Secret Garden Cottage: November 2011

Monday, November 21, 2011

CARRYING ON FAMILY TRADITIONS...

When I was little, my mom bought some Santa cups for me and my sister to drink our hot coca

from during the Christmas season. I loved that Santa cup and couldn't wait to get it out of

the box every year for the holidays.

As soon as my daughters were old enough, I couldn't wait to buy them their own Santa cups
to drink their hot cocoa from. My daughters love their Santa cups just as much as I did and
get so excited when its time to use them for the holidays once again. It sure does bring back
fond memories of my own childhood to watch my girls with their cups and listen to them talk
about how much they love them. I love that something so simple can bring so much joy.

I found these cute little curled candy canes at Target... to add that little extra something special.

Linking to:

This and That Thursday

I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving with your loved ones.

Next up, Christmas! Here's to carrying on family traditions!

'Til next time...

Jo :-)

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

A SIMPLE FALL TABLE SETTING

Hello everyone! I hope you're all having a nice week so far.

Today I thought I would share a simple fall table setting with you. As usual, around this time

of year, I get very inspired by all of the pretty table settings in magazines and in Blogland that I

actually begin to think that I too can do this. Ideas begin to roll around in my head, and then I

just can't fight the urge to give it a go. Of course, it didn't turn out all that I wanted it to be,

but I thought I would share it with you guys anyways... what the heck.

I wanted to get some of the yellow-colored fall leaves from my yard to tuck into the twine around

the napkins, but I was running out of time before I had to go pick up my kids from school. My
youngest gets out of school an hour early all week because of parent teacher conferences, so
fitting a blog post like this into my day isn't easy.

And if that wasn't enough, my batteries died on me before I was done taking all the

pictures I wanted to take, so this is all I was able to get. I didn't have anymore batteries,

and I didn't have time to run to the store. Living in the country definitely has its faults.

Everything here is very simple. I used a couple of antique white ironstone beer bottles for

candle holders and tied "Merci" tags on each one. I used vintage music sheets as place mats,

tucked the silverware into the simple white linen napkins and tied each one with twine.

I wanted to keep everything white on white, so that the pretty Cinderella pumpkin would

add a pop of color, but I do wish I had the time to place those fall leaves in the napkin

bundles.

So there you have it... my unfinished attempt at creating an inspiring fall table setting... lol.

Linking to these fun and inspiring parties:
White Wednesday
Vintage Inspiration Friday

Feathered Nest Friday

On an entirely different note, I'm considering creating a "Tag Sale" page, so I have a venue
to sell some of the things I no longer have room for in my home. These would be things that

I love and adore and would use in my own home, if only I still had the space for them. You
all know how it goes... in with the new old thing and out with the old old thing. I'll keep
you all posted if I decide to follow through with it.

Also, thanks for all of your lovely comments. I've enjoyed hearing all of your thoughts and

ideas again.

I hope the rest of your week is wonderful!

'Til next time...

~ Jo :-)

Friday, November 11, 2011

THE WARM GLOW OF CANDLE LIGHT

On a cold autumn day like today, when the rooms are dark because the sky is covered with clouds,
I like to enjoy the warm glow of candle light. It makes me feel all warm and cozy...