Project Monday

A blustery wintry day was perfect for cutting evergreens and arranging in pots

for the annual ladies tea and dinner being held at our church tomorrow night.

A room filled to capacity (600) with laughter and joy will enjoy tea and a beautiful dinner to start the festivities of the Christmas season.  Each hostess lovingly sets her table, mine you see here and each of my guests will go home with her own pot of evergreens!  
Just for fun too, I am going to add party crackers to each place setting....not the kind of cracker you eat  but the kind of cracker you *pop*!

Happy Thanksgiving!

ENJOY ALL THE BLESSINGS OF THE DAY!

I am so very thankful for family and friendships new and old, 

and His grace.

                                     

Project Monday

My version of Martha Stewart's inspiration seen here.

The fall color is beautiful still here in Georgia. 

 The leaves are rapidly falling, the grass is now a beautiful honey color and winter is coming!

Lucky for me I just went around the back yard (and a little beyond) to find a good variety.

I found a vessel that would work 

(from hubby's collection, not really my style)

stuffed it with paper

added dry floral oasis

and got to creating!

My friend Jeanne at Sophie Day Designs mixes live florals with her silks

so I added some silk sunflowers I had in my fall decor bin.

I am not a huge seasonal decorator so this brings a bit of the season inside!

A little pop for the front entry too!

Simplicity on the DR table....I could have sworn I had more of these candles....off to Pier 1!

What little projects are you up to?

Do you want to make your house a fabulous home?

Online and in person design services, contact me here!

Thanksgiving Floral Inspiration

Fall leaves, sunflowers, evergreens and an assortment of seasonal flowers

are spectacularly arranged atop this outstanding concrete table.

I am going to attempt to recreate something that would honor the scale of my home for Thanksgiving.

Happy Weekend!

♥♥

Table custom made for Martha Stewart's Skyland's home.

Sweets

Though I am a California girl, my roots lie deep in the heart of Texas.

No holiday ever goes by without some good ole Pecan Pie, now depending on where you are from you say "peh cahn", or "pee can".  I am a "peh cahn" kind of gal,  "pee can" is just NOT right!

this recipe comes from Francine Maroukian presented in the 

Oct/Nov issue of Garden and Gun Magazine

Drunken Pie

It’s hard to beat a fresh pecan pie, unless you add a little bourbon

Piecrust
Yield: two 9-inch crusts

Ingredients
1 ²⁄³ cups all-purpose flour mixed with ¾ tsp. kosher salt
²⁄³ cup lard
¾ tsp. white vinegar
1 small egg
Water

Preparation
Place flour and salt in bowl, and cut in lard until mixture resembles small peas. In a Pyrex measuring cup, combine vinegar and egg, and add water to make ¹⁄³ cup liquid. Slowly add liquid to the flour mixture, forming dough. Do not overwork. Remove from bowl, halve, and pat into disks. If not using immediately, cover in plastic wrap and chill.

Bourbon Pecan Pie Filling
Yield: fills one 9-inch crust

Roll out one dough disk and fit in 9-inch pie pan, crimping edges.

Ingredients
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 ½ cups dark corn syrup
½ tsp. kosher salt
1 ½ tsp. all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. bourbon
1 ½ tbsp. melted sweet butter
1 ¾ cups pecans

Preparation
Using a hand mixer, combine sugar, syrup, salt, flour, and eggs, mixing well. Stir in remaining ingredients
and pour into unbaked pie shell.

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes (a toothpick inserted in center should come out relatively clean). Remove from oven and place on cooling rack, allowing pie to rest for 2 to 3 hours to set.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle

I posted this last year here, go and check out the recipe!

What kind of sweets are you cooking up?

Dish This!

Start with basic white dishes and layer and add your own flare!

Phoebe Howard

Michael Devine

Paule Deen

Eric Cohler

Jan Barboglio

Laurie Frank

Minnie Mortimer

Grace Bonney

I have lots of fun picking up white dishes at Homegoods in various shapes and sizes.

For me, a white napkin in a silver ring is a must.

It's none too soon to start gathering ideas for the holidays, Thanksgiving is in two weeks, can you believe it?

Be sure and stop over and see Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for her weekly Tablescape Thursday.

Do you want to make your house a lovely home?

Contact me here!

Addition and Addendum!

Addition to the auction being held for Valorie Hart and Alberto Paz!

While Julie Neill so graciously explained that the crown I bought in her shop was not crafted by her (but I tell you,it looks very much like the little crowns she fashions on some of her chandeliers, hence my mistake), she has so generously donated this beautiful sconce for our auction. Please start your bids at $50 and since this is a late addition bidding will close midnight Tuesday!

All proceeds will go to the paypal account:  boutique@planet-tango.com

♥♥

Crowned Jewel

I'm joining in on the auction being hosted by Laura Ingalls Gunn

who pens Decor to Adore

to help our sweet friend Valorie get her beloved Alberto home.

See here, here and here.

This lovely crown was handcrafted by the very talented and renowned chandelier designer Julie Neill and author of the Bayou Contessa.   I brought this little crown home after a visit to New Orleans last year when I first met Julie (in the middle),

...and my sweet friend Marie, a native New Orleanian, 

and Valorie at Perch.  We became instant friends.

The opening bid on the crown is $35 and Moore Designs will ship to the highest bidder at no charge.  Bidding will end midnight EST Monday.  All monies will be donated to Valorie and Alberto's PayPal tango account.  boutique@planet-tango.com

Be sure and visit Decor to Adore to see all items for auction!

Thank you all so much.  ♥

Do you want help making your house a fabulous home?

Contact Moore Designs here!

Neutral vs Color

Neutrals are essential to me in 'grounding' a room. 

Something to build on, 

to add to...

...but it can be boring as well.

Take for instance this room on the cover of Restoration Hardware.

Can't say it is not a beautiful room BUT

where is the personality? 

 Where is the life? 

 While it's meant to be inviting with the lit fireplace, it still looks cold to me.

Why not toss some pillows with some fabulous fabric to add 

a touch of 'you', your personality here?  

This library is fabulous, I want to curl up here.

This hall could easily go neutral if just the hardwoods were exposed or seagrass were on the floor

and the colorful vases were not there, as well as, upholstering the bench in a light linen.

 What would you do?  Neutralize or keep the color?

This is a bit 'over the top' for me, but color is used quite well in this Miami home. 

Lots of personality, I'll bet the owner is lighthearted and fun to be with.

Michael Smith designed room,  great colors, inviting, warm.

Francis Janisch

I am in love with the wall color of this room designed by 

Barbara Westbrook and Kim Winkler.  

Imagine the color of the walls in the Restoration Hardware cover (which is fabulous) and these chairs in a neutral linen.  While neither is bad/wrong/etc,  the room would lose it's pop.

Ngoc Minh Ngo

I know you have seen these two rooms designed by Daniel Sachs for Nancy Tilgman, a CNN producer.

This is a great use of color....imagine all neutrals.  What do you think?

This dining room is spectacular......can you see beige linen on these chairs?

Don't get me wrong...

I LIKE NEUTRALS 

and even have plans for some re-do in my own home. 

 I want to challenge us to think about who we are and what do our surroundings say about us.  

Are you comfortable with your home looking like a magazine?  

Have you fallen in the rut of wanting to be like eveyone else?

That peer pressure is a killer!

or

Does your home feel cozy and inviting?  

That is my goal when I decorate for others and in my own home!

A very good girlfriend of mine who lives in another city had a designer that 

'wanted to take her to the next level' (his words)

 and was creating a totally neutral palate.  She was miserable, it spoke nothing of her and her personality.  She by her own right is a fabulous decorator and truthfully did not need him.  I went down to see her and together we worked on getting 'her' infused in her home.  Today it is gorgeous and a true reflection of her.

A penny for your thoughts.

♥

I can make your home fabulously yours!   

Contact me here!

Friendship

...is considered to be closer than association.

In this crazy blog land, we have many associations, but truly how many friends?

I have met several 'associations' that have become friends.  

This is true in the case of The Visual Vamp,  Valorie Hart, 

who encourages us all as designers to be good visual vamps.

She is a gracious woman with talent that oozes. 

 Her beloved Alberto had a massive heart attack in the Calgary (Canada) airport and is currently in the hospital there in need of surgery.

They want desperately to get home to Alberto's physicians, a medical evacuation is necessary.

Many have been donating by way of PayPal to:

boutique@planet-tango.com

Let's rally together bloggers and help Valorie and Alberto.

♥♥♥