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.


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Saturday, October 24, 2015

Witches Tea Party ~ 2015






Come on in

the party is about to begin.





Members of the Black Hat Society 

have been seen arriving at various parties.

Many with black cats frocking along!





And, yes, of course!

All dogs are welcome to join the fun.





Vanessa @ A Fanciful Twist

is hosting her annual

Witches Tea Party!

Thank you, Miss Vanessa!





Cleo and some of the "girls" here at

Hyacinths for the Soul

have prepared a simple tea tray

in hopes you will join them.





Nothing too fancy!

Miss Tilly made some sweet treats,

and Greta brewed a fresh pot of her favorite tea.





Of course the

 black and white theme

was totally the girls' idea.






They flew straight to the cupboard for their

favorite Courtly Check tea service.





Like I said,

nothing too fancy.






But they do love the beautiful

brass and carved cinnabar finial on top.





The "girls" chose to use our

best black plaid china.





Care for milk and sugar with your tea?

One lump or two?





French Macaroons are Miss Tilly's speciality.

Lemon ~ Passion Fruit ~ Salted Caramel ~ Chocolate

Yum and Double Yum!





And what's a tea party 

without a sprinkling of candy corn?





Grab your broom and 


to wisk yourself over to all the other 

Witches Tea Parties.

Thanks for stopping by!

 Happy Halloween!

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Friday, October 23, 2015

W is for Witch


W is for Witch

I'm not one to embrace the scary side of Halloween,

but I do enjoy the whimsy and make believe

fun to be celebrated at Halloween.  

If you do too, take note.




Vanessa @ A Fanciful Twist 

is hosting her annual Witches Tea Party.

Certainly there will be lots of creative ideas

and artistic fun from this master party hostess.

Come back Saturday, October 24 for a cup of tea.



In the meantime click here

  to meet the sweet, fanciful girls

who always show up for Halloween here 

 at Hyacinths for the Soul.



Join Miss Cleo here for

 Tea for Two and Witches Brew





If a picnic is more your style,

 you can join all the girls here for

 Eat, Drink, and Be Witchy.


Do plan to join us for tea on Saturday!

 Joining
Vintage Charm @ Charm Bracelet Diva





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Wednesday, October 14, 2015

V is for Velvet Pumpkins




V is for Velvet
~ Velvet Pumpkins ~

I succumbed to the spell 
of velvet pumpkins several years ago when
I purchased a group with the intention of using
them as the center piece down a long table
for a birthday luncheon I was hosting that October.

As it turned out,  there was not sufficient
space on the table for a gathering of velvet pumpkins.
Instead, I grouped them together on the mantel that fall.

I mixed in bittersweet, Mr. Pudge, and 
faux candles with a birch bark covering.

Since that first year, I've simplified the mantel display
using the antique French balance scale to hold
a few of the velvet pumpkins and touches of bittersweet.

I like to nestle the pumpkins into
a soft bed of Spanish moss.

Using less on the mantel allows me to use the velvets in other
ways, depending on what inspiration strikes my fancy.

Sometimes I tuck them into
flower arrangements.

Or gather them near a vase of 
fresh flowers for added interest.

Even one or two anchors a vase of
flowers with a touch of autumn.

One or two pumpkins can also add a festive 
touch for fall within vignettes.

This fall I added a few to the
shelves in the bamboo cabinet on the sun porch.

It's easy to tuck them in here and there among
the items already on the shelves in a cabinet or on bookshelves.

Velvet pumpkins are made with luscious colors
and real pumpkin stems that have been dried.
I like the natural element and the whimsey of the
shapes and textures of the real stems.

I'm always on the watch for fresh ideas.
This was a table from the Nashville Antique and Garden Show.
The dealer used varying heights of footed compotes or
cake stands to stack the velvet pumpkins for a centerpiece.

This store display offered a touch of whimsey
with this squirrel and velvet pumpkins made in leopard print.
Leopard isn't really my style, but
I was tempted to add one or two of these.

I have an entire Pinterest Board dedicated
to ideas of how others use their velvet pumpkins.
One of my favorite pins is this one from 
Edith and Evelyn Vintage.
It may not be all that practical, but 
I'm drawn to the contrast of the texture of the
luxe of the velvet pumpkins and the gold wash frame
against the rustic of the burlap on the chair.
You can see more beauty at Edith and Evelyn Vintage HERE.

My friend, Yvonne @ Stone Gable
shared five beautiful ways to style
velvet pumpkins HERE.

Velvet pumpkins offer an elegant 
understated touch of autumn.
Stop by my Pinterest Board to see more.

https://www.pinterest.com/hyacinth2/velvet-pumpkins/


Joining
Vintage Charm @ Charm Bracelet Diva

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