~ Happy Fall !! ~

Happy Fall everyone! I don't know about you, but Fall is my favorite season! I love the crisp air , the chill in the evening and the cozy feeling inside it evokes! I really don't spend too much time getting the house all ready, just a bit of fall cleaning and fluffing :) But the few things I do, I've taken pictures of and maybe you might get an idea or two for your own home. I know I certainly get a lot of ideas from all of you too! It seems the blogs are full this season with great ideas! Maybe everyone loves fall as much as me :) After a visit here, go to my side bar and check out the list of blogs I have, I know you all will find something you can be inspired by also!

It begins for me with Candles... My sugar candle above has always been a favorite, I love the smell of something baking, real or imagined :) Then , while I love books as elements in decorating, I like dressing them up too. Have you ever had a book you love and want to keep near and yet it has an awful color or binding? All you have to do is wrap the outside with a fabric or a paper of your choice that works with your colors and style of your room. The two books above I wrapped in Pierre Deux fabrics and I just adore the little pops of color it gives the table!


I make my way around the house , rearranging things I already own. Everything can look brand new and festive when you give it a new area to be welcomed to. My mini fireplace comes out of hiding and a few tiny things added to the shelves of this cabinet and it feels all new again...even a mini pumpkin can say fall :) I've got the big ones coming, but they're grown locally here, so I have to wait a few more days. I love the white ones!

More rearranging... I brought out a big basket of babies breath , it normally sits on the floor under a table, but the deep rich basket colors make a better fall statement on the mantel. And again, I must have candles lit on crispy days. I even light them in the morning sometimes too, do you? They complement my tea or coffee really well and start my day off calmer!

If you're not a fan of candles or want another glow... Little lamps work so beautifully to create a mood. I love them in the kitchen, they really add to the cozy feeling!


One of my favorite Fall days consists of football on in the background, a morning filled with cutting up vegetables, potatoes and london broil to create the perfect large pot of stew and a candle lit at my kitchen counter for ambiance while I cook. Now granted this is something I try to do every Sunday now, but when the kids were little, I'd settle for just football on :)


Dried Hydrangeas from the backyard turn the prettiest colors and for me, they are a must have. But when my best friend comes over from next door, she gasps that I have something dried in my house that used to be alive, she said it's not good Feng Shui. Everyone has their own decorating style , and while I admire Feng, lol, I break all the rules I'm sure :)

Another favorite Fall day of mine is... (when I can get some alone time) Reading cookbooks! I love the ones that tell a story along with delicious recipes.. I take a little note pad or posty notes and write down a few new recipes or entertaining ideas. Then make a plan to cook some of them within the season or create a gathering of good friends or family and try them out. Susan Branch is sure my favorite and each and every time I get to read her books, I learn something new!


Love these fall collecting ideas too!

It's also the biggest cooking season for me.....If I can cover the kitchen counters with flour and a glass of chardonnay at 5pm on a Sunday, I'm a happy girl :)

I've been baking up some new Miniatures this fall too, (below)the calorie free kind! They give me a creative outlet that warms my insides just like fall does. And btw, Thank you to every one who stopped into my new blog The Petite Villa , I'm really loving the new venture! I just updated my Etsy with some new creations , so I'd love if you stopped by!

Well it's time to go back to work on my projects and pray the cool air stays for a weekend of festivals and chores! I hope you all are enjoying a beautiful fall too! If it's still hot where you are, hang in there, it'll be here before you know it!

My lab Sierra loves the fall too :) even though I missed her smile by a second here....

Happy Fall and Blessings to you all!

Love,
Cynthia xo

~ The give-away winner is... ~

What a fun week it's been creating Miniatures here at the cottage! Thank you to everyone who entered my give-away and also to all of you who stopped by and gave me encouragement and such kind words of friendship! And Thank you too for becoming a follower here and also at The Petite Villa. I've so appreciated knowing such wonderful women and look forward to getting to know any new followers too! I won't normally combine the blogs or overlap too much, this one is about big girl Design and life, and the other is my imaginary mini world :) So I'll try and keep it that way ....So just for today, to see the winner of my Give-away, mosey on over to My mini blog for a bit.... The Petite Villa

Thanks ladies!! Sooo sooo much! Until next time, Have a beautiful week ahead and enjoy the change of seasons! I cannot wait to decorate for fall!

Hugs,

Cynthia xo

~ A new obsession and a Give-away ~

Happy "almost fall" to all my wonderful friends! It's a new season and that means time to get busy creatively again... As most of you know it's been a rough summer, but with great friends and family I am ready to honor my creative soul once again.... I said it in the previous post, but I cannot say it enough, you all were so wonderful to offer your support and prayers and love to me on the loss of my dear father, so Thank you so much , from the bottom of my heart.... I am so far behind in everything , but this month I'm catching up :) I fall cleaned the house, started the cooking again and went back to working with my design clients. And to the few of those waiting for your Design Consultations: I am working to get them all caught up in the next two weeks, thank you for being so patient! I've missed you all and can't wait to pop in and see what you've been up to!

As I was saying in my last post , my Mom and I have been shopping a lot, baking, cooking and also going through some things , and for some reason, looking at old pictures sparked that visit to the "attic" ( a tiny crawl space actually lol ) . Well, that could be trouble for someone like me :) Many things spark a passion in me, but spending this time with my Mom has brought me back a bit to childhood feelings. Which mind you, I love.... So guess what came out of the attic? ........... Yep, the dollhouse :) ......not the one from my own childhood, but the one I made for my daughter ( now 15 ) years ago. I have to admit, it was like Christmas to me ( yippee!! ) I needed something that got my creative juices flowing again and this seemed to serve the purpose perfectly. Well long long story short, I went so bunkers for this new found fun, I've decided to finish the dollhouse finally.... And of course, lol, what does any normal girl do when she finds a passion that's fun after a rough summer?? Blog about it!! Ok, maybe not everyone, but a lot of us do :) I took it one step further though, and decided it needed it's own blog.... Come visit for a peek! ( I have more work to do on it and only one post so far ) It's called The Petite Villa ..... I wanted to keep my love of miniatures basically on it's own site so it doesn't get mish-mashed with this blog and over take it. I've decided to have a give-way too! It's a great way to say thank you to you all for your support and also to hopefully meet some other people who love miniatures also!

In the picture above is some of the things I've made to decorate this new little home of mine :) I've blogged about miniatures before, but making them is so much fun and very therapeutic for me lately. Melanie's dollhouse still needs work, the roof line isn't right and the porch isn't on either. But I figured if I can do this for a living with real houses, this should be the same thing on a smaller scale. Too bad I can't get my contractors in here and watch them like I do in the big people world though, but it's ok, I'll manage :)

All of her furniture needed updating, so out came the paint brushes and then the sand paper to make it look old again :)

If you aren't a fan of miniatures for dollhouses, the wonderful thing about "small things" is that when used sparingly, they can be great accents in our larger homes. I have this petite shelf vignette on a shelf in my kitchen. ( below )

I am so inspired by all the miniature blogs out there, and Paris Miniatures ( below ) is one of my favorites. This picture shows a collection of items they've made, and if you visit their site, the attention to detail is really one of the most exquisite I've seen. I just *gasp* at everything there!

So to celebrate my 2nd blog and to Thank you all for being such wonderful friends....on to the give-away!... I've chosen this lovely Royal Albert Old English Rose tea cup and saucer/plate. It would make a beautiful gift for someone or perfect for your own afternoon tea. Because you were all so sweet about my Mom moving close by, I thought it was fitting :) She brought up her entire collection for me and I love every piece. It's truly a collectible and beautiful china pattern.

The good old rules are: Leave me a comment here for 1 entry. If you become a follower of my miniature blog, The Petite Villa , that's 3 entries! Just leave me a comment on the other blog saying you have become a follower and that will help count it in...I wish I could give everyone something, but hopefully this shows how much I appreciate all of you! The Give-away is until Sept. 18th (9pm est time ). Good luck all!

Here's the rest of the collection in my kitchen hutch below... So pretty! I can't wait till Thanksgiving when I can use it all :)

There was one issue with filling up one of my kitchen hutches with something I didn't have before my Mom brought all this up...... Can you guess? lol, well it means I have to clear out the other hutch and put what used to be here, back in the other one. But no biggy, any excuse to redecorate was ok with me....I needed lots of distraction this summer, so I'm teasing about it being a problem. It wasn't. It was again, welcome therapy....

So back into the other hutch ( below )went some of my other favorite items. I'm down one pantry cabinet, but liked seeing my things back in view, so it was worth it ...


I closed the door on that project and most all the others...now it's back to school for the kids, back to work for me, back to creativity in my spare time , and back to a different reality than I'm used to without my Dad. But I've got friends, and family, and my Mom...and other things that will take up life's day....so I feel blessed for that.

Plus, I have my new miniature obsession too :).... every one needs a new obsession now and then. A nice escape, and if you haven't gotten into miniatures or looked at some lately, give it a try. You might just walk away feeling little again. Hopefully that's a good feeling for you, if not, then start at 50 to enjoy the little girl things... You're never to old to play!

Thank you so much for hanging in there with me, I hope this fall is starting out wonderful for you all! Remember, a new season equals a new chance...

This is my button ( above ) for the new blog, you can click on it to get there, or you can copy and paste it to your side bar if you'd like too. I will keep one on my side bar here also.

Wishing you love and Joy and a great week ahead filled with blessings and love!

Hugs, Cynthia xo