Articles

This Happy Hour uses a glass cloche - perfect for small autumn vignette. Little collectables fit under a glass dome and natural objects look even more special. You might have a glass dome in your pantry - a cheese dome, a cake stand cover, a Mason jar, a glass canister turned upside down. If you don't have a base, you can use a book, a plate, a piece of wood or just sit it on a surface. Cloches / bell jars / glass domes are available almost everywhere as you'll see below.

Are you falling for fall? Come Monday, it's officially autumn. Cozy sweaters, comforting soups and roaring fireplaces might have to wait as it's sunny and 82 degrees here in Oakland, California. What can happen is tweaking our rooms to reflect that change of seasons we're feeling. Above, our mantel this fall. Just got this little wheat sheaf at HomeGoods ($12). The white bowl is from the 99 Cents Store and the feathers come courtesy of our flock of turkey buzzards as the

Don't you love this headboard covered in charming "love bird" wallpaper? Decorative headboards date back to ancient Egypt. Still today, a headboard completes a bedroom and adds to the personality of our rooms. Here's some fresh, quirky and inexpensive ways to make our beds look great. sortrature.com I see ratan headboards at thrift stores and garage sales all the time. Who knew one could be sprayed a gorgeous color only to become a focal point of a bedroom? neotard.com

Happy Labor Day! As you might know, here in the Bay Area, we've got amazing wildlife. Our Oakland house looks out onto a hill, part of the East Bay Recreation Park. Watching from the window took on a new dimension when we moved here 20 years ago, but nature doesn't always takes its course. A 7' gopher snake hangs out in our front yard yet our lawn is plagued by gophers. Wild hare and fox abound, yet we have exciting sightings of "our" mountain lion. Fortunately, sweet sp