Thanksgiving Weekend

It was Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada and there is nothing better than spending it at the cottage.  The colours were a little past their prime and a little less bright than some years, but great nonetheless.  It seemed like there was more yellow this year and not so much red so the few red trees and bushes were treasured all the more.

We had friends from France visiting us for the weekend.  Such a good time to visit as there was so much to share with them.

We had a day of blue sky and sunny weather 

and a day of rain.

One of my favourite things to do in the fall is to go for a hike in the woods so I took our friends on a hike near the cottage.  We walked through the forest admiring the leaves,

and collecting different coloured leaves to make our annual leaf art.

We actually made two this year because they are just that much fun.  We made a rainbow maple leaf and a sun (you can check out here and here for previous year's leaf art).

I love how bright the leaves look when they are concentrated together in the leaf art.  It looks like a little pool of colour on the forest floor.

It is always nice when the wildlife cooperate for a viewing - many thanks to you Mr. Great Blue Heron.  We appreciated you standing on that beautiful piece of wood in the water for us while we took your picture.

When you have come all the way from France to enjoy Thanksgiving weekend and you have a beautiful sunny day you have to pack in as much fun as possible.  So not only did we go for a hike, but we also climbed the lookout tower in Dorset.  Along with a lot of other people!  I had never seen it so crowded as you usually have the place almost to yourself, but because of the long weekend there were busloads of people enjoying the view.

Thankfully the Art Studio Tour was on this weekend as it was the perfect thing to do on a rainy Sunday afternoon.  We visited a wire sculptor, a jewelry maker, a potter, and a stained-glass artist. 

We had my some relatives join us for Thanksgiving dinner so there were nine people for dinner. The feast is the same every year, but you can't improve on the best.

One of the special things about the weekend was how beautiful Saturday and Monday mornings were.  They were calm and misty and the low sunlight made the colours just glow.  

An early morning canoe ride made it even better.

It was great to spend the weekend with family and friends.  So many things to be thankful for.

(photo taken by my husband)

Today is Bouquet Day

The last of the field flowers for the year are the purple asters so I had to make an entire bouquet out of them to celebrate their beauty.  I love the simplicity of one colour of flower on this busy thrift shop tablecloth with scenes of Paris along the border.  The Parisian theme is appropriate because our friends from France will be visiting for the weekend. We are heading up to the cottage and will be sharing a typical Canadian Thanksgiving weekend with our visitors - enjoying turkey and pumpkin pie and walks in the fall leaves.

What are your plans for the weekend? Wishing all of my fellow Canadians a Happy Thanksgiving and the rest of you a relaxing few days.

4 Reasons to Fall in Love with Autumn

Autumn is a lovely time of year.  Here are four reasons that make me fall in love with it all over again.

# 1
The cooler temperatures mean you can embrace cozy sweaters and pretty scarves.  .

Winged Knits

# 2
Nothing like getting warm on the inside too.  I can totally get into the tasty comfort food of fall.  Why not try a new recipes using some of the produce from the fall harvest.  I personally recommend anything with apples, squash, or pumpkins.

La Tartine Gourmande via Style at Home

# 3
It's the perfect time of year to have some outdoor fun - not too hot, not too cold, and BUG FREE!  I love to go for a walk through the forest, kick the dry leaves as I walk through them, and make some leaf art.

# 4
I enjoy adding fall decor around the house and on the table - things like pumpkins and gourds, natural woven baskets, wooden bowls, blankets, and candles.  Definitely candles - everything looks better by the flicker of candlelight, don't you think. And naturally fall decorating extends to the front porch with pumpkins and chrysanthemums  

Style at Home

Style at Home

I like nothing better than browsing through my favourite decorating magazines or going online to check out blogs or magazines for inspiration.  One of my go-to sites is Style at Home, both the magazine and the online site (and if you look carefully on the website you will even see my contribution to the fall decorating round-up a few years ago).  

I love decorating magazines and blogs for inspiration to help me decorate my own home, but every now and then I stumble across images like the one below of the outdoor dinner party.  Then I can dream about having the most amazing dinner party on a beautifully set table with a barn and golden fields as a backdrop.  There would be delicious food and good conversation and the wine would flow. Oh, yes it's on my bucket list. What a way to enjoy the fall!

Style at Home

Have you fallen in love with autumn?  What are your top reasons for loving this season?

My Happy List

My Happy List is short, but intense this week.

1.  I'm happy I was able to have a wonderful visit with Angie from Echoes of Laughter.. She was here in Toronto going to a conference so we decided to meet and have breakfast together. Five hours later we still hadn't run out of things to talk about, but that's what happens when you finally meet a bloggy friend you have known for years. We found each other's blogs very early on and have been commenting and emailing ever since. We discussed blogging and families and crafts and Christmas cookies (oh yes, we're doing Christmas Cookie Week again). It was great to finally meet you Angie!

Oh and she gave me the prettiest tea towel which I used as a table runner because it was much to pretty to actually dry my hands on.  She also gave me a yummy candle and a lovely little bag made by women in Ghana that is a patchwork of beautiful batiked materials. Thanks Angie for being so generous.

2.  I'm so happy it is Thanksgiving this coming weekend.  We are going to the cottage which is always an amazing way to spend the holiday.  All of our kiddos are away and won't be joining us for Thanksgiving this year - which will be our first holiday without any of them -  so we are very happy that our friends from France will be joining us at the cottage instead.  They are predicting nice weather so I'm looking forward to catching up with our friends, walks in the woods, and a big turkey dinner with all the trimmings and pumpkin pie for dessert.  Yahoo!  Can't wait.

What's on your Happy List this week?

Linked to Ricki Jill's Happy List at Art@Home 

Today is Bouquet Day

The bouquet today was inspired by the runner that I was given on the weekend by my friend Angie from Echoes of Laughter when we met up for breakfast (more about that later). The cheery material with pinks and reds and greens is designed by Anna Maria Horton.  Her work is new to me, but boy was I intrigued when I had a look at her blog.  She is one talented woman who designs fabrics and other handicrafts all the while raising six children.

I chose bright pink and red flowers from the garden and put them in turquoise vases to match the cheery colours of the runner.  The IKEA vases were from the table decorations at our son's wedding a few years ago and are very well designed to help the flowers stand upright.

It's a bouquet that looks bright and happy which is a good thing on a dull and rainy weekend.