pumpkins on display

Walking through Roger’s Gardens 

this time of the year is always a special treat! 

I love checking out all their special 

pumpkin vignettes that are mixed in with 

crusty terracotta pots, 

amazing farmhouse tables, 

baskets of herbs 

and 

interesting statues. 

Here’s a little mini tour of my favorite fall scenes…

 ciao! fabiana

just another October day

Meet Dugan... one of our five furry friends who also call this place home. He's been quite the helper today following me around and supervising everything! 

Fall décor is finally making an appearance around here, and this year I’m in love with those soft muted colored pumpkins that are so pretty and seem go with all décor styles.

I found a pretty mini olive topiary yesterday in this gorgeously distressed clay pot. So perfect for the front door, after I added a few tiny white pumpkins and moss around the perimeter of the pot.

Here’s a snapshot of the dining nook from a couple of weeks ago. I just love the copper accents with the gray and white fall colors.

On our family room mantel, I’ve also used a simple grouping of gray, green and cream colored pumpkins which fit in nicely with the existing décor.  

“Hello, Sweater Weather!" I just love this little sign… and yes, after the really hot summer we've had, I’m ready to be sporting some cute sweaters.

This is the only orangy pumpkin that I bought this year because I fell in love with the terracota quality of it. It's one of those "Cinderella" pumpkins that are a little bit flatter on top. Perfect for stacking!

So that's a little bit of the fall touches you'll find around here. I'm not going overboard this year with lots of "stuff"...

As always, sunflowers are hard for me to resist during the fall season. They just really help usher in the whole season, don't they?

What do you think... do you like the sunflowers with the brown centers or the yellow centers? 

Just wondering…. 🌻

ciao! fabiana

blue and white for fall

Happy Monday!

I just wanted to give a little peek at a couple of little things I’ve been working on.

You can just catch a glimpse of my first milk paint project. It was really fun refinishing this antique Victorian dresser that we had in our front hall way. I love the results I got with the milk paint, and the color, patina and texture are amazing!

Other than that, I’m also working a fun floral project, so here’s a peek….  Blue and white for fall seems to work around here!

 ciao! fabiana

halloween 2018 at roger's gardens

Every year Roger’s Gardens goes all out and creates a spectacular Halloween experience for all their visitors, and this year’s no different! In fact this is probably my all-time favorite theme that they’ve done…

Harry Potter!

“Wander the corridors of a most magical school where witches and wizards learn their craft. Prospective students are invited to tour the castle.”

“Explore the Headmaster’s Study, a room filled with curiosities and antiquities.”

"Students wishing to learn about the magical properties of plants can visit the Greenhouse Conservatory where rare and unusual specimens are cultivated.”

Each of the many rooms in this “castle” is brimming with enchanted objects and décor to fill your home and imagination with the spirit of Halloween.

“Who knows what mythical creatures are lurking in the cabinets."

"Discover where novice witches and wizards study in the Potions classroom, be sure not to tamper with their mysterious experiments.”

There’s still time to visit Roger’s Gardens during the next few weeks to experience this fun Halloween display for yourself.

These rooms are so inspirational! 

I love to take my favorite elements like pumpkins, owls and

 candlesticks and mix them in with my traditional decor.

Do you have a favorite decorating theme for Halloween?

 ciao! fabiana

Quotes courtesy of Roger’s Gardens.

a simple fall mantel

Here we are in the first week of October, and I’m just now beginning to add a bit of fall to the family room.

It’s been a bit of a whirlwind couple of weeks where I’ve been working on some seasonal projects for Christmas and New Year’s Eve, so I’m just getting to my own personal fall décor today.

It’s just a start, as I will add more Halloween accents soon… so for today here’s just a peek.

I don't think I bought any orange pumpkins yet this year, since there are so many other pretty colors to choose from that tie in nicely with the blue tones in my home.

You may recognize this portrait of my husband's great grandmother from a previous post. Her name is Nellie, and I love how she watches over us each day!    

I think these soft grey succulents look so pretty in these vintage silver cups, and a bit of Spanish moss softens the look even more.

The pumpkins are real, but I do have a confession to make. The succulents are all faux. I found them at World Market recently.

These air plants are faux as well. I love how they look so real, and their spidery quality makes them perfect for Halloween.

So, we're keeping it simple this week with just a few pastel pumpkins and some spooky succulents.   

ciao! fabiana

P.S. Don't forget to follow me on instagram for all the latest!

a festive september tablescape

I’ve got two different sets of chairs that I like to switch out between my dining room and kitchen nook. These white Windsor chairs started out life as brown oak chairs, but when I got my hands on them for only $10 each, I quickly painted them white.

And those aren’t the only thrifted finds that I’m featuring here at my September tablescape. You see, there are quite a few little treasures pictured here.

This pretty plaid throw was found a few weeks ago and the soft blue and tan pattern is so perfect for my house and brings in just the right amount of fall character.

You may have noticed the new centerpiece of the room. This large lantern-like glass house with the weathervane on top was found just a couple of days ago at one of my favorite thrift stores.  

I’ve filled it with white pillar candles and lots of white “baby boo” pumpkins. Guess how much I paid for it?

Well, it didn’t have a price, so an employee marked it at $9.99, and when I got to the register, it was 20% off! I couldn’t believe that price, since it's quite large.

The center of the table is left quite simple with one large gray-blue pumpkin in the middle, smaller little pumpkins at each side and a few eucalyptus twigs to soften thing up.

This sort of table will look great from September all the way through the end of November.

I guess some of us are ready for a catnap…

ciao! fabiana

P.S. Don't forget to follow me on instagram for all the latest!

sunflowers on a cloudy day

Third day of fall, and I'm a happy girl! Today, I’m adding a little bit of sunshine to my kitchen nook with these amazing fresh sunflowers. 🌻

I hope you’re having a lovely day!

 ciao! fabiana

P.S. Don't forget to follow me on instagram for all the latest!

welcoming fall with a fresh look

Fall has officially arrived, and I couldn’t be happier! You see, fall is my season, my favorite season and my birthday season, so today I set up a simple little fall table with a few of my favorite seasonal things.

ü White pumpkins and cute mini ones too

ü A fuzzy plaid throw

ü Bright and cherry pumpkin plates

ü Textured placemats

ü Elegant silverware

A few of my faves pulled together in just a few minutes. What’s your favorite way to set the table for fall?

 ciao! fabiana

P.S. Don't forget to follow me on instagram for all the latest!

always a project or two around here!

Happy Sunday!

It’s been so nice here in Newport, and the mornings and most of the day have been actually quite cool and it’s really starting to feel like fall.

I’m just waiting for that “Indian Summer” weather to kick in one of these days, but in the meantime, it’s been extremely pleasant here, and perfect for working on some things around the house.

I kind of just wanted to show you what I've been up to this week...

Please excuse these pictures I took with my phone. They’re a little flat and just were intended to show my mom the progress on the dresser in my dining room that I painted with milk paint last week.

But things are finally coming together in this funny little dining room of ours. It actually only has one wall, and this is it. The rest of the perimeter of this room opens up to the living room, kitchen nook and hallway.  

So while my husband was out of town last week, I spent three whole days sanding, painting and waxing this piece [e]. It was originally part of a “suite” of furniture from my husband’s nana and it works perfectly in this room.  

I found the mirror [a] a few months ago at my favorite local thrift store. At first, I thought I scored a cool antique, but when I was loading it in my car, I noticed it was marked Pier One! I balanced each side of the mirror with a pair of vintage majolica lamps [d], also from nana. All they needed where some new oval lampshades.

A few of my favorite black and white plates [b] balance out the look on each side. These are just a collection of some of my favorites that I pick up here and there. And a grouping of white books [c] acts as a centerpiece, for now.

Here’s me just snapping a little pic to show my mom this cute wire basket [c] I had just scored at an estate sale a few minutes before! Only six bucks, and I just quickly filled it with a few velvet pumpkins [d]. I actually found these at Home Goods, and guess what? I pulled off the plastic stems and hot glued some real ones on!

Ssshhh… don’t tell anyone! Did you know they actually sell real pumpkin stems on ebay? Yah, well now we all know!  

Reflected in the mirror, you can see another one of my favorite collectibles, round convex mirrors [a]. If they’re brown when I find them, I usually paint them white with gold accents, but if they’re already black or crème colored, I usually let them be.

The oval mirror [b] is a family heirloom, probably French. 

This little vase of blush colored roses is a sneak peek at one of the exclusive tablescapes I put together this week. I’ll fill you in on it soon!

I’m currently working on an amazing Halloween tablescape in my dining room that’s filled with lots of spooky vintage accents. 

When I saw this blue and white entry on Instagram, I “instantly” fell in love with it and thought this look would be perfect for my front entry, since I already have similar wainscoting.

I’m on my way to Farrow and Ball this morning to look at their wallpapers…

I recently found out through Ancestry that I’m not only 68% Italian, but I’m also 19% French! Ooh la la ! News to me! (They recently updated their DNA data.)

So when I spotted this cute French inspired side door in the neighborhood, it just spoke my language, and I couldn’t resist taking a quick pic. Those French doors, shutters and the little iron gate are just darling!   

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I also wanted to share my most popular post on Instagram this week, and I was thrilled when Roger’s Gardens reposted it!

If you don’t already follow me [here],

I’d love it if you did. 💝

I share lots of extra stuff there that

you won’t see on the blog!

Thanks!!

 ciao! fabiana

P.S. Don't forget to follow me on instagram for all the latest!