Whew!

 Well, I mentioned that I knew I was going to have a busy week but it turned out even busier...and more fun...than I had anticipated. I had several appointments, a day with a friend and grand son #1's football game on the calendar but received a lovely surprise when daughter #1 and grand daughter #4 came for the night on their way to Tallahassee and then daughter #3 and her kids and my brother and sister-in-law also surprised me so we could have a mini family reunion and send Liv off to FSU in style. We'll get to more about all of that at the end. Let's see a bit more of autumn 2021 first. We're heading into the kitchen.

Here is the little arrangement that I put together last year when we couldn't buy Libbey's canned pumpkin at the start of the season. I bought some of this organic pumpkin and thought the can was just too cute to throw away.

I still love my fingerprint tree made by my 3 youngest grands and the "Eric Carle-esque" tree made by another grand daughter many years ago.

And, I don't think I will ever tire of my autumn Fitz and Floyd collection.

Now that you've seen the kitchen, let me share some of this week's photos. The first is of grand daughter #4. She is on her way back to FSU but will be having a bit of a time for the next 6 weeks or so as she just had surgery on a knee cap that had continued to dislocate and in doing so tore her meniscus. She is doing really well but the brace may slow her down a bit. On the other hand, she's young so maybe not. lol

And just a few photos from our first football game of the year. We were at a jamboree in Gainesville and, even though it is still so hot around here, we were on the shady side of the field with a slight breeze and the night was lovely!

That moon was so pretty and got more beautiful as it rose.

So that was my week. This next one doesn't promise to be anywhere as exciting but you never know around here. I'll be back. Until then, stay safe and stay tuned.

Did You Place a Bet?

 Those of you who know me would probably be winning their bets about now. Was there ever any question as to when I would be rushing my autumn decor? I really didn't plan it. I just woke up on Thursday and it was too hot to do anything outside and I didn't have any brilliant ideas for inside...except for bringing in autumn. And, as usually happens, before I even knew what was happening, things were coming down and there was no going back! I actually managed to get almost all of it done-take down, put away and put up-in two days...which turned out to be a good thing as I received a surprise visit on Friday afternoon from daughter #3 and her kids. They came by to fill me in on their first week of the new school year. Everyone likes their teachers and their classes so I'm hoping it will be a good year for all!

And so, I am ready to start the 2021 autumn tour. I'll try to take it slow so that I don't run out of blog content but, since all of the stores are getting in their fall merchandise and every blog is over flowing with fall craft ideas, I am hoping that I soon have a long to-do list again. Don't get me wrong. I always have a to-do list...just not one with things I want to-do. Lol

Welcome. Can you feel the crisp in the air?

I just saw where my local nursery has gotten in their mums. As soon as I can get there, the porch urns will be swapped out and I will be one step closer to believing that autumn is really on its way!

I'm still loving my burlap leaf door hanger.

Don't the chippiness, rust and colors of this vignette just make you swoon? Lol

I found this leaf candelabra many years ago at Z Gallerie.

And, I found this one at a local design shop.

A blogger that I follow posted this picture a long time ago of a church she happened upon near her home. She made it "printable" so I down loaded it and printed it on photo paper and am so glad I did because I love to look at it. The small leaf dish was made by a grand child a long time ago from air dry clay and a leaf as a mold.

Can you tell I really loved those leaf candle holders when I found them? I bought all three different ones they had. You'll see the last of the group in my next post.

So that is the beginning of this year's tour. I'm not sure when I'll be back. I have a pretty busy week ahead...several appointments, a friend coming by for the day and the start of my grandson's football season. Let the fun begin! Stay safe and stay tuned.

Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures!

Those of you who read my blog often are probably getting tired of hearing how much I dislike this time of year. It is just not for me. I live in Florida and I have a pool but, it is even too hot to be in that at certain times of the day!

I also love being in my garden and maintaining my yard...but that is almost am impossibility this time of year. I have been trying to get a few things accomplished before they get too far ahead of me but I swear I have been on the verge of heat stroke more than once!

I have done little bits here and there as I could but today I decided that I had to tackle something that was really bothering me. You might remember my post about my pool slide. It was a long story but, in the end, I thought I had won and somehow managed to get my very old, stained slide looking almost new again. I also knew that I had done some unorthodox things to make that happen and that it may not last forever but I certainly thought I would at least make it through this summer.

You can imagine my disappointment when, after a month of pretty routine afternoon rains, It looked as bad, if not worse, than it did before I started.

I was pretty sad about it because it had been a lot of work but, I don't usually give up too easily and so, the other day when I was actually floating around in the pool, I reached up and gave the slide a good rub and noticed that the new stains would come off with a bit of a scrub.  I decided toady was the day and I would head out there as soon as it got light. Holy cow. Even though the thermostat wasn't all that high, the humidity was bad. I scrubbed and scrubbed and still couldn't get it all off so I resorted to my good old Clorox spray. I gave it a good douse, let it sit a bit and then scrubbed again and rinsed it with clear water. It looks so much better and I survived the heat. I also managed to get in some weeding while the bleach was working. Of course now I will have to go back and give it another good coat of paste wax...but, that will be for another early morning.

And so now I am back in the house and deciding that I have to find something to do in here to keep my mind off of all still needing to be done outside. I have this small paper mache' box that I got at Dollar Tree and I still have another of the black taper candles that I bought so, I am going to kind of do something that I saw on a site I follow. I wasn't really crazy about it.  Hence the reason that I didn't jump right on it but, if it will keep me busy, I'm game!

This was even easier than I had anticipated. I gathered the supplies...

...using spray adhesive, I covered the bottom of the box...

...and then the top. I then cut out a hole to fit my candle.

I really wasn't sure how I wanted to embellish it but, since I love the vintage feel of Halloween so much, I used my antique tinsel around the edge and also around the hole. I had to really convince myself to do this because this is Bethany Lowe tinsel and I have used it in many places over the years but, it just felt right here so I went with it! And, I think I am glad I did. 

Is this my all-time favorite craft? Not by a long shot. But, I do think I can find a place for it nestled in with the other vintage decor and the candle light might just help to brighten up a dark corner of a shelf somewhere.

That's all I've got for today. I'm fighting the urge to change my decor just yet but, if I don't come up with some other ideas, that is next on the docket! Stay safe and stay tuned. 

Oh, today was the first day of school so I just have to share the picture of my three youngest off for the day. Their dog is looking so sad because she knows she'll be spending a lot more time alone now that summer break is over!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flying by the Seat of My Pants!

This has been a busy week. We ended up doing grand daughter #5's birthday dinner at my house. We had lots of unexpected people come into town to help her celebrate and it was fun! She decided on sushi for dinner so my son-in-law headed to her favorite little sushi restaurant and bought out the place. I will admit, I'm not a sushi fan but I chose vegetable tempura and it was delicious...especially with the yum yum sauce!

She requested a homemade red velvet cake, so that is what she got!

And, since the virus is raging again, we decided that the candles would be put out with a waft of her card instead of her breath. Lol

Then on Friday I was at their house for a friends' party. All she wanted was a few of her school friends and everything very low key. After the years of putting together the most elaborate parties ever-first for my kids and then for my other grands...and actually this one too when she was younger-simpler was definitely easy to pull off! She didn't want any games-just swimming, outdoor movie, pizza and red velvet cupcakes, more swimming and s'mores to end the night.

And of course while I was there, I had to snap a picture of the newest family member. It looks like she has made herself right at home!

So that brings me to today. It is too hot out there to do any of the things I really want to do so, instead, I decided to find some sort of craft I could try. I really was flying by the seat of my pants but, I had seen someone print an image on tissue paper. They then went on to do some elaborate, framed item but I wanted to try to use supplies I had and keep it a bit simpler.

I am looking for something to do as a family/friend Halloween gift this year and, honestly, while I still use orange and black in my decorating, a lot of my family has kind of switched to more neutral colors.

Keeping that in mind...and also looking at the stack of old wood fence slates that I cut awhile ago sitting next to me on my desk, I had an idea.

Supplies were gathered. You can see that I already ran a copy of a Halloween image on a piece of tissue paper. All I did was tape the tissue onto a plain piece of paper so it went easily through the printer.

I gave the wood a good coat of black chalk paint....

...followed by a dry brush coat of white chalk paint.

It was actually quite a surprise when I saw how closely the image matched the board when I put it on top to check sizing.

Then it was just a matter of ModPodging the print to the board and letting it dry.

As much as I wanted to add some orange to the mix, I stuck with just black and white ribbon and yarn and really like the way it turned out.

This is definitely a contender...we shall see. Even if I don't decide to use this as this year's gift, at least I have a new little shelf sitter for myself. Stay safe and stay tuned.

We Better Finish Up!

I'm thinking we had better finish up the late summer decor tour rather quickly because the pull to get out my autumn decor is becoming stronger and stronger. I actually had to distract myself this morning or it might have started today. But, grand daughter #5 has a birthday on Wednesday. We will do a family celebration on that day so daughter #1 is probably coming into town. And, since Presley is having a friends' party on Thursday, she is coming to spend the day with me and we are going to concoct some decorations of her choosing. I have been told that she doesn't want a theme...just the colors turquoise and pale yellow to prevail. Not sure what we will come up with but I know she probably already has her ideas and I know we will have fun! 

I had a surprise visit from my brother and sister-in-law again yesterday. There were some loose ends from their last visit...that I was fine with...but that they wanted to wrap up. Thanks to them, I now have an SD card in my new phone and a perfectly straight blade on the new miter saw they gifted to me! It is so nice to know that there is someone...or two...who always has your back!

And so, let's head into the family room. I think it is the last room to go. It has a few changes from last year but not too many. See if you can spot them.

Wow! There are not many times that I am totally speechless...but this is one. I really don't think there is any explanation about the pictures. It is all pretty straight forward...just sunflowers and the citrusy color scheme. I do love this room at night because between all of the timer candles and the twinkle lights on the mantle, the glow is very pretty and gives me just a hint of the seasons to come. Stay safe and stay tuned.