October 2011: A Look in the Rear-View Mirror and Answering a Few of Your Questions

There were so many beautiful table settings posted for yesterday's Tablescape Thursday!  Did you get a chance to check them out?  If not, scroll on down once you finished today's post and feast your eyes!

The Tassel House giveaway is still in full swing. You can leave your comment on the giveaway post HERE to be entered.

How to have BNOTP delivered straight to your Inbox:
Recently, I have received several e-mails from readers asking how to receive/subscribe to BNOTP via email, so I thought I'd take a second to share how that's done.  If you are interested in having BNOTP posts arrive via e-mail straight to your Inbox, you'll find a box (like the one pictured below) located a little ways down on the sidebar to the right.   The subscribe box is currently located just below the Facebook Fan Page widget on the sidebar.   (The one shown below is just a picture/example and can't be used to subscribe.)  Once you locate this box on the sidebar, you'll enter your e-mail address into the box and click "Subscribe."  Then just follow the prompts, and it will take you through the 2-3 step process to subscribe.  It's super easy and takes just a sec.

Next, you'll receive an e-mail in your Inbox and it will prompt you to click on a "link" in the email, which will complete the subscription process.  That's it!  You're all done.

If you don't begin receiving BNOTP posts via your e-mail within a day or two of subscribing, check your "spam" folder to see if they are being filtered out by your spam filter.  Of course, I hope you'll still stop by BNOTP in person on occasion and leave me a comment sharing your thoughts on a post.  I love hearing from you!

How to leave a comment on a Blogger Blog:
Another question I get occasionally is how one might leave a comment on a post.  This question usually comes up when a giveaway is underway here at BNOTP.  First of all, please know, you do not have to be a blogger or have a blog to leave a comment to be entered in a giveaway.  Anyone can leave a comment on any post, be it a giveaway post or just a regular blog post.  

So, how do you leave a comment here at BNOTP?  Just scroll to the bottom of the post where you wish to leave your comment and you'll see something that looks like this example below:

To leave a comment, you just click on the word "comments" which will be a clickable link.  It will open up a box where you can type in your comment.  You may be prompted by Blogger to "sign in" if you've never left a comment before.  That's just a one time thing.  To sign in, you'll just create a User ID and a password and from then on you'll be able to leave a comment on any "Blogger" blog with ease.  Bloggers LOVE comments so talk to us!

I keep hoping that Blogger is going to update their comment system and create a system that lets the Blogger reply back to a comment, directly underneath the comment itself.   I've toyed with adding the Disqus comment system to this blog because it will apparently allow for that, but I think everyone would have to register with Disqus and I'm just not really sure it would work as I would wish.   Blogger has upgraded so many things over the past year with the Blogger platform; hopefully they'll upgrade the current comment system soon, too. Keeping my fingers crossed.


October 2011:  A Look in the Rear-view Mirror:
Each month I share links to the prior month's posts, in case you missed one or just wish to revisit a particular post.  To read any post below, click on the link found in the title of that post.

Hope you enjoy this "look in the rear-view mirror."   October was a fun month, for sure!

We kicked off last month with a "Look in the Rear-view Mirror" post where I shared links to all the posts created during the month of September.

Kristy showed us how we can change our decor for the seasons, easily and inexpensively.

We took a tour of the library, drawing room and gardens at The Mount, home of American novelist, Edith Wharton.

I shared a few updates in my office/studio.

We warmed up on the porch with hot chocolate for a Tablescape Thursday...

Some folks inquired why I had two monitors so I shared why I ♥  dual monitors and how I use them to blog and work.  Once you've had them, there's no going back.

Shared some fun Halloween decorating and party ideas.

Tutorial for Creating an elegant pumpkin centerpiece with ribbon...

I shared pics of my first two homes in Yellow Cottages and White Picket Fences.

Country Living magazine inspired me to découpage a pumpkin.  Update: I entered this little pumpkin in the Country Living and Waverly Fabric contest HERE and I just found out it made it into the finals.  Yipee!  Please visit the link and vote by clicking "LIKE."   Well, if you like it that is. :)

I attended my first book sale and got some awesome books for an amazing price.  I'm totally hooked on book sales now!

Practical Magic: Tour this beautiful Victorian movie house.

Create a wind chime from orphaned flatware...Practical Magic style.

You've heard of wine tastings?  I participated in an Olive Oil tasting following the Four S's...

The porch was decorated for fall.

An elegant Halloween Tablescape for Tablescape Thursday...

Make yummy Linzer cookies for holidays.  You'll find the "how to" and the recipe in this post.

Make the work of carving a Pumpkin easy using your Dremel.  Note to self:  File this idea away for next year.

I taught you how to tighten a screw in only 15 steps.  Why do things the easy way? ;)

A fabulous giveaway with French Bleu Vintage...

Country Living magazine had a fair and I took you there!

More Découpage fun...this time for a blue and white guest room.   Update: This little pumpkin made it into the Country Living and Waverly Fabric contest finals, too.  You can vote for it, HERE.   Thanks so much for voting for it!

Bonnie's Halloween tablescape and mantel...awesome!

We ended October with this post where I made a quick repair to get the string lights working again on the pergola.  Did you like how this space looked all lit up at night?

Thanks so much for sharing your precious time with me this past month! You are the best part of BNOTP!

September 2011: A Look in the Rear-view Mirror

Wow!  It's October.  How did that happen?

It's time for a little recap for the month of September, complete with links in case you may have missed a post or would just like to revisit it.  This month, I'm also paying tribute to the Sponsors of BNOTP.  You'll find links to their shops or blogs interspersed throughout this post.  Their support helps make BNOTP possible, so please take a moment to visit.  You'll come away delighted and inspired!

♦I kicked off September by sharing my favorite Decorating and Design books.

♦Of course, there was A Look in the review mirror post for August.  If you're new to reading BNOTP, just click on this link above to view a recap with links for August.

♦We toured the apartment and greenhouse in the movie Green Card, starring Andie MacDowell.

♦Tracy showed us how to build a fabulous desk for the home office.

♦We dined in Provence in the movie, A Good Year.

♦We toured part of Suzy's beautifully renovated beach home.

♦The next day we finished by touring Suzy's beautifully renovated kitchen, master bedroom and bath.

♦We took a trip back to the late '50's, early 60's to admire the wonderful hats Doris Day wore in the movies, Pillow Talk and Lover Come Back.  If you love vintage fashion or hats, you'll love that post!

♦That was followed by a look at the fashion of the day in a post titled: Pillow Talk and Lover Come Back: The Fashion of Doris Day

♦I put together one last summer tablescape with a carved watermelon centerpiece.

♦Over 600 readers participated in a survey here at BNOTP.  Thanks so much for your feedback and sweet comments.  I learned a lot about what you enjoy reading when you visit.  I'll share more about the survey results soon.

♦I posted a tutorial for carving a watermelon to use as a centerpiece for a party or entertaining.

♦For a Metamorphosis Monday, I shared a new addition to the upstairs family room...a bamboo mat with wonderful Old English print.

♦I took you along with me to an auction at Gallery 63, Auction Kings.  Have you seen their show on the Discovery Channel?  It's a hoot!

♦We had a wonderful giveaway from A Beach Cottage: Blogging e-Course and a $50 Gift Certificate.  If you missed the announcement of the winner, you'll find that on the giveaway post at the link above.

♦We welcomed fall with a colorful autumn table setting.

♦Atlantic Luggage and LegoLand joined together for a great sweepstakes.

♦We took a shopping trip to Urban Relics.

♦I contemplated (with your help) a couple of new additions to that big blank wall above the sitting area in the office.  So far, I've kept both. :)  The "too big" mirror is growing on me...doesn't look as bad as I feared.

♦I dressed the family room mantel for fall.

♦I shared some of the products I use to hide ugly ole scratches on furniture.

♦We took a trip to The Mount, home of the author, gardener and designer, Edith Wharton, where we viewed a beautiful table setting created by designer, Bunny Williams.  Two folks spotted doggie treats on the table in one of the pics in that post.  I think I read somewhere, Mrs. Wharton grew up in a family where there was almost always a dog under the table...or maybe that was in her own home.  I know Bunny Williams is a huge fan of dogs and has several herself.  Brilliant that she thought to include the doggie treats since Mrs. Wharton was fond of dogs, too.

♦And we finished the month out with "The Everything Post" where I shared lots of pics and treasures I have been wanting to share with you for a while.  I could do at least two more posts just like that one.

It's kind of funny because when most bloggers begin blogging, they worry about running out of ideas or topics to blog about.  Instead, I have found the opposite to be true.  There are so many wonderful experiences and things to share...just not enough hours in each day to share them all.   But I'll keep trying. :)

We're entering into one of my favorite times of the year.  There's fall decorating to be done, followed by Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I can't wait!