The Post of Many Talents

Yesterday, Rachel cooked a delicious crab scampi with green beans for supper and invited me to join her.  It was flavorful, quick, easy and hit the spot!

As we ate at the dining room table, I couldn’t help but lament my lack of enthusiasm about changing the house up a bit for Fall.  Last year I took great pride in changing out table linens and centerpieces to suit the season but I just hadn’t been motivated this year. As soon as we polished off a delicious slice of pumpkin loaf, I dug through the storage closet under the stairs and got to work.

Fortunately for me, Rachel had her fabulous camera handy and snapped pictures of the progress with the blog in mind.  Before I got started, this is roughly what the dining room looked like. (Note, Rachel did not take this picture)

A couple of pinecones, some ribbon and a few placemats later, the dining room is all ready for Fall! (The following pictures are Rachel’s)

I’m itching to paint in there and put down an area rug under the table.

I am going to pretend that I have thousands of devoted followers who cling to my every word for a minute and tell you where everything came from. :) Indulge me.

If you’ve been reading for a while, you may recall that I painted my table this rich cream color a while back and those bronze/gold chairs are from a rummage sale at the church where I work.

First, those sumptuous placemats are from Williams-Sonoma.  Normally, I would never buy myself anything from W-S (even though I’d love to have the entire store) but these were an excellent price and were too beautiful to pass up. Look at that gorgeous embrodiery!

I mean really look at it!

The napkin rings are from Target.  They are wire but are made to look like twigs. The napkins are some Mama didn’t want.  They don’t exactly match and I’d love to have the ones that match the placemats but they’ll do for now.

The little birdie salt and pepper shakers are from Target.

The pinecones were some I picked up a few years ago at Target after Christmas.  They’re actually ornaments and they’ve been sprayed with a little gold sparkle.  They make great fillers on the tree and I think they look lovely displayed for Fall as well.

The bowl is one Mama gave me (I think it’s from Marshall’s) and the grosgrain ribbon is just some I had lying around.  I need to redo the bow and trim it up though.

The buffet is actually the dresser that matches my bedroom furniture.  I didn’t really have the space or need the storage in my bedroom so I repurposed it as a buffet/linen storage in the dining room.

The lamps are a matching pair from the Salvation Army! The day I went in, they had all lamps buy one, get one 1/2 price! I put a couple of Target shades on them and viola! They look cool, antiquey and way pricier than they really are.

The mirror is from my great-grandmother’s vanity, the mustard yellow runner is from Target and is one of my favorite pieces because it goes with everything in my house, all year round! The junky looking candle/pinecone thing is from Target.  It was also on clearance after Christmas a few years ago.  It’s gotten a little beaten up in storage and looks a little worse for wear but it sort of captures the feeling of the season.

That beautiful print of the snow covered tree is a Jim Gensheer I won at our women’s retreat a few weekends ago. I absolutely love it! The year prior, I won a print of a gorgeous maple leaf by Jim but it’s hanging in Mama’s house.

Total cost of making my house a little more autumnal- $0!

Next up, the living room…

Many thanks to Rachel for her willingness to photograph our house for my blog!