A Closeup of Our Dining Room Table

Our Dining Room for Autumn

(Since we have double doors in the dining room as in our bedroom, I moved the window treatments to the dining room.) More muted shades in here with golden tones of autumn.

New *Old* Radio

We found this radio/CD/cassette player that's made to look antique. What is really exciting about this is that the top opens to reveal a record player! We haven't had a working record player in several years, so now we are able to get out our old Christmas albums and play them! We placed this in the dining room, which is the main level of our home, so I can play the music while I work in the kitchen, etc. I feel like a child with a new toy at Christmas!

I've been looking for a little "half-table" like this for a specific spot in our dining room....... I finally found one a week or so ago at a barn sale. It was only $3 and already white! It fits the spot just as I'd hoped it would -- here is a photo of it in place!

I bought this adorable little tea set at the auction as well. It has yellow AND pink roses, so it reminds me of my dear friend Katherine (who loves yellow roses as I love pink ones) and the friendship we share (since it features our favorites flowers together).

Blue Milk Glass

Saturday, my husband Chris and I went to an auction........ I had to share with you the blue milk glass I purchased...... I have recently become interested in glass of this color -- which I would actually call more of an aqua. I think this glass looks so pretty with pink!

The items are -- hen on nest, a lamb, and a hat pin holder (though Chris insists it's a salt shaker -- but it's going on my dresser as a hat pin holder!).

I decided to have an autumn tree this year -- well, actually I decided last year, and scooped up the things I would need at the "after-autumn" sales! :)
Here is the result -- it's in our family room. I put gilded fruit, leaves, even some little glass squirrels & acorns, along with bittersweet garland, and orange lights, of course! Oh, and a pumpkin for the topper!
I just love the way it glows in autumny-colors!

My Autumn Tree

Thank you all for visiting my blog this week as I shared about our wedding! All of your comments were much appreciated! I mentioned earlier about trying to get a photo of our invitations that we made.... this is the best picture I could get.... I embossed them and then colored them with pastel decorator chalk.....
Thanks again to everyone for joining me as I took a pleasant trip down memory lane this past week....
And now, back to our regularly-scheduled blogging! :)

A horse-drawn carriage

After the reception, the bride and groom rode around town, then back to pick up our boys to ride along ~~ this is my favorite photo of them from that day ~~ they, of course, had taken off their jackets soon after the ceremony!
I felt like a princess ~~ a beautiful way to begin our new life together.

My Wedding Dress

The top photo shows the back of my pink wedding dress...... There were little fabric roses with *pearls* in the center......
To the right is a closeup of the beautiful cream embroidery & beading detail.
When planning the wedding, a friend and I drove to Cincinnati to a bridal shoppe, which happened to have this pink dress in stock, in just the right size ~~ the only one like it ~~ I feel that it was meant to be my wedding gown for our special day!

Our wedding cake........
Three tiers, with ivory cream basket-weave icing, and real flowers cascading down the cake....... It was also absolutely delicious!
Instead of a wedding topper, we had a bride&groom musical globe for a keepsake; you can see it in the far bottom left of the picture.

I had kept everything about my dress a secret until this moment (though he had correctly suspected it was my favorite color of pink.....) He was waiting on the arbor with his best man Bradley, and I was joined by Andrew after I stepped through the gate, who walked me to my waiting groom.

Our Front Porch on Our Wedding Day

The sign on the wicker chair in front of the door instructs guests:

~Wedding Guests, Please Enter At Side Gate~

I painted the sign, adding an arrow, directing them to the area you see in the photo below....

This is the side gate; through which wedding guests entered the back yard where the ceremony would take place. You can see the arbor awaiting us -- that is where we stood to be united in marriage ~ Chris built this arbor especially for our wedding. We knew we wanted an outdoor wedding, and I had been checking out various park settings, when a friend suggested "why don't you get married in your own backyard?" What a perfect idea! I spent all summer planting flowers for the occasion, and Chris, who was living in an apartment at the time, came over after work and on his days off, to help. We had so much fun working together and making plans for our special day. We even made our own invitations (which I'll try to photograph and share as well). ~When we moved, we brought this gate with us, it now is at the entry to our back woods, as is the treasured arbor ~ The little wooden stand on the left holds a pretty book & pen for the guests to sign~

These photos were taken separately shortly before the wedding (we followed the tradition of not seeing each other before the ceremony!)

The groom Chris wore a cream tux, and our boys were similarly attired, with black accents. I am wearing a gown of palest pink with cream embroidery and pearls, and standing beside me is my Man of Honor Andrew ~age 12~, and our little guy Bradley ~8 years old~ Best Man.

Hand in Hand..........
My dear husband and I will be celebrating our Eighth Wedding Anniversary one week from today, on September 26th. I thought it fitting to take a trip down memory lane and revisit that beautiful day, so I will be sharing about our wedding throughout this week. This is a picture of our hands together, soon after we were joined in marriage!

Autumn Joy Sedum

Our Autumn Joy Sedum growing in a side flower bed by a vintage gate.....
I just planted this about a year ago.......
One of the many things I love about living in the country is all the room we have for flowers & garden art!!

A Homer Laughlin plate I picked up at a church sale yesterday for a dime! I think the colors will go well in our living room.

Inspired by a photo in a magazine, I decided to create a window treatment for the doors in our bedroom. I took the two lace panels that my mom gave me at our garage sale, and pinned them with vintage cameos. I love the softness this has added to the doors.

One of the little shoppes in my autumn village......
I have always loved miniature villages; it's like looking into a secret world...... almost magical......

They make me happy!

This light-up Autumn Village is among my favorite fall decorations. I have this on our family room mantel (though this photo is from a previous year -- we haven't had a fire in the fireplace yet this season!)
Please don't forget to check my nature blog, as I will be sharing outdoor fall decor & scenery there!

Autumn......

I know it's not officially here, but it's my favorite season! (I suppose if I posted about Christmas last time, it's not jumping ahead too much to talk about autumn!!)

This is a picture of autumn decor in our living room...... I use more muted shades to blend with the colors of the room....

Three guesses as to what I'm thinking about, and the first two don't count!!

I just love Christmas, and really start dreaming and planning for it at this time of year!!

(This is a little pillow I created but sold...... Maybe I should make one to keep?)

A Birdcage atop our bedroom amoire......
The vintage bluebird postcard was a gift from a dear friend who knows I adore bluebirds!
I did something fun with this birdcage for Christmas last year........ those who didn't see it will get a chance soon!

A Dining Room Vignette, Created from Yard Sale Finds!!

My mother and I held a garage sale last weekend...... Of course, we just had to *shop* each other's treasures!
Here is a picture of the pretties I came home with:
a pair of white cutwork pillowcases; a little embroidered towel; lace curtain panels; and (my favorite find of the day) vintage cameo jewelry!

Magazine Rack Makover

I took an old wood magazine rack (it was brown ~~ I won't show the before picture here, because I only want to share lovely things) ...... I made it over into something pretty and romantic, by painting it white and adding some dangling clear & blue prisms ..... I then added special items to make it ready for a relaxing bath...... (the little bluebirdbath in the front holds pink bath crystals, with a tiny vintage spoon for the scoop)....... special soap and vintage Cashmere Bouqet powder are included, along with a Romantic magazine to read as well!

Some friends and I were discussing our collections of stationery recently, and I snapped this photo of some of mine to show them. I have always enjoyed writing letters and had many pen pals when I was a young girl. I like to use pretty pens (often pink!) and co-ordinating stickers....... Do you enjoy corresponding the old-fashioned way?

I've been busy making Christmas ornaments ~~see my latest stocking ones above~~
I'm changing a lot of my decor this season, so, while I'm always excited about Christmas, there is a renewed anticipation with seeing how our home will be transformed this year with my new ideas. Stay tuned! :)

This is our (master) bathroom. I do love a pretty bathroom! The lace scarf was a "castoff" from my mother; so I threaded it through some pink sconces to use as a valance. A vintage rose scarf clip adorns it.
I love our view....... every window in our home has a lovely view of God's beautiful gift of nature! From this window we can see the back woods, along with the birds at the feeders.

Our living room is quite possibly my favorite room in our home. It is the first room guests see when they enter our front door, and usually the place where they are seated for our visit with them. Even for the three of us who live here, it is a place of quiet relaxation. There is no tv or telephone in this room. Sometimes we will sit there just to visit with one another and talk over the day.
Our son recently told me that his friends often conclude that we are rich when they first see our living room, which made me smile, because it was completely decorated on a budget. When I look around the room, I'm mentally saying "auction; garage sale; clearance....."
Of course, I have told my boys all their lives, that we ARE rich -- rich in blessings and in love, and that's what really counts, after all. (but I do enjoy our "rich" living room! ;)

Welcome to My Kitchen I love my cottage kitchen............. this window above the sink looks out over our back woods....... My husband made these curtains for me; they are blue with pink roses.

Some enamelware we picked up at an auction (a dollar for the whole box!) My dear husband bid on it for me while I was at another ring bidding on Christmas decor! :) The cookie jar in the background is a "bakery"......... and I made the sign which says "Becca's Kitchen" and features bluebirds and roses, naturally!

Pretty Dishes.......
I so enjoy pretty dishes.......... I found the pink ones shown here at an auction........ they are among my favorites. The vintage blue dish drainer was a garage sale find, and the old embroidered linen was found at an antique shoppe.

When I first thought towards July's mantel of the month, the colors of red and blue, of course, came to mind. Seeing as how my mind generally thinks in pastels, the red was quickly changed to pink.......

Happy July!

~JULY MANTEL of the MONTH~

One of my Pink makeover projects.....

In a slight departure from my normal postings, I would like to share with you about our Father's Day this year...... By the way, this is a picture I have of my own father when he was a little boy. I miss you always & love you forever, Dad.....

A Father's Day Story

Father's Day. One of those days of extreme mixed emotions. I miss my dad, who was, without a doubt, my biggest fan in life. I miss the boys' dad, and hurt for them that he was gone from their lives so quickly. I miss our two children who aren't here with my husband to celebrate Father's Day.

However, in the midst of the missing and the sadness, a bright spot. Our 16 yr. old told me about a week ago what he wanted to give his stepdad, my dear second husband, for Father's Day. Adoption papers, so that they will no longer be "step" anything, but Father & Son. It has a nice ring to it.

So we wrapped the papers up in a shirt box (you must try to fool Dad, after all, into thinking he's getting a shirt and tie or the like.) I captured the moment on camera. My husband actually reminded me somewhat of a child when he opened the present -- the look of glee on his face; the almost dancing in delight when the realization hit of what the box contained.

You see, we cannot have any more children, so my husband will never have the joy of raising his biological children, as both of them were born to heaven. But he loves my boys as his own, and now the world will know, as he proudly can say "my son".

Our Own Bed & Breakfast

A floral creation from a vintage purse and some pearls and flowers I had........... This is displayed in our living room.

One of my Grandma's hats, displayed in my living room.... I'm thinking of my Grandma C. today; as it would be her birthday. My Grandma was a special lady. She lived a very hard life in the hills of Virginia, raising eight children.... She died when I was eight, so my memories of her are more limited than I would want, but I cherish those I do have. And I cherish Grandma's hats.
Sometimes I like to think of what Grandma and I would talk about, now that I am grown and no longer the child she knew........ We would talk about our strong love for our husbands and children, we would cry together over the babies we have lost...... we would talk about God and how much He loves us and how thankful we are to be His............. and, oh yes......we'd talk about those hats!

I decorated our back step for our outdoor garden wedding (1998)...... I still have these concrete snuggling bunnies; in fact I just paid them a visit in our front flower bed a few moments ago.....

June Mantel of the Month

June makes us think of weddings, which are generally white (though mine was pink, of course! ;) so I decided to feature a white mantel for the month of June. White lace, doilies, plates, roses and pearls are just some of the items featured on this all-white mantel.

A closeup of the June mantel.....
The little cherub candleholder was gold, to which I gave a whitewash...... the stand is actually a cake plate (also white, of course!)