Silver Dollar City – Cottage Green on the Lake

Thanksgiving Ideas, Tablescapes, Decorating Tips, DIY Projects and Recipes plus … Autumn in the Ozarks

I’ve gathered an assortment of Thanksgiving ideas, decorating tips, recipes, tablescapes, centerpieces, and DIY projects from “Thanksgiving’s Past” at Cottage Green. For the full instructions and details about each, click on the highlighted links. I am so sorry, some of these older pictures are really “grainy” and are not very clear.

A Welcome Home for Thanksgiving has some ideas on how to “dress up” your front porch and a simple DIY project using grapevine around your front door frame.

Click on Easy Thanksgiving Centerpiece for one of my favorite ways to create a centerpiece. It assembles in minutes!

Here’s an easy appetizer to enjoy while awaiting the feast Easy Caramel Toffee Cream Cheese Dessert Dip served with apples. It’s harder to say than it is to put together! (;

Decadent ruby red Apple Cranberry Salad is the perfect mixture of cranberry tartness mixed with the sweet fillings of jello, pineapple, crispy apples and pecan pieces.

Click on autumn-napkin-rings for these charming, grapevine napkin rings. The silk autumn leaves and sprig of bittersweet brighten each table setting and they are so easy to make!

An Autumn Tablescape gives tips and how to’s for creating your own beautiful table for Thanksgiving.

Click on Easy Thanksgiving Favors to learn how to make these sweet little favors. Miniature Kraft bags are tied with colored twine and topped with a whimsical acorn and assemble in minutes.

Plus, on the same blog … learn how to make this decorative bow and this beautiful autumn wreath filled with glittered stalks of wheat, purple clusters of grapes and autumn leaves. Both the favors bags and the autumn wreath instructions are on Easy Thanksgiving Favors & DIY Autumn Wreath.

Now for a re-cap and some pictures of “all things autumn” from our recent trip to Missouri. Autumn is our favorite season to travel and we love seeing the beautiful colors of the Ozark deepen each day we’re there. Look at this blazing Maple Tree!

Chrysanthemums in rustic pails perched above squat-y pumpkins.

Fuchsia colored Coleus that almost glowed.

Short pumpkins, tall pumpkins, Cinderella’s and Baby Boo’s gathered beside more gorgeous Coleus.

Dark green, light green, orange, and white pumpkins contrast beautifully with a huge decorative pot of flowering Kale and burgundy Coleus.

Look at these amazing pumpkin displays we saw at Silver Dollar City.

Pumpkins stacked to the treetops …

And my favorite … a darling little pumpkin cottage with a fern lined roof!

This spot was so enchanting, Richard and I walked along the creek bed and the only sounds were the burbling creek and the evening crickets.

A lone Sycamore leaf drifting along in the crystal clear waters.

Look at this perfectly charming cafe … Sugar Leaf Cafe & Bakery where we had lunch one day.

… and came back for dessert on another day! (:

We loved the beauty and mystique of “Pumpkin Nights” at Silver Dollar City in Branson … with owls dangling from the treetops.

One King Owl ruling over his parliament of owls.

A camp site with glowing pumpkin flames.

And the last picture … this “Chapel in the Woods” we were thrilled to find.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures of our vacation and the Thanksgiving ideas will inspire and motivate you as you begin planning your own Thanksgiving.

From my cottage to yours ~ Trenda

Thank you for reading my blog! Click on the Follow button above to have all my posts delivered directly to your email address AND follow me on Pinterest … Trenda@CottageGreenontheLake.com

Summer Re-Cap …

“Another summer set into a glorious sunset and in the morning … September arose.”

“Another summer set into a glorious sunset and in the morning … September arose.”
Trenda

It seemed like a very busy and short summer, and before I can go on with
“all things autumn” … here’s a re-cap of our summer. I am so sorry I haven’t written any posts this summer, but now I’ve written about some of our summer highlights all in one “verbose” blog. Pour yourself another cup of coffee and enjoy the “this and that’s” of our summer. The smallest and most adorable “this” of our summer … our brand new grand baby! Our son and daughter-in-law had their 2nd child, and their first little girl! She is “sugar and spice and everything nice” and I can’t keep from smiling just looking at her precious face! ❤

**Grand baby #3 … “our quiver is full.” ❤**

June … The very first day of June we headed off to Branson, Missouri and spent a week there with our daughter and sweet grand daughter.

“Just a swingin'” …. Momma and daughter at Silver Dollar City, Branson, Missouri

Dear Grand daughter at White Water Water Park in Branson.

As soon as we got back, we began decorating for Vacation Bible School.

Sweet husband hanging beaded curtain for Pharaoh’s palace.

Our grandson was thrilled that he got to go to his first year of Vacation Bible School in a pre-school class provided for the teacher’s kids. He went every day with PaPa and Grandma and loved it!

VBS – “ROAR! When Life is Wild God is Good!” Little grandson playing “Pac Man” in the kid’s arcade at church while PaPa and Grandma were preparing for the next day’s lesson. (:

Then it was July … Happy 243rd birthday America!

Hubby, grand daughter, daughter, and Daisy all dressed up in red, white, and blue for the neighborhood parade at the lake for the 4th of July.

July afternoon’s on the lake …

… summer afternoon’s at the arcade.

3 Generations … PaPa, Son, and Grandson ❤

… and Spin Zone!

… around Cottage Green!

Nesting under the fronds of nearby liriope (monkey grass) a terra cotta duck is filled with clover.

Sunny Coleus and Marguerite vine next to a teeny tiny birdbath that is just the right size for little hummers.

July stretched into August … with happy days spent making chocolate chip cookies with Grandma.

… and homemade soap!

5 year old grandson opening flower petals to add to our soap

Days of ‘tiquing and ticking …

Decorative tables are some of my favorite things to find whenever we go on our “treasure hunts.” Look what I found snuggled together in a cluttered corner of a favorite shop.

This charming duo from Italy will look perfect in our “almost finished” upstairs bathroom. (Reveal coming!) A pair of crocheted hand towels ribbon-ed together, a luxuriant bar of Gardenia scented soap, and a medley of dried rose petals, lavender, chamomile buds, lemon grass, orange peel, and hibiscus petals fill a crystal biscuit barrel and sit atop the ornate tables.

Then, on the next to last day of summer, I found this darling glass topped table with twiggy legs, and a little birdie perched on the edge of a branch.

Then, we ended our summer the same way we began … by heading back up to Branson with our daughter and grand daughter the last week before summer vacation was over.

Less than a week after our return, Richard and I drove up to La Crosse, Kansas for the Memorial of WO James Eisenhower, who was killed in action in Vietnam in 1968.

After TAPS, a salute by military liaison, another military member, and 4 members of the 240th Helicopter Assault Company. Richard is the 3rd person from the left. Standing next to him is, Morris, Steve, and Ridge. The brother of the deceased is Mark Eishenhower, the last person on the right.

After the Memorial, Richard and I took the scenic route back through Colorado and we drove through Wolf Creek Pass … “way up on the Great Divide” (: passing ski slopes we used to ski on, not really so many winter’s ago.

That evening we stopped at Pagosa Springs, Colorado and checked into the cutest log cabin that Richard spotted alongside the San Juan River. We had a lovely dinner at a Mexican restaurant and sat outside on the patio where it was Colorado cool, even in August! (: Our table overlooked the San Juan river and natural hot springs that Pagosa Springs is named for.

Bath Houses and Hot Spring Spas in Pagosa Springs along the San Juan River.

The next day we crossed the border into New Mexico and drove past other familiar mountains we used to ski on: Red River, Angel Fire, and Taos, New Mexico. We stopped in Angel Fire to see a Vietnam Memorial and Garden located in a perfect spot for reflection on a peak overlooking Angel Fire and the mountains, beyond.

Vietnam War Memorial in Angel Fire, New Mexico. Huey helicopter with Richard and the American flag in the background. ❤

Vietnam Memorial Garden in Angel Fire, New Mexico

We stayed that night, high in the beautiful, secluded mountain mesa that is the town of Los Alamos. “Los Alamos is a town in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States that is recognized as the development and creation of the atomic bomb – the primary objective of the Manhattan Project by Los Alamos National Laboratory during World War II.” The next day we went to the Visitor Center and saw a film on Los Alamos during WWII. Afterwards, we were given a map and we took a driving tour of the homes and work areas from that time period.

Our guide at the Visitor Center urged us,” if we had the time” to drive on to Valles Caldera National Preserve.

We did and driving through that preserve gave us a glimpse of a “land before time” with majestic Ponderosa Pines, Loblolly Pines, White Pines and natural grasses.

Hillsides were covered with groves of Blue Spruce and Junipers and “were home” to over 144,00 elk, the second largest elk population in New Mexico. Our brochure also told us that other residents of Valles Caldera included black bears, mountain lions, bobcats, foxes, golden eagles, wild turkeys, and prairie dogs. **ALSO … If you’ve ever watched the A&E Network series titled “LONGMIRE” … Valles Caldera is the location for a lot of the filming that takes place. We drove right up to “Sheriff Longmire’s cabin” that was originally built on this property back in 1917 – 1918.

Sheriff Walt Longmire’s cabin from the TV series – “Longmire”

The next day we crossed over the border into Texas and stopped at Palo Duro Canyon, the “little Grand Canyon.” Oh my, it was spectacular and neither Richard and I had ever seen it before! One of the many things we loved about this grand sight was that we could drive our car all the way down to the base of the canyon to see all the landmarks, caves, and rock formations.

From Palo Duro Canyon we were only 6 1/2 hours from home. Every mountain, mesa, canyon, tumbleweed, yucca, cactus and rock formation we saw on our trip was just a reminder of God’s artistry, and as I looked at each of these sight’s my soul sang … “My God how great Thou art!”

From my cottage to yours ~ Trenda

A Holly, Jolly Christmas …

“It’s the best time of the year!”

This Christmas season we had an enchanting, never to be forgotten time when the “the fates allowed” … and our whole family spent a week together in Branson, Missouri.

We went to Silver Dollar City’s “An Old Time Christmas” the first day of our vacation and we were “dazzled” with over 6.5 million lights, walk-through tunnels, a 5 story special-effect Christmas tree, and the most stunning Christmas lights and displays we’ve ever seen!

The entire amusement park was “bejeweled”and the trees were wound and draped in lights.

We drank Christmas wassail and hot chocolate and wandered the pathways strewn with lights and Christmas decorations …

Watched Rudolph’s Holly Jolly Christmas Parade.

Saw Santa and Mrs. Claus in a Christmas sleigh loaded with toys.

And PaPa and Grandma even rode some of the amusement rides and roller coaster’s with both our children and grandchildren! (:

Each day of our week was filled with memories … Christmas movies, shopping, a visit and pictures with Santa Claus … bowling, go-carts, lazer tag, bumper cars, and wall climbing … and a magical evening aboard Branson’s Scenic Railroad on The Polar Express, complete with book reading, elves hopping on the train between stops, sugar cookies and cups of hot chocolate, and at last … a visit from Santa! He surprised us when he suddenly appeared in our train car with a “Ho, ho, ho! Our grandchildren were spell bound and he spent some time with each child, solemnly telling them when he handed each their shiny, silver, bell … “that they would always here it ring, as long as they believed.”

“Christmas memories of happy years gone by/They come back to me and keep me warm inside/Oh they mean so much to me/Those Christmas memories make me cry.” ~ “Christmas Memories” by Alabama

And now … a simple treat that looks like it came straight from the North Pole! Chocolate covered marshmallow pop with a peppermint handle and lots of sprinkles … perfect for dunking and melting into mugs of hot cocoa while waiting for the New Year to arrive!

So simple and fun to “assemble.”

Ingredients needed:

- Large marshmallows (I used Campfire Giant Roasters)
- Milk chocolate Almond Bark
- Peppermint sticks and/or peppermint and chocolate peppermint sticks
- Assorted sprinkles
- Cellophane bags with ties

Directions:

Cover kitchen counter or cookie sheet with wax paper or foil and spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray
Melt chocolate according to directions on package
Insert a peppermint stick into center of each marshmallow
Dip marshmallow into melted chocolate and swirl to cover bottom half of marshmallow with melted chocolate
Sprinkle nonpareils on the chocolate before it hardens
After chocolate has hardened, place marshmallow pops into cellophane bags, or place unwrapped marshmallow pops on a tray or candy dish to serve with cocoa.

“Have a holly, jolly Christmas

And in case you didn’t hear

Oh by golly have a holly jolly Christmas”

This year”
Burl Ives

From my cottage to yours ~ Trenda

Thanksgiving Ideas, Tablescapes, Decorating Tips, DIY Projects and Recipes plus … Autumn in the Ozarks

A Welcome Home for Thanksgiving has some ideas on how to “dress up” your front porch and a simple DIY project using grapevine around your front door frame.

Click on Easy Thanksgiving Centerpiece for one of my favorite ways to create a centerpiece. It assembles in minutes!

Here’s an easy appetizer to enjoy while awaiting the feast Easy Caramel Toffee Cream Cheese Dessert Dip served with apples. It’s harder to say than it is to put together! (;

Decadent ruby red Apple Cranberry Salad is the perfect mixture of cranberry tartness mixed with the sweet fillings of jello, pineapple, crispy apples and pecan pieces.

Click on autumn-napkin-rings for these charming, grapevine napkin rings. The silk autumn leaves and sprig of bittersweet brighten each table setting and they are so easy to make!

An Autumn Tablescape gives tips and how to’s for creating your own beautiful table for Thanksgiving.

Click on Easy Thanksgiving Favors to learn how to make these sweet little favors. Miniature Kraft bags are tied with colored twine and topped with a whimsical acorn and assemble in minutes.

Chrysanthemums in rustic pails perched above squat-y pumpkins.

Fuchsia colored Coleus that almost glowed.

Short pumpkins, tall pumpkins, Cinderella’s and Baby Boo’s gathered beside more gorgeous Coleus.

Dark green, light green, orange, and white pumpkins contrast beautifully with a huge decorative pot of flowering Kale and burgundy Coleus.

Look at these amazing pumpkin displays we saw at Silver Dollar City.

Pumpkins stacked to the treetops …

And my favorite … a darling little pumpkin cottage with a fern lined roof!

This spot was so enchanting, Richard and I walked along the creek bed and the only sounds were the burbling creek and the evening crickets.

A lone Sycamore leaf drifting along in the crystal clear waters.

Look at this perfectly charming cafe … Sugar Leaf Cafe & Bakery where we had lunch one day.

… and came back for dessert on another day! (:

We loved the beauty and mystique of “Pumpkin Nights” at Silver Dollar City in Branson … with owls dangling from the treetops.

One King Owl ruling over his parliament of owls.

A camp site with glowing pumpkin flames.

And the last picture … this “Chapel in the Woods” we were thrilled to find.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures of our vacation and the Thanksgiving ideas will inspire and motivate you as you begin planning your own Thanksgiving.

From my cottage to yours ~ Trenda

Thank you for reading my blog! Click on the Follow button above to have all my posts delivered directly to your email address AND follow me on Pinterest … Trenda@CottageGreenontheLake.com

	Patricia Kingsley on Part 2 Spring in the Cottage G…
	cottagegreenonthelak… on Part 2 Spring in the Cottage G…
	sherry on Part 2 Spring in the Cottage G…
	Part 2 Spring in the… on In the Cottage Greenhouse…
	Part 2 Spring in the… on Spring In the Cottage Greenhou…

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: