~ Christmas near the Beach ~

 

 

 

 

I am loving the beachy color scheme in my living room this Christmas.

Blue.  Green.  White.

What's not to love? 

~ Falala ... lala ~

 

 

 

 

The halls are officially decked.

Sigh.

~ A Week of Thanks ~

 

 

 

Enough Said.

~ Ode on an Orange Leaf ~

 

 

 

I figure we have one week left of autumn and then it's time to deck the halls with abandon.

Here's to the beautiful colors from my porch.

#nofiltersorphotoshopping

~ Simple Apple Cake ~

                                               

My heart is getting deep into holiday mode here, so I am really trying to eke out some Autumn while I can.  I made this Apple Cake a couple of weeks ago and what with all the sewing and giveaway winning, I haven't had a chance to give this cake her due. 

I actually froze half and then thawed it (sooner than I expected I would ... and not just for myself.) It was still delicious.

3 C flour                  1 C chopped pecans
2 C sugar                 1 T vanilla extract
1 t salt                      3/4 C oil
2 T cinnamon            3 eggs, beaten
1 T baking soda       Garnish: powdered sugar
3 apples, peeled, cored and diced

Mix flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and baking soda in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix apples with pecans and combine with four mixture.  In a small bowl, mix vanilla, oil and eggs together; add to flour mixture.  Place in a lightly greased and floured Bundt pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until tested done.  Let cool for 10 minutes and invert onto a serving plate.  After it's cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Bake, eat, enjoy.

Enjoy this season.
                             

~ I Won!! ~

Please don't be confused.  I didn't win the election ... however I did win a GiveAway over at my absolutely favorite decorating blog ~

House of Turquoise
Thank you Erin!!

If you must know ... in another blog-life, I had amazing luck winning GiveAways.  Amazing. But I can't tell a lie ... I had hit a dry spell for awhile.  Mostly due to the fact that I wasn't entering as many, I suppose.

It doesn't matter because I won the above pictured, luciously cozy throw from none other than ~

Pine Cone Hill.
Thank you Annie Selke.

You know I love turquoise.

You know I love Dots.

Thank you, thank you Erin!

I am Tickled Turquoise

~ Sea-sonal Topiary ~

Whew.  I finished it.  I sewed down most of the binding last night ...

 ... while handing out candy to my four (count 'em 4!) groups of trick-or-treaters. I was actually pretty excited since that was four (count 'em 4!) times the number of groups I had last year.
My house is not really easy to get to.

 I just love my new tablerunner ... and the pattern that is available for you, so that you too can have a lovely Coastal Christmas.
No matter where you live.

It took me some time because I fused and then quilted 55 scallop shells onto my topiary.

It was a wonderful exercise in machine quilting.  That is not usually my favorite part of the process but in this case it was just one of my favorite parts.
Actually, I have to say that I enjoyed every part of making this one.
  

In fact, the back brings me a lot of JOY also.

So ... what do you think?  Did I do my original inspiration justice?
Thank you again to Romantic Homes ... November 2011.

Please stop by my Etsy Shop and pick up a pattern.
Now that Halloween is over you can officially jump feet first into the Holidays.

I have.