Around my house, I’m embracing the autumn days instead of rushing the holidays. I’m lingering on the falling leaves, the changing light, and the cool air that means sweaters and blankets and fires because this season is fleeting, unlike winter, which stays and stays. My mother decorated seasonally (it was one of her great talents and joys), and she was firm about keeping the autumn mood going strong until after Thanksgiving (her small gesture of placing a Christmas tree ornament on our Thanksgiving dinner plate was her way of easing us into the excitement to come). Continue reading “around my house: embracing autumn (and some thoughts on decorating)”
Tag: seasonal
rain hats (and why you need one)
I’ve never worn a rain hat (unless as a child my mother put one on me, which is how I used to think of rain hats, as something meant for children sloshing about in the rain, unable to and uninterested in holding onto an umbrella). Then, not long ago on a particularly gloomy Sunday in the pouring rain, I met a woman (we happened to be at the country estate of Harvey Ladew) wearing a charming, colorful rain hat. I remember thinking how useful it was for country life (she folded it and stuck it in her rain coat pocket), much more so than an umbrella. Since that day, I’ve misplaced or given away or left behind all of my umbrellas, and we have had record rainfall and what has seemed like endless days of rain and dreariness. So—the rain hat has stayed in my mind. Continue reading “rain hats (and why you need one)”
dressing a bed in-between seasons: 5 easy tips
Here on the East Coast we are already feeling a tinge of autumn in the air and some of the leaves have even started to change. There is something invigorating (and perhaps bittersweet) about leaving summer behind and moving on to cooler days. One of the things that I love about the changing seasons is the chance to create different moods in the rooms of our homes (in elegant country style of course). But sometimes, these changes (like most changes) feel better coming gradually. Continue reading “dressing a bed in-between seasons: 5 easy tips”
