Hello darling people!   MUSICA

Get a cup of tea and join me for AUTUMN from the Heart of the Home, it’s blog time!

 Trees make SUCH good sense when you can get one to talk. Fall is when they do it, you can hear it in the shhhhh of their leaves . . . and you find out they make sense in more ways than one! ♥

And they smell good too!  Especially this time a year, when the air is filled with them.  Here was our walk yesterday. It’s getting very beautiful out there.  Still lots of green, but the change is coming . . . 

As you can see, we are nowhere near peak yet, color wise, but a few things are beginning to burst, like the bittersweet . . . such a fun thing to decorate with although I can use it outside only because it’s not good for kitties.

You would NOT want to decorate with this inside OR out, because this is poison ivy. But isn’t it pretty?  Our woods are filled with this climber that turns bright red . . . they should have called this bittersweet — because with poison ivy you get the bitter, but in the color you get the sweet! 

You can see a bit more of it in red on the tree in the back . . . it’s gorgeous, one of the prettiest fall plants in the woods.

Bittersweet tumbles everywhere. It lights the shadowy places up.

Sassafras!  Pretty pretty pretty. The wind makes the leaves shimmer in the light . . .

So I was wearing this kind of loose-knit sweater and I started gathering leaves, flowers and berries to bring home so instead of carrying them, I strung them through my sweater . . .

This face says Ha! I thought it looked great. I wanted to cover my entire sweater in them. Make a fall costume. But, when a car drove by us out there, Joe pretended not to know me. Silly boy. Doesn’t he know . . .

Here it all is, that’s our woods!

These are windfall crabapples I found on the ground under a tree when we were in New Hampshire. So cute, I brought them home to put on the kitchen table. P.S. They were free!  Just lying around on the ground. Can you imagine?

And this gorgeous rose is the last one of the season from our garden. I debated, bring it in, or enjoy it in the garden? IN! I felt good about my decision. Up close and personal, not just for me, but for you too. Through the MAGIC of the Internet! I still can’t believe we can DO this!

October, my darling, slooow down. Last two months, please . . .I really love you. I had such fun painting this page, I want it to stick around for a while!

We almost always end up getting mums to decorate our porch, and then we plant them in the garden afterwards. And they always come back. These wine-red mums are growing in the garden now.

Lowely was just here for tea, she heard we’re going to have a freeze on Saturday! So I’ll cover the mums with a blanket to get them to last a bit longer. The hand-painted little thrift shop vase up there is my newest favorite thing ~ it was a gift from my girlfriend Pat ♥ . . . adorable don’t you think? For the collection . . . From one “little vase” lover to another . . . ♥

…How does your garden grow? With silver bells and cockle shells…

Top o’ the stove as of yesterday. . .

We are cookin’ with gas in more ways than one . . . because it’s getting chilly out there!

And it’s Casper time.  A VERY friendly ghost . . . already lighting the bedroom window upstairs. . . hello to the street!

See him?  Our pumpkins are up too. But you can see, although there are colored leaves on the ground, the trees still have a little ways to go. Mas MUSICA? OUI!

When I want to decorate I just shop my house and pull out anything that says “Autumn” to me, like these little faux pears and that pinecone I found out on the road. Nature (and the attic) provides.

I read my Autumn Book and set it up in my kitchen to get inspired . . . such a creative time of year! ♥

See, just little stuff we have around . . . the birds we sell in our web store ~ along with little faux leaves I got somewhere and saved.

We had such a nice time at our book signing in Meredith, New Hampshire with the good people at Innisfree Books ~ Lots of our Girlfriends were there!♥ By the way, I left lots of signed copies of The Fairy Tale Girl and A Fine Romance at this wonderful Independent Bookstore if you’re interested . . . they told me they would be happy to send you one for as long as they last. You can call them at 603-279-3905.

They decorate their store with huge posters that authors sign for them. I figured out where to sign the poster for The Fairy Tale Girl, but was having trouble with Autumn. The caption (and my left hand) would say, “Yeah, but where?”

But I figured out . . . and was very proud of myself!

We stopped in the BEST farm stands when we were up there . . . and got ourselves some very large pumpkins to carve for Halloween.

But my favorite thing was reading in front of the fire at Lowely’s grandmother’s house . . . a little bit of heaven. 

I suggested Corn Pudding on the October page of this year’s calendar (up there ↑ and hopefully on your wall) so I thought I should give you the recipe. It’s in the Autumn Book too. SO good, SO easy, and DO float it in a puddle of maple syrup … It’s the perfect food for this time of year, I promise!

Jack. In his new capacity of door beggar. PLEASE take me out!  Please!!!!!!!! I hope over the winter he forgets about the great outdoors because, despite his little mustache and his melting green eyes, this boy has terrible killer instincts and if he were set loose, I would fear for the world of birds, bunnies and other kitties! A neighborhood cat becomes visible through a window and Jack turns into a Rhodesian Ridgeback. One scary kitty.

I tell Jack he has it so easy. The cats in California are working cats! This is darling SAMMY . . . helping out at the Studio. He sleeps with us when we are there, and I have to say, I get a tear in my eye when I have to leave him. He looks a little scary in this photo, but that’s just the camera, he is the MOST wonderful kitty, SO loving. After Jack and Girl of course. (I think they can read.)

And Sasha! Another HUGE help at the Studio. Look at those front paws! I Love that my Studio has kitties. Kellee’s yellow lab, Reese, comes to work with her too, so we know we are running the RIGHT kind of business, don’t you agree? If things get too busy and Kellee and Sheri get stressed, they can just reach over, pet a kitty or a dog, and voila, stress is a thing of the past and they are smiling again!

I’m smiling too because we have 52 five-star reviews on Amazon for The Fairy Tale Girl!!! Already, before most of our Girlfriends in the UK have even gotten their books. You can’t ask for more than that! I had to check Amazon, it’s the only way I know to gauge how the book is doing. So exciting and so lucky! Whoever has taken the time to write those reviews, if you are reading this, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank ALL of you. I love reading your comments here on the blog. I’m really overwhelmed to tell you the truth. This book was a long time coming . . . XOXO

Just so you know, every day I work on Book Two. Trying to get it done ASAP! Cliff hangers (I’ve come to realize) are so unfair! No matter how much fun they are! I think you think you know how this next book will end, but I think you will be surprised. *That’s all I’m saying*. And for all the talk about making The Fairy Tale Girl into a movie (or, a series with Zooey Deschanel in the starring role, ha ha), I have one thing to say, where is Nora Ephron (Sleepless in Seattle) when we need her? Hear that, adorable Richard Curtis who made Love Actually?And so are dreams. . .even if you don’t get them!

So, what else . . ? Oh, yes, I’ll be signing THE FAIRY TALE GIRL at Titcombs Bookshop on the Cape in Sandwich this Saturday, October 17th, from 1-3 p.m. if anyone is in the neighborhood.♥ Joe and I are having lunch with the Beatrix Potter Girlfriends before the signing, to talk about next year, the 150th anniversary of the Birth of Beatrix, a light upon the earth for her time here, and still, after all these years. There are plans afoot for a celebration. I will tell you more later . . . hope to see some of you at the signing.♥

Joy to the world, that’s all I have to say. Not really ALL I have to say. That’ll be the day.:-) We are starting to plan our cross-country bookstore tour for next year . . . we are very excited. You know how good it feels to put something fun on the calendar?  Oh boy, do we feel good! Because we are also planning a very big birthday party for Joe next August. With a band and a tent and everything!  PLUS, we still have another book to do, PLUS, Downton Abbey is coming, it’s all so exciting. PLUS Thanksgiving, PLUS Christmas. AND the first snow. Our cup runneth over.  Love you Girls, have a WONDERFUL day. EAT corn pudding! XOXO