Hidden Magnolias

It is that time of year and one of my favorite places to get a pumpkin is the Mt Paran County Store. The courtyard is filled with gorgeous pumpkins as well as fun Halloween art.  Pumpkins of every size and color.  Rows of them -- all lined up awaiting inspection. Lots more goodies and such a wonderful display of Halloween goodies as well.  You just can’t help being happy walking around all this. I just love how pretty these pumpkins and and yard art look, all piled up together. So festive. If you haven't been by, drop in. You will love it! Happy Halloween!!!

There are only four things a Southern woman really needs: A perfectly seasoned cast skillet. A must for cornbread and fried chicken or okra. AquaNet. After all, we live with nonstop humidity. Good pearls. Lipstick. A quote from Anne George - one of my favorite Southern writers: "I brushed my teeth, combed my hair, and slapped on some lipstick, the minimum I figured I could get away with if I were hit by a truck on the way to Philip's house. Every woman in the world knows you have to wear clean underwear in case you are hit by a truck, but lipstick may be a Southern thing. You want to look pretty when the  firemen unhinge your door with the jaws of life, and the paramedics rush you to the waiting helicopter for the trip to Carraway or University Hospital. The condition of your underwear might be questionable by that time but, by damn, your lips would be Shimmering Coral, and there's something to be said for that."

Like most Southerners, I have a real love/hate relationship with Magnolias. I love the way they look. I love the way they smell. I love the pods. I hate the leaves. They are everywhere.  They never seem to disintegrate. But.....they do make pretty wreaths. http://www.bhg.com http://westonfarms.com http://www.prettypinktulips.com Pinterest Don't you think? Enjoy the beginnings of fall!

I love a ceiling medallion. Ceiling medallions come in all sizes and designs, befitting everything from simple Colonial-style sitting rooms to ornate Victorian parlors. They can be made of plaster, wood, plastic, and metal.  Or even stencilled. Pinterest They can be ornate. http://dishondesigngal.com Or they can be simple. Today's medallions can have a touhch of wimsy, like this adorable baby room one. http://www.mariericci.com/ I have seen ceiling medallions used as decor -- placed on the wall as decorative items. Pinterest http://commutehome.com/ BHG.com

The Prince- Pope-Simpson-Stephens House. Another Washington, GA beauty. Commonly called Poplar Corner and built in 1810, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. As you will see, it is a beauty. Oliver Hillhouse Prince built the originally Federal style house in 1810. One of the earliest compilers of the Laws of Georgia, and a Senator, he also laid out the city of Macon. Prince sold the house to Augustus Gibson, who sold the house to Alexander Pope in 1825. Pope purchased the old 1785 courthouse and used the timbers to ad a two-story four-room addition to the back of the house. The Popes sold the house to William Simpson, and his descendants occupied the house for over a hundred years. Physician and philanthropist Dr. Robert A. Simpson designed and added the hand chiseled Beaux-Arts garlands and other decoration, and developed the gardens. Beautiful curving stairway. And on the left, looks like a hint of pocket doors. Love the old gasolier in...

Most haunted castle in England? The Berry Pomeroy Castle. Hidden away in the small village of Berry Pomeroy, Devon, England, it is the ruined shell of a great Elizabethian mansion. Some history. When the Pomeroy family began to build Berry Pomeroy Castle in the later 15th century, they had already owned the manor of ‘Berri’ for over 400 years. It had originally been granted by William the Conqueror to  Ralf de Pomaria, a Norman knight from La Pommeraye near Falaise.  Exactly when the castle was begun remains uncertain. It first appears in the records when Sir Richard Pomeroy died in 1496 as owner of the ‘honour, castle and manor of Bury’. In December 1547, Berry Pomeroy was bought from the impoverished Sir Thomas Pomeroy by the wealthy and powerful Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset (c 1500–1552). Seymour was the brother of Henry VIII’s third and favorite queen, Jane Seymour, and in 1547 became ‘Lord Protector’ of his nine-year-old nephew, King Edw...