This Thanksgiving means so much to me because I am going to be preparing the traditional meal at our home for my children and their families. We might even have an outdoor Thanksgiving! This is the year we will all be together under one roof or star lit sky and my heart is singing. My theme for my outdoor Thanksgiving table is a combination of rustic and traditional. I have incorporated pine cones, burlap pumpkins and natural pumpkins into a rustic iron basket along with some ribbon and Fall leaves. I am  mixing some china and fall patterned dishes together along with some new porcelain dinnerware I just purchased, linen napkins and  yarn napkin rings . Reflecting on my childhood Thanksgiving I remember how my Mother prepared well in advance for Thanksgiving by using the bounty from many of the crops that were grown by my parents. We had the best, best,  russet potatoes ever,  which came from our farm, apple pie made from McIntosh apples from our apple tree. (yes McIntosh apples are be

The sweet simplicity of these vintage napkin rings is the key ingredient to their charm. My oldest daughter made them for me during her childhood days, one year for Thanksgiving. I have packed them all around the United States, for a minimum of 25 years, I think they have held up really well. I have gathered a few acorns from our old oak tree, picked a few last blooms of orange zinnias, just to add a little earthy zest to my Thanksgiving Table this year. I think it would be fair to say, that one could use twine, jute or burlap if they wanted to trade out the yarn for something else. The form of the napkin ring may be made out of any pliable cardboard. I would suggest Kleenex boxes, a cover to an old tablet, cover to a catalog etc... Cut the ring form into the size and shape you would like, securing the ends together with either craft glue or hot glue, then wrap the napkin ring form in masking tape. Use the material of your choice and wrap the ring until it is well covered securing with

Good Morning Dear Friends, I hope you are all staying warm and safe with this cold weather that has engulfed the country, it looks like it is going to be an early year to start hibernating and if that's the case let's do it in style! Can you believe it is the coldest November on record in nearly 100 years. Here in the Lone Star State we hardly even get a whisper of a Winter. With scattered snow flurries in the forecast we are happily trading a  brown  Winter for a hurry scurry cold speckled White one. So if and when Winter comes our way, we all get a little giddy and we wear boots and coats, Seven days a week and if we could 24 hours a day. Oh, and we are keeping our fingers crossed that this cold spell, will get rid of these pesky mosquitoes which have been big enough to tote us all away. Seriously enough, this is true and yours truly is on the giddy high just like everyone else. Coats and boots have never looked so good, there are so many styles to choose from and this year N

Just seems nearly impossible that Thanksgiving is just a little over two weeks away. It seems to me we can become so busy, pressured, tired and even overwhelmed with the preparations to make the big day lovely for family and friends that it is very easy to loose focus on being Thankful. So, I have designed this little printable just for you, and for me. I have been so inspired, enlightened  recharged and thankful by a recent Bible Study class which lasted for 9 weeks over the  Book of Thessalonians 1 & 2. Did my heart good and my attitude too, sometimes we can become curmudgeons, especially when we don't stay focused on being  Thankful . So enjoy the printable, have hope always, give thanks and know you are loved. Dwellings xoxo

It is time, time to plant our Amaryllis bulbs so we will have gorgeous blooms just in time for                                                                  Christmas. I just planted my bulbs yesterday, and I am so thrilled - they are going to be pink! I am starting mine from scratch, here are some instructions on how it is going to work. It is so easy and so neat to see what happens in the upcoming weeks. I make no promises on success....winky...but after all of the reading I have done, I feel certain we can do this! So, lets get started. Soak Amaryllis roots in warm water for three hours prior to planting. This speeds up the growing process by softening up the roots, just soak the roots though, not the entire bulb as we don't want the roots to rot or the bulb to mold. I chose not to purchase a kit because I wanted to see what sort of bulb I was getting. It is important to choose bulbs that look clean, are disease free and have marginal leaf and stem growth. We want all of the

It seems I am always the last one to jump on the bandwagon of trends, just when they are fading out, I discover wonderful uses for whatever that trend may be. Burlap is one of those trends, I have gently creeped into using it, although I always loved the way everyone else has incorporated burlap into their homes. You know me and wreaths... I actually had an Etsy shop for awhile, and I certainly enjoyed working in my little shop. I was ever so fortunate to sell several wreaths, but sadly enough the shipping costs were too high. So, I am back to happily making them for myself and anyone in my family who requests one! Since this is a Thanksgiving wreath, I began to think what was on top of my list of being thankful for this year. ~Gentleness~ Gentleness of spirit, words, and actions. So, this burlap wreath represents gentleness with it's flowing lines, fringed fabric, muted oranges and browns, buds of burlap, frosted acorns. I will hang this Gentle Burlap Wreath on my front door. Wel