Happy Thanksgiving!

Autumn has finally come to Texas.

The leaves are beautiful this year - red, gold, orange, and rust.

I never get tired of the leaves changing...

Maybe it's because we have such hot summers and the leaves changing mean cooler weather has finally arrived.

Good for a cozy fire in the fire pit.

And a time for giving thanks.

May you all have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving.

With joy,
Cecilia

Winter Tablescape With Modani

Today I am teaming up with the folks over at Modani to create a Winter Tablescape. They have an incredible line of modern furniture and although my style tends to be more rustic, I actually found several pieces I liked that I thought would fit in with my decor.

A tablescape is the perfect way to add a holiday feel to your home. To begin, I thought about what inspires me - Pine, mercury glass, and silver/white accents are what I think of for the perfect Winter decor - they bring to mind fresh cut Christmas trees, the sparkle of sunlight on snow, lights on a dark winter night, and the glitter of ornaments on the tree. So I gathered a collage of things that help bring all that indoors:

Next, I went over to Modani's website and chose the perfect table. I picked the Philippe table in the white finish because while it has a beautiful modern finish, it has the classic style I am drawn to. I could just see this one in my farmhouse!

I can just imagine the evergreen swag down the middle of it. The pinecones play off the table's classic style while the faux snow dusting ties in with the beautiful white finish.

Then to kick things up a notch, I'd nestle the Mercury glass candle sticks among the greenery. Mercury glass, while an old look, is perfectly at home in any setting, be it rustic or modern - perfect for a table that speaks to both looks. I would next add in more white and silver touches with the ornaments and deer -  a magical winter wonderland look with lots of sparkle!

Lastly, I would use my bronzed woodland chargers to pull in the pine cones with white beaded dishes, add red and silver jingle bell napkin rings, and then to tie it all together, place the place settings on silver beaded placemats.

An elegant, rustic with a modern-edged look, to compliment the Philippe table. Stunning!

I really had fun creating this and browsing through all the beautiful furniture at Modani. What better way to show off a Winter Tablescape than with a beautiful table?


Enjoy!
:o)
Cecilia



I was not compensated by Modani for any of this...all of the opinions expressed in this post are all mine.

New Card Design and Ramblings

I did it!

I finished my new Christmas card design. Here's a sneak peak:

Now it's off to the printers and I wait....I'm hoping I will have them next week.

I've been cleaning and getting ready for Thanksgiving and planning my Wintery, Christmas tablescape. I hope you'll check back next week for that. I'm excited to decorate for Christmas this year. Last year was a bust as I was dealing with my broken knee and unable to do much. As a matter of fact, I will be decorating the farmhouse this weekend. Hurray! I can't wait!!

I'm also trying to finish up the painting of my niece's horse. It is by far the best painting I've ever done. I'm so excited about how it's turning out. Here's how it looked when I started and then about 2 weeks ago:

It always amazes me how much tweaking it takes...just when you think it could be done, you see something else to work on. I do hope to have it done before Christmas.

I'm also working on Christmas ornaments. Cutting them out, painting, embellishing. And then a couple of Christmas signs. Yikes, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed...can I just put everything on hold until I'm all done with these things? :o) I never seem to start early enough and then I'm dashing around trying to get finished. I admire people who can work on their holiday decor way in advance. Somehow, that never works for me.

Speaking of, I'd better go and get the next thing done. Have a wonderful weekend!

hugs,

Cecilia

Virginia Vacation and A Winner!

Hello friends! Do you have something from childhood you always wanted to do? I did. When I was a little girl, I read every horse book I could lay my hands on. To say I was horse crazy is an understatement. I wanted a horse of my own but had to be content with living vicariously through books. One of those books was "Misty of Chincoteague" by Marguerite Henry.

I loved this book! I wanted to go to Chincoteague during the pony round-up and bring one of the ponies home. Sadly, I was never able to convince my parents of this plan. :o)
So when we started planning a vacation with our friends and Virginia was chosen, I knew I wanted to go to the island if at all possible.

I told Bruce, "I don't care what the others want to do, but on my birthday you are going to take me to Chincoteague and Assateague to see the wild ponies!" (We were going to be in Virginia on my birthday). Fortunately, our friends were agreeable and we went on my actual birthday!

Assateague Island Lighthouse

 We booked a boat tour with Barnacle Bill (what a great name!). He is the perfect old Salty Dog seaman. So nice and friendly and told us all sorts of stories as he took us over to Assateague Island. And we did see ponies grazing on the island! It remains one of my highlights from our trip.

A "Misty" looking pony

Afterwards, we went to a local restaurant and ate a delicious seafood dinner, complete with my favorite dessert, coconut cream pie. (Everyone else got ice cream. :o) )

We also went to Monticello,

Colonial Williamsburg,

Group Photo at the Stocks

Bruce and I peeking through a gnarly tree

Mary Kay and I 

our friends Paul and Mira

our friends Mary Kay and Mark

and our friends Kevin and Susan

and Jamestown and Yorktown.

Giving George bunny ears (Sorry George!)

Checking out the sailor's sundial

Hamming it up in Jamestown armor

We stayed at the most fabulous place:

Blue Water Haven Inn right on Chesapeake Bay - a large house for rent.

Sunrise looking out from the back porch 

Enjoying the fire pit 

The leaves were just beautiful and we had perfect weather most days.

Spectacular tree at Monticello

On the road to Richmond

The beach wasn't too far from the house so we went and checked it out.

The sun going down behind the reeds caught my eye so I stopped and snapped a picture:

It was a lovely trip and we really enjoyed ourselves. However, it's good to be home!
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And now for the winner of the giveaway. I added everyone's name to a bucket and had my husband draw and he drew:

Gail of Purple Hues and Me. Congratulations, Gail! I'll be in touch to get your information.

Thanks to all who entered. If you are interested in purchasing cards, email me at ceciliabramhall@gmail.com. They will be $16 for a set of 8 with envelopes.

Have a great week!
Cecilia

Lady in Red

"I've never seen you looking so lovely as you did tonight, I've never seen you so bright...

I never will forget the way you looked tonight...the lady in red" source

She's beautiful all dressed in red.

Sleek and made new. Ready for her new home.

I really enjoyed transforming this dresser into a media console. My friend is thrilled with her and that makes me doubly happy. 

From this:

To this:

 A beautiful lady in red.

Have a wonderful weekend! And if you haven't signed up yet for the giveaway, go here and do so!

hugs,
Cecilia

P.S.

My friend has promised to share a picture of the red lady in her new home. As soon as I get it, I'll post it. 

*UPDATE*
She sent me this picture of it in its new home...love the knobs she added to the drawers!

All done!

Linking up at Before and After Wednesdays