Spring Cleaning and Cottage Decorating

by Trenda

For the last two weeks we have been cleaning out landscape beds, training wandering Wisteria along trellises … and raking, raking, raking! With our beautiful shade trees, there are a LOT of leaves! (: This mountain of leaves is just one our many heaps we burned from the gigantic pile of leaves Richard raked up! With all the debris we cleaned up, it’s hard to believe this is just the “remnants” or leftovers, after all our autumn raking! After our day of work, we sat in the twilight and enjoyed watching the last embers glowing … gazing as the last visage of our winter went up in smoke!

Inside the cottage … spring cleaning and decorating continues. (: I love this time of year and bring out my collections of birds and little nests filled with eggs. You can find them perching in unexpected places, peeking out of nooks and crannies, and on tabletop vignette’s.

A Saucer Magnolia swag drapes over the hall tree …

A little nest nestles at the base of this Angel garden statuary …

Down the staircase is a favorite picture … “The Lord is my Shepherd” and a metal vase filled with fragrant eucalyptus and peacock feathers.

A little alcove under the hall tree … another perfect nesting spot!

“Bird watching” (; … this vertigo green bird blends beautifully with the green shades of this collection of antique dishes from England.

Antique dishes on the lower deck … “The Old Curiosity Shop” by Currier and Ives.

A nest entwined with spring buds and new leaves is perched on a miniature bird bath filled with millet.

Little birds stand guard on a cake plate watching over two sweet eggs nestled on a bed of moss. A mercury glass bird and a fairy tale toadstool look charming together, sheltered under the glass canopy.

A blown glass cloche with a bird “finial” covers a little nest holding a glittered acorn.

A silver bird perches on the edge of his nest … the perfect cache for a little treat of birdseed! (; The color of the millet matches the hues in the painting above and the in-laid wood of the tea cart.

A beautiful azalea from our own front yard almost “glows” in an antique bird planter. Under a “twiggy” lamp with a little wire nest ensconced in it’s branches, a cloche covers a pair of sweet owls and a moss-lined nest filled with speckled eggs.

The dusty red blossomed “trumpets” of Crossvine cover our fence and are climbing over an antique variety of Boxwood growing nearby. The buzzing bumblebees and bright blossoms seem to proclaim …

“WELCOME SPRING…!”

“FLOWERS APPEAR ON THE EARTH: THE SEASON OF SINGING HAS COME. THE COOING OF DOVES IS HEARD IN OUR LAND. THE FIG TREE FORMS ITS EARLY FRUIT; THE BLOSSOMING VINES SPREAD THEIR FRAGRANCE.” SONG OF SOLOMON 2:12-13

From my cottage to yours ~ Trenda

Thank you for spending some time with me today! Please click on the box marked FOLLOW in my blog above to have each new post delivered directly to your e-mail address. I’m joining Chloe Crabtree with Celebrate & Decorate (click here) and Lynn from The Vintage Nest (click here) for other great decorating ideas and DIY projects!

Cottage Decorating for Valentine’s Day, Romance and Spring …

by Trenda

After seeing the first coral blossoms on a Flowering Quince … a row of blooming daffodils … and a bluebird in our backyard hunting for a nesting spot, it’s time for the interior decor of our cottage to shrug out of it’s winter garments and get “dressed” for Valentine’s Day, Romance and Spring!

My decorating transformation began on our mantle … using a collection of blue and white porcelain pieces … a favorite over-sized clock with a Carolina Wren painted on it’s face … and two matching crystal decanters (bought near the Czech border) and serving as bookends on either end of the mantle. Then I took a swag that was covered with roses and eucalyptus and wove two strands of twinkle lights between the flowers – to add a little glimmer and magic (; before draping the swag across the mantle. I tucked in a few more grape clusters and moss covered bird nests “here and there” for additional cuteness!

A bird stands near his nest amidst the delightful setting of roses. A stack of gardening books is a base for a collection of blue and white porcelain pieces and a Delft Ginger jar bought and brought all the way from Holland!

Atop a porcelain box and tucked at the base of the clock are little nests filled with ferns, prickly statice, Scottish heather, and green speckled eggs.

Large Ginger Jars in blue and white porcelain.

I love the patina of this mirror! It used to be a gaudy-gold until Richard and I painted the entire mirror frame with white paint. After it dried, we “distressed” the surface with sand paper to let a little bit of the gold “peek through.” Now, it’s “one of my favorite things” and one of our keepsakes – it’s been with us since we bought our first home! (P.S. I love this picture showing the beautiful patina of our mirror and the reflection of our dining room chandelier and our kitchen in the background.)

Now, for the hearth! Same colors and spring mood are reflected in both the mantle and hearth. More blue and white porcelain and the “outside is brought in” with a green wreath bursting with white blossoms and sheltering an intricate obelisk.

A tiny birdbath is filled with mossy stones and more speckled eggs … a chunky white urn holds a white gardenia on a bed of moss … and two antique books serve as a base and staircase to a blue and white peacock plate. I love the blue and green book on the top of the stack; everything about is darling! … from it’s jacket covered in dainty flowers and blue and green striping, the green oval “cameo” of a ladies profile encircled in gold, and it’s charming title … Haps and Mishaps Blackberry Jam ❤

Well, here in East Texas, the ground hog did not see his shadow. It was 80 degrees today with warm weather predicted for the next 10 days! Here on the lake it definitely “feels like” spring and adding to my list and sighting’s of spring harbinger’s … today I saw Saucer Magnolia blooming … a beautiful red-violet blossom unfolding on my Encore Azalea … and my White Lady Banks Rose Bush is covered in buds!

From my cottage to yours ~ Trenda

I’m delighted you read my blog today! Please click on FOLLOW in the post above or on my site cottagegreenonthelake.com to have all posts delivered directly to your email address. If you have any questions or comments, please leave those in the COMMENT section! (:

Romantic Valentine Table for Two

~ written by Trenda

On a day celebrating L-O-V-E, there’s no limit to the amount of lace, flowers, hearts, or pink I use in setting and decorating our table for Valentine’s Day. Richard and I begin our celebration of Valentine’s Day on February 13th and go out that evening for a special dinner. Then, the next morning I make omelettes and “Berry Sweet Valentine’s” (recipe and pictures in a subsequent post!) and later “when twilight descends and evening begins” we have a lovely dinner seated at a romantic “table for 2” at our favorite “getaway” … Cottage Green on the Lake! (;

A little table right next to the fireplace seems like the perfect spot for our Valentine reservation with the coziness of a fire, the glimmer of twinkle lights and the romance of candles.

Nestled next to the fireplace, I wanted our Valentine table to blend in and be a part of the little nook and romantic backdrop I decorated and wrote about in my last post. (click here to see) I love the way the mantle decorations look like they’ve tumbled over onto the table!

The whimsical piece that visually ties the mantle and table together is a cement statue of “Cupid.” The same roses, eucalyptus and twinkle lights I used on the mantle, wrap around the base of the angel, entwine the statuary and encircle his wings.

For our dinnerware, I chose Kaiser Porcelain in the Marseille pattern that we bought when we lived in Germany; it’s a fine porcelain china and the white background trimmed with pink floral garlands and rosebuds is named “Romantica” and seemed the perfect choice for a day all about hearts and flowers!

I love these white scalloped plates with their painted garlands and rosebuds and the Valentine look of the pink, doily-like charger beneath each plate. White napkins with a bit of crocheted lace and a sweet pink flower and Kaiser Porcelain roses are scattered about the table and adorn each place setting.

Crystal “King Edward” Waterford glasses and pink blush stemware.

The King Midas touch … gold chargers and goldware add “gleam” to each place setting.

The drape of roses, eucalyptus, grape clusters and twinkle lights adorning the mantle and Cupid, adds subtle lighting and enchantment to the table.

Ready and waiting for a party of two … our Valentine table is set. All that is needed is to light the fireplace and as Neil Diamond sings, it’s time to … “Turn down the lights. Turn up the music. Let’s just be together tonight. And turn down the lights.” ❤

“Love is patient, love is kind …”

From my cottage to yours ~ Trend

I’m delighted you read my Blog today! Please click on FOLLOW in my post above or FOLLOW on my site: cottagegreenonthelake.com to have all Cottage Green on the Lake news delivered directly to your email address. If you have any questions or comments, please leave those in the COMMENT section! For some other great ideas, please join me (click here) for “Share Your Style Link Party #104 with host Lisa from Feathering My Empty Nest.

Lakeside Picnic and Recipe for Stuffed Pepper Soup …

by Trenda

I already have “spring fever!” I “caught it” from the birds who have been “twittering and flitting about” hunting for the perfect place to raise their little families! (: Friday and Saturday were “zip-a-dee-do-dah” days with spring-like temperature’s … “My oh, my, what a wonderful day” … and taking our cue from the birds, we took advantage of our warm day with …”Plenty of sunshine headin’ my way” and worked outside and enjoyed a picnic by the lake.

Welcome to our lakeside picnic! Everything always tastes better when dining al fresco (: and our lunch of Turkey & Swiss Wraps with roasted red peppers, Red Delicious Apples and spiced tea, was no exception!

After our picnic we were “energized” … we sat a little while longer, enjoying the sunshine and the day then we were ready to get back to work. By late afternoon the wind started picking up and the water started getting choppy.

Dark blue-gray clouds began rolling in …

And we began to hear rumbles of thunder, as we hurried to finish our work …

We finished … just in time with thunder distinctively warning us to get inside, as the first raindrops began to fall!

Later … feeling cozy and clean and hearing the gusty wind and the sound of the waves crashing against our retaining wall, our “gift” of a spring day in January was over and our stormy night seemed the perfect time for some homemade soup … Stuffed Pepper Soup.

Stuffed Pepper Soup Recipe …

Later, as I drifted off to sleep, the last lines of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, “Under A Spreading Chestnut Tree” came to mind.

“… Each morning sees some task begin,

Each evening sees it close;

Something attempted, something done,

Has earned a night’s repose.”

From my cottage to yours ~ Trenda

I would love to read any comments or questions you may have!

Texas-style Winter and the last of Thanksgiving … Recipe for Delicious Thanksgiving Soup

Trenda

It has been another delightful autumn here in East Texas but today’s temperature never “got out of” the 30’s and tonight, December 8th, we are finally expected to have our first freeze! Fall is certainly a Southerner’s reward for surviving summer!

Just a peek at Cottage Green on the Lake during the winter … 4the seasons!

Presuming it will freeze tonight, I gazed a little sadly at our still blooming Encore azaleas, roses, begonias, impatiens, coleus, and ferns. However, Richard (forever surprising me) brought in one last winter rosebud he found blooming in our yard, put it in an antique vase that belonged to my grandmother, and set it on my vanity, where I happily discovered “it” after I showered! (imagine a picture of a heart, here!)

Getting ready for “winter-on-the-lake” comes with a long to-do list … filling bird feeders, decorating the outside of the house with Christmas decorations, putting the potted begonias and impatiens away in their winter residence -our cedar greenhouse (: and last, covering the boat and draining our sprinkler system (which our son came over and helped his father with. PLUS … he also helped his father with our latest DIY project, the remodeling of our upstairs bathroom (pictures upon completion!)

Winter Twilight on the Lake …

Thanksgiving Soup …

A delicious and easy soup that is made with Thanksgiving leftovers! After enjoying our Thanksgiving leftovers for several meals, one of the simplest things we enjoy is making a big pot of comforting soup that uses all the “bits and pieces”still left from our Thanksgiving.

Instructions:

(So simple and delicious!) In a Dutch Oven, add the last of your Thanksgiving leftovers. (You’ll want to add only those leftovers whose flavors will compliment each other, when combined … no dill pickles from the relish tray or pumpkin pie!) The leftovers I had which blended perfectly together were … dressing, a little turkey gravy, squash casserole, some leftover Rotel and Velvetta cheese dip (from football snacks!) and some turkey, I diced into smaller pieces. To this mixture I added 6 cups of water and 6 teaspoons of dried chicken bouillon granules, stirring to mix. Turn heat to high, until broth boils, then add uncooked pasta (I used 8 oz. from a 1 lb.box of Fideo Spaghetti.) Return to boil, then lower heat “to simmer” until pasta is done. That’s it! Ladle soup into bowls and top with grated mild cheese and buttered breadcrumbs (leftover from my squash casserole!) Delicious! My husband and son had 2 bowls!

I ladled our soup into these favorite Fitz & Floyd “Tis the Season” mugs. These mugs are “jumbo size” and hold 4 cups of liquid, each! Since they are so large, I only filled each mug, half full, topped with grated cheese and buttered bread crumbs

Wherever you are while reading this, I hope … you are nice and warm … have lots of sweet birdies twittering around your bird feeders … a pot of soup is simmering on your stove, beautiful Christmas carols are playing in the background!

From my cottage to yours ~ Trenda

matthew

A Woodland Christmas Tablescape

by Trenda

“Christmas in the Woods” ~ by Frances Frost

Tonight when the hoar frost falls on the wood,

And the rabbit cowers, and the squirrel is cold,

And the horned owl huddles against a star,

And the drifts are deep, and the year is old,

All shy creatures will think of Him.

The shivering mouse, the hare, the wild young fox,

The doe with the startled fawn,

Will dream of gentleness and a Child:

The buck with budding horns will turn

His starry eyes to a silver hill tonight,

The chipmunk will awake and stir

And leave his burrow for the chill, dark midnight,

And all timid things will pause and sigh, and sighing, bless

That Child who loves the trembling hearts,

The shy hearts of the wilderness.

Thinking of this sweet poem, I created a tablescape that is a little forest haven where woodland creatures … The shivering mouse, the hare, the wild young fox (: can gather among snow sprinkled bird nests, glimmering candlelight, and fir trees.

woodland collage.png

In keeping with the woodland theme, deep green “forest” plates, bought from Pier 1 years ago have embossed edges of leaves and are resting on a “snowy bank” of Battenbug lace place mats … a surprise gift Richard bought for me from a little boutique, aptly named “Waldenwood.”

I love the juxtaposition of this rustic twig basket lined with the white luxurious Battenburg lace and filled with silver cutlery … an enchanting and charming caddy for a woodland picnic!

Christmas fantasies are easily imagined while dining among this forest scene; a woodland “critter” perches at each place setting, lace napkins are tied with red and green plaid ribbon and are adorned with glass pinecone ornaments (a favor your guests can take home in remembrance of their picnic amidst the woods!) and individual salt cellars are placed at each setting for a “light dusting” of seasoning.

Look at these darling, tiny, sterling silver, salt cellar spoons! I love using these “fairy spoons” and it feels so elegant adding salt in this old-fashioned and queenly way!

Each crystal salt cellar is as unique as the pattern of the spoons; I can never decide which is my favorite! The larger cellar is used for pepper and is placed on the table where several people can share it.

Well, my woodland table is ready and set but before decorating any more I am going to “O bed! O bed! Delicious bed … that heaven on earth to the weary head.” ~ Thomas Hood

And as I nestle down in my feathered nest, I’ll close my eyes and I … “will pause and sigh, and sighing, bless … That Child who loves the trembling hearts.”

Have a blessed week while you are busy preparing for … the birthday of the King!

From my cottage to yours ~ Trenda

I’d love to hear from you! Please leave any questions or comments, below.

Come join me on a Christmas Blog Hop “Celebrate #55” with hostess’ Chloe Crabtree from Celebrate and Decorate and Sandra from Sweet Sensations for more Christmas tablescapes.

Our Week of Thanks-giving

by Trenda

After all the shopping, decorating, cleaning, and cooking … I hope your Thanksgiving was everything you hoped it would be!

For us … it was a wonderful, blessed week of our family “gathering together” again. Days of mishaps and bruises … laughter and tears … “simmer’s” and smiles … indulgences and exceptions … understanding and camaraderie – all experienced with the blessed assurance that the emotions and remembrances shared were sheltered under the wonderful umbrella of Love … the halcyon days of our family!

Beautiful autumn days …

Park days & pizza …

crafts with Grandma …

A day at the zoo!

Feasting and football …

golf cart rides … grandkid-time … and late night snuggles!

and during it all … I was Thanks-giving! (:

““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““

Next … (: I know you’re going to love this recipe I’ve included below! It is one of my family’s favorite side dishes … Apple-Cranberry Salad and it is delicious, beautifully showy, and it is so easy to make! I found this recipe years ago in the Gooseberry Patch Cookbook “Taste of Autumn” which was submitted by Carla Hyde from Fletcher, North Carolina.

I’m always collecting vintage dishes and planters and I love using them in unexpected ways in my home and on the table. This ruby colored salad is always the “crown jewel” setting on the table, but I think it looks especially beautiful in this petite Carnival Glass Punch Bowl that I was thrilled to find in an antique store, complete with 5 darling punch cups!

Apple-Cranberry Salad

6-oz. pkg. of red colored gelatin (I use cherry)
1 cup boiling water
16-oz. can whole cranberry sauce
16-oz. can crushed pineapple
1 red apple, cored and diced
1/4 cup chopped nuts (I use pecans and add more to taste!)
1/4 cup golden raisins (I omit these)

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Add cranberry sauce and stir until berries are separated. Add remaining ingredients; chill until set. Makes 12 servings.

What a blessing it was to be “gathered together” once again …. “to ask the Lord’s blessing; He chastens and hastens His will to make known; The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing; Sing praises to His Name, He forgets not His own.” ~ Adrianus Valerius, 1597

From my cottage to yours ~ Trenda

I am delighted that you read my blog, today. I’d love to hear from you! Please leave any questions or comments you have, below.

Part 2 – A “Welcome Home” for Thanksgiving

by Trenda

Anticipating and looking forward to our family coming home next week, I love decorating and creating a “welcome home” for each dear person that will be here for Thanksgiving. Last week our “welcome home” to Thanksgiving began with decorating the front door. Today, we’re going to take a peek behind the front door.

As you walk in our front door the first thing you see is our antique buffet. It’s a beautiful piece of furniture; I was giddy when I found it hidden away in a dark corner in an antique store in Tyler. (: The interior cabinets and drawers are as beautiful as the outside and sometimes I imagine the buffet’s “past life” … and different hands than mine putting away carefully stitched napkins and tablecloths, or special Christmas dishes, into it’s confines.

Come on in! I’m so glad you’re here! (: On Thanksgiving, all desserts and pies are displayed out on the buffet; it’s a tantalizing spread for everyone who enters!

The buffet is filled with autumn’s bounty and has a woodland feel with birch pillar candles, squirrels posing on oak leaves or peering into logs, little nests filled with acorns, and perching birds near their feeders! A beautiful Fitz and Floyd harvest platter and charming squirrel dish.

The Friendly Village dishes by Johnson Brothers are ready on chargers for the Thanksgiving tablescape and another stack of dessert plates are stacked on a plate server ready to be loaded with everything delicious!

Woodland friends …

A favorite “souvenir” from a vacation spent in Italy … an inlaid wooden tea cart is stacked and ready to stand-in as a portable side table. The tea cart is filled with necessary items for the feast … plus a few additional items for a little “glitz and glow!”(:

Below … more Johnson Brothers Friendly Village dishes, a turkey platter, a stack of antique silver “nut” trays, a crystal biscuit barrel and a silver coffee service.

Our fireplace is questionably (since it has to compete with the view outside!) the focal point of our living room … and is all “decked out” for Thanksgiving.

Harvest has “spilled out” onto the mantle with pumpkins, clusters of grapes, bittersweet, and walnuts all accenting an autumn swag.

Our “Beau” Pilgrim (I told you we like to name things around here!) made by Fitz and Floyd resides over the Mantle Harvest and has his own thanksgiving offerings … some maize and a pumpkin, in his hands.

A Thanksgiving wreath (DIY instructions in a subsequent post!) trimmed with a bow and ribbon that says … Count Your Blessings, Fall Harvest, Thanksgiving Tradition, and Give Thanks.

Before I have the fun of setting our table for Thanksgiving, I keep a simple setting on the table with all the essentials needed for an cozy autumn meal enjoyed with any friends and family that arrive before “the day.” A part of the tablescape and ready to disperse are … a stack of Villeroy & Boch (design Naif) dinnerware, napkins encircled with mini grapevine wreaths (click here for instructions for DIY Autumn napkin rings) silverware in a ginger jar, etched glasses, and a creamer and sugar bowl for after-dinner coffee.

Gorgeous view beyond the window … twilight on the lake.

An autumn ginger jar holds silverware …

I love these etched glasses from Germany and they are particularly enchanting when filled with ambrosia or holding a miniature compote …

Little pumpkin showcased under a cloche …

Looking around, I love how our “Cottage Green” looks festive and says “welcome home” to all for Thanksgiving. Now, I have to get to the shopping, cleaning, and cooking done!!! But, like the ribbon on the wreath says … during this “Thanksgiving Tradition” and the blessing of our “Fall Harvest” … “Count Your Blessings” and “Give Thanks.”

From my cottage to yours ~ Trenda

Thank you so much for spending some time with me today! I’d love to hear from you and I am truly delighted reading what you have to say. Please leave any questions you may have or comments, below. Don’t be dismayed if you don’t see your comment “appear” right away. Word Press checks everything I receive for SPAM and all have to be approved, before posting.

Scarecrow Themed Tablescape – perfect for autumn get-together’s … plus DIY paper favor cones

by Trenda

This fun scarecrow-themed table sets the playful mood for any of your autumn get-together’s, wiener roasts, or autumn evenings spent around the bonfire, toasting s’mores! While I set my “scarecrow table” the scarecrow’s song from “The Wizard of Oz” kept going through my mind! The scarecrow’s lament (sigh!) was that his head was stuffed with straw. If he only had a brain, he stated “Oh, I — could tell you why –the ocean meets the shore. I could tell you things I’d never thought before — and then I’d sit — and think some more!” (:

Keeping with the theme of the scarecrow and his “patched” clothes, I covered my table with a “patchwork” quilt that a dear neighbor made and gave to me, set the table with cheerful Fiestaware, and tucked cutlery into a bright basket make of straw (: Look at these cute paper favor cones! They are so easy to make and … simply using different paper and trimmings, can be used for so many different occasions!

To make these favor cones, I chose stock paper in bright harvest colors (I bought mine in a packet at Hobby Lobby) Roll the colored sheet of paper to form a cone and glue the edge down with white craft glue. I used a hole puncher to punch 1 hole on either side of the glued edge and knotted different colors of raffia to trim my colorful paper cones (line favor cones with parchment paper and fill with candied popcorn or pumpkin flavored Chex mix! (click here for pumpkin-spice Chex mix recipe) The raffia replicates the look of the straw stuffing of the scarecrows, but it is actually a product of the native Raffia Palm Trees, from the tropical areas of Africa!

Generous sized napkins with frayed edges (like the tattered clothes of the scarecrow!) are slipped into my DIY mini-grapevine napkin rings (click here for DIY autumn napkin rings) and have a charming little scarecrow adornment, tucked among the layers of napkin. Remember the cute DIY autumn drink markers we learned how to make? See where I have clipped them around the base of each stemmed glass to add some seasonal flair to my autumn setting. (Click here for DIY Autumn Leaf Drink Markers)

The centerpiece is just a collection of different sized scarecrows gathered together to ward off any unwanted “critters” that might want to attend the party! (;

If the weather cooperates, our tabletop of scarecrows will be presiding over a wiener roast and a tray full of these individualized s’more packets! (Click here for printable S’more labels)

As I finish this post, I’m still humming the scarecrow’s song from “The Wizard of Oz” and I have to smile as I remember his last words … “with the thoughts I’d be thinkin’ I’d become another Lincoln, if I only had a brain …” (:

“Hope You Have A … ” by Trenda

wonderful weekend!

From my cottage to yours ~ Trenda

Thank you so much for spending some time with me today! I’d love to hear from you and I am truly delighted, reading what you have to say. Please leave any questions you may have or comments, below. Don’t be dismayed if you don’t see your comment “appear” right away. Word Press checks everything I receive for SPAM and all have to be approved, before posting.

A “Welcome Home” … for Thanksgiving

by Trenda at Cottage Green on the Lake

The slow progression of autumn here in East Texas has suddenly quickened and the sights and sounds of the season have become tangible. The crickets are softly droning (a decrescendo to their summer song!) as they sing their final chorus … there is a hush in the air that is marked by a distant caw of a crow or the occasional rustle of leaves as an acorn descends through the branches … a muffled “plop” heard, when it hits the ground … and the leaves of our Ash tree, that drape over the lake, are transforming into a beautiful shade of yellow.

The view beyond our windows reminds us that the “season” of Thanksgiving is upon us, though, like Thoreau … “I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.”

As I “dress” our home and get it ready for the holidays, I am going to start with our front door … it is the first thing that welcomes and greets our family and friends when they visit. The front door sets the stage of what people can “expect” to find inside your home and should be a reflection of the warmth and welcome you want to portray within your home.

I began decorating our door by hanging this beautiful wreath that a dear friend of mine made. Then I took a bundle of wrapped grapevine (I bought mine at Hobby Lobby in the section where grapevine wreaths are hanging) and cut the coil of grapevine in half with wire cutters – this gave me 2 sections of grapevine for each side of the door. After cutting the 2 sections, I pulled the grapevine to loosen the taut coils. My husband hammered nails into our door frame for me to impale the grapevine on. At the base of the door, where the tension was greatest, I added a pipe cleaner and wrapped the grapevine around the nail, using the pipe cleaner to firmly hold the grapevine to the door frame.

Then I began inserting leaves that I cut from an autumn swag into the twigs of the grapevine. I also wired some pumpkins, squash, and chrysanthemums to the grapevine to add interest and fullness … but left enough of the grapevine bare, so it wouldn’t become too “visually heavy” or overbearing.

I placed a pumpkin (leftover from Halloween!) next to this quaint basket that I found years ago. I’ve always thought the wooden duck looked
“right at home” here at the lake and it is always handy, near our front door and holds walking sticks, any dripping umbrellas, and a fragrant “bouquet” of eucalyptus. Tip: Eucalyptus makes the entry to your home smell wonderful, and it is also a natural deterrent for spiders!

Mr. and Mrs. Pilgrim greet all Thanksgiving visitors. (: We ARE … grateful, thankful, blessed!

Our deck has several built into benches and on this one, next to the front door, I’ve “tipped my hat” to the season and added a little whimsy with these 2 Pilgrim door greeters! I love this chalkboard a friend made for me, with it’s rustic look and cedar framework; I use it all the time … “4theseasons” to write holiday messages on, or for keeping track of horseshoe scores! (:

I hope these ideas will help you and that you’ll have fun creating and making your entryway and door a “welcome home” for Thanksgiving!

“I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.”

“In everything give thanks.”

From my cottage to yours ~ Trenda

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