I posted some new stuff under the Crafty Ideas tab

It's Fall and it has me in the decorating mood, so I posted some ideas and pics under the Crafty Ideas tab...here's a pic to give you a little idea about what it's about...I hope you enjoy! (don't you just LOVE the little candle in the basket?! a-DOR-able!)

I've made some changes...can you tell?

Although I've been blogging for almost 2 years now, I'm still learning LOTs about what I can do, add, etc...how I can do this or that, make it look or do this or that...it's exciting when I finally figure something out, lol, like Feedburner...ugh.  I LOVE it now, but I had to just figure it out, is all...so that's exactly what I did, I just started clicking around on it, it won't hurt anything, don't be afraid, seriously...the worst that will happen is that it won't do what you thought it was gonna do and you'll just go back and 'undo' it.  It took me a bit, but I gotter'done!  I worked it out on my other blog first, Thrifty and Frugal, then once I finally noticed that it had worked (through various trial and error, lol), I decided to do it to Lavender Cove.  As you can see, at the right, you can now subscribe to this blog, so whenever I make a post (although I don't do it on this blog as often as I want to), it'll go straight to your email, so you'll know I've made a post, what it is, and an idea about what it's about so you can click on it to read the rest.  Also, I finally engineered a 'button' for Lavender Cove, so that anyone of you that have your own blog or site, can grab my html code and put it on your blog (as I've done for some of yours).  change is crazy, but exciting, don't ya think?  I think THIS change for THIS blog made it much better and prettier (don't worry, the background will change all the time, it does on the other blog too, it's my 'personality' shining through, lol).

I've begun to decorate for FALL...wanna see?

This is the little arrangement that I've put on my front porch...the pumpkin was from Dollar Tree, for of course, just a buck.  Then I took a black Sharpie and put the H and little vine design on it.  I got the idea from Hobbie Lobby, as I posted here a few weeks ago.  The leaves I picked up at Dollar Tree, also.  They had packs of about 20 crepe leaves (a different color in each pack) and the they were attached to floral wire so that they could be manipulated and such...those were a GREAT find!  The silver urn or wine bucket, whatever whoever wants to call it, came from the Salvation Army for $3.69 (cool, huh?!).  First, I'd done the arrangement w/out the urn and leaves and my bestie said, 'you're gonna put leaves around it, right?' and of course I was going to, but it wasn't quite October yet, I'd only just begun decorating for fall.  So I finally got around to dragging the leaves out, and then I had an 'ah ha' moment when I looked over to a bar stool next to the back door where I had this poor, lonely urn, just sitting, crying out for me to do something with it.  So...I did.  Originally, I had the pumpkin sitting on top of a short dumpy terra cotta pot...it's foam, so I took skewers and put them up the bottom of the punkin and into the foam in the pot...then when I rearranged it to add the urn, all I did was drop the terra cotta pot inside so it adds some more weight to keep from blowying away, just in case.  Then I stuffed the leaves in and the the floral wire stems worked perfectly to poke into the foam in the pot.  The other items on the wicker and iron bistro table (a $20 find at a Goodwill store about 4 yrs ago) that sits next to the front door, are there throughout the year, w/the exception of the flowers behind the pumpkin, as I add those depending on the season (the stars were 98 cents eact at GW last year, they had stands on them and I bent those off so I could use them as picks, they were a last thought to the arrangement, but I think it worked out well).

I've not put any fall wreathes out yet, but that will happen within the week, probably, because Fall is in full swing, leaves everywhere, chilly days to downright cold night, and fruit picking...speaking of which, I have an elderly couple as neighbors along our back fence that gave me 2 huge bags of pears, yummmmm. I don't have time to make perserves or anything, so I've been thinking of making smaller pear cobblers and freezing them to use at gatherings for Thanksgiving and Christmas...do cobblers freeze and re-heat well? hmmm, dunno, let me know if any of ya'll have done this, will ya?

Fall...it's upon us....finally!

Fall is near.  The air is cooler...sometimes, lol.  Yesterday was hot, today was a bit cooler, and this evening is downright chilly....I LOVE it!  I'm slowly decorating for Fall...nothing major yet.  A large pumpkin on the porch w/a big black 'H' on it for our last name...this is sitting atop a few faux fall colored leaves, and it's sitting on top of a vintage silver handled urn...gorgeous.  I recently touched up my decor on the wrap-around front porch.  The wicker furniture all got new red seat cusions (courtesy of a junk store for $1.99 each, w/orig. price tags of $17.99, lol).  Then I tossed a few of the throw pillows (I repurchase new-used toss pillows for the porch every spring, throwing away any that are discolored, faded, dirty, mildewed, etc.); what I do is pick them up at yard sales and such for less than $3 each...there's a few that are good quality and can simply be recovered (when I have the time, lol).  I swept and cleaned and cleaned and swept, rearranged, and cleaned off tables, and such.  I have mismatched vintage teacups & saucers (chipped and such, paid a quarter or so for each) setting on the tables that have vintage doilies and such (again, pd 50 cents or so each, they have snags or holes and/or a stain here and there) on top...all those were cleaned and replaced, and ta-da, done, fini'  All in preparation of Fall....there's leaves that have fallen back down by the garden fence.  I take the dogs out for a walk in the evenings (when it's nice out) and sit in the $5 wicker chair I have sitting back there, and watch them play and run among the leaves, the love it...and I love that it's FALL , lol (can you tell? lol)

Some of the vignettes in my home...

These are a few of the vignettes found in my home.  The antique white cabinet was a gift to me when I was quite young from my late grandfather, who'd done some trading w/a man, so he said, and that it was found in an old barn, again, so he said, lol...but who really knows.  It sits kind of in the middle of a walkway, as you enter from the foyer, and my hubs HATES it there, lol, and wants it moved, but la-di-da, 'I WIN' lol.  The bookcase is at the bottom of the steps from the second floor and holds all my antique book collection (books that are 100 yrs old or older), 1st editions, etc.  I like to display vintage/antique photos everywhere, so you can see some of them on top of the white cabinet and bookcase, as well as the tiger wood sideboard/dresser in the dining room (above, also).  That antique drawered dresser was scored at an auction that I use to frequent for $35!  The regal mirror above it (yes, very old) was scored at one my favorite junk-guy's stores for $10!  The antique stoneware pitcher holding hydrangeas, was scored at a back booth in a huge antique mall for only $18.  The antique red desk was found at the same auction (different night) for $35, as well...I didn't paint it, it came adorably chippy...score for ME!  I use the vintage picnic baskets for storage of some of my vintage linens, and candles..and one of them is actually used for, yep, picnic supplies, lol.  When the hubs and I take a wine tasting tour, which we have a tendancy to do once in awhile, we take that picnic basket, which holds our wine glasses, romantic table cloth and napkins, corkscrew, salt/pepper, etc.  Well, there you have it...well, some of it, lol.  It's ever changing, also...those pics were taken a couple of months ago, but the tops of a few of those furniture peices have already been rearranged and redecorated at least 2 more times...they look a bit different, and of course, they change w/the seasons.  I thought maybe you all would enjoy seeing some of my style of decorating. 

I'd LOVE to see some of yours...feel free to email your pics and thoughts and ideas and such, I'd love to hear from you!

isn't this lil cake adorable???

Don't you just LOVE this cake?  What do you think it is?  If you look closely, you'll see a light bulb...your mind will wonder...hmmmm, what kind of light bulb is that?  it looks a bit odd...not like any I use in my lamps or anything.  Then you look even closer and wonder, hmmmm, I've never seen that kind of piping on a cake before...then it HITS you!!! wow!!! it's a tiny, battery operated tea light candle!!!! decorated to be a cake!  it's so delicate.  so small.  HOW in the world did this person put such tiny piping of clay on this cake?  The bottom is a lace border, of course...easy enough.  Rhinestones glued at intervals around it...another easy call.  The sprinkles on tip are a type of sequin, placed strategically on top...yet another easy task, as well as the pre-made bisque roses that can be purchased at a craft store...but the piping around the edge...how did they do that?  it looks like a star tip, a reverse rope, to be specific. hmmmm, I'm gonna figure this out, I will...and when I do, I'm MAKING it, lol....actually, I think I'll prolly make one anyway, aren't they just too cute?  it obviously won't have the piping, but I'll come up with something!

Guess who stumbled across a VINTAGE Burberrys bag for 3 bucks?!

That's right...MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!  It's actually a briefcase style bag, a little too wide at the bottom to be just a briefcase, maybe a weekender of some sort.  I'm having difficulty locating the print anywhere on the web.  It is DEFinitely authentic, the quality is SUPERB, the stitching is fanTAStic, the leather is exCEPtional, the hardware is quality brass (not that cheap crap, or painted stuff)! There's NO WAY this bag is not authentic.  It is definitely vintage, as it says 'Burberrys of London' 'Made in Italy' and Burberry dropped the 's' at the end in 1999...soooo, with that said, I've researched until my brain is fried, lol...my next step is to send it to Burberry itself for authentication...the prob there is, if I'm wrong (but I'm not), and it's not actually authentic, they won't send it back, I'll lose it, along with the $3.67 I paid for it, lol...and it's a GREAT bag, don't wanna lose it.  Is there anyone out there that knows VINTAGE Burberry?  Everything I research is all either vintage clothing/trench, and the Nova plaid/check and on current type bags...but nothing vintage, rare, or pre-trademark plaid.  Anyone know a good site to look at about vintage Burberrys?  believe me, I've been to everyone of them that Google has sent me to over the past 3 days, lol, no luck.  help???