It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at our house!!!

The Nester is having a "Show us Your Garland" day....so here's mine.

She has an awesome tutorial on how to make a fancy swag type of garland on her blog.  We have our stockings, so that wasn't going to work for me.  Instead, I just layered mine on top of the mantel...and voila!

I also did a cute little garland on our Dining Room light fixture...again, it's just layering.  So easy!!

More Fall Decorations!!

 Hey.....Here are some more Fall Decorations for you, as promised.   The wreath on my front door is from Safeway!  Can you believe that? I love it because it's not too orangey....and it was on sale!

Here's a close up of part of my fireplace mantel.  

The only things I purchased this year were the white pumpkins.  

Everything else was from other parts of my house.  These 2 napkins inside the baskets were a gift that I never use because there's only 2 of them.  I think they're great here.  

The baskets are at least 15 years old from parties I went to ages ago.  In fact,  I wasn't even using them.  I had them on a shelf in my storage room!

The fake fruit & flowers inside the small basket are actually a candle ring!  I just set it right inside the basket on it's side.

Here's the whole mantel. 

  

Sometimes, it can be tricky to decorate a mantel.  Mine can be tough because of the funky transom window above it.

 

Here are some tips that have worked for me:

1.  Use a lot of things.

2.  Play around with them.  

3. Try different things... you're finished look will probably not be what you had in mind when you started.

4.  Layer your things.

5. Use different textures and finishes.

6. Use items of varying heights.

7. Don't lean a mirror above your fireplace.  All you will reflect is your ceiling.  If you really want a mirror up there..hang it so it reflects your room.

8.  Don't be afraid of color.

9. Have fun!

PS.  Come back next week & I'll show you the outside of the house!

A Touch of Fall

I just love Fall decorations.  This hangs in my entryway.

The full effect. 

(Isn't it weird how the paint color on the wall looks different in these photos?  This one is the truest representation.

Our Dining Room centerpiece.....for you Steph!

This is the Fall version...you can look at this post to see the same centerpiece decorated for Christmas and Springtime.  I'm a big believer in using what you've got.  Why reinvent the wheel each time???  Just change out some seasonal elements....and voila!

Come back in a few days to see more!

Play Room - My First Window Mistreatment

Ta Da!! What do you think??? It's my first "Window Mistreatment"!!

No, I didn't think of this idea myself....once again, I have to give credit to The Nester.

(Boy, my house is looking much better thanks to blogging!!)

Here it is....and the best part.....it was FREE! I already had the fabric left over from our Morning Room curtains. I folded and folded and tacked it up with upholstery tacks.

I also took some rope & clothespins out of our camping bin and hung up some of my Little Buddy's artwork....isn't it cute??? Again....FREE!!

This is what the window looked like underneath.....just your basic basement window well.

Don't go thinking I'm perfect....here is what it looked like behind me. (Yes, the inside of this closet is green.....that is what color the whole room used to be.)

Meet Dakota, my design assistant.

PS. For all you paint color googlers....the color is Plantation Beige by Duron. It looks a little darker in the basement.

***Updated 8/20/08  I am one of the featured bloggers on Blog Around the World today and it is also my 100th post.  To read about it and enter my giveaway....go to today's post here!! 

Thanks for stopping by from the Nester's place.

Dining Room --- Stuff on the Walls

Do you remember this Spring when I went to my local mission store and had a great time picking out all of these plates???

The Nester had done a post about hanging plates on your walls....and I was totally inspired. This was so long ago people, that she has since moved to and decorated a new house!  

(She's done a few posts on plates....so if you want to see other great pictures of plates on the wall...head on over there and click around.)


Well, I finally got around to having Bri help me hang them up in our Dining Room. 

We used to have a tapestry hanging on this wall. I wish I had a before pix to show you, but no such luck. The tapestry went bye-bye this Spring. I never really liked it. I had gotten it for cheap when an elderly couple down the street was having an estate sale. They were moving to a retirement home. The tapestry was in there Dining Room and looked okay. The price was right so I snatched it up, before another ruthless shopper could get a hold of it.

Anyway, this Spring, one of my friends was having a yard sale for charity. I had set aside a pile of stuff to donate to her and at the last minute decided to add the tapestry to the loot. I literally took it off the wall, rolled it up, and handed it to her.

So now, only a mere 3 months later, I've finally got plates on my wall.

What do you think??

When we finished hanging these up, I said, "That looks so much better and a lot less grandmother-y."

Bri replied, "Uh, sorry Honey, but I don't think you can get much more grandmother-y than hanging plates on your wall!!!"

Then, Veruka came in and said, "Ewww, What's up with the plates on the wall? It looks like something an old person would do."

My apologies to the Nester. I don't care what they say, I love it.

Here's a close up....I picked out lots of different patterns and textures. I think that probably helps add some interest. They are all creams and whites....which helps tie them all together. 

(That kind of sounded professional didn't it?)

If you decide to do this, I recommend laying your plates out on the table or floor. Then play around with them, to see what works and where.

It is also much easier if you have a second person to help you hang them....a friend, a kid, a sister, or in my case a husband...(thanks Honey!)



We (I mean Brian) also hung this cool piece on our other wall. I had picked it up even before I got the plates. I like it...it reminds me of the wrought iron, scroll work in Charleston.





I also like that it has some dimension. See how it sticks out from the wall?



Here are the finished walls.

Come back next week to see what the Nester inspired me to do in my Playroom!

PS. For any of you (Dad) who were concerned about why my blog came up under "How to torture your family"...

Click here to find out.

PS.  An update for you paint color googlers......the paint colors are Behr Harvest Brown and Behr Velvety Merlot.

Looky What I Got.......

That's right......it's one of The Nester's tassels!    

Here's a funny story...the other night we had some friends over to eat dinner and my girlfriend noticed my tassel hanging from my baker's rack and she said, "Is that one of The Nester's tassels????"

This friend doesn't even HAVE a blog......she's seen her blog and heard about The Nester through others! 

Wish you could have one??  She has all kinds of cool ones for sale on her etsy shop at her blog.

Click HERE to check it out.

PS.  Can you believe I've had over 10,000 hits on my blog???? Woo Hoo!!

Fireplace Makeover!

Last week I spent a day painting the accent panels on my fireplace...(they used to be white.)  I Love the result! It has changed the look of it and made it really stand out in our family room. (The pictures don't do it justice, the difference in the shades is more pronounced in real life...but this will give you an idea.)

Here is the funny thing. I had the idea of trying one shade darker than our wall color...(which FYI is Duron paint...Plantation Beige.) As I've shared with you in previous posts, I'm totally hooked on Nester's blog. A few weeks ago, she was raving about a Duron paint color, Tobacco Road. I decided that while I was in the Duron store I'd pick up a quart of it too....just to try. Well guess what? The paint color that is one shade darker than Plantation Beige is Tobacco Road! Can you believe it???? I'm telling you...it was meant to be!

I added my $8 birdcage and voilla.....what do you think???

April Fools Day and Decorating Projects

Happy Belated April Fools Day!!! Did any of you pull a prank on your hubby or kids?? We always try to pull a prank on the kids. We've done it all over the years......short sheeted their beds, toilet papered their rooms, etc. My all time favorite April Fools Day prank was a couple of years ago. We'd had an unusually cold Winter. So, in the morning of April 1, when I went to wake up the kids, I told them the "Good News" ----- that it had frosted (is that a word?) overnight and because the roads were still icy in some parts, they had a one hour delayed opening. They all bought it, each one of them had a smile on their face as they snuggled back under their covers, only to hear, "April Fools!"

This year, I knew I was going to do something with their food. They are getting so old and wise though, that I had to set them up first. My Hubby has been away this week, so the set up was this, "Hey, Dad called and guess what? He said he's coming home today instead of Friday." Of course, they all were like, "Yea, sure ---ha ha, April Fools." (In a sarcastic tone of voice.) I pulled the set up as they were all sitting down to eat dinner----one of their favorites when Dad is away, Velveeta Shell Mac-N-Cheese. We said a quick prayer, and they were still commenting about how lame my April Fools Joke was, as they ate their first bite. Little did they know, but I had "seasoned" their Mac-N-Cheese with dill pickle juice, horse radish sauce, and a little bit of Tabasco sauce. I "got" all 3 kids! Mission Accomplished. (I also had made a "good" batch of Mac-N-Cheese and had that ready to go, stashed away in the oven. That way they didn't have to wait to eat.) I already have my prank in mind for next year, but I can't share it here because my people read this. You'll have to wait until then, to find out what it is.

So, I told you that I'm totally addicted to the whole blog thing right? Well, my friend Nester has some really great decorating ideas on her blog using things that you already have, or things that don't cost an arm and a leg, if you know what I mean. I love to make things, but I just can never think of the ideas. I am a total copy cat. These past few days, I've been on a little roll here. (See what happens when the Hubby is away?)

First, Nester had posted over at Blissfully Domestic, about using your candles. She had an awesome display that she changed out for each season. That got me thinking. I have a really nice candle, potpourri display that I use at Christmas time. I use it as my centerpiece on my Dining Room table. Usually, after Christmas I pack it away, and put my dried flower arrangement back on the table. Well, I've also been watching Oprah when Nate is on, and he has told me that fake plants and flowers are a big NO NO. (We'll save that discussion for a future post.) So this year, I haven't put my fake flower arrangement back, but wasn't sure what I should do.


Look at what I came up with. (Of course Nester was totally my inspiration.)

Here is my Christmas centerpiece:

Here is how I changed it up for Spring:

The beauty of it all is that I ALREADY had most of this stuff. The only things I bought were the cute little birdy and a couple of the candles. I had everything else!

Looking at Nester's post, I can easily see how I can change it up for Summer and Fall too. I'll remove the river rocks and bird and add starfish and shells (that I ALREADY have) for Summer. In the Fall, I'll maybe add some rust colored candles, some leaves, and some small gourds. (Again, I ALREADY have all of that stuff, except the gourds!)

I just have to tell you about today. I went down to the Mission store to drop off some things to donate. I decided to park and go in. I NEVER do this. I guess in the past I've always had a little toddler or kid with me, and it definitely isn't a good place for small kids.....too many things to touch and break, if you know what I mean. So, I went inside and the place is packed with all kinds of things. They had tons of dishes. Nester had done a post on her own blog about decorating with plates. We've been looking for something new for our dining room wall. I got 8 plates and platters, most of which are china made in England and Italy, for $48!!!! I also got this adorable bird house for another $8! I am so excited about my score! Keep checking back, and I'll show you what I am going to do with them.




Just a little note, all of those types of stores are not filled with bargains. Be warned! Earlier in the week, I stopped in an Antique store and everything was so expensive, I might as well have been at Pottery Barn. I didn't buy anything at that store.



The real find of the day happened after I had paid and was walking out the door. I happened to glance down and noticed behind the door was a stash of old washboards! I got the perfect one for my laundry room. It is real too! (Did you know that on real wash boards, the rough part was actually made of glass? I didn't! On the back of this one, you can see dried soap from the original owner!) Thank God for washers and dryers...I can't imagine having to do laundry on one of those. Check out where I hung it.

You have to see my Laundry Room!

Each winter while the boys aren't playing sports, we try to do some projects around the house. Brian loves it. He is the kind of guy who likes to do a project that will take a few hours or maybe a few days at most. He's not the "finish my own basement" guy or "build my own deck" guy....and that is okay with me. These little projects don't take up a lot of time, but they yield lots of satisfaction.

Here's what we've been up to this past month:

We painted the Family Room and got new carpet....(Thanks, Tim!)

(We weren't planning to get new carpet, but Dakota had a bout of Dog Diareaha which she chose to deposit all over our carpet. I guess she didn't want to mess up that huge expanse of easy to clean, ceramic tile in our Kitchen and Morning Room. By the way, I've cleaned up all manner of diareaha and throw up from my 3 kids and I have to say that Dog Diareaha is by far the worst thing I've EVER had to deal with....even the gentlemen from Stanley Steemer couldn't get it out!)

Yes, we let the kids help us paint. "Why?" You ask. "Are you crazy??" Yes, probably---- but we let them help because they live here and happen to be here during the only time we are able to paint together. Also, honestly we've found that over the years, the kids want to help. If we say no, they whine and pester us the entire time. If we say yes, they paint for about 20 minutes and are then bored and move on to playing with something else. We let them paint however they want to and then Brian goes back over whatever they've painted with a second coat. Hey, now that I think about it, Brian does the same thing with me too!

Next, Brian replaced the door down to our basement with a french door. This made such a huge difference in our kitchen. I love it! It really opens up the space and makes it feel bigger. The door only cost $140 at Lowes and Bri got to use his tools to install it. A couple of coats of white paint and the project was finished. This was definitely money well spent.

Our last project, and by far my favorite, was our Laundry Room. It is so cute. It makes me actually want to go downstairs and do my laundry!!! Imagine that! Bri & I bought the Washer & Dryer last year, it's the cute little decorations that are new. I got the idea for the "Drop Your Drawers" saying from my friend Jenn. She painted hers in her Laundry Room. I'm not that talented, so I ordered mine from the website: http://www.quotethewalls.com/ Check it out, they have all kinds of cute little sayings that aren't expensive at all. You can even create your own.