Halloween Cats

I love Halloween and I love black cats, and the two definitely go hand-in-hand.

This was my sweet boy, Mr. B, aka Blackie, many years ago.

He felt right at home among all the decorations and delighted in being

the star attraction in these old Halloween photos.

Likewise with his predecessor, Mrs. B, who was the Queen of Halloween. She looked positively regal among the Halloween decor. An absolute natural. How I miss these two black beauties.

Our black cats took like ducks to water when it came to posing for Halloween photos.

Our Baby? Not so much. At least not when we got her a couple of years ago.

That year, she wanted no part of her Halloween bandana.

Eventually she decided it wasn't so bad, but she still wouldn't pose with the Halloween decorations.

 Although I must admit, by the time Halloween rolled around, she was getting into the spririt, 

enjoying Lamp Bandit...

...and playing in a pile of faux fall leaves on the dining room table.

So how is she doing this year?

Well......we got off to a bit of a rocky start.

When I got the leaves and berry garland out, she immediately started chewing it.

Not a good thing.

She finally settled down and lost interest in the berry garland (thank goodness!)...

In time, she channeled her inner "black cat" and even joined

the black chalkware kitty among the Halloween decorations. 

Yes, I think she's finally getting the hang of being a Halloween star!

This week I'll be joining Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday

and

Claudia at Mockingbird Hill Cottage for Favorite Thing Saturday.

Have a great October week, everyone!

Donna

Frost is on the pumpkin...

Well, not quite, but it won't be long because the nights are getting mighty cold.


The windowboxes now sport gourds and (faux) fall leaves rather than summer blooms...


... and asters and pumpkins have joined the welcome bunnies on the front stoop.

Little Garden Gnome is clearly thrilled with the change in weather (Of course he is. He's holding a candy cane. He'll even be happy when it's 20 below).

The cherubs around the bird bath are giving thanks for this bountiful season...

...while more (faux) fall leaves have replaced summer's flowers...

Mr. Scarecrow and his trusty owl stand tall, ready to greet all the little trick-or-treaters come Halloween night.

Bring them on... I do believe this little cottage is ready!

Hope your holiday preparations are right on schedule!

Donna

Cottage Halloween Decor, minimalist style

We awoke to a beautiful day here in New England and, although not entirely sunny, the rain was at least a thing of the past.


I want to thank all of you for your heartfelt comments on my last post about stress. It seems that so many of you are, or have been, in similar situations with aging parents, etc. Carol, you were the only one I was not able to personally respond to. Thank you so much for your sweet comment on this topic as well...


Today I decided to put out a few decorations, and I do mean a few. Unlike other years, where I've had tons of pumpkins, fall leaves, and a wicked Witchy Woman, this year I'm going the minimalist route.


One lone pumpkin sits in a birdcage in the familyroom...

... but oh, what a pumpkin! Robin's egg blue with pink roses... be still my heart.

And at the risk of sounding like a well known political candidate in her new commercial, no, I am not a witch...

...but I do have a soft spot in my heart for black cats! This little cast iron sweetie has taken up residence in a bird cage...

...while this little beauty has nestled up against one of my all time favorite chenille pillows.

So that's it for this year's decorations. Don't blink or you'll miss them!

Now the outside is another story! Lots of little ghosts and goblins will be descending on our home this Halloween, and I love to decorate the yard for them. My girls always enjoyed trick-or-treating so much, and it's still such a fun part of the holiday for us, giving out the treats to all the kids who visit! So I'll share the yard in an upcoming post...

And thank you again, from the bottom of my heart, for all your kind comments, thoughts, and prayers...

Now be sure to pop over to Cindy's Show & Tell Friday at My Romantic Home! There are loads of links to beautiful blogs! Grab a cup of tea or coffee, sit back and enjoy!

Donna

A walk on the dark side...

... through the yard, that is...

Oh dear.... my sweet little "welcome" bunnies look somewhat sinister during this late night stroll...


The front yard lantern will light the way for all the little witches and goblins that descend upon us this Halloween eve....


The garden gate, decked out in autumn leaves, doesn't look too scary...

But in front of the gate, the little ghost that flits and flutters in the slightest breeze might cause some shivers and goosebumps...

Whooooooo goes there.....

The spanish moss adds an eerie look to the mums and pumpkins....

A most unflattering camera angle.... but then again, I don't think she actually has a 'good side.'

Wish you all a frightfully good Halloween!!!

Donna

October means Halloween...

...and to me, that means:

And now that you've seen what Halloween means to me, click here to see what it means to all the other Halloween Party bloggers! Wishing you all a spook-tacular HALLOWEEN!!!

Donna

Picture Perfect Halloween Decor!

I begged my good friend, Jill, to please send me photos of her home all decorated for Halloween...

Now that I'm somewhat of a minimalist with my inside decorating, I can drool over all of her beautiful Halloween decorations! Her home is so cheerful and colorful that I really wanted to share it with you!

I've been trying to talk her into starting her own blog because she has such a gift for decorating...

...and she's so creative with the way she displays everything...

Jill lives in a beautiful old farmhouse that she and her husband have lovingly restored over the years...

Awwww - look at that guard dog on duty!! Isn't she just too cute??? (Jill, if you had a blog, you could put lots of pictures of Abbey on it!)

Did I mention that Jill loves The Wizard of Oz? Big time!

She's also a huge animal lover like so many of us ... (And here's someone else who would like to appear on your blog, Jill, if only you had one!!! hint -hint)

So thank you for taking the time to send all of these photos for me to post on my blog...

They're all fantastic! I sure wish we lived closer to each other so I could come by in person!

Donna

Autumn in New England...

Welcome to our yard....

Although I've cut back on decorating inside the house for the autumn...


I still enjoy decorating the yard.


I couldn't resist this sweet pumpkin scarecrow from Target several years ago...


A little bit of fall color tucked into the wreath on the garden gate...


Another great Target find, my bunnies...


... who like to welcome everyone from their spot on the front stoop...


This guy has been around since my girls were little ones, so that's a long, long time!!


And I just can't resist a black cat, so when I was looking for a Halloween flag, it didn't take me long to decide on this one!

I took pictures of some of these same decorations the other night... in the dark... under an (almost) full moon...Spoooooky! I'll show those in a future post!

Happy autumn from New England!!

Donna