Book Sale: Bring Your Rolling Cart!

So many beautiful table settings were posted for yesterday's Tablescape Thursday. If you haven't had a chance to visit them all, just scroll on down and enjoy! You'll find so much inspiration for fall and fun Halloween tablescapes!

This morning I got up bright and early and did something I've never done before. No, not exercise...that would be way too practical. ;) Well, I did get a little exercise, now that I think about it.

Ever since I added much needed bookcases to my home office, I've been on a quest for books. I've been focusing primarily on Home, Garden, Craft, Art, Decorating/Design books since that's what I've decided to keep on the bookcases, HERE in the office

So early this morning I headed out to a HUGE book sale. Have you ever been to one of these?  This one was held in a large building out at the County Fairgrounds.

As I walked around, I periodically got a slight whiff of cows and chickens...definitely a barnyard smell.   I think I know what that building is used for during fair time each year. lol

I wish I could have taken pictures to show you the crowds and the "gear" folks brought with them. You could tell the seasoned book-sale-goers because they came with crates strapped to rolling luggage carts.  They came with wagons.  They even brought suitcases...the kinds that have wheels.  Yep, these guys were ready to do some serious book buying.  I wonder if they are the folks we buy our used books from on eBay and Amazon?  Ummm.  I came with just a book buying spirit and two strong arms.  Rookie!

The prices were amazing, as you can see from the price list below.

The Home/Garden and Art sections were extremely popular.  You won't believe how passionate folks can be at book sales!  One guy stationed himself in front of the art books section with a huge box and would NOT let anyone else get near them. :(   So needless to say, I didn't come home with any art books.

I bought all hardback books, except for one paperback.  So all the books you see below costs $1.50 each, except for the last book in this post, which was a $1 since it was a paperback.

I was pretty sure I already had the Blue and White Rooms book (and I did) but for a $1.50 I bought it again to put in the guest room which is decorated mostly in Blue and White.  The Small Period Gardens book might come in handy if one day I move into a charming, yellow cottage that needs an English cottage garden.  Gotta plan ahead.  ;)

Can't wait to dig into these books.  The Art of Accessorizing had some gorgeous pics.  I bought Atlanta at Home so I could get a glimpse into those Atlanta homes I drive by periodically.  Yep, I'm nosey...at least house nosey.

I love to collect "reference" books on china...big surprise, right?     The other two books were filled with gorgeous, drool worthy interiors.   You can't buy a good magazine for $1.50!

I was thrilled to find a Barbara Milo Ohrbach book.  I have several of her books and they are always wonderful.  I even found a Charlotte Moss book I didn't have!  I flipped through the Martha Stewart, Good Things and it had a lot of neat looking craft projects.  I almost left it behind, but in the end I couldn't put it back.

This was the only paperback book I bought.  It covers the beautiful work of the architect, John Soane.  The drawings inside were amazing!

I spent a total of $20 for all of these books, including one I bought for a friend.  I think it's safe to say, I'm now officially hooked on book sales.

If you enjoy decorating books, you'll love THIS post where I shared my addiction, obsession love of decorating books.

Been to any good book sales lately?  What is your strategy when you go?  Do you take rolling carts and such?  I think I may next time around.

Psst:  Don't forget about the awesome $250 Shopping Spree Giveaway from HomeGoods.  Leave a comment on the Giveaway post  to be entered.

Related links in this post:
My small (but growing) office library
Favorite Decorating and Design Books
Blue and White Guest Room
$250 HomeGoods Shopping Spree

Beautiful Tablesetting by Bunny Williams at The Mount, Home of Edith Wharton: Welcome to the 162nd Tablescape Thursday!

Recently, I received a wonderful e-mail from Mandy. Mandy lives in Hawaii and on a recent trip to the United States, she toured The Mount, the beautiful home of American novelist, Edith Wharton.

Edith Wharton wrote many novels in her lifetime including Ethan Frome, The House of Mirth and well-known, The Age of Innocence, for which she won a Pulitzer Prize. Mrs. Wharton was also a garden designer, as well as an interior designer.

She wrote several garden and design books, including The Decoration of Houses which was co-authored by architect, Ogden Codman.

Mandy was kind enough to share some of the photos she took while visiting The Mount, which is located in the Berkshires (Lenox) in Massachusetts.  The home was neglected for many years after the death of Mrs. Wharton.  Work began in 1997 to restore the severely deteriorated mansion, stable, gatehouse and greenhouse.

In 2002, in honor of The Mount's centennial (100 years) birthday, eight highly regarded designers were each given a room in The Mount to design/decorate in a way they thought would have appealed to Mrs. Wharton.   Wouldn't you love to tour The Mount in person?  I know I would!

Mandy told me, "You really feel that you got to know Edith Wharton through her house and her extraordinary gardens. She obviously had a love affair with this house."

From what I've read, Mandy is right. Mrs. Wharton truly loved her home and carefully planned and executed each detail of the design she created for the home and gardens.

Bunny Williams was the designer chosen to create the table decorations in the dining room.

Let's go inside and take a closer look.

 Beautiful dining room!

Gorgeous centerpiece!

Love the china.  Wish we knew the pattern names.  Update: Cherry Kay identified the dinner plate as William Yeoward, Hampton Court Burgundy.  Thanks, Cherry Kay!

 Mandy said, "She (Bunny Williams) had name cards at each place setting written in gold."

Another area of the dining room:

Mandy, thanks so much for sharing this beautiful tablescape created by Bunny Williams for the dining room of Edith Wharton's beautiful home, The Mount.  Such a treat!  I hope I get to see it in person one day!

Winner of Giveaway from A Beach Cottage:
The winner of the Giveaway from A Beach Cottage was chosen by Random Number Generator today and is now posted HERE on the original Giveaway post.  Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway!


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Looking forward to your beautiful tablescapes!

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The First Ever...Sunday Favorites

Welcome to the first ever Sunday Favorites...a brilliant event created by Chari at Happy to Design!

So, grab that cup of coffee or hot tea and let's get going! :-) For this first ever Sunday Favorites, I'll be sharing a post I ran on September 9th of last year, just 3 weeks after I created Between Naps on the Porch. I called this post, For the Love of Books, Part I. You can click on any of the pics to enlarge, thus, enabling you to read the titles and authors better. Hope you enjoy!



Maybe it's part of the reason one of my majors in college was English...or maybe it's just all the amazing possibilities and dreams found within. Whatever it is, I have a serious love of books. Now, take one part "love of books" and stir in a heaping cup of "love of decorating" and you have yourself one large decorating book souffle...uh, I mean, one large decorating book collection. :-)

If you tip-toed into my study and peeked into my Someday Notebook...you know...the notebook that held the dream of the front porch for so long, you would find another dream...that of the desire for a home library. The seldom used "formal" living room in my home has been begging me to install built-in book shelves down one long wall and on either side of it's fireplace. Someday, I say...someday. ~~~SIGH~~~

But for now, I must be content to tuck my books into whatever nook and cranny I can find. I thought today I'd share some of my favorites books with you. However, I feel it my solemn duty to warn you, once this decorating book addiction thingy takes hold, it will have you in its grip for an undetermined amount of time. But seriously, can you think of a better addiction? :-)



If you love classic, traditional style, you will love any of Mary Carol Garrity's books. Since the photo above was taken, I've purchased three more of her books: Nell Hill's Christmas at Home, Nell Hill's Decorating Secrets and Nell Hill's Feather Your Nest. If you live anywhere near Atchison, Kansas, you have probably already been inside her wonderful home furnishings store, called Nell Hill's...and if so, I am officially green with envy! :-)

I love antiques and the books below are pure candy for this girl's sweet tooth.

Bringing Tuscany Home is by Frances Mayes, the same author who wrote Under the Tuscan Sun. You may remember the movie, bearing the same title.

Bunny Williams is one of my very favorite authors...it's simple...she writes a book...me wants it! :-) An Affair with a House is a delight to read...I love the way Mrs. Williams describes her long and involved love affair with her home. And you thought you were the only one!

Winter House by Charlotte Moss is the equivalent of comfort food in the book world...or at least it is for me. The picture of her home on page 19 showing her garland draped front door, surrounded by glowing lanterns and candlelight, always makes my heart skip a few beats. With fall upon us and winter waiting in the wings, this would be an excellent choice for one of those long, chilly nights ahead.


Amazon begins it's description of Hunt Country Style this way, "Wood-paneled libraries, sumptuously appointed interiors, mudrooms, paddocks, and stables... " Yep, that about covers it! Gorgeous book, loaded with lots of interesting history covering the tradition of the hunt country and it's gorgeous homes.


Have you ever wondered what the homes of authors, William Faulkner, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and Herman Melville looked like...and not just on the outside, but inside, too? Well, it's all in American Writers at Home, as well as photos of the homes of seventeen more famous authors.
And in Writers' Houses, you can tour the homes of Mark Twain, Virginia Woolf, William Butler Yeats, Ernest Hemingway, and Dylan Thomas, as well as the homes of an additional sixteen well-loved writers. It positively gave me chills, seeing the actual desk where William Faulkner sat, when he wrote so many of his most famous works.


If you love English Country style, you will love anything written about or by the English design firm of Colefax and Fowler. 'Nuf said! :-)


In Adventures with Old Houses, the author, Richard Jenrette, who also happens to be a former executive of a well-known Wall Street investment firm, details his life's dedication to collecting and restoring six magnificent, historic U.S. homes. Interestingly, the forward is written by Prince Charles.


A few more great English Country design books:


Here's one for all you Blue and White fans...I know my hand is in the air!


Hope you enjoyed a peek into my decorating library.

Winter Blues

A little birdie told me you had the winter blues...


So I was thinking...since Old Man Winter is here to stay for while, instead of fighting those winter blues, why don't we just embrace them.


Come on over here; I have the perfect spot for you...a comfy blue chair...


And a nice, hot cup of tea, served from a Blue Willow teapot...


How about a fluffy, soft pillow...


With a pretty, blue wreath design...


And of course, you'll need a great, blue book to go with your hot tea. Here's one of my favorites, Winter House by Charlotte Moss. Amazon says, "a Winter House is a place to recharge your body and your spirit....the perfect reference for creating your own winter sanctuary."


Winter House is full of beautiful pictures that will warm your soul...like this one. ~~SIGH~~


So, here you are...relaxing with your Winter House book...in your cozy, blue chair...


In the warm glow of a blue candle...tucked into a little blue candle holder...


With a little, blue birdie resting sweetly on some lovely, blue doilies...crocheted many years ago by my Mom :-)


I'll just tip-toe out now...enjoy those winter blues! :-)

For the Love of Books, Part Deux...

Let's see...where were we? Ah, yes...we were making a decorating book souffle...one low on calories, but high on inspiration. And who better to inspire than Carolyn Roehm, Charlotte Moss, and Charles Faudree.

At Home with Carolyn Roehm is a huge book, filled with dazzling photos of amazing tablescapes and beautiful floral arrangements. It also contains a lot of great recipes that would work well for entertaining.

I love Charlotte Moss's book, A Passion for Detail...it's signature Moss. Her book, Design Inspirations, is a small book, but the photos are just gorgeous! I've never ordered a Moss book and been disappointed, never.

The same could be said for Charles Faudree, one of my favorite writers of books on French Country style. If you love French Country, you will love any of Faudree's books. Every page is a delight and I am in awe of his style and talent. He can mix a gazillion different fabrics in one room and it will all go together perfectly...he is truly gifted.

For whimsy, Mary Engelbreit has the market cornered...her books are just plain fun! When you want to add a little whimsy to a room, check out her website...it's always a delight to visit.

Carolyn Westbrook, in her book, Home, shows her gracious southern style as she throws open the door of her very own home and invites us in. I love her relaxed style and gorgeous vignettes.

More great French Country books...but this time by Betty Lou Phillips. Her books are very different from Faudree, but just as wonderful. You can usually find them for reasonable prices on Amazon.com or eBay.

If you lean more toward the cottage style or the shabby chic look, you will really like these cottage books below.

Do you enjoy entertaining? Need ideas on setting beautiful tables? The books below are really helpful and The Art of the Table is the "Miss Manners" of table etiquette. This book also goes deep into the history of where so many of our dining customs originated.

Decorating with China and Glass...great book with great ideas...

Some would find the book called, The Book on the Bookshelf, fascinating, others might find it a total bore. I liked it and found some of the history of the "bookshelf" amazing. The books of yesteryear were rare, highly prized and very different from the books we have today; and they were stored in the most unusual ways.

The Nook Book is an adorable little book that's full of pics of all the little nooks and hideouts we sometimes have in our homes...like inglenooks or dormer windows with window seats. I found The Nook Book at Tuesday Morning...another great place for finding good books at reasonable prices.

Some great reference books on sterling patterns, Metlox pottery and Homer Laughlin china... I've enjoyed showing you some of my favorite books...hope you enjoyed the tour! And thanks so much for sharing all the books you love, in your comments on yesterday's post...keep those ideas and suggestions coming! I love hearing what you enjoy and read. :-)