An Autumn Evening by Candlelight

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Hello my friends...I hope you're having a fabulous day!
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I am sooo very excited! As many of you know, we have a brand new, online E-Magazine called...Belle Inspiration! This fabulous French publication is the brain-child of our very own Mimi Bleu of Bonjour Romance blog. Mimi and her team of talented editors has successfully created one of the most beautiful magazines ever!!! Belle Inspiration covers a multitude of topics...including articles on interior design, fashion, art, travel, cooking, etc. The very first...premier edition...of Belle Inspiration came out on September 15th. Ohhh my...what "eye candy"! I spent several days just devouring each and every article! A few of our favorite bloggers have feature articles in the premier issue...Rhonda of Blue Creek Home blog and Yvonne of StoneGable blog...to name just a few. Ohhhh...and these ladies are sooo talented!!!

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and now...

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Belle Inspiration's "Holiday Issue" has arrived!
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My BIG news...I have an article in the Holiday issue! Okay...can you hear me squealing and doing my "happy dance"? Hehe! Seriously, I feel so very honored that I was asked to be a part of Belle Inspiration! It's really a "dream come true" for me! Thank you, Belle Inspiration!!!

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~An Autumn Evening...Candlelight Dinner for Two~
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* My article is titled, "An Autumn Evening...Candlelight Dinner for Two". I share the "how to's" of creating a special tablescape. So today, I thought I would share a couple of photo snippets from the article as well as a few extra photos of my autumn fireplace mantel. I hope that you enjoy!!!
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My fireplace mantel in the living room...all dressed up for autumn.
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Ahhh...abundant and bountiful autumn!
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Autumn foliage...fruit of the vine...and pheasants.
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An Autumn Evening by Candlelight...
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A romantic candlelight dinner for two.
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Well my friends...I hope that I whet your appetite for more!
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You'll have to check out Belle Inspiration for the full show! Wink!
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You can get your subscription to Belle Inspiration HERE.
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The Holiday Issue really is fabulous...it is 265 pages of pure delight!!!
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I am joining these fabulous parties...
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Tablescape Thursday...hosted by Susan over at Between Naps on the Porch.
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Show & Tell Friday...hosted by Cindy over at My Romantic Home.
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A Few of my Favorite Things Saturday...hosted by Laurie over at Bargain Hunting and Chatting with Laurie.
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Thank you Susan, Cindy, and Laurie...for hosting these fabulous parties for us to enjoy!!!
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Well my friends, I hope that you enjoyed my Autumn Evening by Candlelight! Thank you sooo much for letting me share my excitement with you!!! Please leave me a comment and let me know that you were here...I would love to visit with you!
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Warmest Autumn Wishes!

~~Autumn Enchantment~~

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Hello my friends...I hope you're having a fabulous day!
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Ahhhh...Autumn!

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The leaves have turned color. The air has turned brisk...and
 once again I find myself bedazzled by the beauty, the charm,
 and the magic of the season!

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~~Autumn Enchantment~~
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 Will you join me?
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 Let's just sit awhile and savor the sweetness of the season!
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There is nothing like a warm fire on a cool autumn's eve.
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I decided to set a table for two in front of the living room
 fireplace! The mantel, dressed in its best fall finery, would make
 a beautiful backdrop for my autumn table.

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 Dinner by the fireside...
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* at a table with a view.
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 Ahhhh...Autumn Enchantment!
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The autumn table is layered in rich, flowing fabric.
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A long, cream colored, tone-on-tone damask cloth drapes
 down the sides of the table...spilling over onto the floor. An antique
gold colored cloth is layered on top...bringing to the table...the
 deep, rich colors of autumn.
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A table in rich hues of gold, burnt orange, and red.
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I love the colors of the season.

 Sooo warm, sooo rich, sooo inviting...
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Autumn Enchantment!
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I love how the rich, autumnal colors of the table look against
 the living room's olive green walls...so beautiful!
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Autumn birds....so charming...so enchanting.
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I decided to carry the bird theme of the dinnerware into
 the table's centerpiece.
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A wire cloche with the sweetest little bird finial is
 the centerpiece's main attraction.
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I love the old, distressed gray finish of the cloche.  A gold
 candle and autumn berries decorate the cloche...all sitting atop
 a silver pedestal dish. I used a candle ring at the base of the cloche
 filled with autumn leaves, berries, and acorns. The colors
 coordinate perfectly with the dinnerware.
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This vintage bird figurine belonged to my husband's
 grandparents. When I was looking around for items to use in
 the centerpiece, I spotted this pretty bird that I had on a shelf in my
 living room. He looks very similar to the birds on the dinnerware. So
 awesome! He is sitting on a small, silver footed tray...along with a
 few old skeleton keys tied with a pretty ribbon. Three burnt
 orange votive candles also grace the table.
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The Place Setting...
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*The dinner and salad plates are manufactured by Royal
 Stafford and are called, "Decoupage".
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 I found this beautiful set of dishes at TJ Maxx last year.
  It was love at first sight! I fell in love with the rich colors and
 the sweet birds. They really do set an enchanting autumn table...don't
 you think? The brown charger plate has pretty oak leaves dancing
 around the rim...found at Walmart. I decided to use amber
 colored goblets with this place setting...sooo pretty!
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An autumn candlelight dinner for two...
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Is there anything more enchanting than that?
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"Autumn Enchantment"

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Well my friends...I hope that you experienced just a little
 bit of the enchantment of autumn today!
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I am joining these fabulous parties...
*Tablescape Thursday...hosted by Susan over at Between Naps on the Porch.

**Show & Tell Friday...hosted by Cindy over at My Romantic Home.

**A Few of my Favorite Things Saturday...hosted by Laurie over at

 Bargain Hunting and Chatting with Laurie.
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Thank you, Susan, Cindy, and Laurie...for hosting these
 fabulous parties for us!

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Well my friends...I'm sooo happy that you came by today!
 I always enjoy your sweet visits! Please leave me a comment and
 let me know that you were here...I'd love to visit with you!
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Warmest Autumn Wishes!
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Flowers...One of My Favorite Things!

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Flowers...One of My Favorite Things
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Hello my friends...I hope you're having a fabulous day!
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As many of you know, I celebrated my birthday on the 20th of this month. I just wanted to share with you...one of my gifts!
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I do believe that I have the sweetest honey ever!!! On the day of my birthday, honey came home from work with a beautiful birthday bouquet for me!!! Not only did he bring me flowers but he also took me out to dinner that evening. And...he bought be a beautiful armoire for the Tea Rose bedroom!

Yes...my honey spoils me rotten!
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My Beautiful Birthday Bouquet...

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I just adore my birthday bouquet! I soooo love fresh flowers!!!
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This beautiful bouquet is made up of several different variety of flowers in a wide array of colors. I love the square glass vase too...and ohhh, that pretty red ribbon!!!
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I placed my birthday bouquet on the dining room table...atop a new "spring green" leaf platter. The flowers looked so pretty in my red dining room!!!
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and then....
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I moved them!
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A few days later...I noticed that the sun was shining "just right" into my living room. The sunny rays were spilling ever so sweetly right onto this table. So I moved my flowers into the living room and took a few photos!
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and...look what I captured!
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I told you the sun's rays were shining ever so sweetly upon this table...hehe!
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I didn't realize that I had captured the sun's rays with their amazing color spectrum in my photo until I downloaded it onto my computer.
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I thought it was sooo pretty!!! What an amazing photo effect...and it was au natural!
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Speaking of photo effects...I had some fun! I took a close up photo of the bright yellow sunflower in the bouquet.
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Sunflowers

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I love sunflowers!!!
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I decided to take this photo of the sunflower and have a little fun with it...using Photo Bucket's photo effects. I really do enjoy playing with all the different photo effects. It's a fun way to be creative!
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Photo effect: "Cartoon"
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Of course I also used a border/frame and text.
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Photo effect: "Color Sketch"
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I use this photo effect often...I love the look! Just like a sketch done with color pencils!
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Photo effect: "Color Splash"

and below...this is my favorite photo!

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This was my favorite photo! I love the lighting!!!

I loved the way the sunlight was coming in through my living room window...do you see my little french girl bust? Thought the sunlight framed her sooo beautifully!!!
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Thank you, honey...I love, love, LOVE my beautiful birthday bouquet!!!
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I am joining these fabulous parties today...
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Show & Tell Friday...hosted by Cindy over at My Romantic Home.
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A Few of my Favorite Things Saturday...hosted by Laurie over at Bargain Hunting and Chatting with Laurie.
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Thank you, Cindy and Laurie...for hosting these fabulous parties for us!!!
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Well my sweet friends, thank you sooo much for coming by today and taking a peek at my beautiful birthday bouquet! Please leave me a note and let me know that you were here...I'd love to visit with you!!!
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Have a fabulous day!