November in Chicago

November 2, 2019 By Linda 9 Comments

November in Chicago – Thanksgiving Table Setting Ideas – Cozy Living Ideas for November.

November.

Sigh.

I’ll be honest. If it wasn’t for that big giant feast at the end of the month — you know, the one with the turkey and stuffing and cranberry sauce — you (November) could quite possibly be my least favorite month of the year.

Sure, you’re not the coldest.

Sure, you don’t typically come in with snow (unlike this year!).

Sure, you’re one of the shortest of months of the year.

But none of these truths can overlook the fact that you’re the gateway month. You, November, are the beginning of what will only be a long, cold, gray (and potentially snowy) Chicago winter.

So in November, I find myself bringing the cozy inside. And occupying myself with Thanksgiving preparations …

you know, to try and distract from that cold thing. 🙂

Once again, I’m joining some blogging friends (organized by Jennifer at Town & Country Living) to share some thoughts on how we make each month cozy!

In November, I like to focus on creating cozy table setting ideas for that big end-of-month feast. Like this one I recently created that features black, white and orange.

And then there’s this more neutral centerpiece and table setting, using fabric pumpkins and jute pumpkins and faux eucalyptus …

I also really liked the year I went all white pumpkin and hydrangea. Everything was real and fresh …

Remember when I was all about color and contrast? Before I adopted neutrals? That’s when I went crazy and painted pumpkins for my Thanksgiving table setting idea …

A few years back I even created a free printable place card for Thanksgiving.

But the #1 thing I look forward to in November … and what truly makes the house super cozy … is setting up the Christmas tree in the dining room in time for that end-of-month feast!

Twinkle lights make everything better!

Be sure to check out my blogging friends to see how they cozy up to November!

Duke Manor Farm / Sincerely Marie Designs / Finding Silver Pennies / Creative Cain Cabin

Town and Country Living / Making It in the Mountains / It All Started with Paint

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Fall Table Setting in Orange, Black & White

September 19, 2019 By Linda 8 Comments

Fall Table Setting in Orange, Black & White – Thanksgiving Table Setting Ideas.

Fall Table Setting in Orange, Black & White - Black White Striped Table Runner - Pumpkins, Orange Napkins, White Plates, Gold Flatware

I’ve spent the past year or so de-saturating my house. Stripping it of contrast and color.

I’ve said goodbye to the navy walls (which I loved, by the way) and hello to a soothing gray/greige.

I’ve made dozens of envelope pillow colors in various shades of gray, greige & white (see tutorial here).

The bold navy & blue rug was replaced with a natural jute.

And while I’m loving this more calming, brighter neutral palate inside …

I sometimes find myself craving a little color.

And contrast.

And orange!

I mean, if you’ve been around from the beginning it all sorta started with orange when I slathered my son’s favorite color all over his bedroom walls (remember that post from 2012 which you can find here …)

As an aside, those photos make me cringe! If I do say so myself, the quality of my photography has greatly improved over those 7+ years.

So what better way — and what better time of year — to have my cake and eat it too with a celebration of Fall …

with a Fall table setting in orange, black & white!

I mean, Fall is all about the color. And the contrast.

My apologies for the 10,000 photos in this post! I just kept re-shooting the table at different times of the day to capture the right colors.

And contrast! 🙂

P.S. I feel like I missed a funny punny opportunity to play off the whole orange is the new black thing in this post!

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Summer Table Setting in Gray, White, Gold

August 1, 2019 By Linda 7 Comments

Summer Table Setting in Gray, White, Gold – Table Setting Ideas for Screen Porch

Sometimes I’m so behind the decorating trends, that I often find myself ahead of them.

Does that make sense?

A decorating/color/craft idea comes along and I miss it. Completely. Whoosh, over my head miss it.

Summer Table Setting in Gray, White, Gold - Summer Table Setting Ideas

But then I get something in my head that I can’t shake.

Perhaps I was influenced by that trend I missed after all?

Perhaps it just takes my mind a little extra time to compute, appreciate and embrace that decorating/color/craft idea?

And when I say a little extra time, I really mean years … and even decades! 😉

Gold Lantern, Succulent Place Card Holder, Grosgrain gray white striped napkin, gold flatware - Summer Table Setting in Gray, White, Gold - Summer Table Setting Ideas

Take gray, for example.

Gray has been trending since the first day I started this blog eight years ago. And was probably trending before then (though I wasn’t paying much attention). And while everyone was painting everything within reach warm gray and greige tones …

I was slathering the very cool-toned and very dark navy on my walls.

Now, I’ve finally turned the tables and am embracing gray just as …

wait for it …

Gold Lantern, Succulent Place Card Holder, Grosgrain gray white striped napkin, gold flatware, faux eucalyptus centerpiece - Summer Table Setting in Gray, White, Gold - Summer Table Setting Ideas

navy starts trending.

For real!

Sigh.

On the plus side, navy & gray/greige do place nice together!

So am I very pathetically behind the decorating trend when I finally painted my walls gray almost a decade after everyone else?

Or was I ahead on the navy trend?

Am I decorating savant? Or perhaps I just sing to a different decorating tune? Follow my own way …

And will I regret my gray wall decision in a year or two when beige and brown (god forbid) comes back?

Hmmmm…

But as I was creating these gold paint dipped terracotta place card holders that I used in this summer table setting in gray, white, gold, I got to thinking …

is the paint dip trend still a trend?

Or has it landed on one of those evil lists that keep telling me mason jars are so not hot anymore?

And yet, here I am finally … finally … paint dipping something, just as paint dipping something is sooooooo 2015.

Maybe I can bring it back again?

And who knows? Next week this not-so-trend-setting-trend-setter might just be back here with a coffee filter wreath tutorial. 😉

I never made one of those, so I’m only about 10 years behind on that decorating trend! 🙂

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chalkboard chargers & giving thanks

November 20, 2012 By Linda 38 Comments

When my husband and I first moved in together – back when it was just the two of us – there was a lot of togetherness. We lived together. We ate together. We commuted to work together. We watched television together.

In fact, there was so much togetherness that we used to make a formal announcement when we would leave the room.

“I’m heading to the kitchen.”

or,

“Be right back, just need to use the bathroom.”

It just felt odd … awkward … to get up off the couch and walk out of the room without some kind of preface. Do you know what I mean? Though, announcing our comings and goings was odd and awkward too …

We were also exceptionally polite to another another. Lots of pardon me’s and excuse me’s and an over abundance of thanks you’s … typically followed by a back-and-forth stream of no, thank you …

And our exceptional politeness — and excessive thank you’s — continue to this very day. In fact, they’re greatly encouraged (and, at times, prompted) among our children. Because please and thank you’s are magic words, after all. Just ask Barney …

Speaking of thank you’s, in the spirit of Thanksgiving I thought I’d parse out some here, starting with my husband who works so hard to support our family. I’m thankful for the gift he has given me that allows me to stay home and raise the kids. And of course I have to thank my son and my daughter for being such fabulous kids. Sure, we have our moments, but at the end of the day I wouldn’t trade them for anything …

There’s my mom and dad and sister and brother and brother-in-laws and nieces and nephews. Even though we’re geographically challenged, they’re always close to my heart. And I’m also thankful for my “adopted” Chicago family in the form of Mike’s sisters and their children and grandchildren and their extended families.

I’m thankful to you, my readers, for coming here and sharing in my adventures. And I’m thankful for all the new blogging friends I’ve had a chance to meet virtually – and in person — along the way.

And my thanks you’s wouldn’t be complete without sharing my deep and utter thanks to the founder of Dollar Tree and the creative genius who invented chalkboard spray paint …

Seriously, chalkboard spray paint is the little black dress in my craft closet. Just look at what a few quick coats did to some super shiny red plastic chargers I picked up at the Dollar Tree …

They look so rich, right?

And dare I say it … sexy?

And they’re so photogenic that I had a hard time choosing my favorites …

Oh, and in case you were wondering, Mike and I no longer make formal announcements when we leave a room.

P.S. Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday surrounded by your loved ones!

P.P.S. If you’re curious about the white pumpkin on the place setting, I made it from a dryer vent. The tutorial can be found here …

Sharing …

* Savvy Southern Style * House on the Way * Funky Junk Interiors * Under the Table & Dreaming * Between Naps on the Porch * Decor & The Dog * Two Twenty One * Home Stories A 2 Z * Cozy Little House * My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia * A Bowl Full of Lemons * Fox Hollow Cottage * At the Picket Fence *