Get Thee To A Dollar Tree!

Hold the presses.
Dollar Tree needs to be on your
List Of Places To Visit, Soon.

I went yesterday; hadn't been in donkey's years.

Or, maybe, Dion's ears.

Anyway, it was a long time.

I walked in, veered to the right, saw this, and it was in my cart before you could say,

"HeyladygetyourmittsoffthatcauseitisMINE!"

 What is it, you ask?

 It's a wire basket.  According to its tag, it's a wastebasket, and yes, I think it would fulfill

that job description admirably in a bedroom or office.  Can't you just see

crumpled, discarded pages of The Great American Novel spilling out of the top? 

I thought that was a better image than used tissues in the bedroom.

You could also park home dec magazines or naughty novellas in it.

This is my clever way of letting you know how big it is.  So tiresome to write, "11 inches tall."

  It looks like it's made of chicken wire.

Refined, civilized, citified chicken wire.  Because, it is.

 I do believe that in one of those fancy-pants Frenchy-decor stores, it would have a price tag

on it that would be more than ONE STINKIN' AMERICAN DOLLAR!

But wait!  There's more!

It multi-tasks.

It can also serve as a pedestal for one of the other things I got at Dollar Tree.

Perhaps -- not.

 But -- you could weave ribbons through it, or hang fiddly bits of beads or crystals off it for some bling,

or attach big happy buttons with coat thread for your sewing room wastebasket,

or do some poofy lacy swaggy thing around the top with a flopsy bow,

or spray paint it in Schiaparelli Pink or--or--or! in a lovely Autumn orange and add a bit of raffia . . .

You know, this all seems like work, and since I am bone idle I will wait to see what you do with your

Dollar Tree Frenchy Chicken Wire Basket.  

By the way, it also comes in Black.

Tres chic!

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 Meanwhile, at our Dollar Tree, it's already Autumn.

The pumpkins are a-popping out all over the DT store.

I happen to have a lot of faux pumpkins (Le Blog is still in Frenchie mode), and I found

more faux citrouilles when we cleared out our basement for the French drains last month.

I had to Google two things for this post: the spelling of Schiaparelli

and the French word for pumpkins.  I like to look smart, but my computer knows better.

Anyway, I could not resist these chubby lovelies.

 Creamy white, with soft green leaves.  Hmm, how big are they, you ask?

 Ha!  Another graphic demonstration of size, using one of those

dinky wee tissue packets we all keep in our purses.

They're little fellows, but their future is all planned for them.

They are going to replace last year's itty bitty orange raffia pumpkins on Jabba the Hutch,

in our kitchen, when Fall really begins.

 Somewhere near the end of October.  I am a stubborn summer-hanger-on-er.

So, my question for vous today is:

When are you going to get a Dollar Tree Frenchy Wire Basket,

and what are you going to do with it?

And . . .

is it "Frenchy" or "Frenchie" or neither?

Actually that makes two questions.  No, three.  This is why I don't balance the checkbook.

Now, get thee to a Dollar Tree!

Only, not the one near my house.  That one is mine, and I want all the good stuff

and am not above mowing you down with my cart to get it. This is New Jersey, after all. -- Cass

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Time to put your Linky Party hat on!

Join Leigh at Tales from Bloggeritaville for Thifty Thursday.  Click here!

See how Leigh's hubby and kids designed their own family room.  It turned out great!

And at Faded Charm Cottage blog, there are loads of other white wonders to admire.
Visit the White Wednesday Link Party.  Click here!

Yes, I know I'm late for this one.
My excuse?  I was shopping!

Autumn Arrives at That Old House -- Mosaics and A Metmorphosis

It is the last day of Summer.

I'd like to hang onto it, but. . . the grapes are ripe, the leaves are beginning to yellow, the tomatoes are staying green, and last night I was appalled when it was dark by 7:30.

Even I can't fight it. I'm tossing in the beach towel and welcoming Fall.


Some weeks back, I posted about not having done any decorating in the parlor; the mantel was usually bare, sometimes sporting a simple vase of garden or supermarket flowers. Or, all too often, the empty vase of flower water and a few fallen blossoms:

Pretty pathetic, huh? Yeah, you can say it.

So with the onset of the new season, I fished around in my
"Fall Decor"storage boxes to see what I could find.

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It's Metamorphosis Monday; thank you, Susan, for your hosting (hostessing?) of this terrific blog party at the equally terrific Between Naps On The Porch blog.

Click on any highlighted words or the icon to visit Susan's blog and see other entries.

I hope you stick around -- I would like your opinion on something!

For Mary at the lovely and elegant Little Red House, who hosts Mosaic Monday, I've put the parlor mantel into two collages. Mary's own mosaic today is particularly nice; I want to walk into it.

One of my mosaics is supposed to look very casual, as if you've just recklessly tossed the photos
and voila! they landed in perfect artless grace. Yeah, that's what I did. . . .

The other is more regimented.

The pictures stop clowning around and behave themselves.

Well, it ain't perfect, but it is an improvement over smelly flower water and dead petals.

Oh dear . . . another of my reality moments; the dust cloths are casually draped over the
arm of the wing chair, exhausted after their unaccustomed labor. Oops.

Closer looks:
My old hurricanes, with chunky candles perched on pewter candlesticks.
A pottery pumpkin -- can't remember where I got it.
The glass pumpkin at the other end -- a gift from my brother Lindy and his wife Carol.
A runner of old lace, from my Mom.

A swag of faux magnolia leaves (I think) and fruits and berries, to which I added some random glass-glittered fruit.
I've had this swag since 2002 and it's the first time I used it.

And now. . . this:

It's cute, but, well, kitschy -- a long string of tiny fake pumpkins and squashes; not any attempt to make it seem real. I draped it around the decorations, but ... I can't make up my mind.

Here's both ways --

With the phake pumpkin garland

Without the phake pumpkin garland

And there you have it.

I will leave you with a visit from a tiny friend,
who is inspecting our conservatory roof. . . and mooning us!
I'm not sure what he's finding up there, but he and his buddies are visiting every day.

Have a lovely last day of Summer. Sigh. Till June, then -- Cass