Autumn in the Air

 

     Why is it that I always love changing things for the season, but I am so ready to put it away just a few weeks later? Right now, I love all things fall...but it won't be long before all the colors and pumpkins will be driving me crazy!

 

     It really takes very little to change the look and feel of your home. I found this pillow (I only use one on my sofa) and throw at TJMaxx last weekend for about $35 total. I loved some of the season's pillows at Pottery Barn, but this one has color and texture and was only $19.99.

 

 

     You can see that someone thinks that all things soft and cozy belong to her. It wouldn't make much sense for me to invest much in anything that is within her reach.

 

 

Little bits of fall are tucked all over the house.

Soon, I will add touches of Halloween.

 

If you missed the wreath tutorial,

you can find it here.

 

 

     The bittersweet came in my last bouquet delivered from the area organic farmer. It was very green and the berries were closed. I let it sit for about 2 weeks and they popped open and dried into this beautiful sign of fall.

 

 

I am joining Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life for

Inspire Me Tuesday

 

and

 

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style for

Wow Us Wednesdays

 

A little paint and $3.60

 

     It is well established that I am not a "crafty" person. I know my strengths and I also know my weaknesses and so do my fellow bloggers! So, when I do a craft project and it turns out the way I want it to...it generally means that a first grader could do it! I found this Fleur-de-lis in the 90% off section at Hobby Lobby. It had been $36 and I paid $3.60 for it. I thought that I could throw it away if I failed. I had some Annie Sloan chalk paint that I hadn't tried yet and it seemed like a good first project. I didn't do anything except wipe the store dust off the piece before starting. I painted 2 coats of paint, let it dry and sanded a few spots to age it. I also used the clear Annie Sloan wax when it was done...I have no idea why or what it was supposed to do...but, I had it, so I used it. I was really pleased with the results! What do you think?

 

 

     Do you realize that Easter is March 31st? We actually change the clocks to Daylight Savings Time next weekend. So, I spent yesterday putting away all the snow-covered, pinecone type decorations and brought out spring. Of course we have snow coming and it is cold, cold, cold here...but, it looks like spring inside the house!

 

 

 

I am joining Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday

and

Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday

 

 

 

Around The House

     My January decor is fairly simple. After having Christmas decorations, I actually love the "empty" spaces that are left when I put them away. This year, because my Christmas theme was a natural look, I left out several items and just shifted them around a bit. I did add the books you see in the above picture. I brought them home from my dad's place when we were there. They were my mother's books and I remember reading them when I was a child. I actually have my own Oz book from my childhood. The top book is a Shirley Temple book. 

     The cookbook doesn't exactly match the rest of the items on the table, but it has recipes from various holiday meals and treats at Disney. My daughter gave it to me for my birthday and I think your home should reflect things you love at the moment...things don't always have to "look perfect"! 

     My daughter also gave us the coasters for Christmas and they made me cry. Each one has a photo...some are of our old Nike (above-she has been gone since May) and some have our Zoe. There is one that has the rare photo of the two of them together. I am a total softy where my pups are concerned. The older Zoe gets (she is now 16 months) the more we see similarities to Nike. Maybe it is a beagle thing!

     The library table has a simple arrangement of winter things. I was going to change out the red candles, but I liked the pop of color on our gray winter days.

     I moved the quilt I used at Christmas to the other library table, added another pop of red and my winter wooden moose and branches. Every day I try to decide if I'm going to pull the quilt off the table...I'm having a real love/hate relationship with it. I think it may be put away today. I loved it at Christmas, but in general it is a bit too country for my house.

     The top of the china cabinet is also a very simple antique wooden bowl with "snowballs", dried hydrangeas and a lone pine cone. The picture we found at HomeGoods after Christmas. It is a winter scene with a bit of Christmas (the tree has lights, the house a wreath) but I thought it could go up for a little while without looking as if I forgot to take down the decorations. It was on sale for $5! You have to love HomeGoods!

     The big news around here is that we bought a new mattress! It isn't exciting, you can't see it and it is sort of like buying underwear...it is expensive and not fun. Our old mattress was 9 years old and we had been complaining about it for at least the last 3 years. I actually think it should have lasted much longer, but the store went out of business and we couldn't do anything about it. So, after adding a foam topper to get by a while longer...we both decided that we could no longer stand to sleep in a huge dent on our sides of the bed and we were tired of waking up with everything hurting. I did a lot of research this time and hopefully, we made a good choice. Did you realize that if you don't purchase the matching box springs, the mattress warranty is void? Did you realize that if you have a single spot of anything on the mattress the warranty is void, therefore you are almost forced to buy a waterproof cover for your mattress (add another $70). We learned several things with this purchase and it was delivered Friday. So far, it feels very different than our old one and I think we chose well. Fingers crossed! 

     I am joining Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday 

and

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday

Please visit our lovely hostesses!

Red, Green and Zoe

 

     It has been a while since I've used good old red and green for Christmas and I'm really enjoying it this year. Maybe I was just in the mood for something more traditional, since nothing about my holiday or life is traditional anymore! Today, I'm sharing another one of my library tables. As you can see, Zoe slipped into the picture...but, I thought you might like to see how grown up she is. She is 20 pounds and shouldn't be any larger than she is now. She is less of a wild child than she used to be, housebroken and still likes to eat all things food and not food.

 

 

 

 

     The "tablecloth" is actually a tree skirt. I simply used the snowballs and basket to cover the hole in the middle.

 

     My little fox friend is sitting on the spool cabinet this year. Zoe spent the first day thinking it was a playmate for her, but she seems to have gotten bored with him now.

 

I am joining Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday.

Please stop in to say hello!

How About A Little "Whine" With Those Decorations

     I hope no one minds if I start this blog post with a little "whine". You know, as bloggers, most of us tend to give the impression that everything just goes along beautifully at our houses. We wake up perky, prepare perfect meals and between jobs, children and husbands, we find all the time we need to create, craft and decorate our homes. Well, my life is never like that...but, the past month has been the extreme opposite.

     It started with my food poisoning event (it was an event) on October 28th, which landed me in bed on both my birthday and Halloween. It was 5 days before I had the strength to even get dressed and in truth, many more days of trying to feel like I hadn't been hit by a truck. Coming on a few days later, my husband and I both caught colds that we simply could not shake. I was functioning, but didn't feel great...and then last Tuesday, my cold turned quickly into a sinus infection and bronchitis. I lost my voice which has not returned, ran a fever until yesterday and my cough is like a barking seal and can't be controlled. Thanksgiving was spent in bed. I did get up for a few hours Thanksgiving morning to make a pie and put together a meal because my son was coming...but, he didn't show up (that is another story). Needless to say, my husband had more than enough to eat...alone...on Thanksgiving.

     Bronchitis isn't something new to me. From the time I was a child, if I caught a cold in the fall...I ended up sick for weeks. The problem now is, I'm an adult and Christmas is coming! I have been able to get a few things done between naps the past two days, but I am really having fantasies of sitting on a beach in the sun, breathing in the salt air until I feel like myself again. Instead, I am drinking so much tea I could float, napping between cyber shopping and I must be feeling a little better because I'm getting mad! Merry, Merry and a Ho Ho Ho...

     So, I hope that all of you are feeling better than we are at my house. I hope you are perky, cooking up a storm, crafting, decorating and enjoying every minute of the holiday prep. I am getting there...but I apologize for the lack of visits to your blogs and comments on your posts. I will try to do better, now that I'm sitting up and can keep my eyes open!

     I have done some decorating the past couple of days. Luckily, I had already decided on my "theme" for this year and it was much more simple than some years. I decided I wanted something more natural, outdoorsy and winter looking than prior years. I went back to traditional red and green and there is not one silver, gold or colored ornament out in my house. In fact, much of what I have out will be able to stay out all winter.

 

     I always decorate the top of the china cabinet almost as if it were a mantel. The picture is one we have had for many years, the wooden trees, birdhouse and moose are part of my attempt at bringing a winter lodge feeling to the decorations this year.

 

     The library table behind the love seat has been draped with a vintage quilt that my husband's grandmother made. Twigs, pinecones, birds and reindeer continue bringing the outside into the house this year. My husband made the twig garland for me. We saw one very similiar in Michigan for a much higher price than I was willing to pay for some sticks!

     I am happy to say that I'm finally joining Marty again at A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday. Make sure you stop and say hello to her.  

Food as Art

     We are in the midst of a major heat wave and drought here in South Central Illinois. I'm sure many of you are experiencing the same thing. We have had heat warnings for days and the current one runs until Saturday night. Last night we got about 10 minutes of a light rain, the first in weeks. It was funny to see the neighbors (including us) all go outside when the rain started just to enjoy the moment. I don't know about you, but decorating just isn't something I'm in the mood for right now. 

     After spending most of Saturday afternoon napping and reading, by Sunday afternoon I was stir crazy in the house. I decided to clean my already clean house just to have something to do and I put a few things away that I had sitting on the kitchen counters. Something about this weather makes me want a "less is more" look right now. We had made a trip about 30 miles away on Saturday morning for our first peaches of the season. I love how they look in my wooden bread bowl. I think the natural look this time of year is so much prettier and more artistic than anything you can buy at a gift shop. Plus, the peaches smell so good in the kitchen!

     A stop at an Amish vegetable stand Saturday and we had beautiful "tomato art" as well. There really is nothing like a fresh tomato to scream SUMMER!

     I didn't make a lot of changes in other parts of the kitchen. The cookbook is turned to a summer page, the towel has a beachy look and some colorful favorite cookbooks brighten a spot near the stove.

     You can see a couple Disney items (you can't have a daughter working for Disney and not have a little tribute to Mickey) along with signs my daughter bought me. We use the granite cheeseboard to hold some wine items. I have heat resistant cutting boards in a couple of locations in the kitchen. I don't like the look, but I do like being able to take things from the oven and have a place to put them. I also keep a few trays within reach, propped behind things during the summer months. I think summer should be all about easy. Grab a tray, grab a corkscrew, grab a little Mickey Mouse spredder knife...all within reach for a quick wine and cheese moment!

     My flowers are having a terrible time in the heat, even though we are watering daily. I love the look of a single gladiola on the counter. I'm also going to go out later and fill a vase with fresh basil, rosemary and mint...nothing smells better and it looks pretty too!

I am joining Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday

and

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays

Please visit our lovely hostesses!