Carolyn Westbrook: Autumn Party!

    The mornings are cool here now, but I am happy that there is still warmth in the afternoons. I do love fall, but not yet ready to let go of the fresh tomatoes from the garden. Anyone that knows me, knows that I love any excuse to decorate and that includes a party. My sweet daughter Victoria...her birthday is coming up. Since she was a child we have always thrown a huge Halloween party and weenie roast. This year, we add my darling son-in-law Jose Luis to the mix, which is Alex's husband. They are headed back from Wichita Falls, to come to the Autumn Birthday Barn Party. His birthday is first and Victoria's falls later, but we will have a dual celebration!

     I am so excited about the prospect of decorating and having a party in our huge barn. It was built in 1850 and is made from logs. The trees were cut from the property and numbered as they went up. Really amazing to see. Usually, are parties are held out in the field with a huge bonfire, but this time we are doing things a bit differently and having the party inside the barn. I made a trip to the market yesterday to buy pumpkins. We had pumpkins growing out in the compost pile, but the drought was too severe, so I had to resort to buying them. The party is not for over a week, but cannot start too soon.

I have already done the porches and this black and orange peeling paint French bistro chair, holds one of the Halloween pumpkin. Lots more to do and I will keep you posted.

                                                                         XO Carolyn

                                                                

 

Carolyn Westbrook: Happy Fall Y'all

Fall came barreling into Texas this Sunday with a mighty wind and rain. I do absolutely love the change in the seasons and always have. I remember back to my childhood, while playing outdoors on a warm day, when the first cool breeze came blowing in and I had to run home and grab my pancho. Panchos were the thing then...makes me smile to think about it. These are actually some vintage Halloween paper goods that we used to decorate with, that I simply could never part with. I adore vintage, as you all know. I had this idea to really set them off on the back porch wall, to frame them in antique frames to make them more special. Orange, Black, and Green Plaid cushions is what fall is all about.

I do not need much to have an excuse to redecorate, and the sudden change in the air was enough to set me off. Now it is all about plaids, velvets, pumpkins and sunflowers.

Happy Fall Y'all!

Carolyn Westbrook: Live from The Plantation

We are working on many new projects and we had a photo shoot to put together this week. This is our wonderful lab "puppy" Rascal. Nick found him on the side of the road one night, as his brother had been killed by a car, and he sat over him. We already had four dogs, as Victoria picks up every stray that comes along, but as he said, what was he supposed to do?  We all have big hearts when it comes to dogs and at the time he was only about six weeks old. He is all puppy and that means that he gets into mischief. You never know what you will find in the morning. One morning it looked like it had snowed across the front yard, as he had taken the pillows off of the outdoor furniture and torn the feather filling out across the yard.

This week...it was outdoors and it was of course, blazing hot. I always say, it doesn't really cool  down in Texas until Halloween. We had worked hard to get everything styled to perfection for the shots, and then we have to go inside, in the shade, to view them. The tabletop had a cake stand filled with croissants and homemade biscuits. While we were inside looking at photography, Rascal could not resist. We came out to find a transfer ware plate on the ground and a couple of croissants and biscuits missing. There Rascal was, laying on the porch looking fully satisfied. He turns and yawns and rolls up slowly, like "what?" You gotta love it!