Autumn in Phoenix is a time to reconnect. Everyone scatters to their cooler locations during our hot summers, but when the temperatures begin to fall, the sidewalks roll out and the town becomes lively again.

We had missed seeing many of our friends the last few months and decided to have a gathering to celebrate friendships and good health.

I have always believed that the first hour of any event is an indicator of the success or failure of said event. In order to make this extra special, a fall theme was in order.

For the cocktail hour, tailgating came to mind. The front of our home faces east, and at 5:30 p.m. it’s the ideal time to hang out on the front terrace.

Using our vintage 1974 Triumph TR6, the trunk became the basis for the cocktail distribution. I made the banner from old scraps of decorative paper, carefully selecting those patterns that look most like fall.

Since some of our friends drink and others don’t, we always offer both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The non-alcoholic options were apple cider and boxed water. The boxed water is my attempt to cut down on plastic bottled water and can be ordered online at https://boxedwaterisbetter.com.

A deep copper tub is tucked to the right of the TR6’s trunk and houses both red and white wine. My cocktail of the evening was a Clementine Thyme Margarita. The recipe from Hola Jalapeno calls for tangerines but they are not in season yet so I substituted Cuties for the juice. Here is the link to recipe.

The porch and front entrance were colorfully appointed for the season.

After securing their drinks, the guests lingered on the front porch with simple appetizers. A dear friend of mine, Joe Pepe is a fabulous woodworker. I was so delighted and surprised when he sent me this charcuterie board. This is the first time I have used it! To see his amazing creations click here.

Using maple leaf cookie cutters, the cheese shapes add a bit of fun to the fall theme.

This beautifully grained board is 29″ long and 9″ wide ~~the perfect size for entertaining!

In addition to the charcuterie board, I made a Maryland crab dip that was warm and bubbling out of the oven, served with Stacey’s pita chips. Click here for the recipe.

The weather was pleasant and it was a delightful evening under a full moon. Dinner followed on the back porch but that will be a separate post! Looking forward to reconnecting with all of you this fall!

Happy Saturday! It has been a whirlwind lately~~so many meetings and pending projects. I keep reprimanding myself that I want to post a new blog once a week, but I blink and time has slipped away.

There is a distinct weather change here, finally! This morning it was 68 degrees. Though that may sound warm to you, it is a cool relief from our sweltering summer.

Fall gardening is happening now and though my vegetable garden is non-existent, I did start working on my newly designated bulb garden. Several years ago I planted many bearded irises and have never taken the time to divide them properly.

In doing so, I realized the watering system was rather inefficient, so we replaced the drips with spray heads. The rhizomes needed to be dug up, divided, checked for infestation, soaked in water, trimmed and replanted. The end result was 108 rhizomes planted in one afternoon. I also planted some salmon-colored iris given to me by my new gardening friend, Denise!! Thank goodness for soaking tubs and Epsom salts.

In early October, I am expecting a bulb shipment from Longfield Gardens with 100 each of alliums, tulips and hyacinths. The bed is ready to go and I’m hoping my back will hold up after setting the 300 bulbs in the ground. Photos below are from Longfield Gardens.

House projects~~this is the time of year that I start looking at the house with a critical eye. It’s time to touch up all the paint chips/cracks, wash the windows, fix anything that is broken all in time for the holidays.

My son’s room is on the agenda to remodel. My first inspiration was a scarf I received from the May installment of My Stylish French Box. This Létol scarf is 100% cotton Jacquard weave. I absolutely LOVE it!

My next inspiration is this fabric designed by Sarah Nicholas Williams from Radish Moon Textiles. It is a heavy Oyster 100% linen and the indigo color is spectacular. My friend, Janie, thinks it looks more like a kitchen fabric, but my son loves food. I’ve yet to find a fabric that thrills me like this one and for some reason it just makes me happy 🙂

The Dash & Albert rug sample is from Annie Selke and again, it captures this sense of blue that I think will work wonderfully in his very white room. Just ordered it so when it comes in, then the work begins!

Over the summer I subscribed to an online artist series by Kelli Folsom. She typically does still life paintings in oil. Since I have little to no experience in oil paints, it has been a bit of a stretch for me to try this. This is my first attempt of learning how to paint online~~hydrangeas in a silver pot. Maybe it will work in the bedroom remodel?

I hope you are enjoying the beginnings of fall weather. One of my favorite bloggers, Karianne at Thistlewood Farms, shared this on her post recently and I thought it made me happy. I thought I would share it with you! Click here for the download image. The colors are much more vibrant than the photo below.

Hope to do more fall decorating this weekend! I hope yours is a relaxing one.

Thank you so much for the feedback on my last post.  Based on consensus, I went with the silver beaded charger~~still surprised I hadn’t thought of it before.  A bit of thistle is stuck into the napkin for color and texture.

I was so excited when I made the decision to go silver, but then panicked because most of my stemware is rimmed with gold.  However, I was able to find enough plain glasses to use.

The centerpiece is a combination of potted plants from Whitfill Nursery (my favorite here in town) and fresh flowers.  Ornamental cabbages, alyssum, and dichodra were replanted in various size containers.  I used pot de creme vessels, cereal bowls and smaller bowls (that I purchased from West Elm and use for everything!).

The fresh cut flowers were purchased from Safeway.  I was a bit surprised they had protea, which has a fun shape and is a lovely shade of rose.  Coupled with roses and mums, the colors of the plate are well represented. Four silver candlesticks are staggered for height and dimension.

I added a few white pumpkins and a combination of real and artificial leaves.

One of my followers requested more room shots vs. close up photos, so here is a larger view of the dining room. My apologies for some of the darker photos.  Our dining room faces east and between the front porch and the porte cochere, the natural light is very limited. One of these days I need to invest in professional lighting.

On one side of the dining room is a fireplace.  Here on the mantle, the individual mercury glass votives spell GIVE THANKS.

The sideboard has our Pilgrim family (a Costco find several years ago) and a painting by the late California artist, Lynn Winans.

Wishing you and yours a blessed, loving Thanksgiving.  I am so thankful for your continued support and readership of my blog. We have so much to be grateful for~~our prayers are with those who have lost their homes to fire and hurricanes. To our service men and women who are away from their families this holiday, thank you for your service.

Sending big holiday hugs to you,

Can you believe Thanksgiving is next week?  I’ve been enjoying my lolly-gagging November and just like that, turkey day is around the corner! I ordered my fresh turkey this a.m. and have begun meal planning.  The good news is that I will have my foodie son home from Washington, DC. I will be so grateful to have his cooking expertise in the kitchen.

Today, I am sharing some place setting thoughts with you.  I typically use the same dishes (Johnson Brothers Windsor Ware) for Thanksgiving because they represent the colors of the season. This was last year’s table. See post here.

Once I decide on a place setting then I can start creating the centerpiece. Here are some centerpiece inspiration photos that I like.  Below is from Casa de Perrin:

From Birch Lane:

I have several different chargers.  I tend to do the same one every year, but maybe it’s time to mix it up a bit. Today, I spent some time playing around with two different plates styles and various chargers.

Here is what I typically do…dark wood scalloped charger with my Johnson Brothers plate. For this photo shoot, I used some vintage muslin sheets as a tablecloth because they are more cream than white.

Same plate on a silver beaded charger.  I didn’t think these would go together, but what do you think?

This brass charger seems a bit too small.

Larger brushed gold one-a bit better.

Here is the largest of the chargers. Designed by Leslie Roy, the underside of the scalloped glass is gold leaf.

The white with gold trim place setting is from Pottery Barn~~ on the dark wood charger.  I think if I were to use this, I would jazz up the tablecloth with a pattern or color. Not sure I like the cream napkin against the white plate.

I don’t know which combination I like the best, however, I will probably do my napkin on the plate or to the side with a sprig of rosemary or thistle.

I have these wood chargers on order from Home Depot (on sale), however, they might be too rustic or too yellow? Decisions…..decisions!

Do you have a favorite?

What makes your Thanksgiving table special?

I don’t know if it is because I was raised in New England, but this time of year is one of my favorites.  November is my “pause” month.  A time to slow down and synch my rhythms to the earth.  The days are shorter and the angle of the sun is soft and golden. We finally have cooler temperatures here with crisp, chilly mornings.

The bloggers who have thousands of followers are already onto Christmas.  Though I find it hard to fathom, many have put up their Christmas trees and decorations the day after Halloween.  It seems like everyone is trying to elbow their way first in the mass retail hysteria of the holidays.

I can promise you that anything holiday-ish will not appear on this blog until after Thanksgiving. I cherish the month of November and am lulled by its quiet simplicity. It is a time for me to catch my breath, slow my breathing and appreciate the new smells and sights of the season.

During the months of October and November, I focus on more home keeping.  Years ago, when I lived in California, I had a neighbor whose home always looked fabulous, in spite of having a large family and pets.  I asked what her secret was~~she said every fall she had all the dings, dents and chips fixed around the house.   Every since then, I take care of the wear and tear our home has experienced throughout the year. I am always surprised how much time this takes, but keeping on top of the maintenance makes it worthwhile in the long run.

This year the focus has been on our windows and screens.  Replacing screens with tears or holes and fixing windows that don’t quite close properly.  In the process, we’ve touched up window sills and baseboards with fresh paint.  It’s amazing how those little changes make the house feel refreshed.

I am also thinking ahead to Thanksgiving and pushing any Christmas decorations out of my head.  Our son will be coming home from Washington, D.C. and I cannot wait to have us all together again. He’s quite the cook, so many happy moments will be spent in the kitchen.

For me, November is the month to focus on home and appreciate all that goes with it.  It needs some loving care and as tedious as that sounds, I think the walls and windows are happy.

Be joyful this month.  Slow down and take time to notice the season’s changes and how it affects you.

As the weather gets cooler, a nice, warm chicken pot pie out of the oven is a family favorite. What makes this so easy is getting the pre-made ingredients and assembling it.

All the ingredients for this recipe are from Trader Joe’s (but any resource will do)~~pre-made double pie crust, cooked chicken and frozen vegetables.  I typically make my own pie crust, but Trader Joe’s is a very, very good option. I also used their 2.5 lb. bag of frozen chicken breast tenderloins, and 2 packages of Vegetable Melange.  But any cooked chicken or frozen veggies will do.

The frozen Vegetable Melange is filled with peas, carrots, cauliflower, sweet corn in a butter sauce.

Heat 2 packages of frozen vegetables in 2 tablespoons of watering a large skillet. I baked the chicken a day earlier at 350 degrees for 25 minutes (seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic powder beforehand). Cut the chicken into bitesize pieces.

Add the chicken to the vegetables.  I make a very simple chicken gravy to add to the chicken/vegetable mixture using Better than Boullon and water. However, if your frozen vegetables have enough sauce or moisture, you can add a bit of flour to that to thicken it up.

You could easily skip this part or make it with chicken stock. Two teaspoons of boullon mixed into 8 oz. of hot water creates the chicken stock.  Whisk a small part of the stock into two tablespoons of flour to make a roux.

Add the roux back into the remaining stock and whisk until smooth.

Microwave for 30 seconds and stir again.  The mixture will thicken, like gravy.  If it is still too loose, microwave for an additional 30 seconds.

Pour the gravy into the vegetable/chicken mixture and mix to combine. Add more or less gravy depending on how moist you want your filling.  Salt and pepper or season to your liking.

While this mixture cools, prepare your pie crust.

Even though I follow the directions to defrost the crust and leave at room temperature, it always looks like this when I unroll it.

So I gently gathered the dough into a ball, and rolled it out as the bottom crust.  I used a 9″ deep dish glass pie pan. I do chill the bottom crust for a minimum of 15 minutes in the refrigerator before I add the filling.

Add the cooled filling.

Roll the second dough for the top crust.

Bake at 425 degrees for 40 minutes (again this depends on the size of your pan, amount of filling, etc). In order to prevent the edges from burning, you can add foil or a pie ring on the edges of the crust during the last 20 minutes of baking.

With hungry children looming, I cut into the pie while it was a bit too warm, but you can see the abundant filling spilling out.

This is a very easy recipe requiring a small amount of assembly.

I love this cooler weather as it inspires me to do more baking!

Mary’s Easy Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

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