I'm hosting a little family get-together this weekend to five of my six sisters, one sister-in-law, and several of all our girls (more on that hopefully next week), so I wanted to switch up a few things in my Fall decor before I pull out all of my Christmas totes soon after the weekend.
The sunroom is a gathering space when we have company, an area adjacent to both our kitchen and family room. We keep our furniture mostly the outdoor type in the sunroom because the sun's rays are pretty much relentless year-round in here (which is great in winter, but we have a separate heating/cooling unit to moderate the temps). My reading nook is taking on a more Autumn appeal right now.
You can see my stash of magazines on either side of my favorite chair, which I just had slipcoverd this year (you can read about it here if you're so inclined). The leopard throw was my 'win' several years ago in one of our family's annual Christmas $25 limit gift exchanges where you take a number, and alternatively pick a gift or steal from others - are you familiar with that game? I was happy with my win that year. The orchard ladder behind the chair is Amish, purchased from City Farmhouse, and my white sweater pumpkins are on the side table with the terra cotta bust and owl. That orchard ladder was in the booth space for six months with no takers. When I removed it, I replaced it with an old, twelve foot ladder that I cut into two six foot ladders and sold separately, within one week of placing them. Go figure.
The bust dons a straw hat in Spring and Summer, and usually a black beret come winter. The owl is from Pottery Barn and the ironstone is, again, from vintage stash.
Two of three baby boos remain from September purchases, believe it or not (!), on the center table in the sunroom, perched on graduated birch logs cut from last year's fallen tree.
The European cutting board, vintage postcard, flower frogs and scrabble tiles were all from my vintage stash, which may or may not end up in the antique mall booth space at some point. The natural items were all gathered on daily walks I take with Mr. P.
You may have noticed a boxwood on the right side of my chaise, and I have another in the opposite corner. When I got rid of most of my houseplants this summer, I planted these in black clay pots I scored from Lowe's. Boxwoods are slow-growing, so I'm willing to keep them indoors. I'll shape them in another year or two, when the mood strikes.
From Antique Farmhouse, I purchased some of their preserved boxwood balls, planning to add them to my dining room. They arrived a couple days ago, and I'm still playing around with placement. First I tried this:
I had the vintage plaid mohair throw on the leather chair in the corner of the room previously, but thought it may pull the colors of Fall together by making it a runner on the table. Vintage ironstone and transferware in the background are all part of my vintage stash, and the cast iron mini urns were scored at City Farmhouse last year (along with the orchard ladder in the sunroom, and few other cool things I'll be using with Christmas decor later).
Unhappy with the leather chair sitting bare in the corner, I changed out the table to look like this:
You get a glimpse of the chair with the mohair throw back on in the background. Not sure I really like this arrangement either, so I'll be messin' around with it some more before the get-together on Sunday...since I can't recover those chairs before Sunday (I'm a sleuth decorator, but I'm not a magician).
So, that's it for my figurative fluffin' the nest. As for the literal....my office is on the second level of my home, and as I was drinking my coffee and checking email this morning, I kept hearing a bird which, I thought, was on the windowsill chirping and pecking as the little birds sometimes do. Wrong. That bird was in my attic! I went up there, opened the dormer window and the bird flew out almost immediately. Thank goodness.
Then, around noon, I heard it AGAIN! This time, it wasn't so easy getting the bird to fly out, so my compulsiveness kicked into overdrive, and I was bound and determined to find the source of its entry. You know that screen mesh that's put between your roof trusses and studs of your structural walls? Yea, me either, but I followed the light beyond the insulation and found it. And I also found a huge NEST! Who knows when the bird(s) built that nest, but I figured if they could get in to build it, that's likely the entry point for the bird I found today. Plus, the nest was right above my desk space where I heard the noise.
Needless to say, I fluffed that nest - right out of its corner and into the trash. I could see, with the help of my trusty flashlight, that the mesh screen did, in fact, have a gap, so I bent it back in place. As of this writing, the bird has not returned. Thank goodness.
And thank goodness I was a ballerina in a former life, as my balance and agility skills were put to the test today, crouching in the rafters, balancing on two by eights, in between insulation not covered with wood flooring. I took two ibuprofen afterward, to help rid myself of the hitch in my right hip. Ballet titles which come to mind....Firebird....Dying Swan.
Needless to say, I fluffed that nest - right out of its corner and into the trash. I could see, with the help of my trusty flashlight, that the mesh screen did, in fact, have a gap, so I bent it back in place. As of this writing, the bird has not returned. Thank goodness.
And thank goodness I was a ballerina in a former life, as my balance and agility skills were put to the test today, crouching in the rafters, balancing on two by eights, in between insulation not covered with wood flooring. I took two ibuprofen afterward, to help rid myself of the hitch in my right hip. Ballet titles which come to mind....Firebird....Dying Swan.
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