RED all over

I know the first day of fall was last Wednesday, but Sunday's rainy weather got me thinking fall.

I only left the house once to go to the grocery store and I had to run through the (cold, fall-like) rain. Autumn was definitely on my mind. 

I love how PUBLIX has those bins of cheap-o flowers 3 bunches for $12. I always have a go-to choice: white mini roses, white carnations, and sometimes yellow or pink mini-roses. But as I went over to the flower section, my eyes were drawn to RED RED RED. Oooo... its so fall!

The mini-roses have a red-ish orange-ish hue. I break up the bunches and scatter them through the house. I took a few and put in a Jameson glass on my coffee table.

They are so pretty. They are almost pumpkin colored. 

I also put some on my kitchen window seal. They'll be gorgeous once they open up. 

I put an identical bunch on the table at the front door. They say "Welcome! Its fall!" 

The bunch of leaves are from a bush in my yard. I have no idea what kind of bush it is, but i think they are so pretty with those green and white leaves. 

I put another bunch of leaves in a fish bowl on my kitchen table. I plucked the leaves off and covered the water with them. Then I stuck some small red flowers in between the leaves. 

I think they look almost Christmasy. This would be good decor for then.

I love love love carnations! They are so happy. Like I said, I usually get white, but the reds at PUBLIX were sooo red. I had to have them. 

They almost look like they are made of paper. 

I used my blue birthday glasses as a vase and proudly have them displayed on my antique hutch.

I had also pickled some onions and tomatoes this summer and well, I can't get the darned thing opened. So it was just sitting in my fridge, looking pretty. I thought (since I wasn't going to be eating them) that they would look fall-ish on my hutch. 

My pedicure was even fall-ish (on my monkey toes). 

My polish colors are slowly drifting from pinks and super bright colors to reds (duh) and dark dark colors. 

I have a red room at my house that we call (surprise) "the red room." I have been wanting to paint it super bright blue for months, but all of my friends have been successfully talking me out of it. And on a rainy fall day, it just makes me want to cuddle up and hang out. Red is cozy....

I can sit peacefully looking out the window with my pal, the ram, staring over me (creeeeepy and dusty... ick). 

My "red room" wall of original art. 

On a related note of all things red... it's HONEY CRISP apple time!

Waving goodbye to pink lady apples and welcoming Honey Crisps. They even carried them in a special bin at publix. I had one on Monday and boy was it crispy. 

Crispy and Saweeet!

I look forward to scarfs and new jackets when it becomes fall. I also like to lie in the leaves in the yard. 

WHAT DO YOU LOOK FORWARD TO MOST ABOUT FALL?

I like comments... I do... don't be shy.

Its all in the details

I know its a problem.  I know I have already posted about this..... buuuut..... I can't help it. I am in love. I hate to leave it for the weekend when I go camping, what if she gets lonely?

Just look at her. Gorg.

But these things are all about the details. From far away: yes pretty. Up close: even prettier.

There are these great cutouts from the original design on the side. They give you a little peek of whats sitting on the bar portion.

I love the antique look of the hutch too. My guess is that it has been sanded with fine sandpaper. Its smooth to the touch. 

Look at those gorgeous details!

That is a pull down lock on the interior of the top door. 

Skeleton key? Always. 

The next photo was the eye-catcher. The oh-yeah to my shrill screams....

I just love that green glass. It doesn't look as translucent until you open the door and then the light shines through. 

Now behind the green glass doors...

I had been storing my wine glasses on the tippy top shelf in my kitchen. So to get one down I had to hold onto the cabinet and use it to pull myself up onto the counter top. Then, I had to come to full-standing position just to reach the top of the cabinet. Not a good look when you have guests over...Hey! You want some wine? Just a moooment. "Heave. Grunt. Stand. Grunt. Shake the floor upon landing." Ah, here you go). Quirky? Yes. Practical? No. 

Now that my wine glasses are here I feel mature and I know that I will get more use out of them. 

I also have the same situation with my vases. So now they are tucked in on the bottom cabinet of my hutch. I also like to keep interesting bottles (hence, the kenari bottle) that I may use again some day. 

The situation with the pots was the opposite. It was backbreaking torture to take them all out, unstack, find the one I want, find the lid, get frustrated and quit. So now they are nicely organized and spread out in the bottom of the hutch. 

Organized cooking magazines, my Granny's cookbooks, and needles and threads

Napkins, dishrags, and extra thank you/I forgot your birthday cards

Arranging doodle-dads on the top was my favorite part. My sister-in-law gave me the cool blue glasses for my birthday this year.

I love love love my vintagey blue mason jar. When I was in high school it held Q-tips in my bathroom. Then, I stole it from my mother and put dog bones in it until recently when I ran out of dog bones and realized how pretty it is. 

I went through a "I'm going to make pickles all the time!" phase. So I bought a ton of mason jars. I have displayed a few empties here and stuck some small shells from Savannah in one.

When I first got my cake stand, It was for sweets and treats and such. Then I put limes in it once and thought it displayed things nicely. So now, it is more of a display case for things I think are pretty. In there now are my bleached oyster shells I collected in Savannah, sand dollar, and such. Again, pretty and beachy. Its a little bit of sand and surf in Hotlanta until I move back to the coast for good.

On top is the BEST piece of drift wood I have ever found. Its soooo smooth. Its been floating around different places in my house for a year or so. Finally, it has a home. 

That's all. I'll shut up about the hutch and I'll quit, literally, patting myself on the back. 

Scott Antique Market

My friend, Mary Delia of Container Gardening, told me about the Scott Antique Market a few months ago and I finally got a chance to go. It is only once a month and the stars finally aligned and I made it! There was so much to look at that I just wandered for hours. If I got tired, I took a break on one of the bajillion pieces of furniture.

I have been on the hunt for a hutch (a.k.a. china cabinet) for over a year. I have never been able to find one that I actually wanted to purchase. After hours of wandering and coming to terms that today wasn't the day... there it was. MY new hutch. As I neared, I prayed for it to be in my budget, but I knew it was impossible. When is it ever in your price-range?

Aint she a beaut? A real antique... that's all I wanted. And well. I got it. It was in my price range! I thought I would faint with excitement. 

I (over)eagerly rushed to the nice British man running the booth and alerted him that I would be taking the hutch home with me immediately. 

5 minutes later....

We were off. 

This is the only time in my 27 years of moving things to and fro and fro and to, that I have not complained one iota about the weight/shape/height/pointy/scratchiness of the said piece of furniture. 

I began immediately setting up my new toy. 

I also created a tornado of mess in the kitchen while setting up my hutch, hence the clutter covered table. 

So, Hooray! Finally! And I love it. I actually kissed it with my coffee this morning. And my apologies go out to Thandrew for being invited over and then being forced to sit at the table and stare/talk/ooo/ahh about the hutch and then congratulate me on my great find. Finally, I was asked to stop patting myself on the back by my support team.