Blue Striped Runners for Stairs and Hallway

Photos from Wendy Posard and Associates

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I can't imagine a better choice of carpeting for this beautiful staircase.

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The companion hall runner is perfect too. This new home is stunning.

Perfect Kitchen with An AGA Range

All this and an AGA too? WOW, this kitchen has it all. I'm sure there will be a lot of activity there today and tomorrow getting ready for Thanksgiving! I wish my kitchen were this uncluttered but it's not. I have to clear all the junk from my catch-all farm table today so I can do some serious cooking tomorrow. Have a good one! xo

How to Garden Like You Live in The Hamptons

Even if you're surrounded by woods, keep your lawn, boxwoods, privet and hedges meticulously manicured.

However, grant your flowers the freedom to grow wildly.

Read and view more tips and suggestions here. Photos from "The Big Book of The Hamptons" from Assouline.

Not A Care in The World

Restful sleep for this pile of pigs because everybody's buying and cooking turkey. via

White Kitchen Love

I love everything about this kitchen including the ebony floor and the wonderful stools. I think you could really cook up a storm in there, don't you? via

Lovely Early American Entrance Hall

I love this 18th century NJ farmhouse with the red dutch door. Aren't the wide board floors amazing? MLS#3214421 Let me know if you want to see it; I'd love to show it to you. My firm has the listing.

Antique Bookcase Table

Please. Thank you, Santa.

This is the only thing on my list.

Swoon. via

Cauliflower Melts are The New Grilled Cheese

PHOTO BY JOHN VON PAMER

Yum. Don't these look delicious? Wouldn't they be great toppers for any leftover Thanksgiving mashed potatoes you might have? Or over leftover stuffing?
Recipe found on epicurious. 

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Medium head of cauliflower, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slabs, possibly halved to make a total of 8 slabs
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup white wine (optional)
1/4 cup shelled pistachios
8 1/2-inch-thick slices sourdough bread
4 ounces Comte or Manchego cheese, cut into 8 slices
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

PREPARATION
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add the cauliflower slabs and toss to coat.
3. Arrange the cauliflower on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes, flip the slabs, and bake another 10 to 20 minutes, until softened and roasty. Set aside to cool but keep the oven on.
4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, soak the raisins in wine or water for 10 minutes. Drain.
5. In a small pan over medium-high heat, toast the pistachios, dry or with a little oil. Let cool on a paper towel, then chop coarsely.
6. Lay the bread on the baking sheet and arrange the cauliflower on the bread, cutting it to fit as needed. Sprinkle with pistachios and raisins and top with the cheese.
7. Bake until the cheese melts, 7 to 10 minutes.
8. Top the toasts with chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Cozy Bedroom Nook with Fireplace

An Equestrian Estate Bedroom: Ronald F. DiMauro Architects, Jamestown, RI. Warren Jagger Photography. via That's one lucky dog, isn't it? 

Coffee Love

Another reason I like coffee so much. My first cup this morning tastes mighty good. via

The Lamp in The Woods

I like this lamp reflection in the woods to add a bit of cheerful color on a gray rainy day here at my cottage.

Mistletoe Cottage

All decked out for the holidays. Simple and nice. via

Small French Boy Trying to Understand the Paris Attack

I saw this on the evening news a day or two ago and was moved by this little boy and his dad.

Click here if you can't see the video above.

Maarssen, The Netherlands ~ Farmhouse

18th-Century farmhouse in Maarssen, The Netherlands. I love it! via

Beautiful Holiday Pie Crusts

Almost too pretty to eat. Notice I said "almost". Yum. via

Webster, Inspecting My Fall Cleanup

Here's Webster with his scary shadow inspecting my mowing job yesterday from the balcony. He gave it a gold star after a long walk down and back.

BRAMBLY HEDGE BY JILL BARKLEM

I wish I were sitting in an easy chair before an open fire and someone was bringing me a pie. I think I deserve one too. I've been working outside almost full time for the past 3 days doing my fall cleanup. I mowed everything for the last time today and it's looking fabulous. So happy. Isn't this the sweetest room ever? I adore children's books with interior design by animals. via

Peace for Paris by Jean Jullien

This viral image by French illustrator, Jean Jullien, was quickly designed around midnight after the attack on Paris. No words are necessary. This graphic design says it all. Read more...

Golden Grasses in the Woods

Golden grasses in my woods on an overcast day. The trees are bare thanks to the windy days we've had lately. I actually got out my giant shop vac yesterday and sucked up lots of leaves around the perimeter of my cottage and barn in the back. It was too cold in the shade to do the same thing in the front. I'm saving that task for tomorrow. Enjoy your Sunday. xo

Ural Owl in The Forest

Ural owl, native to Europe and Northern Asia, 

by Milan Zygmunt.

He's looking cautiously around the corner from his forest lookout. This is a beautiful owl and a beautiful photograph. It's somehow comforting to look at this peaceful image as I watch the news this morning about the carnage in Paris.

Life's Little Instruction Book | Volume II | Pages 64 and 65

A few suggestions, observations, and reminders on how to live a happy and rewarding life.

More advice from a father to a son when he went off to college.

Amen.

I like all of these, especially the one about the Thanksgiving turkey. I haven't posted these pages in a very long time and I'm glad to see them again. 

Pantry with Repurposed Screen Doors

This pantry door treatment is a great idea for a country kitchen. The extra storage behind the raised panels is very clever and so handy in this location near the range. via Pinterest

Another Wonderful Barn Owl Portrait

Regal by Jennifer R. Graevell Photography on Flickr. via The Vintaquarian

Oak Leaf with Rain Drops

Photographed on Tuesday morning on my first walk of the day with Webster the Wonder Dog. We haven't been out yet this morning and he's waiting patiently at my feet for his breakfast. It's raining softly again now and is supposed to continue all day. I feel sorry for my neighbors who are putting on a new roof. They got all the new plywood on yesterday so they are buttoned up. Isn't this always what happens? Beautiful weather for weeks at a time until you schedule outside work. I still have to pinch myself about my unbelievable luck two years ago in September 2013 when I had my house painted and woodwork repaired with storybook beautiful weather every day until the job was finished. I think that will result in my paint job lasting for a very long time. 

Lovely Pennsylvania Entrance Hall

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New home in Willistown, PA. Peter Zimmerman Architects, Berwyn. Looks beautiful outside too, doesn't it? The large mirror behind the windsor bench looks almost like a window.

Kitchen: natural wood ceiling/floor

I really like this kitchen, a lot! It's nice and bright despite being sandwiched between the dark ceiling and floor. Sign me up. The flush under-cabinet lights are very well hidden, recessed under the thick shelving. I like that! via

Geting Your Garden Ready for Winter

I thought this article in The Guardian had some very good pointers. Our days for working outside are numbered, aren't they?

I liked this article too on resisting the urge to tidy your garden. Leaving some seed head for the wildlife is a good thing. I adore this photograph of poppies that have gone to seed. Less is more when it comes to cleaning the garden this late in the year. 

Frost at My Cottage this Morning

Frost is one of my favorite photography subjects. My hands were freezing when I took off my gloves but all the while I was wishing I had gone outside just a little earlier. The morning sun had already started melting the frosty outlines of the leaves.