Purple Ornamental Kale: Replacing my Geraniums Outside

I put three of these in planters in my front garden after digging up and replanting my red geraniums to overwinter in front of the sliding glass door downstairs. When the long curtains are closed, that area becomes a greenhouse and the geraniums love it. I have always preferred ornamental kale to mums outside in the fall because they are cold tolerant and are still going strong long after the first hard frost zaps the mums. 

xo

Wonderful Restored Estate in Wales

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House & Garden UK has a great article about Penny Morrison's country house in Wales and a house tour. 

The designer Penny Morrison's magical Welsh home 

She is a London-based interior designer and you will love all of the rooms featured in this article. I found the bathroom photo above elsewhere and love the draperies. The scalloped cornice and the beautiful draperies have tiny ball fringe trim if you look carefully. Love them.

Enjoy the house tour.

xo

Bunnies Peeping Over The Tall Grasses

Tour this East Hampton home on Further Lane

HERE. The landscaping is amazing with very

little mowed lawn but lots of native plantings 

looking quite wile. Love it all♡🐰🌿

Washing Windows

I washed the outside windows on the front of the house today. Yesterday I washed the living room front windows inside.

It went beautifully. I used hot water with several squirts of Dawn Ultra and several drops of the rinse aid that came with my new dishwasher. I used my long pole lambswool applicator and then used my long pole squeegee without rinsing. Then I got up on my new ladder and went over the glass with a lint free dishcloth and then I polished with a microfiber cloth. It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed this task I usually dread. Having the right tools and the right ladder made all the difference. I did my front door window too. 

Yesterday I worked in the front garden and cut my peonies down to the ground. I pulled up all the weeds and planted some purple flowering kale. I want to spread some wood chips tomorrow and the garden will be officially put to bed for the winter. Having nice weather was a big plus.

xo

Nantucket Cranberry Tart Recipe

Click HERE for Recipe and more photos.

Click HERE to jump directly to the recipe.

Doesn't this look delicious? 

I love anything cranberry and will definitely bake this when bags of cranberries appear in the stores. 

xo

Mr. Doodle Does His House

Every inch of the interior is doodled too.

WATCH 'Mr. Doodle' in action HERE on Instagram

It's fun to watch him working inside, isn't it?

I wonder what the neighbors think?

Read an article on BBC.COM/news HERE.

Now that he's finished I wonder what he's going to do next now that his lifelong dream has been accomplished. Will he sell this house and buy another or live happily there forever? I'll let you know if I find out.

xo

Hiking Cat + Fall Foliage at My Cotage

This darling cat has the perfect attire for the rain I am having all day today. Maybe I should put on my orange slicker with the hood and venture out for a walk too. Image found here.

This is a snapshot showing some lovely fall color on this rainy day from my dressing room / spare bedroom window.

xo

Vegetable Drawers That Can Breathe

I love these wooden crate drawers. They don't match the kitchen cabinets but they match the butcher block counter. They are probably designed for vegetables so they can breathe but I will fill the second one with dish towels. I love the look, don't you? Enjoy this October Monday. xo

UPDATE: I FOUND MORE PHOTOS OF THIS KITCHEN IN THE COTSWOLDS HERE.

The Perfect Small House

I realize this wonderful small cottage has a large house attached. I hope it isn't dependent in any way to the big one but could easily stand alone.

I have mowed all of my grass very close to the ground with the #2 blade setting on my push mower. Now all the leaves can blow away with no raking required. I still have a few geraniums outside in big planters that I have to repot and bring inside. My peonies haven't been pruned to the ground yet either. And I need to put in more weatherstripping on a door or two but otherwise, I am pretty prepared for cold weather. I haven't turned on my heat yet and am wearing warm neck scarves indoors. If my neck is warm, I feel warmer all over. I do this in bed too when watching TV before I turn off the light. Try it, it really works! photo source

xo

Swan Mom and Cygnets

Swan Family Outing

When swans are born they're called cygnets, which is pronounced sig-net. Cygnets keep their name until they're a year old at which time they have two options for names. An adult male swan is called a cob and an adult female swan is called a pen.

Darling photo found on Tumblr. 

xo