by Helen Kain | Nov 5, 2026 | Blue, Cobalt, Fall Tablescapes, Green, Home
I am always on the hunt for series ware, and recently discovered La Chasse à la Licorne, or The Hunt of the Unicorn. Produced in the 1970s by Haviland, it comprises six plates with blue backgrounds and six with red, all featuring unicorns. After mulling some...
by Helen Kain | Oct 24, 2026 | Black, Fall Tablescapes, Halloween, Orange
Long-time readers will know that Halloween isn’t usually my favourite holiday. The appetite for destruction that sometimes accompanies it leaves me cold. But when Pottery Barn introduced The Scary Squad (which is anything but) series a few years ago, I was won over. I...
by Helen Kain | Oct 22, 2026 | Cakes, Desserts, Fall Recipes, Holiday
Sometimes the table comes first, and it certainly did in this case. Beneath all that Thanksgiving plumage is a seriously good chocolate cupcake topped with silky chocolate French buttercream. These turkeys made an appropriately ridiculous dessert for our Peanuts Fall...
by Helen Kain | Oct 22, 2026 | Brown, Fall Tablescapes, Home, Orange, Thanksgiving, Yellow
I found these wonderfully silly Peanuts plates on eBay several years ago. Called Fall Is Here, they were originally made for Pottery Barn, and apparently were offered for about five minutes, judging by how difficult they are to find. I managed to track down one boxed...
by Helen Kain | Oct 18, 2026 | Christmas, Cookies & Bars, Fall Recipes, Holiday, Spring Recipes, Summer Recipes, Winter Recipes
Some cookies are delicate little things. These are generously supplied with oats, chocolate chips and chopped nuts, with something delicious in every bite. The oats give them substance, the pecans and walnuts add crunch, and the chocolate chips provide ample incentive...
by Helen Kain | Oct 16, 2026 | Amber, Brown, Fall Tablescapes, Home, Recent, Terracotta
Have you noticed how much colour and pattern have been creeping back into tableware lately? After years of pale neutrals, I’m delighted to see florals, botanicals and richly coloured china appearing again. Williams Sonoma seems to have embraced the shift with...
by Helen Kain | Oct 15, 2026 | Amber, Fall Tablescapes, Green, Home, Terracotta, Yellow
Apparently, word has got out that there is food at our house. The woodland creatures have arrived in force, and several have already settled into the middle of the table. The Fantastical Forest plates by Pottery Barn were the starting point for the table. Their...
by Helen Kain | Oct 15, 2026 | Appetizers, Fall Recipes, Holiday, Soup
Silky and understated, Celeriac and Apple Soup combines the gentle earthiness of celeriac with tart Granny Smith apple and the delicate sweetness of leek. Cream gives the soup a luxurious texture without overwhelming its subtle flavours, while a drizzle of walnut oil...
by Helen Kain | Oct 15, 2026 | Fall Recipes, Holiday, Mains, Pasta & Rice
This hearty autumn lasagna layers savoury Italian sausage, Swiss chard and spinach with creamy ricotta, mozzarella and a silky pumpkin béchamel scented with sage and nutmeg. The pumpkin adds a subtle earthy sweetness rather than dominating the dish, balancing the...
by Helen Kain | Oct 15, 2026 | Afternoon Tea, Bread & Scones, Fall Recipes
There is something irresistible about cranberries as autumn settles in—their brilliant colour, their lively tartness and the way they mark the beginning of serious baking season. Paired with fragrant orange and toasted walnuts, they make a particularly handsome loaf,...
by Helen Kain | Oct 1, 2026 | Makers Behind the Magic, Recent
The Arts and Crafts Movement emerged in Britain in the late nineteenth century, at a moment when the world was changing very quickly. Factories were humming, cities were swelling, and objects once made individually by skilled hands were increasingly being produced by...
by Helen Kain | Sep 17, 2026 | Fall Recipes, Holiday, Salads
Delicata squash is one of my favourite early fall arrivals. Its thin, edible skin makes it blissfully easy to prepare, and roasting concentrates its naturally sweet, slightly nutty flavour while caramelizing the edges. Here, warm crescents of squash are scattered over...
by Helen Kain | Sep 17, 2026 | Cakes, Desserts, Fall Recipes, Holiday
This is an old-fashioned, generously filled cake in the best sense: moist with apple, fragrant with warm spice, and studded with walnuts, cranberries, and little flashes of crystallized ginger. It has the sturdy, deeply satisfying character of a proper autumn...
by Helen Kain | Sep 17, 2026 | Fall Tablescapes, Green, Home, Pink and Red, Recent
Around this point in September, the garden is still very much green, but the light has changed. The shadows are longer, the evenings arrive a little earlier, and suddenly the russets, coppers and deep leafy greens that seemed far too autumnal only a few weeks ago feel...
by Helen Kain | Sep 10, 2026 | Fall Recipes, Holiday, Mains, Pasta & Rice
When autumn squash begins appearing at the market, delicata is always a welcome sight. Its tender, edible skin means there’s no peeling required, and roasting brings out its naturally sweet, almost nutty flavour. Here, golden cubes of delicata squash are tossed with...
