Fall Decorating Inspiration

Can it really be October already?! It's been so hot that it really hasn't felt like fall yet, but they're calling for cooler weather this weekend and I have to say... I'm ready!!  I love fall - sweaters and  apple cider, autumn colors, a simmering pot of stew, mums and pumpkins, and best of all - cool, crisp mornings with that special warm sunlight that only exists this time of year.  Fall decorating is a favorite, too, and this weekend's Design House gave me lots of inspiration...

Corn stalks and mums frame the gate leading to a farm table in the barn pass-thru.

Pumpkins are a common fall decoration - but try some of the more unusual varieties.  Heider's Farm Market (just down the road from us: www.heidersfarmmarket.com) has lots of interesting pumpkins including this beauty!  The turquoise fire pots, while not a traditional fall color,  look great with the orange of the pumpkin.

Another very unusual pumpkin! Love it's grizzled look...

White pumpkins have become common and are widely available.  Here it's lying on it's side in a dried wreath.

Black painted Windsor chairs and a farm table with mums, pumpkins (another variety, still!), bunched tablecloth in autumn hues and a wicker basket. The gold chandelier is an unexpected touch of glam!

Gothic style dining chairs and a zinc top table. Don't you love the wisteria vine?

It doesn't have to be complicated...an urn and a mum... so beautiful in it's simplicity.  Hope you have a splendid autumn weekend...come see us at the Design House if you get the chance! Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, October 1, 2, & 3....10 am til 5 pm all three days.

-Lisa

Amy's Chile Mole'

This time of year always brings out the "nesting" mom in me.  Last Monday I found myself at home with a rare day off from the shop.  It was a perfect fall day and as I was cleaning, organizing, and doing laundry, I got a hankering to have a big old pot of something on the stove for my peeps when they got home from work and school.  I decided to make a chili I'm pretty good at.  I kind of created the recipe over several years of trying this and that.  The key ingredient is the cacao, it makes the chili rich and savory like a Mexican mole' sauce.  This time I thought I'd write it all down "officially" and share it with you.  So here it is.

(It ended up being very much appreciated by my son and husband and was the perfect compliment to monday night football!)

Amy's Chili Mole'

1 lg. onion chopped

3 lg. cloves of garlic minced

1-2 lbs of lean ground beef

1 packet taco seasoning

two 28 oz cans diced tomato

2 cans kidney beans

1 -2 tbsp. chili powder (depending on how spicey you like it)

1tbsp. "cocoa chile blend" (McCormick) (spice section) if you can't find this, don't freak out. Just put in more reg. chili powder & more cacao

1 tsp. cumin

1 tbsp. Ghirardelli 100% cacao unsweetened chocolate for baking (Cacao chips come in a bag in the baking section)

1 tsp. salt

In medium stew pot saute onion and garlic in olive oil.  Add ground beef and brown.  Drain beef  and add packet of taco seasoning (follow directions on seasoning packet). Continue cooking beef until taco seasoning is all cooked in.  Add tomatos, beans, and spices and cacao chips.  Stir well.  Simmer on low for 30 minutes.  Garnish with sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream, chopped cilantro, and corn chips!

-Amy

Change is good...

We had a meeting this morning to discuss our plans for the Lucketts Spring Antique Market ,which most of you know is held every year in May.  This year, we're making some big changes!  The whole event will be held on our property - not the Community Center grounds as in previous years.  We had to make this change because the Community Center is closing for renovations and would not be available. Also, Suzanne asked me to take over the planning of the Fair (her Baby)! Wow!  What an honor - do I feel pressure, Nope!  Cool as a cucumber - okay, well I just hope I can live up to the job she has done. So what's involved here?....we need to put up fences, (somewhere?!), map out the area, get tents, temporary electric (what?!), t-shirts, staff of 22 people (we have 8!!), permits, writing new contracts, newspapers (I want 4,5,7,9 news crews!), figure out parking, wristbands, 2 entrances... and move the iron field.  My personal goal is to get 30 more new vendors - so beat feat the streets looking for them, send out press packets, flowers, make signs, porta pottys (lots), furniture loading location, look for some new food vendors (Karen wants sweet potato fries!- What is she talking about?)  Okay now after writing it all down - hummmmm?

I decided to start with the food vendors, and here's what I found after 3 1/2 hours:  I googled food trucks, food carts, concession carts, concessionaires, mobile food, roach coach, and after all that I learned...I can buy a concession truck for around $6,000 and have it brought to me by Friday!

Other than that, I leave you with a question...how many Hot Dog vendors can Virginia have??? Seriously! I'm never eating another one.

Thank God the Fair's in May!

<3  Heather

September 2010 Design House Sneak Peek

This month's Design House is stunning!  Love these sparkly crown pillows, and the frames within a frame.

Amy and Sooz painted some of the rooms with beautiful new colors and they picked up some great upholstery, too.

So many interesting textures in this bookshelf vignette...

Industrial pieces can blend with any look.

Wreath made of sheet music!

Loads of accessories - awesome vintage elephant bookends.

The Design House is open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday - September 3rd, 4th, and 5th.  10am - 5pm all three days.  Hope you can make it!