Late Fall Thoughts

Happy November, all of you (or y’all, if you’re from here, but in all seriousness, I can’t say that).  I’m thrilled it’s November and that those of us in the Nashville area are finally able to enjoy some cozy fall weather (however long it may last).  After an October filled with beach-vacation temperatures as well as yards filled with Halloween “decorations” (let’s be honest here), I am super-excited for a change.

Last week we went for a peaceful walk to enjoy the few crisp leaves that were on the ground (the rest were still green and attached to the trees, thanks to the un-fall-like temperatures), and noticed that some of the houses were lit up all differently than usual.  In fact, some had grandiose trees lit up in the entry and wreaths on the doors.

Many thanks to all who promptly removed Halloween decor, but what?  Is November 1 now the kick-off to Christmas?  When, I ask, am I going to celebrate turkeys*?

*If you have Spode Woodland Turkey dishes, you understand this (and I am very thankful for them, in case you are wondering if I understand the true meaning of Thanksgiving**).

**Okay, I’m kidding.  But this all does present a little dilemma.  Hang in there and keep reading.

Anyway, in honor it finally being fall and us finally finding a bit of wall space, our antique brown transferware plate collage is up!  For the past several months this lovely wall-length buffet had been piled high with pantry items (thanks to our pantry remodel), making us look like hoarders.  Real quick, let’s visit the “before” picture:

This was how our kitchen had been looking since summer.  But here’s how it turned out (and there’s my plate collage!):

We got this vintage mercantile store fixture from City Farmhouse last fall when we were looking for a solution to the fourth wall of our kitchen. (You can read more about the other three walls of our kitchen renovation here, here, here, and here).

This wall and didn’t quite have enough space to have regular cabinets on it without feeling like it crowded the island, but leaving it blank felt like a waste of space.  It was also a very long wall, which meant adding something like a metal baker’s rack would’ve still left most of the length of the wall blank.

One day we were out shopping and decided to check out City Farmhouse, who usually has some pretty amazing big pieces, including lots of unique pieces with drawers.  We found the perfect thing…a wall-length “buffet”, which was a few inches less deep than cabinets and also a few inches shorter.  It worked as cabinet space as well as a counter, without the crowding issue.  So thank you, City Farmhouse, as well as whoever was gutsy enough to lug this ten-foot thing from Indiana to your Franklin shop!

Here’s another view of the “now” picture, while I was figuring out where things would go:

The bread box on the shelf moved into the pantry (which I’ll show you once it’s all done!), and you can see some of our fall-colored vintage glasses hanging above the plate collage.  We love vintage glassware and change out the colors with the seasons.

This place is finally approaching the finish line (except for the master bathroom upstairs, which is completely ripped out.  I am good at ignoring that, though, as long as I have these:

and this!

So back to decorating.  Here’s the dilemma of the century, for all of you who are into decorating.  When do you change your fall decor into more Thanksgiving-y decor (like adding turkeys, which you may not have had out on September 1), and when do you put it away and switch to Christmas?  And, if you are an early Christmas decorator, is it weird to have Christmas decorations up instead of things looking like this on Thanksgiving?

I run in to this dilemma every year in the middle of November, when I start getting excited to put up Christmas decorations but feel I can’t because of the turkey tablescape I’m supposed to be creating for Thanksgiving.

Does anyone relate?  (This could be a rhetorical question or you could actually offer some advice below).