Friday, October 30, 2015

Traveling Totes #4 + Fall Giveaway - X is for EXcited for the Golden Days of Fall



X is for

e-X-c-i-t-e-d

about the Golden Days of Fall

Welcome to Tales of the Traveling Totes #4




Texas is often hot and dry well into October,

so we don't experience the beauty that

one sees in the Northeast with  

the blazing glow of changing leaf color.





Our autumns are much more subtle.

They are indeed, Golden!





Miss Merri Mac and I

have to find our flaming orange hues

at the local plant centers.





And the many pumpkin patches

that pop up around town in early October.





Even Miss Mini Mac enjoys exploring

the abundance of russet hued pumpkins and gourds

that seem to be at every market in Austin.





Loading up a few plants

to put out in the fall garden.





A favorite fall activity is

of course shopping the venues during

Round Top Antiques Week.





Miss Merri Mac 

and I wouldn't miss it!

Always the first week in October.





A highlight this year was meeting

Anita @ Cedar Hill Ranch.

She was there signing her new book,

FRENCH ACCENTS

Farmhouse French Style.

What a treat to meet a blogging friend

whom I've admired and followed for many years.

You can find her book HERE.





Autumn in the Texas Hill Country west of Austin

is always a beautiful time of the year.





One such delightful day trip is to a

nearby olive grove at the Texas Olive Company.





Halloween is definitely

a big part of the Golden Days of Fall

here at Hyacinths for the Soul.




There is the Annual Halloween 

Dinner Party with long time girlfriends.

You can see previous years' dinner parties

HERE and HERE.





Miss Merri Mac and I have also joined girlfriends

at several Halloween themed Happy Hours

where the treats were very scary.


Previous Halloween Happy Hours 

can be seen HERE and HERE.

Great ideas for party food!






Miss Merri Mac has her mask

and is ready to be filled with Halloween treats

to share with all those little goblins 

that will soon be on the street.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL!




Golden Days of Fall!

Let's Celebrate!


All who leave a comment on this post will be

entered into a draw for a $25 Starbucks Card,

Miss Merri Mac's treat as a Thank You for

following along and joining us for

Tales of the Traveling Totes.

Winner will be announced November 11, 2015.


Below are the links to more 
Golden Days of Fall with the Traveling Totes
Join the fun!

Patti and Miss Kenzie @ Pandoras Box

Linda and Miss Posie @ More Fun Less Laundry


Debbie and Miss Aurora @ Mountain Breaths

Colleen and Miss MacKenzie Joy
Tami and Miss MC La Mer

Rita and Miss Luna C @ Panoply





Next Traveling Totes Series on December 15th.


Joining

Sarah
Sarah

The summer we married, my husband was in graduate school, and I was employed as a teacher. We took a portion of our savings that summer and purchased a sailboat. We christened our Catalina 22, “Hyacinths For The Soul” after Saadi’s poem. Our "Hyacinths" provided years of pleasure.

44 comments:

  1. What an adorable post! Miss M Mac sure gets around! (And she sure is a cutie!)

    How wonderful you were able to meet Anita. You both, indeed, are long-time awesome fav bloggers.

    I have only met one blogger in person (she really doesn't blog anymore) and had a couple of very close, but near misses a few times, hope to remedy that in 2016.

    Happy Halloween! You celebrate it in whimsical style for sure! Hugs!

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  2. Texas is still every bit as colorful in Autumn but in her own way, which is how Texans do everything ~ very well their own way, and I love it !

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  3. You and Miss Merri Mac have too much fun! I adore that antique wagon with the metal wheels with the pumpkins! Going to Round Top would be so much fun. That's nice that you met a fellow blogger there. Have a nice Halloween!

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  4. Your parties and outings are the best, Sarah! I want to join you in every one of them. If they're anything close to what the photos show, they are all attendance worthy. Have a great weekend.
    Rita

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  5. Looks like you have enjoyed the golden days of fall!! Love all of your collaged photos and I see some lovely MC pieces that I would die for!! How exciting to meet another blogger!! Your annual parties sound like so much fun and I so wish we lived closer to each other - what fun our totes would have!! This was a fun theme.

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  6. I certainly enjoyed my tour around Austin with you and Miss Merri Mac, Sarah! How fun to meet Anita at Round Top!! It's always exciting to me fellow blogging friends. It sounds like you have a fun group of girlfriends, as I do, too. Happy Halloween to you, my friend.

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  7. Such a fabulous post dear Sarah - I think you have left the rest of us in the dust when it comes to Halloween decor and celebrations! Your photos are gorgeous - and loved seeing you at Round Top early in the month - I would love to visit there one of these years! I think I'll add Anita's great looking book to my 'wish list' - perhaps treat myself to a late b'day/early Xmas gift!

    Enjoy the weekend and Halloween in Texas - we are expecting a lovely one after several days of rain and dreary conditions. The little ghouls and goblins should out in force tomorrow night.
    Hugs - Mary

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  8. Sarah,
    I would be very X-cited to go to Round Trip too! Miss Merri Mac was a good companion for a trip where you need lots of room for collecting goodies. I hope some of the transferware pieces hopped into her. I've been enjoying Anita's book too.
    Texas just looks so beautiful and fascinating. The golden hues seem very much in keeping with Texas as I envision it. I hope to visit someday and my list of destinations there is getting longer. I really would like to see the Lady Bird Johnson wildflower farm, among many other places!
    I popped over to see your Halloween parties from past years and I think you are very lucky to have maintained this tradition for so long. The little Halloween figurines marching along the baker's rack shelves are adorable. I must investigate further.
    I love the look of your pumpkins in the bread bowl (?) and in the M-C planters. The rusticity of the pumpkins and bittersweet contrasted with the M-C planters on the silver tray is just so inviting. That is really a style that fits me so well and I must try to imitate that look for my Thanksgiving table.
    Miss Merri Mac and Miss Mini Mac have had a wonderful fall so far. I look forward to seeing more of their adventures next time!
    Linda

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  9. It was such a blessing to meet you in person sweet Sarah!!!

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  10. Wow, this is an eXtra, eXtra edition:)

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  11. Oh my....you are having the best time there in Texas!!! I'd really love to visit Round Top one day....I know I'd be in vintage heaven!! How awesome you are having a give away!!

    Have a great Pink Saturday!! Dana

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  12. Love the bag:)♥

    The tole tray..the gent;)

    The pic of you!
    Lovely colors!!

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  13. I like Miss Merri Mac's mask. It has me wanting to make one. Or, two. Or, three. Hmmmm, Christmas presents? That would be different. I enjoyed your travels and your photos, thank you very much. Hollister, California almost looks like your Austen right now, without the streams.
    The View from the Top of the Ladder

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  14. What a great post - loved all the beautiful photos you took. Miss Merri Mac sure gets around and she is having so much fun. Your Halloween decorations and treats are terrific.
    Happy Halloween and don't eat to much candy........
    Mary

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  15. Miss Merri Mac looks so elegant wherever she goes. I love her by the greenery!
    What fun parties.
    My sister Jean is in San Antonio and they have been dumped on - flooding right behind their house. Too much or too little - how it always goes.

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  16. Sarah, Your golden days are beautiful in Texas! I must get to Round Top!...how fun to meet Anita too. I'm swooning over your Courtly Check urns and vases topped with pumpkins! I adore your Halloween mask and hope you're sharing some tricks and treats from your annual Halloween dinner this year! <|:>)

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  17. So fun to see where your tote's traveled! Lucky you, getting to meet Anita!

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  18. I am loving this post! What fun to travel with your Miss Merri Mac! I keep saying some day I'm going to Round Top!!
    hugs,
    Linda

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  19. Your fall is like ours Sarah, very golden. You and Miss Merri Mac have made a lot of fun trips with gorgeous fall decorations. And, wow, I'm so glad you were able to go and meet Anita. I also follow her fabulous blog and would love to meet her and I've got to get her book. Love all your fall vignettes, so lovely. Enjoy your Halloween and have fun with your girl friends.
    Happy Halloween………..

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  20. Gorgeous photos and I love seeing Miss Merri Mac amongst all the festivities! I'm heading down to San Antonio later this week for my granddaughter's birthday but someday I will coincide my visits to Texas to fulfill the dream of going to Round Top during Antiques Week!
    Happy Halloween!
    Robin

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  21. Dearest Sarah,
    What a lovely post and how precious you got to meet with a very talented and special blogger friend in person!
    You look great in that picture with Miss Merri Mac!
    Sending you hugs for a happy Halloween.
    Mariette

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  22. I've been enjoying this series, Sarah, via my friend Rita at Panoply. Your travelling totes have more fun than some people I know! I'd love to enter your Starbucks contest :)

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  23. Miss Merry Mac is a fun gal and always on the go! I love the markets and I smile when I see those pumpkins with all of the bumps and funny shapes...the ugly ducklings. I snatch them up.

    Love the pretty colors Texas has to offer. I think when you get a shorter bit of cooler weather and colors like you do, you simply appreciate them more. I'm wondering if you've been affected by the rain and flooding. I pray not.

    It think it's so nice that you had the chance to met Anita. I follow her blog but I've never checked out her book. I'm finding it very difficult to order decorating books and that's just the way it is with the lack of brick and mortar stores. I have bought a few as well as some cookbooks recently and have been sorely disappointed. Not sure how to remedy that. But I wholly support bloggers venturing into the publishing world...it's very exciting!

    Hope you had a Spooktacular day!

    Jane x

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  24. I really do like your blog and I just love the name. I want so much to start a blog and I just can't grasp the directions. Keep up the good work and may God richly bless you.

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  25. What a cute post! I loved seeing Miss Merri Mac in all the pics!

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  26. Very cute series. It really does look like autumn; the light is different at this time of year. Love that wagon photo. What a lovely time. xoxo Su

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  27. I have enjoyed the traveling tote series with Miss Merri Mac, how lucky to go to the round top antique show! Wish I could go too but it's a bit far away! Also enjoying the A to Z posts! Happy November!

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  28. I actually went to Round Top this year. It was pretty cool. Lots to see. How cool you got to meet Anita - I have her book and it's really great. Love your tour of Austin and surrounding areas. Even though I'm close to Austin, I seldom venture down I-35. I'm glad the trees are finally starting to turn. I love it - even the little we get!

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  29. This post made me sad because we would have been in Austin next week had we not had to change our plans.

    Maybe next year.

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  30. Sarah, you've had such an enjoyable Halloween in Texas with your fun group of friends. Since Halloween was on a Saturday, we had over 120 trick or treaters. Great costumes and all well behaved ;o)

    Miss Merri Mac and Miss Mini Mac sure know how to have fun. Thanks for taking us to Texas Hill Country and Round Top. Love the pic of you and fellow blogger Anita at Round Top.

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  31. Morning Sarah,

    What an enjoyable time you've had. Thanks for sharing. Especially like the black and white checkered pumpkins.

    Have a Happy Blue Monday!

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  32. Halloween was great fun this year s always, and your pictures share the spirit.

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  33. Oh, you have so much fun! Great photos! Great memories!

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  34. Sarah,
    I adored seeing the Garden Centers filled to the brim with gorgeous Autumnal hues, dear friend!!!
    What a "treat" to meet Anita Joyce in person!!!
    I'm sure Anita was as happy to meet you, too!!!
    Thank you for sharing the beauty of your great State of Texas.
    During "Mr. Ed's" tours of Duty, we resided in Corpus Cristi, TX.
    I loved the weather, but couldn't make "Mr. Ed" commit to the thought of retiring in Texas.
    Fondly,
    Pat

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  35. You two have certainly had quite the fall adventures! Thanks for sharing and looking forward to December's travels!!
    V

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  36. Looks beautiful there! Awesome you met Anita! Thanks for sharing at Home Sweet Home!

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  37. What absolutely beautiful Fall photos! How delightful to meet Anita- I have her book on my wish list :)

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  38. Wonderful fall adventures !!! I especially love the pumpkin displays (really love the tray with the pumpkins in the wagon - who knew this would be so cute !!!) and the Round Top Antiques Week. Fall is my favorite time of year - I love the colors, the smells, the eats and the cool crisp weather with snugly sweaters and scarfs. Thanks for taking us with you on your fall travels. Blessings !!

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  39. Why does every holiday seem to get away from me before I can get out and enjoy the various displays? Thankfully my neighborhood ladies group has jumped on board and we are getting out and about almost weekly. I loved visiting all of these fun places vicariously through you. Great photos and fun meet-up!

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  40. Beautiful photos, Sarah. I loved seeing the photo of you and Anita! Your post is being featured tonight at Foodie Friday and Everything Else.

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  41. Texas fall is beautiful in it's own way! Oh how I hope to make it to Round Top some day!! Great that you and Anita got to meet. You always celebrate fall with the most gorgeous dishes and displays! Thanks for sharing with SYC and thanks for offering this give away.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  42. Love seeing the beautiful fall Texas landscape and all your traveling tote adventures! Looks like a lot of fun. Cheri@mySweetHomeinAlabama

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  43. Round top is always fun! So much to see! I live in East Texas and our Fall foliage comes a little late, but it's always so exciting to see the golds, oranges and reds when they finally do appear.
    kellam.susan@yahoo.com

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  44. How fun that you got to go to Round Top and meet Anita. Great post.

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