Cookies, Coffee, Robert Burns, and Knock-off China

Come Autumn, sae pensive in yellow and grey,
And soothe me wi' tidings o' Nature's decay!

Ah, that ol' Robert Burns could turn a phrase, couldn't he?

Even if he did talk funny.   :-P                

Outside here, it's all gray skies, dark gray tree limbs, with a few

brilliant leaves still soldiering on.

Yellow and gray and pensive.

November.

The perfect day for a cuppa and a something-else in the study at That Old House.

Sorry, it's not tea for me today; it's French press coffee.

I'm using pieces from a luncheon/dessert/tea service for 6 that I got two years ago at a hospital thrift shop.

It's an unknown manufacturer, but it's a dead-on ringer for Noritake's Adagio pattern.

This, below, is the real McCoy; it has silver trim, the imposter has gold.

Noritake Adagio,
picture filched from an eBay listing.

I discovered Adagio as a newlywed, and thought it so graceful and charming, but we couldn't afford it.

I was delighted to find this knock-off at the thrift shop.  I like it as much now as I did 30 years ago!

Love the rust and blue and gray design.  Such good colors for November.

This isn't fancy, delicate bone china.  I don't hold my pinkie finger up when I drink from this cup.

But I think it's pretty and I know it's practical -- I put it in the dishwasher despite the gold trim.

How daring is that?

Now . . . about that something-else snack.  

I usually have Duncan Hines brownie mix on hand; I think it's the best of the bunch.

And you can make cookies with it.

You need:

And you follow these instructions:

For "other stuff" think: white chocolate, nuts, raisins,
coconut, dried cranberries, peanut or butterscotch chips . . .
pretty much anything but olives.
Use a meatball scoop to form the cookies, or a coffee scoop.
Be generous.

After baking, you end up with these, and boy are they good:

Confession:  I did not bake those cookies today (Sorry, Howard).

I baked them almost exactly two years ago, when I first used these pictures and recipe in a post.

Pictures of That Old House are from this afternoon.

Hey -- I'm busy with my TBDBT List!  I'm not baking until the day before Thanksgiving! -- Cass

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Love dishes?  Lust over all types of china? 

Then you'll want to enter the Giveaway for the big new coffee table book

on dishes, called DISH!  Just go to Monday's post and leave a comment.

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Link Parties:

Marty at A Stroll Through Life hosts Table Top Tuesday.   Click here.

Diane at A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words hosts 2nd Time Around Tuesday.   Click here.

At Linda's Coastal Charm blog, it's Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays.  Click here!
And now for the Tea Parties:

Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage, and Tea Time Tuesday.  Click here!

Wanda Lee at The Plumed Pen, and Tea For Two Tuesday.  Click here!

Wanda and Pam of A Breath of Fresh Air host Tea Pot and Tea Things.  Click here!

And ... it's also Tea Cup Tuesday at Artful Affirmations with Terri.  Click here!

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An Autumn Sunday

Sunday morning, and as I sit at my desk and look
out the window onto the front porch, I can see leaves drifting down from the trees onto the grass;
there's a pumpkin at my front door and pots of mums tucked in the borders.

Green leaves are giving way to the golds and russets of Autumn already;

it really is Fall.

Yesterday, Howard brought home a half dozen mums that we placed here and there,

and he pulled our two stick scarecrows out of the shed; they are back on sentry duty for the season.  

Autumn is change and contrast -- it's the bounty of the harvest against the shriveling of the vines.

It is, as I wrote in a post just about a year ago, the silk of Summer

against the crunch of Fall.

I'm re-running that post today; I hope you missed it first time around!

****************************

(October 10, 2010)

The more things change, the more they remain the same.

It is remarkable, how one little patch of God's green earth

changes its wardrobe from a summertime riot of silky fresh color . . .

. . . to the crisp and crunchy textures and colors of Fall.

All in the blink of an eye.

I learned just a few years ago that the autumn colors of leaves --

those russet reds, those golds and browns, the yellows and plums -- are actually the real colors of the leaves.
Those colors have been there all along, lurking, hidden by the green.

The green is a costume.

A chlorophyll phantasy.

(Our technicolor forsythia in autumn.  The only time it's as beautiful is when it's in bloom.)

Knowing this has changed how I look at autumn color.

Now, I look at an Autumn hued tree and think, "Ah-ha!  I'm seeing the real you!"

That maple tree in the corner of your yard?

She's been hiding her glorious Titian hair under Plain Jane green all summer.

How kind of Mother Nature to clothe
her jewel-colored trees and bushes in quiet green

for the summer, leaving all the colorful glory to the flowers.

And how kind to give those trees and bushes
a riotous chance to shine before bleak winter.

Enjoy the color in your own backyard! -- Cass

Linky Parties
At The Tablescaper, it is Seasonal Sunday.  Click here!
And at Happy To Design -- Sunday Favorites is on the menu.  Click here!

P.S. My apologies to the science teachers out there.  I should have paid attention in class, lo those many years ago!

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It's beginning to look a lot like fall...

I do not like cold weather. I'd pick 90 degrees and humid over 30 degrees any day. However, I LOVE autumn. Hands down the best season for fashion, a number of outdoor activities, and the return of the sense of coziness.

via Artessen via The City Sage

2 above via Habitually Chic

3 above via Artessen via Automatism

I love to bake....well, I love to eat baked goods..and autumn is the season for warm breads and muffins
via Pinterest

lovely

via Artessen via Saipua

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Get Thee To A Dollar Tree!

Hold the presses.
Dollar Tree needs to be on your
List Of Places To Visit, Soon.

I went yesterday; hadn't been in donkey's years.

Or, maybe, Dion's ears.

Anyway, it was a long time.

I walked in, veered to the right, saw this, and it was in my cart before you could say,

"HeyladygetyourmittsoffthatcauseitisMINE!"

 What is it, you ask?

 It's a wire basket.  According to its tag, it's a wastebasket, and yes, I think it would fulfill

that job description admirably in a bedroom or office.  Can't you just see

crumpled, discarded pages of The Great American Novel spilling out of the top? 

I thought that was a better image than used tissues in the bedroom.

You could also park home dec magazines or naughty novellas in it.

This is my clever way of letting you know how big it is.  So tiresome to write, "11 inches tall."

  It looks like it's made of chicken wire.

Refined, civilized, citified chicken wire.  Because, it is.

 I do believe that in one of those fancy-pants Frenchy-decor stores, it would have a price tag

on it that would be more than ONE STINKIN' AMERICAN DOLLAR!

But wait!  There's more!

It multi-tasks.

It can also serve as a pedestal for one of the other things I got at Dollar Tree.

Perhaps -- not.

 But -- you could weave ribbons through it, or hang fiddly bits of beads or crystals off it for some bling,

or attach big happy buttons with coat thread for your sewing room wastebasket,

or do some poofy lacy swaggy thing around the top with a flopsy bow,

or spray paint it in Schiaparelli Pink or--or--or! in a lovely Autumn orange and add a bit of raffia . . .

You know, this all seems like work, and since I am bone idle I will wait to see what you do with your

Dollar Tree Frenchy Chicken Wire Basket.  

By the way, it also comes in Black.

Tres chic!

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 Meanwhile, at our Dollar Tree, it's already Autumn.

The pumpkins are a-popping out all over the DT store.

I happen to have a lot of faux pumpkins (Le Blog is still in Frenchie mode), and I found

more faux citrouilles when we cleared out our basement for the French drains last month.

I had to Google two things for this post: the spelling of Schiaparelli

and the French word for pumpkins.  I like to look smart, but my computer knows better.

Anyway, I could not resist these chubby lovelies.

 Creamy white, with soft green leaves.  Hmm, how big are they, you ask?

 Ha!  Another graphic demonstration of size, using one of those

dinky wee tissue packets we all keep in our purses.

They're little fellows, but their future is all planned for them.

They are going to replace last year's itty bitty orange raffia pumpkins on Jabba the Hutch,

in our kitchen, when Fall really begins.

 Somewhere near the end of October.  I am a stubborn summer-hanger-on-er.

So, my question for vous today is:

When are you going to get a Dollar Tree Frenchy Wire Basket,

and what are you going to do with it?

And . . .

is it "Frenchy" or "Frenchie" or neither?

Actually that makes two questions.  No, three.  This is why I don't balance the checkbook.

Now, get thee to a Dollar Tree!

Only, not the one near my house.  That one is mine, and I want all the good stuff

and am not above mowing you down with my cart to get it. This is New Jersey, after all. -- Cass

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Time to put your Linky Party hat on!

Join Leigh at Tales from Bloggeritaville for Thifty Thursday.  Click here!

See how Leigh's hubby and kids designed their own family room.  It turned out great!

And at Faded Charm Cottage blog, there are loads of other white wonders to admire.
Visit the White Wednesday Link Party.  Click here!

Yes, I know I'm late for this one.
My excuse?  I was shopping!

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Autumn is here! Fireplace decorating ideas

Fall is officially here. Though I would pick warm weather over cold weather any day, I still think fall is my favorite season. I love a fireplace, a chunky knit throw, and just the general "coziness" of the season. So I thought it'd be a good time to bring on the fall decorating inspiration!

Try holding on to a little bit of nature even when it's receding outside, by decorating the mantel with display boxes of interesting branches, pods, and other natural objects.
via BHG

via Good Housekeeping

I really like the dramatic look of branches in a vase.
via Home Life

We have a wood burning insert, a pellet stove, and an electric fireplace in our house. Between the three of them they really keep the place cozy. I have to say the electric fireplace is the easiest to keep clean - no ashes!

I like the look of bookshelves framing a fireplace. Just add a chaise and or a comfy chair and you have a reading nook.

this post sponsored by Fireplace Mantels 123

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