I'M FALLING ALL OVER YA...

HAPPY FALL TO Y'ALL!!

How's it goin?  Did you think I forgot that fall has arrived?  After all I haven't shared any of my fall decorations yet.  Truly, I did get a late start at my fall decorating this year because of all the painting going on around here, but I have finally managed to get my fall buffet put together along with a few other things.

First let's take a look at last year's buffet....

Very simple and I loved it but there were no treats.  What's that, a buffet should have treats, right?  Well, this year WE.HAVE.TREATS!!!...

Yummy.....CANDY CORN with PEANUTS, CHOCOLATE COVERED PRETZELS and...

Reeses PEANUT BUTTER CUPS...of course everything is tastier when it's served up in glass apothecary jars!!

What do you think of my new homemade table runner?  Perfect fall colors don't you think?

Fall has happened over on my vintage china closet too...

HAY RIDES, PUMPKIN PATCH, CORN MAZE...I love this cute sign I found a few years back at a consignment shop.  I normally hang it out on one of my trees in the yard along with some other outdoor decorations, but she's starting to show signs of wear so I decided to keep her indoors for the season.

I plunked down a few metal pumpkins and tucked in some fall leaves by her for a super cute fall display.

Now onto the mantle....which is not exactly finished yet...It needs some pumpkins.  I am still looking for just the right ones.

This year's mantle sports my new DIY Sunburst Mirror.  This mirror was made from plain white cardstock and was very simple and inexpensive to make.  You can find out how I did it HERE...

The leaf  garland is real.  Some of the leafy branches came from my next door neighbors maple tree and the others came from the trees in my yard.  The cost...FREE!!  Sadly though, they will not last long so I will be replacing them with faux garland soon.

The tall branches flanking either side of the mantel are from the shrubs and bushes in my yard.  Once again those were FREE.  A very simple yet elegant mantle.  I love it!!!

Well there you have it...Fall 2012 at Beyond the Portico.  You can check out last year's fall decor HERE and HERE.

~HAPPY FALL Y'ALL~

Sharing at:

Savvy Southern Style
2805
Imparting Grace
From My Front Porch To Yours
No Minimalist Here
At the Picket Fence
A Stroll Thru Life
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Coastal Charm

MY NEW FAVORITE FALL TREAT...

I'm a little (okay A LOT) behind this year.  I haven't done any fall decorating this year nor have I done any fall posts this year.  You all are WAY ahead of me but here goes, my first fall post of the year albeit short and sweet...literally....

Okay, I have to admit that I am a real foodie...especially a junk food foodie....hahaha.  Give me some junk food (well just about any food EXCEPT liver) and I'll be your best friend.  I love food and it shows...in all this extra weight I carry around.  Okay, okay.  I admit I am NOT a health nut.  My bad!!

Anyway, let me get to the purpose of this post.  I love to try neat foods especially around the holidays.  Last year my favorite fall treat was hallowing out apples and using them as cider mugs...see

Aren't they adorable?  Yes, yes they are!

This year I just spotted my new favorite fall treat in the Country Living Magazine.

S'mores candied apples. YUMMMMMM!  Ingenious!!  I will being making some of these soon.  Perhaps for bubs' birthday coming up here in a few short weeks.

If you would like to make some of these too (think fall festivals and get togethers) go HERE to get all the details.  HAPPY FALL Y'ALL!!!

Sharing at:
Imparting Grace
2805
Coastal Charm
From My Front Porch To Yours

HAPPY THANKSGIVING...

T’was the night of Thanksgiving,
But I just couldn’t sleep.
I tried counting backwards,
I tried counting sheep.

The leftovers beckoned,
The dark meat and white.
But I fought the temptation,
With all of my might.

Tossing and turning,
with anticipation.
The thought of a snack
became infatuation.

So I raced to the kitchen,
Flung open the door,
And gazed at the fridge,
Full of goodies galore.

I gobbled up turkey,
And buttered potatoes,
Pickles and carrots,
Beans and tomatoes.
I felt myself swelling,
So plump and so round.
‘til all of a sudden,
I rose off the ground.

I crashed through the ceiling,
Floating into the sky,
With a mouthful of pudding,
And a handful of pie.

But I managed to yell
As I soared past the trees
Happy eating to all,
Pass the cranberries, please!!

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey be plump.
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.

May your yams be delicious,
May your pies take the prize
And May your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off of your thighs!

Happy Thanksgiving y'all

have a wonderful holiday weekend!!!

HELP...I'VE FALLEN AND I CAN'T GET UP!

Well, I'm sure I've missed the "It's Fall Y'all" Mantle linky party by now...with working full time, extracurricular school activities with the kiddos this time of year, and the usual weekly line up of chores, places to go and people to see, I am an extremely busy person...but I FINALLY got my mantle decorated for fall...WHEW...it has been a long time coming...but I can't be TOO hard on myself as it is only the BEGINNING of October...so without further ado...

FALL MANTLE 2011...

Remember the cute fall picture I thrifted for $2.00 a few weeks ago?...I off-centered it just slightly and used it as the focal point in this fall mantle...however, this piece is a little too RUSTIC for the more REFINED look I was wanting here, sooo....I went DIGGING through my closet and pulled out my delicate leopard print neck scarf (they're not just for using as clothing accessories ya know) which not only brought in some of the leopard print element I used in the DINING ROOM'S fall decor, but also added the element of sophistocation I was looking for here...

...well, at least that's my opinion...who would've ever thought of using leopard print as a fall fashion statement?...You guessed it...only ME with my quirky little mind, lol...

...To bring out some of the ORANGES from the print, I used a wicker pumpkin I found while out thrifting this past week and filled it with a REAL leaf covered branch I snatched right out of the woods...and to bring out some of the farmlike qualities...I tucked in my feathered ROO who had been dying to be released from packing box jail...he had been there since our move last year...poor little feller...but he's HAPPY now...

...to the right I stacked a few old books and topped them with a COPPER lantern I found while on vacation this past summer...I have been dying to find just the right place to use it...I think it looks FABULOUS here on my fall mantle...I tucked in a mini pumpkin, a few fallen leaves, some faux moss covered rocks and some grapevine to complete the look...

...for the HEARTH, I used an assortment of candle sticks featuring candles embellished with fall themed and leopard print ribbons...I threw in some grapevine and a couple adorable metal pumpkin lanterns I found while out thrifting a few weeks ago...

...and VIOLA'...my complete fall mantlescape...

...Well, I know I have gone on and on about this fall mantle of mine, going over every little detail,  but I am just SOOOO excited...wanna know why?...Well, I'll tell ya anyway...it's because this is my FIRST EVER FALL MANTLE...yes that's right...until we purchased this house one year ago, I had never owned a fireplace, and I am just TICKLED to finally have a mantle to decorate for the seasons....

 I'm linking up to some fabulous parties this week....swing on over a take a look...you'll be GLAD you did!!!

Tabletop Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm
Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style
Open House Thursday @ No Minimalist Here
Thrifty Things Friday @ The Thrifty Groove

A DASH OF FALL HERE...A DASH OF FALL THERE

Hello, how are all of you on this fine fall morning?  I am FANTASTIC...the slightly cooler weather just makes me GIDDY...I feel so ENERGIZED...How about you?...While I am not looking forward to WINTER, I do ENJOY fall soooo very much...pumpkins and mums are popping up everywhere and soon the trees will be putting on their show of glorious fall color..in the meantime, I have been busy adding little touches of fall splendor to my home...a dash of fall HERE...

...A dash of fall THERE...

...here a little and there a little...

These are simple vignettes I put together using mostly the things I already had...I did buy a few leafy floral picks from Dollar Tree and the faux pheasant feather pick came from Micheals clearance bin for .99 cents...I love it!

I got the wild animal runner and rooster lamp a few months back on clearance at Dollar General...they were half off.  I paid $2.50 for the runner and $3.50 for the lamp...the rusty little urn was from a thrift shop several months back for .25 cents...I wasn't sure what I would use it for but I just had to have it and now I think it goes perfect with this fall vignette... 

I got the large acorn tart burner last year from Wal-Mart for $15.00...it's made by BH&G and I love it....much cheaper than Scentsy! (less than half price)...Wal-Mart also carries BH&G scents for just $2.00 a package (also less than half price of Scentsy)...they have a lot of great scents to choose from...right now I am burning a new seasonal fragrance...CRANBERRY CHUTNEY...It smells sooooo wonderful...

I will put in a plug for Scentsy also...I won the new October fragrance at a party last week and it is TO.DIE.FOR...It's called "Autumn Stroll" it's a very subtle, very romantic perfumed spice fragrance...I have been burning it at work...I love it too!!!

...I have more fall FLUFFING to do...I have yet to finish FALL-I-TIZING the living room and I am still working on the mantle...BUT I will be back soon to share those with you...until then, ENJOY this beautiful fall day and treat yourself to something fall-i-cious like "Cranberry Chutney" OR "Autumn Stroll"...you deserve it...

Join me at these wonderful linky parties...

                  
                      TableTop Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life
                      Newbie Party @ Debbiedoos
                      Fall in Love @ Decor to Adore
                      Wow us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style
                      Open House Thursday @ No Minimalist Here
                      Show & Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
                      Thrifty Things Friday @ The Thrifty Groove

A PATRIOTIC LUNCH FOR ONE

Howdy everybody....hope you all had a fabulous holiday weekend...I had a great 4th...although I had planned on getting some much needed work done around the house...TACKLING more of that bathroom remodel...I must admit we (the hubby and I) changed our plans every so SLIGHTLY and decided to spend the weekend doing absolutely NOTHING....yes that's right, we were downright LAZY...we spent our days swimming, eating, fishing and eating some more...barbeque of course...the point is we just spent some time RELAXING....how about you folks...how'd you spend your weekend?..

Saturday while hubby and little bubs were out doing daddy and son stuff, I stayed at home and did a little FUN stuff of my own....I CELEBRATED...with lunch for one on my little screened in porch...in INDEPENDENCE DAY/SHABBY CHIC style...let's have a look shall we....

...our fabulous country is rich in history and steeped in tradition so I added a little Rodgers family history and tradition to this little PATRIOTIC setting...with this beautiful red, white & blue AFGHAN...

...more important than the Pottery Barn dinnerware....and as my husband would say, more important than our national flag...you see this beautiful handmade afghan is very valuable....sentimental value that is...my husband's mother made it for him shortly before she passed away from cancer in 1988...needless to say it is a very cherished family heirloom....since this afghan boasts the colors of our country's flag, I felt it appropriate to use it here to honor her memory and to honor our country...

...I have set my lunch for one on another little piece of family history...this very shabby chic, very OLD wooden folding table...which my father-in-law gave to MOI several years ago...of all the furniture I own...this piece is my absolute favorite...weathered and worn...I bet it has graced a many of 4th of July celebrations...and I am so blessed to have it grace my humble little screened in porch...

Of course no table is complete without flowers...and for this table what could be more AMERICAN than flowers in a white picket fence box and adorned with OL' GLORY herself...

...now all through this post, I have told you that this was lunch for ONE, but I really was not alone...joining me at this table is a very old FRIEND of mine...once she graced the ROSE garden at our old house, now she spends her days under the shelter of this screened porch as she is just too fragile to face the elements of garden weather anymore...and today she stands ever so proudly over this little PATRIOTIC table much as LADY LIBERTY stands in New York's Harbor over Ellis Island wishing God's blessings on all who enters...

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord;

and the people whom he has chosen for his own inheritance.

Psalm 33:12

Have a beautiful, blessed day!

Joining...Tabletop Tuesday
Tablescape Thursday
Open House Thursday

POP, BOOM, BANG....WOW!

Yes, yes I know it's JULY 1st and I should be posting a RED, WHITE and BLUE post in honor of our wonderful country's INDEPENDENCE Day... and though I have to admit Independence Day is probably my all time favorite holiday, today's post has virtually no red, white and blue, no FLAGS or sparklers...but it definitely has some "FIREWORKS"...with a beautiful POP of color to put me in the summertime mood...

My absolute FAVORITE flower in the whole world grows WILD here in Missouri along the roadside...

...to me these beautiful wild LILIES are God's summer fireworks show...little POPS of color bursting open everywhere along these old country roads...I just can't resist to stop and pick a few each year along with some wild black-eyed susan...this year I made a little bouquet for my desk at work....you know to kind of CHEER the place up a little...

...so today I am joining Fresh Cut Friday...with a little "FIREWORKS" show of my very own to celebrate Independence Day...ENJOY and have a wonderful holiday weekend!!!

HAVE A WONDERFUL SUMMER!