Hello, hello. It’s been a while since you’ve been inside our home, so I thought I’d give you a little look at what things are like here this autumn.
Most of these pictures were taken on Canadian Thanksgiving Day, when our friend Andrea came over for a visit. It was a casual get-together without turkey and all the fixings, but we were happy with the tasty and healthy meal that Nick cooked up.
And I made a cake which we all thought was delicious, which made full use of the variety of lovely pears that are in season right now, combined with the exotic flavour of cardamom. I’ll be sharing the recipe in my next post, if you’d like to make one too.
You might already know that I enjoy changing things around our home to reflect the season, or whatever holiday it is. You’ve heard that saying, “Don’t sweat the small stuff”? Well, Andrea and I concluded that I do, indeed, sweat the small stuff when it comes to adding little details around the place, that visually tell us what time of year it is. I’m not one to change around furniture — the general set up of our rooms has been exactly the same for over a decade, with a few additional pieces being added, that fit in around the original furnishings — but there are certain surfaces that either get a full change-up regularly, and some others where most things stay the same with a few pieces being added in here and there.
So, welcome … I hope you enjoy seeing this year’s autumn decor!
↑ This vintage corner cabinet is one of our newer pieces of furniture and was my first (and only, so far) purchase from Craigslist. ↑
↑ There’s the crocheted pumpkin you’ve seen before. I made it in 2014 using this pattern. ↑
↑ I cross-stitched this fox on paper in 2015, and posted the “how-to” in this post. The background was originally a turquoise colour and I hadn’t noticed before now, that time and light exposure had changed it to a soft grey colour.
The vintage linen tea-towel is hung in a spot that requires a soft unbreakable item. It’s a narrow section of wall between windows, which have wooden blinds on them that swing open. So, during the day, this is covered by those blinds, showing up in the evening when they’ve been shut. After having a mishap, when window-blind met ceramic plate, it became evident that nothing that could break should go there. So, I’ve been using the spot to display pieces from my collection of vintage tea-towels, changing them out with the season. ↑
↑ I found this little felt and sequin owl laying face down amoungst the leaves on the sidewalk several years ago. The ribbon was broken, so I assume it had previously hung on someone’s backpack or something like that. I rescued him, fixed the ribbon and re-glued a few bits, and now bring him out every autumn. ↑
↑ Andrea brought us the pumpkin. The crocheted doily is from a pattern found here. ↑
↑ I was happy to find this lovely dark orange damask tablecloth in the after-holiday sale section at Homesense a couple of years ago.
The cotton fruit-print placemats were a good thrift store find at only $.50 a piece. They seemed like they’d never been previously used. ↑
↑ A look outdoors, where nature has done some seasonal decorating. I take no responsibility for the stunning Rose of Sharon Hibiscus tree that’s outside our place, as it was planted before we moved in and we’ve done nothing to it, except trim off a few dead branches now and then. It’s two stories tall and, as I probably say every year, it was amazing this year! There must have been thousands of flowers, beginning in July and ending with this last blossom in October. Nature at its finest! ↑
↑ The robins have been particularly busy out there this year. I found the shell of a tiny blue egg on the patio in the spring, so I think they had their nest someplace close-by, but I never saw where. ↑
↑ Here’s a new one for me, a first-time capture of a White Breasted Nuthatch. They are not migratory and live in southern Ontario year round, however I don’t think they come to the city very often. At least, not as far as I’ve seen. He was a quick mover, so I only caught this one, slightly blurred photo of him, but I’ll take it! (He might be a she, as, from what I’ve read, it’s hard to tell the difference.) ↑
Onto pictures of Andrea’s visit …
↑ There’s Nick messy-hair-don’t-care, and the Pear Cardamom Cake I made, the recipe for which I’ll share in my next post. ↑
↑ I showed Andrea what I was working on, and now she and I both know what she’ll be getting for Christmas. This one is for me though and I’ll choose a different colourway for hers. I’ll be back to show you the project when it’s finished. ↑
↑ We were up north recently where Nick got a whole bushel of fresh-off-the-vine tomatoes, purchased directly from the farmer. He canned those, as well as some hot peppers and vegetables that he got in Kensington Market. Andrea took a jar of each home. ↑
↑ Nick was in the kitchen, whipping up some homemade bagels, as one does. They were boiled in honey-water before being seeded and baked. ↑
↑ A little bagel and cream cheese hors d’oeuvre. ↑
↑ I know that pink flowers are not usually associated with Autumn, but I wasn’t about to leave this gorgeous New Guinea Impatien outside to get frost bitten. I brought it inside where it continued to look very pretty. (It’s an annual plant, so eventually died, but we had a few extra weeks of beauty from it indoors.) ↑
↑ Vintage thrifted Corelle dishes. The cutlery is vintage stainless Oneidacraft, in the exact same pattern that we had when I was growing up … I found some on ebay and bought them for the sake of nostalgia. ↑
↑ Nick made his Salmon Cakes and Purple Cabbage Coleslaw for dinner, which he served with a tossed salad, brown rice and corn. ↑
↑ I love these people! ↑
↑ Pear and Cardamom Cake, recipe in next post! ↑
So, about the pumpkin Andrea brought … I think she meant it as a decoration and I certainly would have enjoyed having it around until Halloween. But alas, that was not meant to be. It has now been roasted with some other pie-pumpkins, and turned into Pumpkin, Mascarpone Cheese, and Sage Ravioli, with the sage being the last of the season from my herb garden. The raviolis are safely stored away in the freezer, sure to be shared with our pal and her beau at a later date.
↑ He’s using the ravioli maker thing that I got him for Valentine’s Day a few years so, shown in this post. It’s a fine example of a gift that gives back! ↑
Thanks for taking a look at what we’ve been up to. I hope you’re enjoying Autumn so far!
xo loulou
