Autumn Pretties and a Fall Vignette

Howdy! I hope you all enjoying this Falliday season as much as I am.

Last weekend  I went to an autumn farmer's festival in the German countryside. I wanted to share a few pictures of the gorgeous arrangments, and the bold colors that were featured all around this Falliday Festival! We got to spoil our taste buds with a wide variety of fall favorites including: pumpkin wine, cheeses, smokey tasting Flammkuchen, a bunch of different kinds of pumpkin seeds, pumpkin spice marmalade, etc, etc. Every bite and sip was absolutely delectable...The smell of the crisp autumn air mixed with the smoke from the Flammkuchen (Flammkucken is a thin tart with creme fraiche, cheese, ham and onions) ovens was quite comforting to my soul. When I was a little girl I used to look forward to a similar smell in my hometown every October-November.

 Ahhh, I adore everything Autumn....

Check out these artichoke blossoms... They would look gorgeous in a fall tablescape. I just can't get enough of artichokes in flower arrangements and in my tummy... they are soooo yummy.

A stellar (yes, I am attempting to bring that word back) flower-pumpkin, design-thing.

Something that I wish we had to sip our wine or cider out of are these awesome mason jar goblets. My friend Kristy (a Germany based photographer) made these. You can make these by gluing mason jars to candlesticks with Gorilla Glue or E6000, which is a microwave and dishwasher safe adhesive. They would look cool with some homemade pedestals as well! The best part about it is the lid, which would be perfect to bring along on a picnic or an evening stroll. They sell similar items to these in specialty stores in Napa for a LOT per piece...

Since I have been working crazily on our home and have had hardly any time to do fall arrangements...my home was feeling pretty "un-festive". I started with this little corner, but have big plans for the rest of my home. I found these gorgeous twinkle branches at the Domain (a discount German store) for 10 Euro a bundle. They look so magical all lit up! I used a ginormous mason jar as the vase. I filled my lantern with a cranberry colored candle on a rustic candlestick. I then placed pine cones that we found around the base of the candlestick.

I got this chippy frame from our last flea market expedition in Belgium. I made bunting by cutting out small triangles from burlap and hot gluing them to twine. I then wrote "Fall" on them, but you could use stickers or stencils for the letters as well. 

Last year, while in Southern California for a design job, I found this large piece of fabric (I believe it was a curtain panel) from the Zgallerie outlet. It was only $2!!! I know it must have originally cost quite a bit more if it was coming from that store!

I love the burnt orange, sage green, mustard yellow, and browns in this fabric. I am a sucker for patterns with birds in them too, I  have been for as long as I can remember. Makes me think of the birds from Cinderella that serenade her as she is getting ready... I find that I am drawn to items that have nostalgic feelings attached to them. They make me happy and I want to surround myself with things that remind me of beautiful times and/or experiences. I still can't decide how I will use this fabric. As a runner? Pillowcases (although I just hate to cut it up)? I even considered reupholstering my chairs in my kitchen with this, but feel it may be too "autumn feeling" for all the time. Any suggestions?

I had to share this unique idea for decorating pumpkins that my friend Iris did! She has an adorable blog called "She's Nothing but a Copycat". Check her out!

This pumpkin was painted white than embellished with home-made fabric rosettes, wood letters, and twine. It's so stinking cute!

To see my fall decor from last year, click on the picture below! You can find more ideas under the "seasonal" and "recipes" tab too!

Tomorrow, I am going to make the clean eating, pumpkin-pie oatmeal I blogged about last year...Mmmmm, it is DE-LISH! Click the picture below for the recipe!

Until next time,