HAPPY NEW YEAR

I wanted to wish everyone a very happy and healthy new year.  I'm also sharing an image of my granddaughters.  I know I talk about them frequently and thought you might want to see them.

 This is the second year that I haven't had a tree.  I've been doing the stairway instead and really loving the oversized ornaments.  I'm normally totally against faux greenery but this garland is so realistic that I made an exception. The magnolia is real.  I'll admit that now that Christmas is over I'm appreciating the easy after holiday clean up.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year.

MY GRANDDAUGHTERS 

I don't know about you but I'm looking forward to a new year and a restart.  

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HOLIDAY UNDER MY DEMIJOHN CLOCHE

 One of my favorite purchases was this half demijohn cloche with a copper edge.  It was the exact diameter to fit on to this gold washed pedestal.  During the year it holds some fruit, and in the Fall I change it up with pumpkins.  This holiday season I purchased some hand blown gold ornaments. 

DEMIJOHN WITH HAND BLOWN ORNAMENTS

I rested them on a faux olive branch garland that I purchased from Ballard Designs many years ago.

FAUX OLIVE BRANCH GARLAND

There were two reasons I convinced myself to buy these ornaments.  First, the gold color was perfect in the kitchen.  Second, was the glass applied hook.  I'd never seen anything like it before.  I removed the demijohn so you could see the unique hook for hanging.

GLASS APPLIED HOOK

Do you buy holiday decor even if you don't need it?  I do.

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YARD CLIPPINGS WREATHS

 Every Christmas I make a fresh wreath for me and for my daughter.   I wrote a how-to many years ago.  Here's the link if you're interested.

I start with a mountain of greenery on the table.  I gathered Magnolia, Oregon Grape leaves, Cedar branches, and some red berries.  

GATHERED GREENERY

Every year they turn out differently.  This first one is for my daughter.  She just painted her front door black.  I think the black and white checked ribbon will work well.  It's waiting for pick up on my front door.

MY DAUGHTER'S WREATH ON MY DOOR

When I was ready to create my wreath I was low on cedar.  I used all the magnolia on top of the cedar and added in some of the prickly Oregon Grape leaves. They look a lot like large holly leaves. I'm not sure if it even needed the ribbon I tucked in. The wreath is on my front porch in the large window that faces the street.

MY WREATH ON THE FRONT PORCH

Happy Holidays to all.

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SPIKEY SPHERES

I've been working on the guest bedroom with my granddaughters in mind.  Even though the room has a European vibe, I chose this modern Sputnik flush mount lighting.   I filled a large empty wall with some decoartor paper.  It gives the effect of over-sized art and is the perfect backdrop for my spikey chandy. 

SPIKEY CHANDY

Originally this room had a vintage chandelier with acanthus leaves.  I really liked it, but anyone over 5'4" bumped into it.

VINTAGE CHANDLIER

The acanthus leaves were fabulous.

CLOSE UP OF ACANTHUS LEAVES

After choosing the new lighting, I realized that I have a thing for spikey objects.  This sphere is on one of the shelves in my dining room cupboard.

GOLD SPIKEY SPHERE ON A CUPBOARD SHELF

The spikey sphere on a pedestal is my dining room centerpiece.  I've written about it before here.  It actually is a light fixture that never made it to the ceiling.

SPIKEY SPHERE CENTERPIECE

Another spikey sphere rests on an Hermes book box in a corner of the family room bookcase.

SPIKEY SPHERE IN A CORNER OF MY BOOKSHELF

I'll be posting more of the guest room as I complete it.  I pretty much removed everything.  It's much easier for me to start with a blank slate.

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WING CHAIR LOVE

I've always loved wing chairs and I have them in several rooms of my home.  This pair of chairs at either end of my dining room table have a sentimental attachment.  They came from my parents' living room.  I had them slipcovered so any time I wanted to I could peek underneath and see the original fabric.

I added the leopard print pillow to add some fun to a traditional chair.

FUN LEOPARD PRINT PILLOW

Here's the other side of the table.

THE OTHER CHAIR

Do you have a favorite chair style?

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LAST BLOOMS OF SUMMER

The frost is coming soon, but until then I still have these last blooms.  The Red Plume Celosia against the yellow grasses is a wonderful contrast.

CELOSIA

 

SALVIA

GERANIUM

Summer's over but I do like the cool Fall weather.

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HALLOWEEN ON THE FRONT PORCH

 The chinoiserie bench on the front porch is my go to holiday decor spot.  Instead of buying a pumpkin every year I use these large dried gourds.  I brought the lantern from the screened porch because it's orange.   The "car" has a music box attached and the black cat is really a party favor with a little gift box.  I found it on sale many years ago at West Elm.  Of course the branches are yard clippings.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

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HALLOWEEN IN BLACK AND WHITE

 My kitchen is already black and white so it made sense that my minimal Halloween decor followed my kitchen's lead.  

PLACE SETTING IN BLACK AND WHITE

BIRDS EYE VIEW OF TABLE SETTING

BLACK AND WHITE KITCHEN

Please share your Halloween decor.

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MY AMAZING HYDRANGEA CROP

A frost is on the way so I wanted to get those amazing blooms inside and enjoy them just a bit longer.

I filled a large gathering basket to the brim.

LIMELIGHT HYDRANGEAS IN A GATHERING BASKET

 

I hope they'll last for a while.

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VOLUNTEER VINCA

I always thought that Vinca was an annual, but I've been proven wrong.  I can't believe how over the years the Vinca has been self seeding.  You can see the different colors I planted each year.  This year I decided to just go with the volunteers and they did not disappoint.   I will confess that I did divide them and spread them around the garden.  

DOG PEEKING OUT OF THE VINCA

This purple Vinca grew out of the rock wall.

VOLUNTEER GROWING OUT OF THE ROCK WALL

What "annuals" have self seeded for you?

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MCM REFLECTIONS

This sunny afternoon I noticed that the MCM mirror layered over my dining room window created a very interesting reflection, worthy of a photo.  This first image is how the stack of books on the patent leather column base normally looks.  When I removed the plaster head I discovered the shadow cast by the mirror.

Here’s what I saw as the sun changed direction.

That was fun.

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HUGGING A PAGODA

 Every Fall I prune my limelight hydrangea, encouraging a sphere-like shape for the Spring blooms.  Every Spring the blooms defy my symmetry attempts.  Last year they cascaded and mingled into the rhododendron.  This year they defied me again and tumbled in another direction and embraced my pagoda.

LIMELIGHT HYDRANGEA HUGGING MY PAGODA

I wonder which direction it will choose next year.

I would love for you to follow me on Instagram @allaboutvignettes or on Facebook 

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You can also shop my prop shop on Instagram @shopmycollectedhome or on Facebook

Shop My Collected Home.