Spicing Up the Week

As the week ended and I was once again looking for things to keep me busy, a few ideas popped into my head and I scrambled to see what I could do with what I already had around the house. I used to get so many of my ideas from magazines but, once they starting getting so expensive...and most of their content began showing up on sites before the magazines showed up in my mailbox...I discontinued most of my subscriptions. And, I am still OK with that. I do occasionally pick up decorating magazines when I see them and one of my favorites is Tuscan Style. I was just sitting perusing the pages the other day and I saw a couch with orange and hunter green velvet pillows. The colors really popped and I remembered that I bought the same pillows at PB not that long ago. I used the green ones for Christmas and St. Patrick's Day but I'm not sure why I didn't think of them for my sunflowers and autumn decor. Of course that sent me into daughter #1's closet...where many, many seasonal things are stored and, before I knew it, I had all sorts of things pulled out and I was roaming the house to find places to use them.

I actually started with some orange poppies that I had in an old mix of summer flowers. I haven't used them for years and, honestly, every time I come upon them I think about just tossing them but, for whatever reason, I haven't. I was looking for some "orange sherbet" colored flowers for the FR mantle but couldn't find any so I thought I would give these a try. And, to my surprise, I'm good with them. I know you haven't even seen the FR yet but here's a sneak peek. The flowers on the mantle are new but when we get in there, I'll show you why I went this route this year.

Then it was on to the pillows. I love the extra pop of color and the dark green matches the stem of the pumpkin perfectly and just brings them all together.

And then there is the very old cake stand from Southern Living. I love this thing but, since I bake very few cakes these days, I don't think of this piece very often. Of course, it is definitely autumn with all of its leaf and acorn design and, because everyone -including me-is using "risers" in their decor these days, I once again walked around trying to find it a home. I tried several places before I got here. It does rise whatever is on it up pretty high so finding a place was difficult but, since I love the dough bowl candle so much, I decided to see how that looked. I think I'm OK with it...at least for now.

And, as I was saying, lots of risers are in use this year...

I found this one the other day in the Target $ Spot. I think I am about to wipe on a coat of antiquing gel and make it a bit darker...and, it probably won't stay here forever but I kind of like it near one of the cutting board displays.

Here is a riser I made. I have some cute trays for some seasons but when I couldn't find one I liked for August, I grabbed an unfinished wood plaque at HL, glued on some wooden balls as feet and stained it up. I actually like it because it is flat and easy to keep clean.

And here is the chunk of beauty that started me on my love for all big hunks of wood. I found this at Williams Sonoma years ago. I think it came out when the charcuterie phase was just starting but I love using it in all sorts of vignettes as a riser. I don't think I've used it for charcuterie even once. lol

So that is my stroll through my tweaks for this week. I was going to take you into the dining room but I think I will save that for another day. I'm off to see what other fun things I can find. Stay safe and stay tuned.