Let's Have Some Fun!

 As many of you know, I've grown to love a challenge these last nine months.  So, in the sweltering heat of the end of summer, I decided to challenge myself when it came to using my autumn decor.  I didn't even wait until September like I normally do to get started.  That's right...I actually started about mid-August.  The challenge I decided on was to see if I could give our home a cozy, warm and inviting vibe by using the colors of autumn but without pumpkins.  If you are a pumpkin lover, please don't be offended.  I have nothing against pumpkins as decor, but I just wanted to see if I could pull this challenge off.

I started with the hutch in the kitchen.

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I had ordered the four fruit plates from an Etsy shop, thinking I would use them one by one in a different area of the kitchen.

However, when they arrived, I realized that they were too large for the area I had in mind.

But the colors were perfect for autumn.

The basket that the Maple leaves are in is one that I picked up in an antique store on one of our trips to Maine.

The little lidded dish in the top photo is one I had purchased from my friend Betsy Brock when she had her Etsy shop.  Some of you will remember her.  Anyway, the fruit and colors on the side of the dish blended perfectly with the autumn color theme.

And then around the time that I was doing this self-inflicted challenge,

we made a trip to one of our favorite Mennonite bulk food stores.

This particular store carries much more than just bulk food.

When I saw this scene, there was something about it that I just drank in.

In some ways, it reminds me of the lane and farmhouse that Strong Heart's parents were living in when I first met him.

The overall feeling that it gives me is "Home".

The coleus slips are a nod to my paternal grandma.

She always had Coleus in her flower boxes every summer and towards the end of the season, she would cut off slips and bring them inside and stick in water.  The colors are perfect for autumn.

I normally would have the top of the hutch covered in crockery, 

but for whatever reason this year, I decided to tone it down a bit.

The salt ware crock on the left belonged to my parental grandmother.

The blue crock on the right is one that Strong Heart purchased for me from our potter friend. 

The crock in the middle was one that came from the dairy farm I grew up on.

It's just a brown crock with a wide mouth to it.  My brother had passed it on to me when he sold the farm. 

I decided to see what it would look like with the swag of autumn leaves stuck down in it.  Literally, that's what I did. 

I was pleased with the results.

Shortly after I got this far, I had fruit that was ready for jam and jelly making.  When that was finished, then there were beans to put up for winter, along with some peppers, etc. all from Strong Heart's efforts.

So, the decorating got put on hold until about a week ago.

It was on to the living room.

The ship picture on the left of the library table is actually a tin that I purchased in an antique mall the last time we were in Maine.  There's something about it that draws me right into the picture...and the colors are perfect for autumn.

The "little brown jug" and the crock beside it both came from Strong Heart's parents' place.  

The little copper cup filled with autumn leaves is one that I found in an antique store that a dear friend and I visited this past summer together.

The books are ones that I found at an open-air fair in Maine with my daughter-in-law. 

Sneak peek on the bottom shelf of my collection of stoneware bowls.

The library table itself was Strong Heart's parents.  

I consider it a treasure.

This picture always goes up each year for two reasons.

My sweet mother gave it to me.

The woman who painted it was a local artist in Morgantown.

She also did a huge oil painting of the farmhouse that I grew up in, 

that my mother had commissioned her to paint.

This piece of artwork normally hangs over our sofa, 

and it stays out all year long with the exception of Christmas time.

I took it down and was going to put it away and realized that it had all of those beautiful autumn colors in it, so I put it above an overstuffed chair.

This cornucopia was a gift one autumn from a friend in Maine.

She's actually the mother of my daughter-in-law.  

I love the color and warmth that it adds to the living room.

Please excuse the crooked lampshade in the mirror.

But you can catch a glimpse of my bentwood rocker that Strong Heart gave me for my birthday a couple of years ago. :) 

The final picture is of the bookcase.

That's my paternal grandpap's Bible on the top right.

I collected milk bottles at one time and these two are ones I have kept.

The one on the left is one my daughter saved for me from when she lived in Mexico City.  

The books in that vignette are antique books that I picked up at antique stores in Maine.

The cross is one that Strong Heart made and the little trinket box on the right is one that my daughter gave me one year for my birthday.  The picture on the top of it is of pears.  Perfect for this time of year.