Knot A Problem

The weather certainly has gotten chilly out but indoors is nice and cozy at my house due to our fantastic pellet stove. There’s the warm glow of fire in our living room. Add knit throws and some additional candle light and we’ve got ourselves an inspired retreat away from the frost, falling leaves and crisp winds. It’s reminding me that winter is nothing to fear with a setup like this.

Harman XXV Pellet Stove

This setup is not without its drawbacks however. Because we count on this one heat source to warm up our little 945 sqft cottage (ok, it’s a rambler – but a girl can dream) that means leaving doors open or suffer a numbing temperature in whatever room’s been closed off. Our biggest challenge – the bathroom. With a bathroom just off the living room, we’ve got a glorious view of the toilet if we leave the door open. Not hot!

After a lot of procrastinating I’m finally going to pull the trigger and buy a knot doorstop to solve this issue. I can drop one of these cottage-appropriate accessories at the door’s opening to give myself a good ~4” gap, allowing the warm air in but still allowing the door to block the view to the john.

-Kate

Here are some other cool door stops I found online.

Olw Door Stop | Anthropologie

Horse & Eifle Tower | Origin Crafts

Green Rope Door Stop | Etsy

Beach Door Stop | Etsy

Fall Decor: Wreaths (and some Etsy Fave's)

We're hittin' you with a one-two punch this lovely Friday, combining some falltastic fun wreaths and our 'Etsy Fave's'.  A lot of the wreaths I found happened to come from Etsy, so I figured it would be a good way to round out this week's category.  But I couldn't ignore some fabulous finds in the stores online, so I included those, too!

1. West Elm Feather Wreath

2. Pier 1 Peacock Wreath

3. Garnet Hill Boxwood Wreath

4. Etsy Book Page Wreath

5. Etsy Bleached Peacock Wreath

6. Etsy Pumpkin Wreath

7. Etsy Moss Wreath

8. Etsy Dried Lavendar Wreath

What are you getting into this weekend??


-Bethany

Fall Decor: Garlands

Check out Martha Stewart's fall garland.  So sweet and so easy.  Just get some twine and some gourds and get to stringin'.

Source: None via Bethany on Pinterest

-Bethany

Fall Decor: Planters!

I believe that there are three key elements that make a room: LIGHTING, RUGS and CHAIRS.  This 'holy trinity' really came to be my focus when decorating my house mainly because of the sheer amount of time I  spend obsessing over each one.  I've been known to look for hours for the perfect fixture or browse aimlessly through rugs both online and in stores, only because when you find the perfect one, you'll find the perfect space.  I could go on and on about covetables in each department, but I'd digress.  I've recently amended the aforementioned trifecta to include PLANTERS, because I also spend an inordinate amount of time looking at planter boxes and vessels. 


I wanted to share my favorite outdoor and indoor planters for fall decor, and any time really.  But fall is one of those seasons, like spring, where we scurry around tidying things up and planting things about. Last weekend, I picked up some dense white mums that really pop in a great planter before I put them in the ground for good.  And of course a topiary is always a good pick to top off a fabulous planter.  I've employed both the pom-pom and the spiral varieties around my property.  They look especially great during the holidays with a string of lights adorning them.

And pumpkins look falltastic in planters, too!

What are you favorite types of planters?

-Bethany

Fall Food and Fall Decor!

Fall food is such a great subject that I could definitely devote more than just a week to it!  With fall food falling out of favor this week (you like that alliteration?) I'll have to leave you with one last image before we switch gears…. 

CHILI!

My husband made his notoriously good chili on Sunday and it did not dissapoint.  We like things to err on the side of spicey 'round these parts and a nice dollop of sour cream and some cornbread helped to soften the effect.  He left out the beans, chose sausage over ground beef (is there a theme here) along with adding a jalapeno and a half to the pot.  He roasted some green peppers beforehand and added them in with the carrots, celery and onion. I came along halfway through, in typical fashion, and doctored it up with some seasoning. We added a bit more cumin, a bay leaf and some honey to round out the spice and VOILA!

Next up on the docket for falltastic-ness is fall decor.   I'm not super dedicated to seasonal decor, except of course for Christmas, so you can count me out for decorating the house at Halloween and Easter. But there are some quintessially fall items that make for wonderfully festive (and non-tacky) decor like pumpkins, gourds and leaves.  I found these pumpkins (you might remember me gushing over them here) at Trader Joe's and after much deliberation on why didn't get them at the time, I ran back one day during lunch and picked some up.  I brought them home and quickly arranged them on my dining room table.  I just love the pop of orange!

What do you like to use when adding falltastic touches to your home?


-Bethany