Monday, October 10, 2011

Slowly Falling Into The Season






Today is my first day back in the states after traveling around France for four weeks. It was a spectacular trip, and though I didn't want it to end, it always feels good to be back home. When I left, triple digits were the norm here in Texas, so it was indeed a pleasant surprise to be greeted with some cool, rainy weather upon arrival. Perhaps fall has arrived in central Texas.





Normally by early October there are pumpkins scattered about here at HFTS along with a few friendly witches, black cats, and crows. Fall is a favorite time of year for me, and though I've not been around to pull out the fall decor just yet, I've certainly been inspired by the many fun and creative ideas posted throughout Blogland. With nothing of my own to share just yet, I thought I'd take you to visit my friend, Susan's home. Susan loves holidays and parties, and her home is always a treat. There she is looking out the window to see who is here to visit today. Let's go on in.





The entry is always filled with

fun vignettes, warm and welcoming.





This cute little group of 

pumpkin people stand ready to greet you!





To the side is a silver tray filled with with 

orange glass ball ornaments mixed in 

among some of Susan's collection of silver baby cups. 

 Susan always thinks for some clever way 

to mix in this collection each holiday.




Susan likes to fill this entry hall bench

with loads of fun seasonal pillows and dolls.





Another silver tray holds glass Halloween ornaments 

and petite Limoges type boxes with a Halloween theme. 

 I like the way Susan mixed in the ornamental pumpkin 

looking pods with greens cut from her yard. 

 They really accent the blue and white vase.




Her mantel is ever changing with the seasons. 

 Here she uses her collection of antique majolica 

with little sprays of dried pods on the left side.





The right side is balanced with more of

her charming majolica and a wooden pumpkin.






The pine cupboard is full of beautiful blue and white china, 

but I focused on the whimsical vignette 

Susan arranged across the top.






The dining room chandelier is another feature 

that always figures into Susan's seasonal decorating. 

 This time she has strung it with 

ribbons, lanterns, and decorated cones.





The center piece 

features a pumpkin clown.




This colorful vignette sits 

in the corner on her kitchen counter.




The wooden witch is hand painted, 

and the witch and pumpkin in the vase are made of felt. 

 Clever use of these stick puppets.





Susan's collection of vintage Halloween containers 

flows onto the built-in shelving on a wall in her kitchen.




These darling tea towels were made from ticking and embellished with the a black cat and jack-o-lantern. What could be more perfect for Halloween?

I apologize for the quality of the these photos that were taken a few years ago, though I hope you enjoyed your visit to Susan's home. You can see some of Susan's home decorated for Easter here.

Click the links below to join in the following weekly parties:








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.

45 comments:

  1. What a wonderful spirit of fun your friend, Susan, has!
    Welcome home after your trip. It must have been a marvelous time, but it's always great to come home. I look forward to one or two or ten travel posts!

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  2. I'm thankful you are back safely Sarah and so happy your trip was enjoyable. We missed you but were thrilled to see you when visiting with Maggie.

    Susan must have a lot of storage space at her charming home! Wow! that's the most amazing Autumn/Halloween decor - all very colorful and whimsical. Thanks for sharing - I loved the display on top of the pine cupboard.

    Hope you get some well-earned rest - looking forward to pics from your days en France - know they are full of happy memories.

    Hugs - Mary

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  3. Hi Sarah...

    Welcome home, Sarah! I can't wait to hear all about your fabulous trip to Paris!

    Thank you for sharing your friend Susan's beautiful home with us! Her autumn/halloween decor is so sweet! Ohh...and you know how much I love silver...so I really enjoyed Susan's beautiful silver tray filled with the pretty rust ornaments and silver baby cups! That's gorgeous!

    Well dear lady, I'm sure that you are happy to be back home! It's always fun to get away but in the end...there is no place like home!

    Warmest autumn wishes,
    Chari

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  4. Bonjour. I am a new follower on your blog. I truly enjoyed visiting your friend Susan's home today. One thing is for sure: she would make the great Martha Stewart turn green with envy ;-) Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)

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  5. You are certainly getting in mood for FALL...how wonderful. I enjoyed my visit. Sooo pretty.

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  6. Welcome home Sarah! Sounds like you just had an amazing trip! Your friend's home is beautiful:@)

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  7. Now that is some serious decorating for Halloween! Welcome home!!

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  8. Sarah~ Glad you arrived home safely and had a wonderful trip! I'm looking forward to seeing your photos from your travels! Love your friend's collections~ the baby cups display make me want to start a collection!

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  9. Can't wait to hear and see all about it..welcome back!

    Lovely decorations:)

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  10. Welcome home!! I am envious of your trip. Susan's decorating is wonderfully whimsical!

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  11. A lot of great ideas in Susan's home. She definitely has a knack for displaying her treasures. Thanks for sharing, Susan and Sarah. Glad you've made it safely back home. I know you had a wonderful trip, and I can't wait to hear all about it. laurie

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  12. Sarah, I love your decorations for Fall. Oh, but you were in France? How exciting. I can imagine that you had the most wonderful time.

    Karen

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  13. Can't wait to see your pictures from France!! Thanks for sharing all of Susan's fall decorations...from the front door to the kitchen she has done a wonderful job..Love some of those large funky pumpkins and witches! Hope you are enjoying your fall weather..it is glorious here!
    Miss Bloomers

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  14. Welcome back !! Glad you are home and LOVE the festive Fall post :)

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  15. Welcome home, Sarah! Glad you had a great trip!

    I love your friend's CUTE decorations. I see a pillow I covet and some cute pumpkin figurines. I really don't do scarey, but cute cats and pumpkin items always catch my eye. Love hers!

    XO,

    Sheila

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  16. Hello Sarah,
    welcome home. I hope you had a wonderful time in France and found some more pieces of your beautiful Quimper pottery. I love the cute decorations of your friend Susan. All is warm and welcoming. She has really quite a collection of funny pumpkin designs. Have a great time at home.
    Best greetigns, Johanna

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  17. Wow, I have never seen so many fall/halloween decoarations in one place. Susan must love it. Thanks so much for sharing.

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  18. Welcome home! I can't wait to hear about your trip.
    Susan's home is cute I love all the decorations!

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  19. Sara welcome home. I'm sure you will have beautiful photographs to share after you recover from your long trip.
    Susan knows how to decorate for Halloween, she has such delightful vignettes. I really like the decorations on top of the cupboard.

    ~Emily
    The French Hutch

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  20. Susan's home is lovely and I really enjoyed the pictures of it all dressed up for fall and Halloween. Cute!!

    I'm looking forward to hearing about your trip! :-)

    XO,
    Jane

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  21. Welcome home Sarah! Glad you made it safe and sound. Travel can be such an athletic event! Susan sure is a fun lady! I think fall is a perfect time to show off the majolica. And I'm sure everyone who visits loves the Halloween greetings!

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  22. Hi, Welcome back! What a fantastic trip to go on. Susan's house is so fun. I love all of the whimsy!

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  23. Welcome home! I can't wait to see all of your magnificent photos from your trip. And purchases...?

    Thanks so much for sharing Susan's home with us. It certainly is filled with seasonal charm. Perhaps you'll link it to Seasonal Sundays. I may have a lot done for Fall, but not Halloween. Your post makes me realize I need to get my booty in gear! LOL!

    - The Tablescaper

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  24. Firstly, Susan's home is drop dead gorgeous! Secondly she sure does have an eye for Halloween decor!!

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  25. Welcome Home. Your friend's home is beautiful! Thank her for sharing with us!

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  26. Glad to see you back!

    I hope you had good weather on your trip to Paris. I went in late October about 16 years ago...it was bitterly cold during my visit!

    I can't wait to see some pictures of your adventures in France.

    Thanks for sharing Susan's Fall decor with us :)

    xoxo Bunny Jean
    Wednesday's Bunny hop Party!

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  27. I adore all those sweet vignettes! It is always fun to see how everyone decorates this time of year. Have a great day Sarah!

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  28. That is what I call, wonderful fall decor! Love it all! Welcome home, you must still be traveling a bit in your mind! How awesome to have been traveling for four weeks in France! That is just awesome!

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  29. Cut picture of Susan peeking through the window! She has done an excellent job decorating for fall! Her home is lovely, thanks for sharing with us! :)

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  30. Can't wait to hear and see your travel posts Sarah!
    Four whole weeks? Sounds like a dream.
    Thanks for sharing Susan's Halloween with us. Love the hutch top fellows!
    xx
    Alison

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  31. Thank you for sharing your friend's decorations with us! I love her warm, welcoming doorway with all the pumpkins. How lucky you are to have been to France! I would love to go there and to England one day!
    Cindy

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  32. Welcome home! I will be looking forward to some travel posts as we will want to hear all about it! Thank's for sharing Susan's home...it's fun and festive!

    Thank you for linking to Potpourri Friday! You help to make it a special day!

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  33. Thanks for the tour of Susan's very cute home! I love her decorations, especially those towels and the pumpkins on top of the pine cupboard.

    I hope you had a great trip to France!

    Pam

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  34. always nice to get away and even nicer coming home I am sure you have lots of tails to tell come see me at http://shopannies.blogspot.com

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  35. Welcome back, Sarah! I missed you but I bet you had a lot of fun. Your friend's Susan's home is a masterpiece, so much fun. I can feel the warmth just looking at her decor and accessories. Enter my giveaway if you get a chance. It's in the blog post before the last...Christine

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  36. welcome home, Sarah! I know how you feel, you don't want the beautiful trip to end...but, home is calling....and as the saying goes...there is no place like home!
    I think your friends house is charmingly decorated, and it will certainly get you in the spirit of fall and Halloween. I am glad, I could also inspire you. And thank you for loving my creations.
    Can't wait to see what you come up with in your fall decorating.
    Glad, that the weather in Texas has changed a bit. I felt so very sorry for you all.
    Happy to have you back,
    Hugs, Evi

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  37. Don't you just LOVE this season dearest? HOW WAS FRANCE??????????? PARIS? PROVENCE? ALL OF IT? Fun......

    Thank you for coming tout de suite to visit me! AND ENJOY THIS COZY SEASON, Anita

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  38. Welcome home!
    Susan does a lovely job of decorating.
    I used to go all out, but I have cut way back. Too much work carrying it up and down the stairs.
    I think I will save my energy for Cmas this year.
    Have a great Seasonal Sunday!

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  39. Hi Sarah,

    Hope you had a wonderful time in France. I bet this is a good time of year to be there. Your friend has some really cute and festive decorations for Halloween. I like to see people have fun decorating for every season. Thanks for sharing and Happy Seasonal Sunday!

    Denise

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  40. Sarah, I am so glad you had a great time in France and can't wait to hear more. Susan did a wonderful job decorating her home for Fall and Halloween. Thank you for sharing at the Open House party.
    Hugs,
    Sherry

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  41. A fun tour of your friend's Halloween decor, so cute!

    How nice that you've been traveling in France!

    Katherine

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  42. Welcome back, Sarah! I am sure you will be showing us parts of your trip? Your friend does a nice decorating job...

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  43. Hi Sarah, what a delightful assortment of Halloween and Fall decorations. I can see that you really enjoy this time of year. I found and am now following you through My Romantic Home and will visit often. Please stop by my blog and perhaps you could also follow me. I would love that. Have a wonderful weekend. Hugs, Chris

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  44. Ah, I bet it would be hard to come home from France! Glad you had a nice time. Your decorator did a wonderful job.:) Thanks for joining me for the HSH Fall Open House!
    Sherry

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