November Begins – Here Comes the Festive Season

Happy first day of November! Hope you had a fun Halloween last night!

This month I’m working hard to get my house ready for the festive season ahead. There will be dinner parties, birthday parties, Family Dinner nights, movie nights, a cocktail party or two, and of course, Thanksgiving.

I’ll need my kitchen in top working order (and I’ll need to keep it well organized and maintained as the month progresses).

I want to entertain guests in clean, orderly, welcoming, cozy living and dining rooms. And should we have overnight guests this season, I want them to be comfortable in a luxurious, well-appointed, uncluttered and warm guest room. Are you anticipating overnight guests this fall? Perhaps you’d like to follow along with these cleaning projects in your own home.

I’ll make a major push to clean and organize the house (emphasizing on the kitchen) this month. That will leave my December more freed up for Christmas shopping, holiday parties, and festive activities. (I’ll still have to clean and organize in December, but mostly it will be about maintaining the lovely home I created in November).

Now it’s November. How the year flies by! Thanksgiving is 23 days away, and Christmas is 55 days away. Think about things you might want to get done this month regarding these upcoming holidays.

QUICK THINGS TO DO TODAY:

Maglite LED Flashlight, on Amazon

Today I’m changing out the D batteries in the three Maglite flashlights I keep ready and test frequently. (One is in my car, one is under my bed where I can
reach it in the night, and one is by the back door, used for finding my two naughty black dogs in the yard on dark nights). My flashlight batteries are still working, but I want them to be at their very best in case of emergency. D batteries are expensive, so I’ll save out the ones I’m removing from the flashlights and use them for other purposes. They still have some juice left in them!
Pay rent/mortgage and bills.
Look over your calendar for upcoming birthdays during November. Take time tonight to sit down and write cards, prepare them for mailing, send gifts, or send flowers to anybody on your list for this week.
Make doctor, dentist, salon, groomer and vet appointments for yourself, family members and your pets for the upcoming month.
Are you thinking of attending any plays, musicals, concerts or symphonies this autumn and winter? Make your plans and buy tickets now if you haven’t yet.
Remove any Halloween decorations, keeping up Thanksgiving and fall themed ones (unless you’re the type of person who enjoys having Halloween decor out for months or year-round!) Store your decorations safely away in a well-marked box or Sterilite tub. Leave anything that still looks autumn-related: my pumpkins are staying out and so is my orange tablecloth. Keep burning your Halloween candles until they are used up – then we’ll have an excuse to go shopping for new autumn and Christmas candles!
It’s recommended that we change our flashlight and smoke detector/carbon monoxide detector batteries now, during the fall time change (coming up November 5). I also like to flip, vacuum and rotate my mattresses so they for sure get that done twice per year.
Do you have your Thanksgiving hosting or travel plans set and confirmed?

TODAY’S PROJECT: Living Room

I have furry black dogs, so can only dream about this lovely pink linen “Adeline” Pottery Barn upholstered sofa!Tonight after work, I plan to do a thorough cleaning on my upstairs “formal” living room. Because this is the most light-filled room of the house, it’s our favorite. I use this room in the mornings to drink tea, read magazines, sort mail, pay bills, and watch a little bit of the news while drinking tea and trying to wake up. On rainy afternoons I might watch a recorded cooking show or something light on Netflix while I’m taking a break from my work or eating a late lunch. In the evenings, we might catch up on the news and eat dinner in this room rather than at the dining table.

Besides the dining room, this is the main room I entertain in. When guests come over, I spread appetizers and drinks on the coffee table, play music on the living room stereo, light candles on the mantel, and light a fire in the fireplace. Guests are welcomed into this room while they wait for dinner to be served. They do tend to hover in my small kitchen, which makes me really stressed out. I always hope that appetizers will lure them into relaxing in this room instead of crowding into the kitchen!

Because I do entertain so very often, I need this room to always be ready to go at a moment’s notice, looking cozy, neat and clean. (I will admit that I often rush upstairs right before a cocktail party to hide the cluttery pile of mail and magazines that accumulates on my coffee table!)

Mission-Style Tiffany-Glass Fireplace Screen, from Chloe Lighting, on AmazonTonight I plan to:

Wash the living room windows thoroughly, and remove the tape from my previous Halloween lights
Watch the news or listen to music while I work, to make my task more pleasant. Can’t hurt to sashay around cleaning with a glass of wine in one hand, either!
Clean out the fireplace and replenish the supply of firewood and Duraflames I keep next to it. I’ll keep an eye on my supply of fireplace matches and regular matches, too. I love burning a fire every night in autumn and winter!
Next I will dust the fireplace mantel, two bookshelves, coffee table, two side tables, all the baseboards and four windowsills.
I’ll move the couch, coffee table, mail table and end tables and vacuum under them. I also need to vacuum both of my couches – I see evidence that a bratty black doggie has been sneaking onto the furniture for naps!
My living room curtains were laundered during Spring Cleaning, so I will just Febreze them and leave them alone.
The lamp should be dusted, and dead tea light candles removed from their votives spread around the room.
I keep a box of Kleenex in this room, and need to check to see if it needs replenishing.
For a finishing touch, I’ll put a bowl of Satsuma oranges on the coffee table. My dogs seem to leave them alone, and they’ll make the room smell nice. I’ll fluff the decorative pillows, refold the throws we keep on the couches, and be ready to settle in late tonight with hot cocoa and the current book I’m reading!

LOVELY BLOGS: Love & Olive Oil

Taylor and Lindsay blog from their home in Nashville. They cook in their tiny kitchen, trying to eat out less often and learning new recipes. I’m enjoying their food photography and the interesting foods they’re presenting. For example, check out their Purple Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Soup, Apple Sour Cream Coffee Cake, Parmesan Puffs and Fig Rose Jam.. Hope you enjoy checking out their blog as much as I did!

https://www.loveandoliveoil.com/

LOVELY LINKS FOR TODAY:

Color Dipped Dining Chairs (Everyday Annie)

Deviled Egg (No, Not Really!) Cookies (Bake at 350)

Eggnog Cake (Love From the Oven)

Fall Decor to Last Through Thanksgiving (Pint Sized Baker)

How to Make Cute Little Acorn Cookies (The Bearfoot Baker)

Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel (Baking Bites)

Spumoni Cookie Bars (Bakers Royale)