white pumpkins and burgandy

October 1, 2023

If you are wondering why my photos look like they were taken in the rain, it is because they were!

My fall meandering this season has been very wet! Not by choice. It just couldn’t be helped – rainy days have been the norm here in Connecticut for way too long!

If you know anything about me, you know typical holiday colors are never my favorites. And, white is one of my preferred colors. White pumpkins are always the best pumpkins and I enjoy combining them with other neutrals or, sometimes other colors.

I really enjoy burgundy as an accent color for both fall and at Christmas time.

Here I am sharing some great styling examples with white pumpkins and burgundy I recently found at Terrain in Westport. Isn’t it a great combination?

If you want to add some cozy feels when putting together your own fall vignettes, add a blanket or scarf. Don’t discard ripped blankets in your favorite colorways. They can be repurposed while styling your pumpkins! If not blankets, fabric remnants or discarded corduroy or flannel shirts are also great to reuse! If you have nothing of your own to utilize, thrift shops and consignment stores are great places to pick up items to use. I never get rid of a piece of clothing or fabric I love…down the road it may turn up as part of a tablescape or made into a pumpkin!

I hope you are inspired to put some white pumpkins and burgundy together this season. If not, I’ll have some more traditional color combination examples next time!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a fabulous weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things,

Jackie

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boycotting egg painting

March 4, 2023

Wow! This is my first post of 2023! Since I started this blog in 2012, never before have I had such a lapse in posts! It is very sad to think I haven’t been using my creative side in quite some time!

The good news is that I have been busy organizing myself in finances, work, and wellness and making great progress!

I’m happy to say, I do now, have a couple projects in the works!

One is a coffee table and the second is the transformation of a coat closet into a pantry. (More on these projects as they develop!)

Normally, at this time of year, I would already be working on Easter eggs…coming up with a theme and painting them appropriately. This year, in a kind of personal protest against grocery prices, I decided not to paint eggs. I don’t normally buy eggs, except at Easter time, and I decided I am not going to purchase them to paint this year.

For the purposes of this post, I am including photos of one of my favorite past Easter egg themes – topiary. (Cactus, picnic, and constellation were also some of my most favorite themes).

I enjoy having some of the topiary eggs out in a bowl – I don’t think skipping a year of painting eggs will bother me! I did put out a little bit of Easter/Spring décor – have you? Remember to bring in some cut branches (magnolia, forsythia, etc.) – it’s the perfect time to force blooming!

I’m counting down the days when the clocks will change because I really dislike leaving for work in the dark and coming home from work in the dark!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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mini pumpkins and faded blooms

October 14, 2022

As the garden starts to fade and all things pumpkin are amped-up, it seems a no-brainer to combine the two!

I collected some faded garden blooms and some sweet little pine cones from a tree out front to use as baby boo embellishments.

Little white baby boos are my favorite pumpkins and combining them with items from my yard is a really easy, no-cost way to create some fall decor!

I hope you are inspired to use some of the items in your yard to create some pretty fall décor for your home or to gift.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!

Remember to find pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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unexpected fall colors

September 16, 2022

I don’t like orange as a basic fall décor color. I’m mostly about neutrals, as you probably know. And, I do love black.

So, it makes sense that I would like a black and white fall palette. Let me show you what I mean!

On a recent trip one sunny afternoon to Terrain in Westport, Connecticut – my favorite garden store – I come upon some pairings of white pumpkins with some really dark colored plants that basically read like black.

I really love color choices that aren’t orange for fall and I particularly loved this unexpected pairing of black and white as an outdoor landscape color scheme. What do you think?

I hope you are inspired to change up your fall décor colors this season!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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the summer blues…and purples

July 16, 2022

Yes, white flowers are my favorite flowers. Sometimes an exception happens. When I planned and planted the garden at my current home, I kept a very healthy, well-established hydrangea planted by the previous owner.

If I had planted one myself, of course, I would have chosen one with a white bloom. The one in my yard is not white. So, during the summer, there are a burst of blue and purple from this lone, non-white blooming shrub in the garden!

There are so many blooms, that no matter how many I cut to display inside or to give away, there still remains a big pop of color in the garden!

The photos I am sharing here are the current arrangements in my house – all from the same single hydrangea in my yard.

I didn’t have a flower frog large enough for the pretty low container I used (purchased last year at Target) so I improvised with some scotch tape to help keep the blooms in place. The tall vases I used are vintage.

My tips for long-lasting indoor hydrangea blooms:

Cut the blooms in the early morning. Remove as many leaves as possible. I like to keep a couple leaves just because I like the way they look in an arrangement. But, because the leaves use water as well as the flowers – the less, the better. Using scissors or a knife, make one or two vertical cuts in the stem. Then, use something heavy to smash the bottom of the stem. Immediately run the stem under hot water. These steps stop goop on the inside of the stem from clogging in the bottom of the stem which prevents it from absorbing water. Immediately put the stem into its container of water. Follow the same process for each stem.

I hope I have inspired you to bring some outdoor blooms inside! If you don’t have any flowers in your yard, Trader Joes has very affordable prices for cut flowers!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great weekend! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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philadelphia flower show 2022

June 24, 2022

I have been to the Philadelphia Flower Show in years past. Hailed as the world’s longest-running and largest indoor show in the country, it is hard for any flower lover not to visit at least once in their life!

But I have never been to the Philadelphia Flower Show since COVID. And since COVID, there has been one huge change to the show – it moved outdoors from the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

Because of the change, I was especially excited to visit the show this year – my first with the outdoor venue.

The site for the show since COVID has been FDR Park – a 348-acre park located in South Philadelphia along the Delaware River.

The venue turned out to be really great – even though the day my daughter and I chose to attend was a 94-degree day! Yes, it certainly was hot, but we found some nice breezes and some shady spots to rest.

The food and drink options were fabulous with many great seating areas available. We chose to have a snack in the boat house which provided a shady spot with a picturesque view of the river.

Though I prefer white flowers over multi-colored and I am not particularly an orchid fan, the flower installation in the gazebo overlooking the river was my favorite! A profusion of multi-colored flowers, predominately orchids, dazzled in the space. The photos I share here are all from this installation.

My daughter and I hadn’t been to Philadelphia in quite a few years and we had many stops on our list! I am glad we included the flower show as one of our stops because it really was enjoyable – particularly because it was held outdoors.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a fabulous weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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early gardening

May 13, 2022

May is the time for gardening…and, it is the time when my creative spirit moves from the indoors to the outdoors. Typically, in this part of Connecticut, Mother’s Day is the ‘all clear’ for frost scares and it is on for planting annuals!

This time of year is so fun – using free time to visit nurseries to hunt for the perfect garden additions, adding plants to the garden, and planting annuals in containers. For me, this includes searching for the new and unusual in white plants/flowers. (If you follow this blog, you know I have what I call a ‘virgin’ garden – all the flowers bloom in whites!)

My garden is off to a great start! It looks as though all my plants are doing well – the established and the new!

I am starting off the season with just a couple of planted containers. I redesigned the basket by my front door with some spring annuals and planted in my grandma’s watering can.

A small start, but one that brings me great joy!

I hope you find happiness in a pretty plant that you walk by each day or a visit to a local garden store!

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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chihuly in the desert

February 11, 2022

Chihuly in the Desert showcases Dale Chihuly’s stunning, large scale glass installations. The pieces created by this amazing glass artist are currently nestled among the collection of desert plants at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona (see more on the Botanical Garden here).

Chihuly’s work features installations throughout the garden’s trails in addition to pieces displayed in an indoor gallery exhibit.

Yes – cleaning is required! Pieces are cleaned by garden staff regularly to ensure the brilliance of the glass.

If you follow this blog, you have probably seen photos of the artist’s 2017 collection (click to see) displayed at the New York Botanical Garden.

I was so lucky to have the opportunity to view Chihuly’s work again – in 2022. And, it was so wonderful to do so in the beautiful February climate of Arizona when, back home in Connecticut, snow was covering the ground!

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of Chihuly in the Desert. I recommend never passing up an opportunity to see Dale Chihuly’s work! (Tip: If you visit the Desert Botanical Garden, try to see the exhibit at the end of the day when the bright sun is not as distracting to the works. Chihuly in the Desert continues through June.)

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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fall chair planter diy

September 24, 2021

An unwanted chair is the perfect piece to use as a fall planter! While everyone else is decorating with cornhusks and scarecrows, use an old chair to create a unique vessel for some pretty fall flowers.

You don’t need much…an old chair with an upholstered seat, some old screening, a staple gun, and some potting soil.

The seat is removed and screening is stapled in its place. Handling the screening requires a lot of caution – it can be sharp. Thick gloves to protect your hands from cuts are probably a good idea. If you don’t have any old screening, you can buy some at Home Depot. They sell thin screening that comes in a roll that is very inexpensive. I bought some and cut it with regular scissors. I cut a square larger than the square I needed because I allowed for space for soil. I used a staple gun to staple the screening around the frame of the chair.

After the screening was secure, I painted the chair. You can leave your chair as is or paint it in any manner you desire. I used Annie Sloan Coco chalk paint I had left from another project and then added some dark wax. (A bright pink chair with pink flowers would be fun for October – breast cancer awareness month!)

Once the chair finish is completed, the fun part begins! Pick out an assortment of plants that you want to plant in your chair – I like visiting a local nursery for some small varieties. I knew I wanted a tall purple grass as the main plant! I also added a couple pumpkins, not that I expect them to last long – the squirrels make short work of them at my house!

A chair certainly is a fun alternative to a barrel or other common fall planter and it can be used for many years to come! Use your annual junk pick up to find a good candidate for your planter!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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falling for green

September 17, 2021

Gone are the days when pumpkins were only orange! Those of us neutral décor lovers were certainly ecstatic when white pumpkins came onto the scene years ago…what could be better?!