So many birthdays in October! My brother turns 22 next wednesday, and he says all he wants is to go out for sushi, but I'm sure what he's really hoping for is some elegant home accents to satisfy his secret love of home interior decorating. The big, beautiful Banana Mannor mansion where he lives could always use some more reproduction antique furniture, but maybe I'll wait for Christmas to drop that one. For now, we've got to get things looking great for the halloween pirate party bonanza. My garden is drying up with the cold weather, so I'm thinking, how am I supposed to create fabulous center pieces for the coctail station and dinner table? Well, I found some low cost silk flowers and a really sweet pumpkin wreath that really captures the essence of autumn. And if I don't have time to bake a pumpkin pie, I'll just bust out some seasonal scents, filling the manor with the scrumptious smell of pumpkin spice potpourri. Careful tho, it's an aphrodesiac! As for the lighting, well, ambience is EVERYTHING, I tell you. Especially when you're dealing with hosting a pirate party in an old historic mansion. With the accordian players wailing away, the fireplace roaring, the spiced rum being passed, the acrobats warming up, the geishas lounging around the hooka, and the exotic animals prowling around the staircase... what's missing? Well, amidst the merriment, the perfect finishing touch in this picture will be the candles. To heck with electricity, let's be authentic to the theme here. Being environmentally conscious AND having a taste for the finer things in life, my favorite kind of candles are soy candles, and clean burning organic candles. I always use glass votives and tall candelabras to prevent fire hazard...halloween parties can get pretty out of control, and tho we intend to raise some ruckus, we don't want the house to burn down literally. The neighbors are already pretty chilly towards us, and we can't afford another strike against the fire marshall!
And with Christmas coming right up, it's time to start considering last minute gift ideas . I'm always looking for something unique for my pops, who collects antiques. They've got ships in a bottle, old wild west relics, retro cuban theater posters, a huge collection of drums from all over the world, and some pretty phenominal persian rugs. Not to mention the furniture! It's like a museum in there. Well, he'll never know the difference- handmade antique reproduction furniture is absolutely the hottest new stuff on the market. I found this totally awesome blanket chest bench,
handcrafted from wood, manufactured in Indonesia of mahogany that has been kiln dried. Score! And don't worry about having to dig through dimly lit antique wearhouses full of termites, because beautiful hand crafted furniture is available on the internet! This piece I found shipped from Cashiers, NC and arrives in 10 days. Can't wait! And while I'm at it, I probably should be thinking of my mom as well...she's alot less materialistic and likes to keep it simple. I usually go for coffee, chocolate and candles for her. Maybe some french milled soap and a set of soy candles would do the trick. Happy Holidays for the whole family here in North Carolina!
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