I am hoping that yesterday slipped away without all of you realizing there was

no Ribbon Cutting…no Grand Opening announcement... no Light shining in the Etsy Shoppe Window

..if you did..and were very disappointed..

May I beg your pardon?

Because of foul weather..which blew in like Mary Poppins…our handyman was pulled from the job on the studio to tend to that list made by the Mrs. (me) for those little jobs around the house. One of those jobs being the mounting of the curtain rod in the living room…the living room with 12' ceilings….

(Husband gets very concerned regarding the combination of me…and ladders... ever since the "fall" of 2012 ..not to be confused with the season "fall" …the Christie "fall" …it wasn't pretty:/)

Which meant that I (the queen of the "eleventh hour" club) needed to get those cottage curtains made…and in a jiffy…for a party would be taking place in the evening! All of our children…the 5 we have between us…their loves..and their children/parents/grand parents/uncle and one very special friend of mine who was working a vintage marketplace nearby.

Get to sewing, girlie…

11 yards of fabric were pulled off the bolt…Yes…ELEVEN! Remember... 12' ceilings come with very tall windows.

The key to making these in a jiffy is easy…

* Don't stress over the number of yards

* Press all seams before you go to the sewing machine

* Keep a measuring tape around your neck in order to spot check your seams. (sometimes it feels like one of those grocery buggies that always wants to pull to one side…that's what it feels like with my sewing of long, never-ending seams.)

This was a critical step while I was sewing the rod pocket…

When the handyman came back from lunch…the curtains were ready to hang… WHEW!

They just need hemming, but pinning them up a bit, worked…considering the time crunch. Lace panels went into the laundry and will be rehung, directly.

Now to "fluff" the front porch….

Handyman hung the shutters that once stood inside the living room "framing" the front window.

Now they will "frame" the outside of the dining room window…in my favored Annie Sloan Chalk Paint shade, Versailles….

Leaves swept ..

Mums brought to front porch from the goat cart in the side yard…

…and just so you know that this little thing hanging near the front door is a greeting…

…and that my sweetheart found this old mailbox with a Rose on the front that would be perfectly perfect for the front porch of our Rose Water Cottage…

…and we left the front porch lantern burning, for any goblins and ghosties that might wander by Grammy's Storybook Cottage...

***************************

…and they did stop by…and thought it might be nice to see what Grammy's House looked like on the inside! Chloe, Ruby, and Wyatt (they were happy to introduce themselves, stopped talking collectively when Wyatt pointed his 5 year old finger up at me and exclaimed, "You are a Chatter Box!"
"Yes, I am!" I replied,
"Come on in!" (This was my kinda little fella:)

Walking right past the table filled with all kinds of family who were whispering to me .
."who are they?" to which I shrugged and answered, "Chloe, Ruby and Wyatt…our new friends we just met!
Our very first trick or treaters ever!…since we've lived in this house!"
Mommy Kristen was a doll! The children were lively! and when they all left, we said, with much empathy…
"God bless Kristen!"

***************************

Back inside to make some goodies…

I love this little apple-shaped cheese ball! So easy and fairly quick to make…

8 ounces of Creamed Cheese (softened)
8 ounces of White Cheddar Cheese (grated)
1/8 tsp of Cayenne Pepper
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

Mix in a bowl and chill for 30 minutes

Sprinkle paprika all over the cheese ball that you've shaped to resemble an apple, place a 3" cinnamon stick as a stem, and place 2 bay leaves to resemble the leaves.
Boom! Cuteness on a plate!!
Add crackers of choice (Hubby picked out TownHouse Crackers)

(P.S. it was a hit with my Father-in-law:)

And those of you who have the Girlfriend's Calendar (I don't suppose it's actually called that..but most of us have one somewhere in our home. Susan Branch is the creator of the best calendar!) Mine is in our kitchen …which made it handy to read and prepare her recipe for Hot Spiced Apple Cider (on the page for October).... Note…it is not spiked apple cider! Just in case your guests get confused!

(btw…I had saved my plastic jugs for leftovers. So proud of myself. Ha! NOT one DROP was left!)

Husband came home and began the making of a big pot of his world famous chili…well…it's famous in our family;) and off he and Sophia went for a long Autumnal nap...

For the table…

I already had pulled out the velvet pumpkins on the silver platter, earlier in the season, but I wanted to add something fresh…

The horse apples that sweet husband collected for me, a few days ago (cause he just knows what I like:) had that perfect shade of green …and I had seen in a magazine (I'm thinking Cottage Journal) the idea of putting coffee beans in a dish with pumpkins, so I just changed it up and added Hedge Apples (as I've also heard some refer to these big green orbs.)

One of them was so concave, where the stem had been, that it was the perfect spot to hold a short white (emergency) candle (found in the grocery stores.)

Eliza had not met some of the family, nor had they met her in person…errr….I mean…in….mouse?

Goodness…it is a quandary isn't it…

Well, alas, we found the perfect spot for her to enjoy the festivities, atop the soft beautiful pile of velvet creations…

This photo of me and our five children was captured as the party was dying down…as their little ones were worn out from the festivities and the trick or treating…and I couldn't let the opportunity pass, as the occasions are few and far between, when we are all able to gather together. They have my heart….

….and so do all the ones who come with them…

in-laws, uncles, children, grandparents, spouses, boyfriends, and puppies (who stayed at home;)

Nothing like a cottage full of love and laughter and jokes and birthday celebration and trick or treating and glorious chaos…nothing in this world!

So this is why the Ribbon-Cutting, Grand Opening, Etsy Shoppe Reveal was delayed….

cause this happened…and the world just had to stop... for a little while.

I will be back soon, when Eliza and Hitty Rachel Rose and Holly-Anne have recuperated from the parade of visitors through their quiet little cottage.

Blessings (and to SB girlfriends…Rabbit Rabbit:)

Christie

P.S. You'll be tickled to know that sweet Xavier, a big 7 1/2 year old 2nd grader asked,

"Where's Eliza?"

I fetched her and placed her in his hands…

"Oh, she has a purple shawl!"

This thrills my heart…

This thrills Eliza's heart…He was her very first, very best friend…

and even though he thinks he's so big that it's time for a scary costume on Halloween,

he still wants to make sure his little mousie girl is still around, here at Grammy's House.

XOXO

P.S.S.

Holly~Anne was so excited for Grammy to finish the tiny stitches and let her try on her new pinny made from a length of delicious pink Liberty of London fabric.