A Gouda Idea: Fall Entertaining

Those of you who are in fall entertaining, pumpkin, color, sweater, and comfy throw heaven, please do share, show, and tell with us what fall looks like in your corner of the world.

Hey There Pumpkin Welcome Mat

Our Canadian snowbird son called home this past Saturday to show and tell what fall looks like in his corner of the world.

He and his lovely wife were welcoming several friends in for an evening of fall entertaining featuring fireside cocktails and fall themed food and drink.

We discussed what cocktails and dishes would be served, the fall decor touches his bride was adding to the mantel, how good of an idea it was for his mom to suggest a first fire of the season to warm up both home and hearth, and at the moment it just happened to be snowing.

Louisiana temperatures can’t see fit to drop below 83 degrees with 98% humidity.

Meanwhile, the Canadian snowbird is not only enjoying fall, but winter to boot (or should I say aboot).

Cool, crisp, and cold weather signals it’s time to pull out the blankets and throws, start a fire in the fireplace, bedeck the abode to fit the season, and invite friends over to gather together for a it’s fall y’all celebration.

Part of the fun of entertaining is coming up with festive and creative ways to put a festive spin on the presentation of drinks, snacks, entrées, sides, and desserts.

Better Homes & Gardens

Better Homes & Gardens shows how using a hallowed-out pumpkin lined with a fall themed kitchen towel as a serving bowl for chips brings the fall harvest serving A game to the table.

Better Homes & Gardens

Apples and cheese make tasty pairing partners, and these appetizing apple-shape cheese are so simple to make.

Begin by rolling your favorite choice of soft cheese into a ball.

Coat the cheese in smoky paprika, finely crushed pecans or walnuts, minced fresh herbs, or crushed gingersnaps.

Press the top of the ball to create a spot for the stem.

Finish the “apple” by inserting a branch with leaves or a pretzel, bread, or cinnamon stick paired with a bay leaf to create a stem completing the apple look.

Vintage Silver Plated French Silea Cheese Markers

Fall, winter, spring or summer- farmhouse chic is a Gouda look.

It’s Pumpkin Time

My daughter-in-law is a loyal Michaels Stores shopper whereas her mother-in-law spreads the loyalty around in the name of the best deal.

This past Sunday, I lucked up on a super Sunday sale at our local Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores.

Place & Time Fall Harvest Wooden Slice Cake Stand

I’m stocked and ready to fall to Thanksgiving tablescape.

Several fall decorating-entertaining-tablescapes show and tell emails between the two of us garnered ideas and inspiration across the miles.

She suggested I take a look at the fall into Thanksgiving themed pillow covers available from Wish.com.

The grateful and the autumn pillow covers are on the way, and I can’t wait to see how the pillow covers in real fall decorating time will complete the look I have in mind.

I suggested she print and frame this lovely colorful fall printable from Refresh Restyle as fall favors for her guests.

The link to the free printable is provided under the image.

Colorful Fall Printable from Refresh Restyle

Our favorite time of the year season easily inspires a celebration.

Fall entertaining is a crisp breeze when good ideas, finds, and friends come together.

Decorating With Fall Colors

Decorating with fall colors is a natural part of the seasonal updating process.

“Autumn paints in colors that summer has never seen.”

Today’s fall colors on parade gallery features inspired examples of interiors and exteriors adorned in traditional, historic, curated and new-traditional colors characteristic of autumn – fall.

Rich.

Brilliant.

Elegant.

Colors of the autumn-fall season gift the eye a visual glory that naturally inspires our decorating with fall color choices.

Matthew Patrick Smyth Interior Design as featured in Traditional Home

Do you believe it possible for an accent color to become the focal point of a space?

Matthew Patrick Smyth proves a neutral color foundation is amplified by the chocolate brown silk table skirt with Greek Key trim.

Stone gray metals, ebony painted bricks, and engravings of Paris, circa 1730 warm the look and serve to anchor the statement.

His color choices are timeless, and will nicely transition from season to season.

Bruce Bierman Design

Rich in color and texture, the deep brown color of the hardwood flooring plays well to the color block, dramatic accent wall, and decorative accessories in shades of cinnabar, crimson and pumpkin.

Better Homes & Gardens

Accents and accessories in seasonal colors beautifully render a color rich montage.

Neptune

Texture, color, and pattern add a sense of season to interiors and home decor accessories.

Velvet home decor furnishings rich in seasonal color brings a welcoming warmth and inviting scheme perfect for crisp days and cool nights.

Salem in Fall

Fall seasons the historic exteriors and centuries-old homes of Salem, Massachusetts with the perfect blend of rich in tone and tradition colors customary to the classic fall palette.

Hawkins New York

Paul Denoly and Nick Blaine otherwise known as the founders of Hawkins New York exhibit the talent of the keen eye in mastering the curated look in their 18th-century farm house.

These stylish gents brilliantly rock the pink, beige, brown and metallic palette.

Recently I discovered this example of a new-traditional color scheme in the feature Setting the Tone: At Home With the Founders of Hawkins New York on Domino, and the design and decor showcased in their farm house revival results in a chic aesthetic, comfortable welcome to our home feel, and new-traditional fall color scheme.

Better Homes & Gardens

Orange accents make a vibrant color splash.

Traditional Home

Juxtaposition of styles, periods, grains, textures, patterns and crisp color details stand out as accents of distinction.

Darryl Carter, Inc.

Owner and designer Darryl Carter of Darryl Carter, Inc. selects for his country home crisp white walls and barn wall floors that reflect soft light from the fire and evening sunsets, and best define the feel of fall for the owner/designer.

Doesn’t man’s best friend looks cozy and comfortable?

Tailor the spaces and places of your home to reflect your sense and style of season while gorgeously decorating with fall colors.

Kick Up The Fall Flavor Spiced Apples

Ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and ground cloves sprinkled over peeled and chopped apples kick up the fall flavor in this recipe for spiced apples.

It most certainly is beginning to look, smell and taste a lot like fall and yes, even the holidays.

Earlier and earlier we see holiday articles and postings in our inboxes and social pages, and who can blame those of us who find fall and holiday decorating, cooking and baking news so shareworthy.

October through December is the most wonderful and delicious time of the year.

flickr

Into every unseasonably warm fall day some rain must fall for the cold front to move through that’s bringing highs in the low 60s and lows in the low 40s.

Hanging out in the kitchen cooking is oddly relaxing and a great way to spend a rainy day afternoon.

The Home for the Holidays season is right around the corner (can you believe it?), and the sweet and savory recipes to holiday impress by aren’t going to develop themselves.

Do you know what a bowl of softening apples is called?

Recipe inspiration.

Our local grocery store sells bags of day old produce for $1.00.

My mother, the produce whisperer, hit the market at the precise moment the produce manager was putting out the marked down bags.

She got the price pick of the day, and the deal dished this recipe for spiced apples.

I washed and peeled six apples of assorted variety and color, searched the spice inventory and refrigerator for what’s on hand ingredients, and proceeded to recipe develop.

This recipe is really a no-brainer based on the natural connection between the fruits, flavors and spices we associate with the taste of fall.

Here’s what I came up with.

Spiced Apples

Ingredients

6 apples, peeled and chopped

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cloves

¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 generous Tablespoon fig preserves

2 generous Tablespoons orange marmalade

1 Tablespoon molasses

2 Tablespoons butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 300°. Lightly butter baking dish and set aside. Wash, peel and chop six medium size apples.

Place apples in baking dish. Squeeze the lemon juice over the apples. Sprinkle ground cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg over apples.

Add the brown sugar and stir gently to coat apples.

Stir in 1 generous Tablespoon fig preserves and 2 generous Tablespoons orange marmalade. Spread apples in single layer in baking dish.

Lightly drizzle molasses over apples. Cut butter into small pieces and place on top of the apple mixture. Bake uncovered at 300° for 45 minutes.

Spiced apples pair deliciously with pork tenderloin or spiral ham.

Spiced apples scrumptiously complement a slice or two of toasted pecan-pumpkin bread.

Pecan-Pumpkin Bread Recipe from Southern Living

Spiced apples lend the perfect taste of fall to a scoop of vanilla ice cream drizzled with honey.

Hungry yet?

Treasure Found Running Fall Roads

Running fall roads in the literal sense is not a part of my workout routine.

I prefer to burn calories and run up the pedometer by running fall roads in search of seasonal and holiday decor pieces to pull the fall~Thanksgiving decorating theme beautifully together.

Elle Decor

You’d be surprised how many steps you take walking around antiques malls, curiosity shops, and the local pumpkin patch.

Getting into the spirit of Halloween and Thanksgiving decorating when the crisp fall temps and colors continue to elude Central Louisiana is challenging.

Are you seeing and feeling the fall of it all in your corner of the world?

I spent the better part of last weekend scrolling through ebay and Etsy listings in search of a vintage James Keiller & Son’s Dundee Marmalade crock and other vintage items currently on my wishlist.

I absolutely hate when a seller lists an item with a decent price only to make up an insane profit difference by charging a ridiculous amount for shipping.

Dismayed, I gave up the online search and set my sights on visiting two new shops on the local scene.

I set the alarm for a crack of dawn a.m. ready to roll wake-up call.

The weather was set to nasty; the effects of Hurricane Nate in the air.

I was armed with short sleeves and an umbrella.

Where is this fall season you speak of?

The first shop was booming, loaded with merchandise, and one I will return to.

I did not know I was in the market for a vintage Jergens lotion bottle, but when I saw it I just had to have it.

That happens a lot in my antiques and vintage shopping.

Our nephew and his wife became first time parents in August.

With that in mind, I snapped this pic, added a couple of special effects in PicMonkey, and sent it to the parents of Wyatt James.

Not long into my shopping excursion at the second shop, I scored big time.

Listening to good music and chatting with fellow treasure hunters, I was in the zone.

I noticed a small booth full of glassware and whatnots.

I think my heart skipped a beat when I spotted the vintage James Keiller & Son’s Dundee Marmalade crock.

The thrill was in the find, but the deal was in the price.

It’s hard for me to resist adding to my pitcher collection.

Fifteen minutes in and I had already found two fabulous pieces.

That’s a good sign when you are treasure hunting.

I’m always on the lookout for small decorative bowls to use as jewelry and lipstick holders.

I liked the pattern and colors of this porcelain shaker enough to add it to the shelf for use as a loose face powder shaker.

A gallery wall can never have enough small framed prints upon it.

Holiday menu planning and recipe developing means staging appetizing and appealing settings for show and tell photos.

Assorted ironstone plates, a brown and white Staffordshire vegetable bowl, and an ooh la la set of salt and pepper shakers are categorized as a must.

In anticipation of the upcoming holiday shopping season, our regional chamber of commerce is running a new promotional campaign inviting residents to shop local.

After this successful treasures found running fall roads shopping excursion, that won’t be a problem.

A Most Fetching Friday Wedding Show and Tell

Today’s A Most Fetching Friday is a wedding show and tell; a post near and dear to my heart.

With permission from our son and his lovely wife, I want to share with you, my reader friends who are like family, select photos from the wedding of Jade and Jackson.

The venue, the ceremony, and the eats, drinks and be married festivities made a wedding celebration on a September evening an event to remember.

The Groom

The Bride

Toasting a perfect union.

Best wishes to the bride and the groom!

Wishing you all a most fetching Friday.

Fall Traditions of Kitchen Style, Spice and Seasoning

Spending time in the Places In The Home kitchen on a fall afternoon coincides with traditions of kitchen style, spice and seasoning rooted in memories dating back to the little kitchen in our first home where my love of developing recipes inspired by the tastes of the fall ~autumn season all began.

Designing, decorating and stocking the kitchen, pantry and cupboard with personal style, staples and spices became an adventure in discovery of taste and tastes.

When fall comes around each year, the memories flood my mind reminding me these are special times for making fall traditions of kitchen style, spice and seasoning.

The crimson and gold Anjou and Bosc pears from the produce section of our local Kroger colorfully complemented my fall dining room decorating scheme, but as it goes with fresh fruit and shelf life, nothing lasts forever.

Once photographed and admired, it’s time to give thought to delicious ways of putting a seasonal spin on it.

Tradition is the key ingredient of my recipes.

The recipes and kitchen philosophies of my great grandmother, my darling Mama Two, inspire and influence the salads, entrees and desserts developed and prepared in the Places In The Home test kitchen.

Mason Cash Mixing Bowls

I leave myself a mixing bowl full of wiggle room by referring to the Places In The Home kitchen as a test kitchen. If a recipe exceeds taste expectations, my kitchen is the culinary kingdom in which I rule over complete with crown roast and wooden spoon scepter. If a recipe fails, then my kitchen is simply a test kitchen where taste perfection is not an absolute and I remind the family that Domino’s delivers.

A jar of Mrs. Bridges fig preserves is my autumn jam. Fig and pear preserves were a Mama Two staple, especially in her baked goods that I associate with fall traditions of kitchen style, spice and seasoning. Isn’t it funny the things that play traditional fall favorites with our memory? It’s a question asked and deliciously answered by the fresh pear salad with sour cream, fig preserves and honey I came up with.

Fresh.

Delicious.

The taste of fall on an vintage porcelain dessert plate.

Slice a fresh pair of your flavor choice in two. Using a spoon, gently spoon out the center of each pear half. Place each pear halves core side up on a plate. Spoon ½-1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice over pear halves. Spoon a generous dollop of sour cream into center of each pear half. Top sour cream with 1 heaping teaspoon of fig preserves. Lightly drizzle honey over pear halves.

A perfect union of flavors for a fresh fall salad option, and a gathering of ideas for fall kitchen style, spice and seasoning.

A Most Fetching Friday First Day of Fall Autumn Home Tour

Today’s A Most Fetching Friday greets the first day of fall by welcoming you all into my home for a fall autumn home tour.

I try not to complicate the art of seasonal decorating.

Decorating is meant to be an enjoyable experience, after all.

Natural elements, seasonal fruits, vintage china, antique porcelain figurines and regional items familiar to the landscape of our small Southern town never disappoint the eye or occasion.

Simple, neutral, and inspired by nature hit the high notes of this less is more fall autumn home tour.

Working with what you have extends to lawn, garden and pantry.

Fall is nowhere in sight in Louisiana, presenting a canvas devoid of traditional fall colors and foliage.

Dried hydrangeas (dead hydrangeas as my Mother so eloquently puts it) and ginkgo leaf holdovers from fall autumn home tours of past accentuate the crimson and gold Anjou and Bosc pears found in the produce section of the local Kroger, lending a simple yet elegant touch of fall to the dining room buffet.

This so simple it’s delicious spice cake with maple syrup flavored frosting follows through with the less is more for fall theme.

I’ll share the recipe with you next week.

I’ve also got a fantastic serving suggestion for the pears to share with you.

If you would have told me a week ago a wasp nest would factor into my fall autumn home tour decor I would not have believed it, but…

My brother sent this wasp nest to me with the express intention of it being incorporated into my fall decorating plans.

It is oddly beautiful and quite unique- a step away from the expected.

A pair of vintage porcelain figurines seem to fall frolic among Loropetalum branches and magnolia leaves.

Welcome home, fall!

Hope you all have a most fetching Friday and a lovely first weekend of fall.

Let the Official Fall Colors Flaunt Begin!

I admit to checking the fall countdown clock several times this afternoon. An obvious love of the fall/autumn season drives my thoughts, naturally inspiring me to get with the decorating in full fall colors flaunt program.

This collage features scenes of seasonal interest, inspiration for future fall themed blog posts, color, pattern and texture of the season, and a late fall/early winter photo of the newlywed couple.

I can’t wait to share the photos from their wedding.

Gorgeous.

Gorgeous!

Spoken, or as in this case typed, like the proud mother of the groom.

New England Home

Fall’s traditional color palette is unequivocally breathtaking, but when married with shades of blues and jaw-dropping antiques the result is exceptional.