~Autumnal Metamorphosis~

 

~Summer mantel morphs into Autumn~

Faux fireplace mantel as it looked during Summer 2010.

Metamorphosis

For more about how we assembled the faux fireplace mantel, click HERE.

Breakfast room harvest table for Autumn.

I said I was going to wait until September 1st.  However, we had a wonderful week of pre-Fall weather that sent me spinning into Autumn decorating mode. 

Besides…the older I get, the slower I get.  If I wait until Fall is officially here, I would finish the Fall vignettes sometime around December 24th!

HAPPY AUTUMN MEMORY

PHOTO FROM FALL ‘99 or 2000

My friend Terri of Lakewood Manor, purchased a new red convertible, over the weekend.  When I saw a photo of her new Sebring, it brought back happy memories of eldest daughter’s Sebring convertible.

  One particular memory; a trip to Eckert’s Orchard (Illinois), in September, about 10 years ago, during apple picking time.

Oldest granddaughter Xanti and her cousin Sasha built a scarecrow at the orchard.  After a discussion, about how to get the fellow home, it was decided he should ride in style.

The photo was taken at Pere Marquette Lodge, Grafton Illinois.  We can’t make a trip to the orchards or Grafton, without a drive up to Pere Marquette State Park and the lodge.

Xanti is the taller of the two girls. 

Standing behind the girls is yours truly, 10 years and several pounds ago.

Linking to Susan’s Metamorphosis Monday.

CLICK ON GREEN HIGHLIGHTED WORDS TO VISIT LINKS

ANSWERS

The black iron dish rack, seen in A Kitchen Vignette, was found at Home Goods.

The paint color in the kitchen is Valspar Laura Ashley Gold 3

The paint color used in the master bedrooms at home and the lake is Sherwin Williams Antique White.

The pumpkins and other Fall items, used in the vignettes are faux, with the exception of the lotus pods.  The pods are from J’s Aunt Ruth’s lake.  The lake is no longer in existence.

THANK YOU

I appreciate your wonderful response to Saturday Photo Fun. 

I hope to have Part II ready for publishing next weekend.

I’ll try to answer more questions in that post.

I am enjoying the project.

~BRANSON LANDING & OTHER ADVENTURES~

Our Branson road trip began early Friday morning. After breakfast, we met friends at an outdoor craft show, where I found a cute quilt for our expected grandson, Noah. It has a navy background with brightly colored appliqued Angel Fish.

After the craft show we checked in at our hotel. We were very happy to stay right on the Landing. Convenient for dropping off packages and freshening up, during the day. The Hilton at the Landing is a beautiful hotel.

One of my first purchases was here. In fact I made more than one. I love Brighton!

Another favorite, Chico's. Found some wonderful things here, naturally.

A little something for J. He is such a great "traveling companion"! Bass Pro is an anchor store.

A view of the Landing.

Lunch, Saturday, was at Cantina Laredo, where Miguel prepared wonderful Guacamole, at tableside. We sat on the terrace, overlooking Lake Taneycomo.

I took this photo while standing before the large fountain. The flowers were gorgeous. You see our hotel in the upper right. Our room overlooked this street.

This is the large fountain on the square. It is set to music. Fire shoots out through those pipes. Great fun all day and especially wonderful after dark. Lake Taneycomo is in the background.

This is the smaller fountain. The street lights change colors. This is beautiful, after dark.

Saturday morning, my friend JoAnn and I, visited Belk Department Store, the other anchor. I was just going to pick up a bottle of foundation at the Clinique counter. While I waited for Erin to get the foundation, I happened to remember I needed concealer. Sometime, during the concealer conversation, I mentioned my daughter's upcoming wedding. I asked Erin's advice about eye make up for Mother of the Bride Pat. Well, one thing led to another and before I knew it, Erin had worked some great magic on my eyes and I walked out of the store, with everything I need for dramatic eyes! Now, if I can just remember how to do this. I see lots of make up rehearsal, before November!

I didn't have my camera at this time, so JoAnn took the photo, at the Clinique counter.

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We left Branson, late Saturday afternoon. Our friends JoAnn and Jim will be there 2 weeks.

We stayed overnight, last night, at our condo, at Lake of the Ozarks, and started home at about 8:00, this morning. Our drive from the lake usually takes about 2.5 hours. Today, we managed to stretch it to 5 hours. We made a couple detours. One of the detours was our favorite "punkin patch". The photo, a sneak peek, was taken in the former laundry of the historic farm. Look for more about our "punkin patch", in a post later this week.