Decorating for the Holidays

I cut some of the plants from the garden to make these outdoor arrangements. I'm not sure they will make it through the winter, but they should look nice for a few weeks at least.

 

Moz and I had a Holiday card photo shoot. Isn't he the cutest? 

 

 

And the wood pile even got a little sparkle. What is your favorite thing to decorate during the holidays?

thanksgiving

 

 

Bring Your Garden Indoors

Fall is slowly turning into Winter this month and now is the time to snip off the last of your outside garden plants to enjoy indoors as long as possible. A couple of weekends ago I did a little fall pruning. Some of these cuttings will only last about a week, but others, such as the coleus can last all year until you re-plant it in the spring.

 

Start with a base of the larger pieces. Then fill in with the smaller items. I wanted to use this small galvanized container, but it was not water tight, so I filled it with a glass cup. 

This arrangement was made in a vintage turquoise vase that I picked up a few weeks ago at a PHS / flea market event at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. This is my new favorite vase, it is the best color!

This arrangement has been in our bedroom and makes me smile every morning.

 

Valley Forge National Park

Last weekend we went to the Valley Forge National Park, which I have never been to before. What an incredible place! It is in King of Prussia, so the next time you want to go to that way-too-gigantic mall, skip it and go here instead. 


According to their website: Valley Forge was the site of the 1777-78 winter encampment of the Continental Army. The park commemorates the sacrifices and perseverance of the Revolutionary War generation and honors the ability of citizens to pull together and overcome adversity during extraordinary times.

I wish we would have toured it with someone who knew the history of the area, but I just did a little internet research and found out some interesting facts. 

 There were 2,000 of these houses built by the army. 

This monument was stunning. I noticed that a lot of families and photographers were taking photos around the park. 

It was built in 1910 and it is modeled after the Arch of Titus in Rome. 
Click for more photos. 

fall

I don't know about you, but I love fall. The chill is in the air and it smells amazing. Here are some pictures from around the house

We have had this wrought iron set since we bought our first house, about 11 years ago. If you're buying outdoor furniture, you can't go wrong with wrought iron. This is one thing that is worth the extra money. And you can get steals on it with craigslist; more on that later.

 The fireplace above was on my wish list for years. And my Dad just so happened to barter one of his customers for it and then gave it to us. What a great Dad :-)

 We got some landscaping done over the summer. The hardscaping that they did was amazing. We love it.

 I'm not sure if I showed you before, but this was a crazy shed. It was very large, but didn't hold much due to the design. Plus it was falling apart, so we (aka Dave and some very nice friends) tore it down and had a new shed built. Our landscaper suggested the best location for it and it is a perfect spot. It's tucked away behind those trees.

 This is a little pathway we DIY'ed. We had some slate pieces laying around and dave placed them in the ground. Once the moss (hopefully) takes over it'll look much better.

 This back patio is a great addition, and overlooks the creek "valley."

This patio set was scored on craigslist for $100! It was a steal and exactly what I was looking for. If you get it with this type of base you don't have to have cushions. And if you live here it's a good thing, because the squirrels will tear apart your cushions, take out the stuffing and use it to build nests.

They did an amazing job laying this stone. It was not an easy thing to haul thousands and thousands of pounds of stones to the back of our yard.

 The new shed.

 Moz likes it.

 The coleus are still alive. Although time is running out, so I better propagate some.