Thanksgiving Table 2012

It's almost here, folks! Can you believe Thanksgiving is just days away?

Here at the Roost, we don't have a large family Thanksgiving dinner because we always travel to Kentucky to spend the Holidays with our families (which are quite large!). However, that doesn't keep me from setting a pretty table and inviting a few friends over for a 'pre-Thanksgiving' or an in between Holiday meal.

I love decorating the table for Thanksgiving--it is such an important, symbolic meal where we can gather and reflect on all that we are grateful for. If you missed my Thanksgiving table from last year, you can see it here.

This year, I used the same brown transferware, but layered it on top of our good china. I placed napkins with the world "thankful" embroidered on them on top of the plates, and then spray-painted the mini pumpkins we grew in our garden silver for some sparkle and a little take-home favor.

In the center of the table I placed a breadboard that was made from the side of an old Buffalo Trace bourbon barrel, and topped it with an heirloom white pumpkin, an artichoke and another silver mini pumpkin. Since I was sort of on a silver theme with the pumpkins, I pulled our our silver julep cups and placed artichokes in them. I was just playing around with the candlesticks and the artichokes--and realized they actually could work as a candle holder. Pull apart the center leaves, burrow the candlestick down in the artichoke, and you're done! So simple.

And remember that chocolate brown and cream traditional overshot coverlet I bought from the Appalachian Craft Guild shop while in Asheville? Well, I used that as a festive tablecloth, and added a burlap table runner down the center.

An few ears of Indian corn hang from my china cabinet for a festive fall touch. I think I'm going to add another maybe on the window and one hanging from the fireplace.

The best part of all was that I didn't have to buy anything additional that won't get used up or isn't functional in some way. I literally had everything I used for the decor already here in my house except for the tall candles, silver spray paint, and the artichokes (which will get eaten one night this week).

I hope everyone has a lovely Thanksgiving this week. Despite the hard year my husband and I have had, I am extremely grateful for SO many things. I'm especially thankful for complete healing of my broken leg (tibia fracture) without needing surgery, due to a car accident that occurred almost exactly one year ago. Those were long, dark days full of anxiety, trauma, and thoughts of whether I would ever walk normally again.....but I am happy to report that with patience and persistence I have resumed all my normal (even high impact) physical activities :) God IS faithful!

Linking to:

Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground

Seasonal Changes- Autumn is Here!

Hi Friends!

With Autumn's arrival and the beautiful transformation of the outdoors, my little blog here also received a new look! I wanted to update a few things and create a design that could be recognizable and unique to Restoring the Roost :)

I worked with the talented Elizabeth at The Mustard Ceiling who was wonderful in helping me come up with this design and putting everything together for me. Thank so much, Elizabeth!

our front porch

So, on to other seasonal changes. I just love fall, don't you? Autumn inspires me to cozy up my home and change things up from what we eat seasonally to the small touches around the house that welcome fall's arrival.

The leaves are starting to change (and fall) at our little homestead and on a sunny day the trees are so beautiful.

trees in our front yard

view from our front porch

I've placed our home-grown pumpkins on the fireplace mantels:

I whipped up some delicious pumpkin butter that goes great with fresh bread:

Pumpkin Butter Recipe: (via One Perfect Bite)

1 28 oz serving of pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
3/4 cup apple juice
2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice or mace
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 cups sugar

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring often, for 30 minutes, or until mixture thickens. Cool to room temperature before serving. Store in refrigerator for up to a month. You can also freeze or pressure can for future use. 


And I splurged on a chocolate brown traditional overshot coverlet at the Appalachian Craft Guild Center while we were in Asheville last month:

 I just couldn't bear to pass this beauty up, and I'm thinking I will bring it out for some coziness in the fall and perhaps use it in the guest room draped over the bed. It would also make a beautiful table cloth for fall dinners. It is woven in the old, traditional method from an heirloom craftsman in Kentucky.

I am definitely loving this season- and if you haven't noticed, autumn is my favorite time of the year :)

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Vintage Inspiration Friday

A Special Heirloom Quilt

My husband's grandmother, Mary Grace, passed away last fall. She was an amazing Christian woman. Full of strength, wisdom and of course, love.

One of the things we received of hers was a quilt made by her mother-in-law, Effie Melinda (my husband's paternal great-grandmother). It is a beautiful and colorful quilt....and I love it. It was most likely quilted in the 1930s.

I especially am fond of the "pinwheel" pattern and the navy. I have it in my guest room currently but am thinking about hanging it up on the wall as a colorful piece of art. What do you think? Too much for one wall or do you prefer to see them folded or draped over something?

I am finding that I am really drawn to antique quilts, and I see a collection starting in my future :)  I have two machine made quilts that are new, but this hand-stitched antique quilt is so beautiful and I feel the need to collect and preserve a few more!

A sneak peak of our guest room.....more photos to come once I have it "finished!" 

I love having the house peppered with family heirlooms in each room...pieces that retain so much value and meaning. It's like having a little part of Mary Grace with us still :)

Do you have a favorite quilt or other family heirloom?

Bedroom Chest of Drawers

I am sooooooo in love with our new bedroom dresser. We desperately needed another dresser for storage, so this one became hubby's very own and I took over the pink one. In addition to the dressers, we have a small walk-in-closet and a tall narrow chest of drawers.

This particular antique walnut chest of drawers is a ca. 1830s-1850s transitional piece which reveals the growing influences of the Empire style. The dealer from whom we bought the chest purchased it from an estate in Raleigh.  The scale and massing of the piece and its dark walnut finish with aged patina drew me to this chest of drawers even while there were many other beautiful pieces to choose from. It is wonderfully crafted and dovetailed, the drawers are hand-planed on the bottom, and I love how each drawer has its own lock.

For this post I thought I would try my hand at staging, and I like it so much I might just leave it this way! I used some framed wedding photos, books, a vintage glass canister with some lavender and greens, a piece of pottery, and a basket for my husband to corral all of his junk in.

I think I followed the recipe discussed in this post written by Camille from The Vintique Object. I know I didn't follow it to a "T", but I remember her doing a post on how she is drawn to vignettes with wooden chests, some kind of greenery, an orb shaped item, and a mirror or picture frames. I think I came pretty close!

And before you ask, NO I AM NOT PAINTING THIS PIECE!!! I have painted furniture a lot in the past but an antique piece with this beautiful finish I would NEVER paint. Good quality antique woods are beautiful in their own right and I prefer to leave them alone. 

I think two antique brass or primitive sconces on either side the mirror might be a nice addition,

 don't you? 

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Let's Go Antiquing!

Last weekend I enjoyed spending the day at the Liberty Antiques festival, and although it was rainy and very muddy, I came home with some awesome antique and vintage pieces at incredible deals.

An Empire Style mahogany and walnut plant stand/side table:

A 19th century signed and framed oil painting of a young girl feeding the chickens:

I found more chicken-related art for $5 a piece: a pair of two super cute framed Colonial scenes with chickens, painted on velvet. I don't know why but sometimes I'm a sucker for 1960s Americana.

In addition to the treasures above, my husband BJ received some very cool graduation gifts for finishing his Ph.d., a few of which I couldn't resist featuring them here on my blog:

Antique inkwell desk set:

WWII-era wooden ammunition storage box:

1960s vintage brief case/leather satchel:

I have to admit I'm a little jealous of his loot!

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Antique Side Table

I received a beautiful ca. 1840s cherry side table table recently for my birthday (Thanks, Mom and Dad!). It has such a pretty time-worn patina to it and I just had to give it a little feature here on my blog.

The table has turned legs, a small drawer and a solid board top that is pegged. We desperately needed another little table we could use as a night stand. Our bedroom has so many doors and windows with little solid wall space that we might have to rearrange the furniture to be able to fit a night stand and this table on either side of the bed. Oh well!

the drawer is joined by a wide dovetail crafted by hand

notice how the bottom of the drawer is beveled on either side.

you can see and feel the hand planing work used to create the beveled
edges of the underside of the drawer 

the top is constructed from one solid piece of wood; notice the pegs on each side.
I love the patina of the top despite the scratch marks.

Here it is shown in our bedroom. I kind of like it in this spot even though it will be more functional as a bedside table. Do you have a favorite little table in your home? Or do you have any creative ideas for unconventional bedside tables? In my guest room I use a wooden filing cabinet as a night stand and I've stacked decorative boxes before as well to serve the same purpose.  But now I'm happy to have a wonderful antique bedside table to call my own.

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