats. Our dinner menu for this special evening is always the same…steamy bowls filled with Chili con Carne served alongside a topping bar, a large salad, and a crockpot filled with delicious Pumpkin Spice Latte. No tricks are allowed, but it’s, “all about the treats” for the grandchildren. There will be Candy Corn Sugar Cookies and Harvest Moon Pies. For the adults, there’s cheesecake covered in a caramel and toffee drizzle, and for toasting, later, there’s Ghost Peep S’mores…all treats worthy of a night reserved for goosebumps and thrills.

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	Thanksgiving...Tips… on Autumn Dinner … Smoked S…

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