Lavender for Holiday Gifts

Hello everyone,

Gather your shopping bags it's almost Black Friday and we're all looking for the perfect gift to give family and friends this Holiday.  This year I made some handmade gifts from the lavender I grew in my garden this summer.  

Lavender sachets, lavender bath salts and bouquets of 16 inch lavender stems. (50 stems per bouquet) I have plenty of lavender left over to make soap and candles when the busy Christmas season is over.

Lavender Bath Salts♥

homemade bath salts and silver plate spoons from the thrift store. The bath salts are in a net bag with three sprigs of lavender tied on top...with a lavender ribbon. 

Lavender sachets are packaged in sheer net bags and linen bags. 

A lavender iron on transfer is used to decorate the linen bags and tea towels.

Have a great weekend and I will back soon to share with you my holiday decorations.

Joyously,
Betty

Linking to:

Home and Garden Thursday at A Delightsome Life

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday 
 The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday 
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday 
Met Monday at Between Naps on the Porch
Mosaic Monday at Lavender Cottage

Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House

Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Thur Life

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Past Thanksgiving Tablescapes

Happy Thanksgiving to All...

During the month of November we pay special attention to being Grateful.
The bountiful life I have today is amazing.
Tablescape 2012 HERE

This year we are going to our son and daughter-in-law's house for Thanksgiving Dinner. I remember cooking for 12 to 14 people year after year. As I get older I love to visit my granddaughters sitting in the living room sharing their experience, strength and hope for the future. 

Tablescape 2011 HERE

The yellow and white dishes are vintage and the acorn bowls are so perfect for the season. Affection flatware and hurricane candle holders from the early eighties. Our son carved the beautiful wooden duck I have as the centerpiece. My children are very talented and I love to show their talent as often as I can. 

Oranges and bittersweet is the centerpiece for this tablescape. The salad plates are from TM and RL dinnerware. Soft taupe napkins with a taupe tablecloth is so cozy. Amber goblets from the thrift store finish a simple fall tablescape. 

Tablescape 2013 HERE

Hoping you have a wonderful and Happy Thanksgiving with loved ones...

Joyously,

Betty

Linking to:
Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch
Home and Garden Thursday at A Delightsome Life

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday 
 The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday 
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday 
Met Monday at Between Naps on the Porch
Mosaic Monday at Lavender Cottage

Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House

Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Thur Life

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Feeling Grateful

Hello everyone,

November the gratitude month is almost over. The leaves are falling and we had a little rain storm. I caught some sunlight in the garden under the pomegranate tree and the roses are giving me their last show of the season. Don Juan is just stunning and the blue bench is all dressed in her fall finery.

My vintage copper tea pot and copper mug.

A cozy warm throw and cozy pillows to snuggle in while watching the leaves turn beautiful burnt oranges and reds.

Nuts, whole cinnamon sticks and orange pomanders add to the sweet smell of fall...

The mums are fading fast.

The pumpkin and yellow mums add to my garden restful place.

I love the fall weather here in Northern California. We have such  hot summers and fall is so refreshing. My church is having our annual bazaar on November 22nd and I am busy gathering my lavender bunches, sachets and bath salts together. I will be in charge of the " A Piece of Pie" we sell a slice of pie and coffee to visitors. My granddaughters are going to help me with serving and being the cashier.
That's all the news for today.
Hope you have a great day!
Joyously,
Betty
Linking to:

Natasha in OZ for Say G'Day Linky Party 

Under The Table and Dreaming for Sunday Showcase Party  

Make It Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House
Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home
Mosaic Monday at Lavender Cottage

Your Going to Love it Tuesday At Kathe with an E

A Stroll Thru Life for Inspire Me Tuesday

Cedar Hill Ranch for The Scoop!

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday  
A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday

Spicy Tea Time

Hello everyone, 

It's time for tea and seasonal scents. Pomanders releases a rich scent of orange and spices. Whole cinnamon sticks can be used to stir the warm apple cider tea.

The aroma in the dining room is amazing and the tablescape spells "HOLIDAYS"

The April Cornell napkins are the perfect blend to a spicy tea time. The yellow flatware accents the beautiful rust, blue and red tones in the pretty napkins.

I love to dream up my tablescapes. A little of this and a little of that. The clear tea cups are so versatile. I used them this summer outside for my tablescape "Tea by the Sea" HERE

I visited my favorite shop last month and bought three faux pics for this centerpiece. I added three long cinnamon sticks and Ta-Da a wonderfully easy and smell good centerpiece.

Here we are sitting by the window in my dining room. Enjoying tea. The dinner plates from my mother's estate and the salad plates are RL.

The pomanders are easy to make. Use a toothpick to puncture the oranges, then fill each hole with a clove to create a pattern. 

'Faithful friends who are dear to us, gather near to us once more. 

Through the years we all will be together, if the fates allow.'

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Hugh Martin...

I have a few more posts before I open the Christmas boxes...We are busy around My Cozy Corner choosing, carpet and paint for our living room. Our sofa will delivered next week and I will give you a peek.
Have a great week
Joyously,
Betty
Linking to:

A Delightsome Life for Home and Garden
Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch
Katherine's Corner for Thursday Favorite Thing 

  French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday 
 The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday 
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday 
Dandelion House for Farmhouse Friday Blog Hop

Under The Table and Dreaming for Sunday Showcase Party  

Tea Time Tuesday With Sandi

Tuesday Cuppa Tea with Ruth

A Return to Loveliness with Kathy
Cedar Hill Ranch for The Scoop

Martha's Favorites for Tea Cup Tuesday
Ivy and Elephants
Simple and Sweet Fridays
Share Your Cup Thursday

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday 

"Goodbye" Old Sofa

Hello everyone, 

Today I am saying "Goodbye" to my old sofa and love seat. Now don't laugh...We have owned this sofa and love seat since 1991. The back story is: Our daughter had just married and we were remodeling our entire home. The sofa, love seat and two recliner rockers were all purchased at the same time. Now twenty some years later it's time to buy new carpeting for our living room. And we wanted to buy two new matching recliners for our old bones and bad backs. After all the old recliners were over 20 years old. Who keeps furniture that long? We do!!!

This post is written to document the way our home has looked for over twenty years and also to show you our new sofa and chairs.

I took this photo below with my 18-55 lens. I would love some suggestions about a different lens to use for this type of photo. 

The love seat has a new pillow I made to celebrate the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. I found the Gather Together tea towel at Aaron Brothers for $8.00. I bought a small pillow at Jo Ann's craft store and sewed an envelope slip cover in about 10 minutes. I love it.

We are not replacing the love seat, and the tables will be placed in front of our new sofa. I have a beautiful sofa table behind the love seat that I'm excited to see decorated for Christmas.

I made this mosaic with our new sofa and chairs. We had the new recliners delivered the same day we purchased them, but the sofa will be delivered in two weeks. I put the sofa and love seat on Craigslist and ONE HOUR LATER I had it sold. Now we have a large empty living room for a week or so.

Thanks for visiting and hope you have a great week.

Joyously,

Betty 

Linking to:

Met Monday at Between Naps on the Porch
Mosaic Monday at Lavender Cottage
Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House
Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Thur Life

Autumn Magic

Hello Everyone,
Happy November!  I love November.  The trees are the most beautiful and the wonderful holiday of Thanksgiving is so special to me.
During the month of November I try to remember to be grateful each day.  Gratitude means different things to different people. I love the word Gratitude...
According to Wikipedia  HERE  Gratitude is thankfulness, gratefulness, or appreciation
I prefer the Empirical findings. Association with well-being. Every day for 30 days during November I try to write what I am grateful for on that day.
Truly amazing and wonderful.
Autumn Magic is in the air.  A different look to my mantel this year. Matching plates and pumpkins with a little playfulness with the cute squirrels .  

The plate was used in a Thanksgiving tablescape HERE

Last year I fell in love with all the beautiful velvet pumpkins I saw DIYers make and I wanted to make some for myself. I didn't get the project finished last year so a few weeks ago I was in Safeway grocery store and lo and behold they had the most beautiful velvet pumpkins for a great price. I bought three for myself and one as a birthday gift for my dear friend Pat W.  I was so grateful I didn't have to make them. LOL!!!

Some wonderful things are happening around My Cozy Corner. I will share with you in a few days.

The weather is beautiful here in Northern California today. This weekend the temps are going to be in the low  80's and I plan to work in the patio moving the the fern grotto into a safer place for the winter. We do have a frost or two and the beautiful ferns will be history if I don't protect them. 

Thank you so much for visiting and thank you for following along on my journey thru life. 

Joyously,

Betty 

 French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday 

 The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday 
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday 
Dandelion House for Farmhouse Friday Blog Hop

Natasha in OZ for Say G'Day Linky Party 

Under The Table and Dreaming for Sunday Showcase Party  

Make It Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House
Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home

Your Going to Love it Tuesday At Kathe with an E

A Stroll Thru Life for Inspire Me Tuesday

Cedar Hill Ranch for The Scoop!

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday