Scarf Exchange

A yearly tradition has established itself within my group of friends:  a scarf exchange!  We are on our third year of gathering (in lounge-wear) for food, fun, and scarf trading.

The first two years we played a dirty Santa game where treachery and scarf stealing was involved.  This year, one friend found a great dice game to play instead.  No treachery necessary ~ a total game of chance!

Two of us happened to buy the same scarf, and plaid seemed to be high on everyone's radar.......

This takes the place of buying each other Christmas gifts every year.  It's always so fun!  We even got a Norwex demo out of the deal (complete with butter smearing on a window).

Hosting meant I could show off the new old house.  It also gave me motivation to clean, cook a new recipe, and decorate for Christmas.

Now if I could just get a snow day.  Tis the season!

A Peek Inside

Slowly but surely the boxes are dwindling.  Here are a few shots from inside our new old home.

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When you walk in the front door, you are in the middle of a huge, rectangular room.  Basically, two living areas in one really large space!  Soooo my antiques on one side........

And "his" stuff on the other.

Eventually, we want these two spaces to be cohesive, but for now, it's working.

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There's a chimney in the middle of our kitchen.........

I'm not kidding.  You can walk all the way around it.

Once upon a time, it was the home's source for heat and cooking!  Now it's filled with ductwork for the furnace.  A neat, yet challenging feature.

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I love glass doorknobs.  I love skeleton keyholes.  This house is full of original doors with the hardware still intact.......

So when I saw this at Target...........

I had to have it.  (And those slippers too.)

It just made sense.

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And finally, the natural light in this place is insane.  The windows.  So many windows.  I wish I could bottle the view from our upstairs bedroom.....  

This is a favorite perch for our pups.  Even though they aren't really allowed on that vintage chair.

(I'm a terrible disciplinarian.)

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Definitely a work in progress!  Lots of painting to be done.  And one of these days, hardwoods to refinish.  

But for now, we are getting settled and relishing these nice fall days while they are still here.    

Happy Halloween (a week late)

So about those "fang looking things" on our porch.......we bought the monster house!  Complete with eyes and a mouth........

The previous home-owner had done this for years.  They already had the decorations up for us when we moved in.  We plan to carry on the tradition each October.

Halloween in Rountree is serious business.  And sort of magical.

I'm getting all kinds of giddy for snow and Christmas.