Friday, September 6, 2013

new vignettes and blueberry muffins


 I'm not quite ready for fall decor...for one, it's still quite warm here with temps
in the 80's and even calling for low 90's next week. Definitely still summer weather!
Secondly, it's technically not fall for a couple more weeks. I've never been one to
decorate for seasons or holidays too early. But yet I can feel and even smell that
fall is coming. The air is not quite as humid and the nights cool. There's that 
distinctive scent of leaves instead of flowers and fresh soil. 

So instead of digging out the fall decor, I started taking down my summer
and white decor and played with some new colors and vignettes.
I started with my china cabinet - removed all the milk glass.
Here's the before (I even still had red, white, and blue lollies from 
the Fourth of July!):
 

And here's the new set-up. I'm liking the red and yellow and
little bits of blue:


 I was inspired by something I saw online - can't remember if it was on a blog
or on Pinterest - where the woman used milk glass pieces in her bedroom.
So most of the milk glass from the china cabinet went into the secretary desk
in my bedroom. I really like the contrast between the white and the dark wood.


I really, really need to get on the ball with ordering new handles for this 
beautiful piece of furniture! I don't notice it as I go through my day, but when I
 see a photograph, it's glaringly obvious.


I took the summery turquoise tray off the coffee table and replaced
it with a warmer piece.


I didn't do much to change the bookcase in my office...just added my kitty 
teapot to the stack of magazines and the Caro-Nan basket purse to the bottom 
shelf. It makes a great bookend for now.


 Moving into the living room, I moved the little black chair that was
by the coffee table, next to the black shelf. I think it looks a lot better
in its new place. I also brought my big floor plant back indoors.
It was outside on the porch and used to be filled with several different
smaller plants. I dug those out and put them in individual pots, then
replanted the peace lily in the pot instead.

 
 And since the weather was a bit cooler yesterday and low humidity,
I whipped up a batch of blueberry oatmeal muffins. They're so yummy
for a snack or part of breakfast. Recipe below.


BLUEBERRY YOGURT MUFFINS
1 c. old-fashioned oats
1 c. plain yogurt (I used 1/2 regular yogurt, 1/2 Greek yogurt)
1/2 c. coconut or olive oil (I used coconut oil)
  1/2 c. brown sugar
1 large egg
1 c. flour (I used 1/2 whole wheat, 1/2 regular unbleached)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 c. blueberries

Combine oats & yogurt in a bowl & let stand 5 min. Add oil, brown sugar & egg 
to oat mixture. beat well. Sift in flour, salt, baking powder & baking soda. Before
 stirring, sprinkle blueberries over the flour mixture. Stir just to blend; do not overmix.
 Bake at 350 degrees for 20 min.


How's the weather in your neck of the woods? Have you started decorating
for autumn yet? Have a beautiful weekend!


14 comments:

  1. My goodness, it's cool at your place! We're about 100. I'd take eighties any old time!
    Brenda

    ReplyDelete
  2. Everything is looking great at your place. I never rushed the seasons and even felt a little put out when I saw people doing it. However, after blogging for awhile, I realized that blogging is kind of like having a retail store. If I don't start early, everything is old news by the time I get my seasonal décor up, and nobody is interested in seeing it. laurie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not true, Laurie - I don't mind looking at seasonal decor when the season is starting! So what if it's "old news", as long as it's beautiful, it's worth looking at. I refuse to be in decorating competition with other bloggers.

      Delete
  3. Temps near 100 degrees this weekend, and still in the 90's and then mid-80's next week. However, mornings are cool and locusts are loud in the evenings. I'm going to get out the Fall decor on Sunday when I'll be home alone to putter as I please. I have many pieces of the lace-edged milk glass and I just love it. We used them for the candy bar at Jess's wedding and they made a very neat display with all the different colors of candies we had.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The locusts are very loud here in the evenings, too. I've always liked that summer sound though; it's kind of comforting. Just like the crickets and frogs in the fall. That sounds really cool about using the milk glass at Jess's wedding for a candy bar!

      Delete
  4. The nights have suddenly turned cooler here, too. But it's pretty warm during the day. I do very little, if any, seasonal decorating, though I know that plenty of people enjoy doing it. I don't really have the space to store decorations and Mother Nature will give me lots of fall color all too soon!

    xo
    Claudia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have a lot of basement space to store stuff...both a blessing and a curse!

      Delete
  5. The nights have suddenly turned cooler here, too. But it's pretty warm during the day. I do very little, if any, seasonal decorating, though I know that plenty of people enjoy doing it. I don't really have the space to store decorations and Mother Nature will give me lots of fall color all too soon!

    xo
    Claudia

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love your vignettes, you have so many pretty, interesting pieces. I think the milk glass in the bedroom was a great idea, milk glass is so clean and fresh looking. It's really important to me to have a very fresh looking bedroom, very bright and airy. I think your milk glass looks really classy in the secretary.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the very sweet compliments, Jennifer!

      Delete
  7. Hey Melanie,

    Nice editing and new additions! Blueberry/oatmeal muffins are my favourite! How'd ya know?:D Will definitely give yours a try but need to use dried blueberries as we can't get fresh here on the island!

    Poppy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No fresh blueberries?! I eat a ton of them all summer; I can't imagine not having access to any fresh ones. :-(

      Delete

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