Welcome Home....Fall

Here's a little sign I bought for our front door back when we moved into our home in '07. Think I picked it up at Joanne Fabrics but wouldn't swear to it. It's seen better days. The berries use to be orange (I think) maybe red. Who knows? Either way the sun has faded them to white. And I'm sure the vine was in some organic shape that didn't resemble a train wreck. I still like the sign but it needed a little sprucing. And it totally fit the budget whereas buying a new one was not what Big Daddy had in mind. He is a function over form kinda guy, new seasonal front door decor isn't exactly what he considers a necessity. Off to the craft room we go...

And here is the spruced up version. Stripped the faded train wreck of a vine. Hit the corners of the leaves with a little ModPodge and orange glitter. Took a scrap piece of burlap (from another failed project) and cut it into a thin long strip and wove it onto the existing wire hanger. Gave the whole shebang a fresh coat of clear acrylic spray paint and slapped that baby on the front door. Waa-Laa! And that should milk us at least one more year. Cost: $0.00! Now that's what a I call a deal!

Enjoy,

ginger

Linking up to:

It's Fall Y'all Door Decor @ Southern Hospitality

French Country Cottage

No Minimalist Here

Hooked on Houses

Flowers On The Wall

Recently Big Daddy, Miss Priss and I traveled to Washington State for a vacation. My in-laws joined us for a portion of our trip. My MIL (mother-in-love) and I were both enamored with all the gorgeous flowers. My mom was an avid gardener and I thought I'd seen some beautiful flowers but the flowers out there took the cake. I became quite engrossed in taking pictures of all these stunning little gifts from God. And I immediately hatched a plan to make some cards for my MIL for her birthday with the photos.

Here are a few snapshots of a set of ten cards I made for her. I attached the photos to natural colored cardstock which I thought was a nice balance to the brillant colors of the flowers and folliage. I then labeled all the cards with the names of the flowers pictured. The pink flowers above are Japanesse Bleeding Hearts.

Always a favorite, the poppies. Crazy that they can grow just about anywhere without a whole lot of work but their petals are tissue paper thin.

All packaged up and ready to give!

Happy Birthday to my Mother-In-Love!

Enjoy,

ginger

Falling For You

So they say that a few days ago was the first day of fall; hmpf, it was 85 here. But we have had a few cool nights and it has given me the itch to switch a few things around the Savvy Shanty.

Now I have a confession to make, I'm not a big Halloween girl. Its not that I don't like it, I just don't like most of the decorations that go with it. So usually, I do a fall mix up and it hangs out til Thanksgiving if it lasts that long. And really, this whole Halloween/Thanksgiving thing is just the prelude to the debutante of the season, Christmas. Which usually starts making an appearance around here sometime mid November which isn't a problem because I have made it a personal goal to never host Thanksgiving at my house. And there is my second confession of the day.

Now we have discussed that I don't like most of the Halloween stuff but I do love a good pumpkin, fat ones, skinny ones, white ones, lumpy bumpy grey ones. It doesn't matter. BUT.......the Savvy Shanty has a very Hemingway- plantation-coastal vibe going on. Which makes the whole fall decor thing a little dicey. Pumpkins and rattan aren't necessarily kissing cousins you know. 

Finding a balance between fall and all the other hemingwayish-old florida-yachting-travel goodies we have collected seems to be one of the more difficult seasons for me to decorate for. Summer is easy peasy, Christmas is even a cake walk but fall, well....y'all let me know how I did.

So funny little story about the window in the background. I was walking up  to see my friend one day this summer and a fellow neighbor had three vintage windows sitting next to his trash. Well I detour over to the neighbors trash and scooped up all three (like you do!) and right as I am scavenging windows out of the trash, my neighbor walks out and catches me red handed. I just smiled and said, "Does it creep you out that I'm gathering your trash?!" He just laughs and says, "If it was anyone else but you, it would. We have held on to those windows forever and couldn't figure out what to do with them but I feel certain you'll know exactly what to do with them." Well thank you very much! I think this one is a nice little prop for my fall mantle.

Enjoy,

ginger

PS. I need to give credit, the framed photo is a print from The Graphics Fairy

Linking Up To:

It's Fall Y'all, Autumn Link Party @ The Lettered Cottage

Tuesday Treasures at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

No Minimalist Here 

Under The Table and Dreaming

Hooked on Houses

The Tablescaper

I Love Beach Music

Provision Co. Holden Beach, NC

Post Labor Day trip to the NC Coast with Big Daddy and Miss Priss. We met up with two of Big Daddy's friends and their families. Big Daddy and said friends have been friends since boy scouts and two of them were roommates. We all have youngins now and are scattered hither and yon so it was a treat to spend a week together.

We spent the week reading, swimming, fishing, boating, watching sea turtles hatch and chasin' five ragamuffins.

Miss Priss reading her unicorn books. Finished two during the week.

Had to make a sand mermaid.

Baby sea turtle that hatched during the day. Really an amazing miracle.

Miss Priss deep sea fishing.

Miss Priss and Big Daddy and some of their catch. Had a great day fishing and came home with 55lbs of cleaned fish; snapper, grouper, sea bass, grunts, trigger fish, king mackrel! Yummo! Market value would be close to $800 for all that fish! Come to Momma's freezer!

This is our "little" boat we use to scoot around the ICW. She's a doll, super reliable and lots of fun.

So after the last trip of the summer, I guess it's time to ease into fall. Stay tuned for the fall shake ups around the Savvy Shanty.

Enjoy,

ginger

Chicken Fried

I'd like to introduce the newest member of our family, Granny the Chicken. She comes to us from Jax, Fl. She has previously served as a door stop on Halloween and has experienced many coats of paint. She also has served many years as yard art. She wears her many coats of flaking paint like a badge of honor and does not believe in latex surgery thus preferring to age gracefully. She has been admired by her now owner for many years and is happy to now reside inside, out of the elements. She will live out her remaining years as kitchen manager, overseeing the daily activities in the kitchen of Savvy Shanty. Today she supervised the canning of peppers.

Enjoy,

ginger

Free Falling

It's apple pickin' time in the South. And usually it's still hot as hades when we are out pickin' but thanks to Tropical Storm Lee, we have had a reprieve from the heat. Time to head up to the mountains to grab us some delicious goodies.

Miss Priss and I even were able to break out some rain boots and some britches!

That deliciousness is just so tempting!

Me and my girl. So nice to spend a day out of the classroom and out in nature. We learned how the pioneers would use a orchard and preserve the fruit.

Miss Priss and her friends. And the students of our one room school house.

Recreating the Adam and Eve scene in the bible, with a couple extras Eve's and a little humor thrown in.

The bambino's up in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The apple of my eye!

Washing apples to make apple chips.

Hope you are out enjoying the treats that fall brings. Next stop, Fall Festivals!

Enjoy,

ginger

Heirlooms

In a recent post, I introduced some of the members of my husbands family; the one's who's genes do not dilute. On our trip home from Jax, we passed a heatrwrenching several  junk treasure stores. Alas, they were all closed due to Labor Day. But fear not friends. I did not come home empty handed. Big Daddy's grandfather knows the key to my heart and it lies in heirlooms, especially family heirlooms. He always lets me pick through his goodies. They all come with a story and are far more valuable than any treasure I could possible find at a store.This time he had something already set aside for me. Talk about swooning! See exhibit A above.

In the backyard had lived a shed which held a 1000 spiders unknown goodies. Said shed was taken out by a very rude limb and had to be hauled off. But out of the shed came this (and a twin) crock. This crock has been in the family for decades and has been the home to uncountable gallons of pickles and kraut. And now it has been given a new home. I don't know that it will ever make another batch of pickles, due to a hairline crack at the top of it, but it will have a place in our  home and special spot in my heart.

Now, to find the perfect spot for it. Too big for the counter. Too small for the front door to hold stuff. Ideas? I'm open to suggestions. Right now it's hanging in the bathroom with magazines but I think I can do better. I open to suggestions, let me know what you think.

Enjoy,

ginger

The Boys of Summer

These men are all related. Can you tell? The genes in my husband's family do not dilute easily. Pictured clockwise is my husband's father, grandfather, Big Daddy himself, and his two uncles. These were all taken Labor Day weekend when we went to Jacksonville, Fl.

We had a great weekend, we visited family, went to St. Augustine for the Alligator Farm and climbed the St. Augustine lighthouse.

Miss Priss was NOT going to hold the biting end, despite it being taped shut.

Uncle Roger and myself observing some giants.

Miss Priss and her Great Uncle Doug

St.Augustine Light House

Looking for pirates.

Up, up and up some more.

Made it to the top!

After a fun weekend, we stopped at the Folkston Funnel on the way home. In Folkston, Ga, all the trains are funneled through that are heading south (or something like that) which basically means that a train is rolling by every 10 min or so. They have a great little covered platform with chairs and ceiling fans in addition to a loud speaker so you can hear the engineers jabbering. Should you happen to be passing through south Georgia, it's a great place to get out and stretch your legs.

Enjoy,

ginger