Hello friends and hello November! It’s my favorite month, and today I welcomed it by creating a vintage fall vignette and arranging a free bouquet! Before sharing more photos of the bouquet and vignette, let me explain how I put together this beautiful fall bouquet without spending a cent.

Last week I took a trip with a friend to her doctor’s appointment in Charleston, WV. We made a  day out of it by stopping at the cutest little cafe recommended by my friend Rita, blogger at Panoply.

Cafe’ Appalachia is an old church that has been converted to a restaurant. So cute!

I loved all the decor and mismatched vintage furniture, especially that olive green velvet queen Anne chair!

As my friend and I were leaving the owner told us to help ourselves to several free bouquets on our way out. “Yes, please, thank you very much!” I chose some pale pink roses, hot pink roses, and red roses. I knew right away that I wanted to use them in a bouquet with some leaves from my burning bushes that are just now putting on a beautiful late fall show.

After leaving Cafe’ Appalachia we made a quick stop by the South Charleston Antique Mall to visit Rita’s two booths. There were quite a few treasures that caught my eye!

I especially loved all of the girly-girl vintage items. I couldn’t resist buying a pretty strand of vintage pearls! I am definitely planning to visit Rita’s booth again when she has it all decked out for Christmas. (Check out Rita’s guest post to see some beautiful vintage Christmas treasures: Panoply’s Vintage Holiday Booth Displays.)

I used the pearls today in my “Welcome November” vintage fall vignette. The pearls remind me of when I was younger and loved to get all dressed up for Thanksgiving dinner. Now in my forties, I still dress up a bit for the occasion, but soon after dinner I am right back into a cozy fall flannel and stretchy pants!

The pearls also add a touch of elegance. I do always try to create an elegant (yet homey and comfortable) Thanksgiving dinner for our family.

It has actually been a week since our trip to Charleston and I just now got around to arranging the flowers. After the hottest October on record, this past week it turned cold and rainy so I didn’t get to get outside to cut any of the burning bush branches for the arrangement. Today however, we had a beautiful and sunny (albeit somewhat brisk) November 1st.  In addition to the burning bush branches I added the last fresh stems I harvested from my Eucalyptus plant for this year.

Along with the bouquet, some freshly fallen leaves, a rustic antler, two muted pink DIY chalk painted pumpkins, a small vintage glass bottle of pheasant feathers, a tarnished brass candle holder and a vintage Thanksgiving postcard all add vintage November vibes to the vignette.

The pretty vintage mirror with acorns and leaves in the background just got a fresh diy makeover with Dixie Bell (Drop Cloth) chalk paint and dark wax. It was previously gray and hanging above the sink in our powder room. The powder room is getting a makeover for the One Room Challenge and I am going to use a larger mirror, so now I can play around with styling this smaller one in different areas of our home.

November is my favorite month and Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. To me it signifies fall’s last big hurrah, while carrying with it the anticipation of Christmas and all the joys of gathering together with loved ones. Nature moves through it’s most varied cycle of colors in November, starting with the last vibrant hues of autumn, then fading into browns, golds and burnt umber, with leaves and foliage tipped by the magical sparkle of frost or light snow as the month ends.

Just like these roses with petals starting to droop and curl as their colors fade, the foliage and landscape in November is still alive, yet slowly fading into something perhaps less vivid, but still beautiful and memorable.

I never want to rush November or see fall come to an end. While I look forward to Christmas, I believe Thanksgiving is a holiday that has it’s own splendor and should still be celebrated simply for what it is, a time of gratitude, reflection and togetherness with family.

I am looking forward to all the beauty November brings, and of course, a glorious  and hearty traditional Thanksgiving feast!

I hope you were inspired to savor all the beauty of November and fall’s last hurrah! Are you a late fall and Thanksgiving lover too, or are you ready to move straight into the Christmas season? love hearing from you, dear readers! Thanks for visiting today!

Amber

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