The Space Between in the Florida Keys

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Shopping in Old Town, kayaking the mangroves, and leaving room for the day to unfold The first thing I loved about our week in the Keys was the space between the things we did. We had ideas. We knew there were shops to explore, places to eat, and water to get out on. But most mornings began with sitting around, enjoying the slow pace, and eventually asking what everyone felt like doing. Sometimes the answer depended on whether we were hungry. Sometimes it depended on what we were making for dinner. Did we need groceries? How long would dinner take to cook? Should we save room for something delicious later? These were perfectly satisfactory matters around which to arrange a day. We had exchanged our usual responsibilities for the question of whether lunch might interfere with dinner. An excellent trade. Our one fixed appointment was Tuesday’s anniversary sail. Around it, the week had room to breathe. A starfish clip on Petronia Street One shopping wander took us to Petronia Street in Ba...
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A Little Fall Color: Decorating with Mums Without Starting Over

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There comes a point every August when summer is still very much here, but you can feel the season beginning to turn.

The garden is a little more tired. Some of the flowers that have been glorious since June are beginning to wane. And somewhere between the tomatoes, the warm evenings and the first few changing leaves, I begin craving just a hint of fall.

Not pumpkins everywhere.

Not a complete seasonal reset.

Just a little color to carry the deck from one season into the next.

A Few Mums — and What I Already Had

I found mums at Stein’s in two sizes — smaller pots for $6.99 and larger ones for $12.99 — and chose a mix in the colors I love most: soft pink, deep maroon and white.

But instead of buying new planters for them, I came home and looked around.

I already had plenty.

An old silver ice bucket became a planter.

A plastic bin from a Dollar Store party years ago got another life.

A few inexpensive pots I had bought earlier in the season for herbs were pressed back into service.

Nothing matched perfectly.

Which, of course, made it better.

Decorating by Adding, Not Replacing

I scattered the mums around the deck rather than grouping them all into one big “fall display.”

One where I can see it from the window.

Another near the lounge area.

A few tucked into the outdoor kitchen and among the plants already growing in pots.

They don't replace summer.

They join it.

And as the summer flowers begin to fade, the mums will keep offering those wonderful pockets of pink, wine, cream and green — eventually surrounded by the changing leaves of fall.

It feels less like decorating for a new season and more like allowing one season to gently become another.

Use What You Have

There is something wonderfully satisfying about making a home beautiful without automatically buying something new.

Look around before you shop.

Move things.

Repurpose them.

Put something beautiful where you will actually see it.

The mums aren't arranged for someone passing by the house. They're placed where we live — where I cook, where we sit, where Hazel wanders, and where I can catch a glimpse of them through the window during the day.

For less than the cost of an elaborate seasonal decorating haul, I brought weeks of color onto the deck.

And when the summer flowers finally surrender and the maple leaves begin changing overhead, there will still be something blooming.

A little color.

A little ingenuity.

A little warmth in my heart.

À la Table — Bring it to the table.

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