I can honestly say I felt a slight drop in temperature this weekend. Well, even though it remains hot here, it is a perfect time to think about styling for fall!

What a grueling summer we are having. For the next several weeks, fall weather will tease us. But every year, we get our Indian summer and the temperatures will go way up again. But a girl can dream about crisp, cooler mornings and wearing long sleeves again, right? It’s only a matter of time Fall will be here, so why not think about styling for fall now?

Despite the lingering summer heat, it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t get into the mood. Today’s blog post is pulling out the best of fall decorating from previous years.

It’s hard to believe it was two years ago that I made these life size autumn trees. To see this DIY, click here.

This year I am thinking about making several smaller fall trees, ones I can put on mantels or use as centerpieces.

Or maybe large branches with fall leaves on them? Each year we go to the mountains and I will cut branches from real trees that have autumn leaves. I feel a bit guilty doing this so it might be time to create faux ones that I can use year after year.

I am a big fan of Rosy Rings candles as each one looks like a work of art and smells heavenly. The candles are in investment, but they last from year to year. Plus they make terrific gifts. Click here for the link.

I cannot wait to pull this out again soon and fill the rooms with a seasonal fragrance. There’s a bit of a story around this Spicy Apple Candle. Click here for the post.

Each year I decorate one of my prized antiques, a Hepplewhite secretary, dating from 1790 to 1800. I bought this at a time when I had little disposable cash and every penny counted. But I am so glad I made the investment because it gives me such joy.

With 4 glass shelves, I get to do some creative fall magic with it. Too bad it is tucked into a corner of the living room, but I am always pleased to doll it up for this season. To see how I decorated it in the past, click here.

An easy, quick way to add seasonal decor is to switch up pieces of art. I don’t recall where I purchased the art above (I think an auction house), but it screams autumn. In addition, I have a few pieces I have personally painted, but now I am inspired to create a new one.

It doesn’t take much to add color and texture to your fall seasonal decor to your kitchen. A coffee cups, pumpkins, and hand towels are affordable ways to change things up a bit. Here are some cute towels on Amazon.

This spring I acquired a few great yard sale finds. This particular piece, especially with the artwork above, gives an autumn vibe in our family room. I cannot wait to play with the decor and see how I can change it up.

So are you ready for fall? Is it getting cooler where you live? If so, send some lower temperatures our way. Since we are without children, the fall decorating this year will be just for us. I have a new front door color that is more spring/summer-ish so that will be an interesting challenge to decorate. To see the new front door color, click here.

My fall focus is going to be on natural and already owned items. For the natural items I am dreaming about acorns, pinecones, branches, succulents and wood. My collection of baskets, scarves, throws, pottery and lots of velvet pumpkins will be incorporated.

Do you have any decorating plans for the fall? Please share your thoughts and ideas as you always inspire me! Have a terrific Tuesday. Happy September!

This post shared with Tuesday Turn About #64

Charming Homes and Gardens #64

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Thank you for visiting my blog on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday! I am so grateful to my faithful readers and all the new people who are joining us every week. Your comments and questions make my day. Since many of you are new, I thought it might be fun to share some oldies but goodies. Let’s call it Life at Bella Terra’s greatest hits!

Here at our home, we have the good fortunate of space where we enjoy everything from gardening to outdoor entertaining. Here are a few areas of interest.

Gardening and Chickens

My blog post Gardening 101 stemmed from the question, “does gardening take a great deal of time”? After the initial garden plan, the actual work to plant, harvest and maintain a garden is minimal and seasonal. And the benefits are enormous! To see this detailed post, click here.

Another popular post is about Composting 101, which is an ideal project to start during COVID. Being home and creating more waste, composting is the answer to having great soil for your garden. If you could recycle 30% of your trash to make rich fertilizer, why not? See that post, here.

Before and Afters

Don’t you love to look at other people’s homes? I certainly do! And it is a bonus if there are good Before and After pictures. I actually have a file where I keep renovation photos of other projects as inspiration.

Our historic home is always going through a constant renovation. However, the initial restoration was the most significant. In an attempt to capture that journey, I am writing The Restoration Chronicles. So far there are 5 chapters and if you haven’t read our story, click here for Chapter 1.

Entertaining

COVID has definitely put a monkey wrench into our socializing and entertaining. We feel blessed to be the stewards of this unique historical property and share it often to host everything from charitable events to proms. The orchard is one of the areas of the property we use for large sit-down meals. For more details about one of our dinners in the orchard, click here.

I long for the day when we can open up our home and our arms and welcome guests again. If you are dreaming of when we can all reconnect, here is an autumn entertaining post.

Cooking, Baking and Making

The summers do put a cramp in my cooking, as it is almost painful to turn on the oven in the triple-digit heat. However, the minute there is a touch of autumn in the air, I am back to baking. This past year, I learned how to bake sourdough bread from scratch, using starter that I carried home on a plane from Washington, D.C.

If you need a new project while we are all stuck at home, baking bread using a natural yeast, is so rewarding. I just recently shared more sourdough starter with someone who reached out to me and now I have a new friend. Bake bread. Make friends. Check out my post, Sourdough Starter Basics here.

Of course, there are all sorts of recipes in the files of Bella Terra. But here are a few favorites. Key Lime Pie post

Together we made Preserved Lemons (see recipe here) and then we used them in some fabulous recipes, like the one above. This delicious chicken pasta salad is ideal for the summer~as it can be eaten warm or cold. Check out the recipe here.

DIY and Home Improvement

I am not much of a crafter, but I do like to tackle projects myself, sometimes moaning along the way.

The most recent is a hand stenciled tile bathroom floor in our pool house. If you missed that post you can see it here.

We have accomplished quite a few projects this year, and several with your helpful comments. From the great advice on the vintage mailbox above, to helping select a front door color, your feedback is gold! See that post, here.

Organizing

Staying organized is such a challenge, but I am inspired to be better at it when I see others accomplishing these tasks. This year, getting the master closet organized was a big win. To see the embarrassing before pictures and the fabulous after shots, click here.

Keeping heavily used spaces like the pantry is always a challenge. But it looks so nice when it is neat and tidy. See the improvements here.

Pets

For those of you who have pets, you know how important they are to family life. Our two dogs, two cats and numerous chickens are all part of our daily existence here. The Best Kind of Friend is a blog post about the bond we have with our pets, how they shadow us daily and love us unconditionally. Read it here.

Thank you for all your kind words during Sox’s recent back injury and Tippy’s current failing health. We share in the joy of their presence and the grief of their loss.

Just Getting Through Life

You have provided loving ears to some of my life’s challenges as we enter new phases of maturity. It was only a year ago, when I was struggling with empty nesting (see post here). But with the pandemic, nearly everyone is home again! Now, next week I will do a repeat performance as we move our daughter out of the house to start her sophomore year in college. Ah, the ups and downs!

We have talked about Kindness (see post here) and how important it is to Smile (see post here) and how to age well (see post here). Even though we cannot get together physically, we have such a supportive community right here on this blog. The goal with each and every blog post is to provide you with something interesting and important. And I’ve learned so much from all of you along the way.

Again, I cannot express how delighted I am that you have been with me from the beginning and I extend a warm welcome to new readers. In a world that seems to be filled with division and anger, it is my hope that Life at Bella Terra will be a bright spot in your day.

Happy Tuesday, my friends! If you ever want to see more content on any topic~gardening, recipes, home improvement, decorating, seasonal, whatever it is, please let me know! Thank you.

This post shared with Tuesday Turn About #61

When we renovated our home, we changed the upstairs floor plan and added square footage to accommodate a more modern master bedroom layout. The master suite now includes an office, sitting room, bedroom, bath and closet.

The sitting room was part of the original master bedroom. It has a sweet, small fireplace angled in one corner. The room is rather small, and the windows face east and south. Again, not the best light for painting but during the day it is bright and happy. To see before and after of this fireplace, click here.

I took the liberty of using this space and making it my art room. Quite honestly, it was necessary because my painting supplies were all over the house. I was like a roaming artist, trying to find the best light, a flat surface and some place where the cats would not walk through my paints.

The art resting on the fireplace mantel is a Steven Hofberger painting. During our restoration, we had the unpleasant surprise of having to replace 55 windows. The original rope and pulley windows with blurry original glass had to go. I loved those windows and the thought of them going to the dump was disturbing.

Thankfully, Steven was using old windows as his canvas and took all 55 of them. As a thank you gift to us, he gave us this painting on the window that actually came from this very room. It still has the original hardware too.

When I refreshed my son’s bedroom, I took his large desk setup and moved it to the sitting room. The base is made from 2 Ikea cabinets and the top is a generous countertop that is 26″ wide x 90″ long. Using plastic and paper table cloths, the surface of the desk and adjacent space is safe from paint spills. To see my son’s bedroom re-do, click here.

In order to protect the hardwood floor, I covered it with Ram Board. This heavy duty Kraft paper is leftover from the multiple commercials and photo shoots we have had at our home. The film crew doesn’t want it and I always offer to take it off their hands. To see a previous post on filming commercials, click here.

There is a large day bed in the room and I am debating whether to remove it or not. It is a nice place to land after several hours of focused work, especially with the television nearby.

The sitting room tends to be that room that harbors items that have no official home. My friend, Susan, found this lovely prayer bench for me. It is on my list of projects to complete as I want to make a new kneeling cushion and find a quiet space for it. Currently, it is a place to set some of my paintings.

Right now, I am going through all my artwork. I have kept nearly all of them since I started four years ago and it’s time to thin out the herd. Many I will paint over, especially those during my kindergarten stage. A few people are asking that I consider selling some, which I am contemplating.

The configuration of this room isn’t ideal yet. The wall paint color is 20 years old too. But it is low on my list of projects. Ultimately, I’d love to take everything out and really contemplate how I want this room to function as a viable art studio. Also, I did a live Instagram story on this room yesterday if you would like to see it firsthand.

Do you have a space in your home for your hobbies and interests? If you have an art space, please share your tips and techniques on design and style. I love learning from all of you and appreciate your comments and feedback.

Have a wonderful Wednesday. We are enjoying the most glorious weather here~~mid 60s in the morning and low 90s during the day. A far cry from our typical sweltering hot June weather. Praying it stays this way for a while.

Sticking my face into a hedge of lilacs is a fond childhood memory. Inhaling deeply, I recall this heady, sweet fragrance confirming that Spring is here. My lilac memories as an adult are a bit of a blur since life took me to multiple geographic locations, some with lilacs and some without.

These flowering, woody plants range in color from magenta to purple to white. The colors symbolize every thing from purity and innocence to love and passion.

I have a longing for lilacs every single year, because they do not grow in our hardiness zone in Phoenix. Buying them locally is a disappointment due to lack of smell. What is a lilac with fragrance?

One year when I was back east visiting my parents in Connecticut, I literally brought a huge bouquet on the plane which took up most of the overhead bin. I was the only one happy about that!

Another time, during a business trip to Lake Tahoe, the hotel’s flower shop had an abundance of beautiful, fragrant lilacs. I purchased all of them and requested they be sent to my room. I don’t remember much about that 4 day conference, but I do recall how wonderful my room smelled!

Since I am unable to enjoy lilacs in person, I am inspired to paint them. Recently, my friend, Barbara from Mantel & Table created a gorgeous arrangement with lilacs and wisteria (another thing we cannot grow here). To see her lovely post, click here.

I have never painted these flowers before, but I know that it is difficult to capture the color and detail. This weekend, I took a few hours and found an online class by Kelli Folsom on how to paint lilacs. She luckily can pick them from her yard and this is a photo of her still life inspiration.

What I love about art and painting is that everyone has their own interpretation. Here is Kelli’s finished version.

And here is mine~~again not completely finished yet as I need to noodle it a bit more.

Now that I see these paintings side by side, I have an idea on what I can do to improve mine.

Kelli Folsom recently posted more lilac paintings. Unfortunately they are not subjects of an online class, but the paintings are up for sale on her website. Wish I had some extra cash laying around!

Practice makes perfect so I will be painting many more lilacs! Do you have a flower(s) that you love? That evoke wonderful memories? If so, please share.

Wishing you a Tuesday where you smell lots of flowers!

I hope you had an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend.

The appliance crisis cloud seems to have followed me to our vacation home with three things failing on us. The clothes dryer, the ice maker on the refrigerator and all the electrical plugs in our bedroom. What the heck is going on? I think it is time to take out my sage stick and scare away the home ownership ghouls. I won’t even mention the desk light that kept going on and off by itself.

But, if you own a home, inevitably things will go wrong. I just wish they would spread themselves out and not break the bank.

Some good news. I was able to find time to do a bit of painting (yes, on a canvas!). We have good light at the cabin and so painting amid the peace and quiet is very therapeutic.

Unfortunately, due to COVID, my art classes in Phoenix have been cancelled until September. In a previous blog post, I mentioned following Kelli Folsom’s video still life lessons, Vital Arts with Kelli, with the intention to have the flexibility of online instruction. The ultimate goal is to paint every day. Right now I hope to paint at least every Friday.

The lesson I selected is an antique sugar bowl with oranges.

Here is the photo of the live setup. I believe this arrangement works because orange is the complement of blue ~~they really look lovely together against the rustic wood table.

Kelli’s video instruction is approximately 35 minutes. I like to listen to a good portion of it first, before I start painting. Again, I did this in acrylic paints while Kelli uses oil. Vastly different mediums.

Here is what I love about painting. Everyone has their own interpretation and style. No two are the same. When I see Kelli’s loose brushstrokes, I wish I could paint that way. Her painting of the still life is very different than mine.

Here is my version. It is not quite done yet, as I am in the stage of just staring at it for a few days to see what I can improve upon.

But isn’t this fun to see the differences in style?

What I find most challenging is getting the shadows/darks in the right places, the different values and the scale of the pieces. And orange is one of those colors that is hard to create!

If you recall, I started painting when my middle child went off to college~~nearly 5 years ago. I have never painted before and it is intimidating to start something new at an older age. To see more about my painting journey, click here.

But each time I put the paintbrush on the canvas I learn something. Especially in this time of uncertainty, I find comfort in starting and finishing a project. I’ve decided I am not good with ambiguity as I like beginnings and endings. Doesn’t life seem to be a big blur right now?

Painting is a way for me to spend hours focusing on something else. Tuning out the world and its problems is a good thing.

Do you have a hobby or interest that is therapeutic? If so, please share. Many of us may be at a stage in life where we are looking for new challenges or skills.

Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday.

I am giving myself permission to do nothing this weekend. The week has been filled with so many projects, I will need a vacation after this quarantine is over! I dream about staring at the ocean with an umbrella drink in my hand. But it is time to slow down a bit and enjoy this Mother’s Day weekend!

Who started Mother’s Day and why? Mother’s Day was first celebrated in 1908 when Anna Jarvis held a memorial service for her mother. Her campaign to make Mother’s Day a recognized holiday in the United States began in 1905, the year her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis died.

Ann Jarvis had been a peace activist who cared for wounded soldiers on both sides of the American Civil War, and created Mother’s Day Work Clubs to address public health issues. Anna Jarvis wanted to honor her mother by continuing the work she started and to set aside a day to honor all mothers because she believed a mother is “the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world”. (from Wikipedia).

In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating Mother’s Day, held on the second Sunday in May as a national holiday to honor mothers. Owing to the efforts of Anna Jarvis, by 1911 all U.S. states observed the holiday.

My mother passed away in 2014. She was 89 years old and was suffering from dementia. Dad insisted Mom stay at home and we had a wonderful caregiver who took excellent care of my mother.

It is hard for me to describe my mother, as she wasn’t a warm and cuddly type of person. Mom had a sense of duty and a great deal of pride. She was rather strict with the girls in the family as she didn’t want us to become “fast steppers”. It was important for her to instill lady-like tendencies~~no chewing gum, no drinking beer from a bottle, no swearing or dressing provocatively. Education and grades were important to her~~anything less than an A wasn’t acceptable. She had high expectations of all 5 of us.

I remember her lectures and often hear her in my head. She didn’t wear her heart on her sleeve and she wasn’t an easy person to get to know. But she made sure we were well-behaved, dressed appropriately and had everything we needed for a happy childhood.

My mother loved art~~ to paint and draw. I have fond memories of doing that with her. She could turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse. With little money, she could transform a piece of furniture she found on the side of the road to a priceless heirloom.

While I was in high school, Mom and Dad purchased and restored a 1774 historical home in Norwich, Connecticut. During the restoration, Mom carefully removed layers and layers of wallpaper, eventually getting to the first original one. She sent the piece she retrieved to Schumacher and they replicated the design, naming it “Norwich”. The restoration of this old home was their pride and joy. It was a wonderful place to bring our friends.

As the empty nesting years were approaching, Mom went back to school and then started a new career. She was practical. After 25 years, she retired from the State of Connecticut and enjoyed her pension until her death.

When I had my children, I took the lessons learned from my mother, but I adjusted them to fit my life. I would like to think I gleaned the best from her and then improved upon them for my three.

I have had a big corporate career, own my own business and nothing has fulfilled my life as much as being a mother. The blessings and love that my children provide cannot be put into words. Every day I am grateful for their presence in my life.

Wishing you a happy Mother’s Day~~whether you are a mother or have mothered others. Our weather is beautiful, albeit a bit warm, but I understand snow storms are happening in the east. Wherever you are, have a safe and lovely weekend.