Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Apples in the cellar

I am so beyond blessed to live and raise my children on the property my great grandfather bought, where my grandparents lived and my dad was born. I am blessed to be just across the creek from my parents. I would like to share with you the 100-year-old root cellar...


On top is the smokehouse, but honestly I don't think any meat has been cured in there since the last bear got in.




My parents use it to store apples and potatoes for the winter... for all of us. They're just that way. My brother and I are blessed.


My mom bought these apples, and *lots* more, at the farmer's market yesterday. This feedsack is one my granddaddy stored upstairs in the smokehouse.



I love this old building but I love even more that five generations of my family have come and gone through this door...


...in all kinds of weather.


I'm so thankful to be right here:-)

Now for a peek at my fall porch...


Lots of fun, old things from around the property...


Thanks for stopping by! I really appreciate your visits and comments. I invite you to join me on facebook so we can interact even more. 

I'll be celebrating three years of blogging next week by hosting two fabulous giveaways, and opening my etsy shop filled with one of a kind lace, burlap, and muslin runners, toile shopping totes, tea towels, vintage style aprons, reclaimed wood boxes and more, so please stay tuned and visit again! 

Anita

I'll be joining:

Inspiration Friday
Feathered Nest Friday
Saturday Night Special
Wow Us Wednesdays





Monday, September 24, 2012

Music to my ears...

Hi everyone! We have been enjoying the most beautiful pre-fall weather here in the mountains. As the leaves aren't really turning yet, this is just the prelude to the fabulous color to come in the next few weeks. We usually hit peak around the middle of October. It was 32 degrees here this am!! I have added some fall touches to the piano I wanted to share... 



I had already added these music pages to the back of the window from my great grandfather's house, and I have had several different prints hanging on it, so I changed it to this vintage cathedral print my great grandmother left here.  I think this is my favorite of all. 



I made this lace and burlap runner to sell in my shop, but I really liked it here, so I'm keeping it!


Vintage music, birch logs and painted pumpkins keep things natural. 


Dried leaves, hydrangeas and other assorted weeds are combined in my grandfather's basket.


Vintage photo of my great grandmother, her children and her sister. My grandfather is the baby:-)


My great grandmother who was the May Queen at Trinity College (now Duke University) and another great grandmother here on the property with my dad. The cathedral print belonged to her. 


I love the long lace drop on this runner...


The statue is really a lamp that my grandmother painted. It started out white, and she added these beautiful mid-century colors that are my inspiration for Christmas:-) The aluminum "accent" on the piano bench is a school project my 12-year-old left there. 


This is how is really looks...my baby, Cristian Miguel:-)




I used things I already had, so this was a free transformation. I'm getting good at free these days, I think.  Luis cut the birch logs in different sizes for me this spring, and I have used them a lot in various places. We are making yule logs for Christmas out of birch, so I can't wait to have those ready.

Thanks so much for stopping by! If you have questions, please come by my FB page if you have not been there yet. I post other updates there throughout the week, and I love the interaction we can have.

I'll be hosting a giveaway and opening my etsy shop in celebration of three years of blogging this weekend, so please stay tuned and come on back.

Anita


I'll be joining:

Metamorphosis Monday
Wow Us Wednesdays
Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits
Inspiration Friday
Feathered Nest Friday
Saturday Night Special




Friday, September 14, 2012

Fall Bottles

Hi everyone! Because the weather has been so gorgeous, I have been excited about decorating for Fall. However, the new color scheme has been challenging as I really wanted to go a different direction from the reds and golds from previous years. It dawned on me that the sky is "Carolina  blue" in the fall, so I knew blue would be the accent. 
But...knowing I had to use only what I had here was the challenge. I tried everything and didn't like any of it. 


Remember all the old vinegar bottles I found here that belonged to my grandfather?? It never dawned on me to use them here. I also hit the jackpot yesterday when I found two blue canning jars in my grandparent's cellar. I placed them in the canning basket my mom gave me.  Then I just added more family treasures...


All these books belonged to my grandfather and the silver creamer and sugar were my grandmother's. I made some leaf tags out of burlap and music to tie onto the bottles. 


I filled my grandmother's old colander with pumpkins and dried hydrangeas.


I made the bottle lamp last spring so I changed out the seashells for leaves, buckeyes, etc. I had already covered the lampshade with burlap so I cut out some leaves from old music and burlap to add for a little fall whimsy. The little tart pans were also my grandmother's. I used sheets of music over the matelasse runner. 


Both sets of antlers were from deer my dad killed years ago. 


The vintage print and buffet were passed down from a dear relative...


...as well as the bird prints.


So that is my fall buffet this year! I am so in love with this look. But the best thing is these are all things that I not only had here, but all belonged to my family. 



Anita

Thanks so much for stopping by!! I'll be linking up to:

Happy Hour Friday
Saturday Night Special
Metamorphosis Monday
Wow Us Wednesday
DIY Fall Festival
Feathered Nest Friday
Inspiration Friday
Fabulously Creative Friday


Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Making window shades

Hi everyone! I wanted to share the shades I made for my windows as part of my great room makeover. 


We really don't need privacy in here because we are in the woods, but there are times when we want to shut out the sun, etc. I had panels that would close, but because this rod is not heavy duty, I had to put more supports which makes it impossible to only have two panels. Since I didn't want to add panels in between the windows like I have before, I opted for shades. I did have bamboo shades before, but they just look pretty and don't do a lot of filtering out sun and definitely don't help with privacy.


I used a fabric remnant in this mid-century pattern for the top, then cut lengths of drop cloth fabric to fit all the way down the window. At the bottom, I used the denim blue ticking. For the three windows, I made three separate shades then attached them at the top so they will not come apart. Since we rarely have them down, I opted for this style which just has a tie. I like the loose look, but they are not for someone who has to let them down every night. 



I also made shades for the french doors as we do get a lot of sun streaming through these in the afternoons.







This was a pretty easy project using material I had from other projects, and really didn't take a lot of time. 

 I am hoping I will be ready to open Knight's Store on etsy next week, and just in time to celebrate three years of blogging on October 1. I'll have lots of unique runners, shopping totes, aprons, etc., that I *hope* someone likes! If not, then you'll be seeing me rotating them around here, lol.  


Thanks so very much for stopping by. Each and every comment is appreciated and I would love to chat with you on facebook, if you have not already come by and 'liked' Far Above Rubies. There is a link on the sidebar.

Anita

I'll be joining:

Wow Us Wednesdays
Inspiration Friday
Feathered Nest Friday
Saturday Night Special

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Autumn Tablescapes

Hi everyone! Since I shared summer tablescapes last week, I thought I would go ahead and share some autumn tables this week. These are some of my favorites from years past...















Links for all these and more are on the sidebar and under the "Tablescapes" heading at the top. 

For this season, I am trying to use only American-made dinnerware and accessories, so we'll see what I come up with! My mom is using her Franciscan "Apple" dishes, so it might be McCoy/Hull "Brown Drip." I wish I had Blue Ridge Southern Pottery "Apple" plates, but I don't, so I'll just dream about using them:-)



Here is a sneak peek at what I'm working on...


Thanks for stopping by:-) I would love to have you come by and join my Far Above Rubies facebook page if you have not already.

Anita

I'll be joining: 
Tablescape Thursday
Inspiration Friday
Feathered Nest Friday