What a Difference a Day Makes...or Two...or

Wow! What a difference a day makes. The summer rains have been wonderful for keeping my "lawns" green - I say that because a lot of my lawn is weed but, if it's green, I'm good with it. Lol - but they have also been wonderful for the weeds growing in the gardens. I seem to go from keeping a pretty good handle on them to being totally over-run by them. And so, with a hint of cooler weather coming through, I decided it was time to get out there and get going. The first day was mostly weeding and a bit of trimming. It took six hours and I am about 1/3 of the way done but, I always start in the areas that I see the most so things start to look better to me very quickly!

Then, the next day was ladder day. I have so many vines growing on pergolas or over trellises and, when they start to get out of hand they begin to grow up into wires. Once that happens, I know it is time to get up there and trim them down. Heaven forbid they mess with my cable or electric. Lol

In any case, that is all done for now. I have a few indoor things to get to before heading back out so all is good for now.

Since I'm here right now, I thought we would catch the last two rooms I have to show you...the guest bath and the master bath. I like my guests to have decor all through the house but in the master, I almost always just do a nod to the season.

These are the floating shelves above the commode that my son-in-law built for me.

I think this room is kind of like the sunroom...it just gets things that don't have any other home. Except that is, for the soap. I am always drawn to beautiful soaps wrapped in pretty seasonal papers. One of these days I will have to actually rip open the wrappings and use the soap. Lol

I think that is it for this year's autumn decor. I was actually just looking at my last year's Halloween and I'm getting excited to start the next swap out. The autumn to Halloween is a big one because, except for a few orange candles, almost everything else gets switched...and, I of course have TONS of Halloween. I did do a bit of down sizing last year and, who knows, maybe I might again this year...we will have to see. In any case, I'm off to catch a few things needing doing...especially making another batch of my Martha Stewart Vegetable Vermicelli soup. I love that stuff and it should keep me in food for the rest of the week. I'll be back soon. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Family and Football Fun!

This was a weekend full of family and football. Since so much of our family lives in other places, it is always so much fun when we can gather some of them together for whatever reason and, of course, football season always presents lots of extra reasons to come together and cheer on the boys.

We started on Friday night with a nail biter game at Trinity High School. Even though we didn't win, it was a good game and Harrison played well.

We always start out our night with a tailgate. Time to visit and have some fun before heading to the stands.

We headed out on Saturday morning for some fun errands and then had a nice lunch before heading home to watch the Gator game. And, before we knew it, we were off to Marion Co. Youth Football where grandson #2 and his head coach dad were playing in the Jamboree. Because it was a later game and we had a bit of cloud cover, it also turned out to be wonderful football weather.

The boys played hard, we all cheered loudly and it was a special time. Can't wait until we do it again...which will be next week. Lol Stay safe and stay tuned.

Football Forward!

It looks like this weekend is going to be pretty full of football and all the things that go along with that. We have a Friday night high school game, a Saturday Marion County Youth Football game and then, of course, a Gator game. My brother and sister-in-law are coming to spend the night with me so that they can attend both of the boys' games as well. It is going to be a full but fun time.

With that in mind, I thought I would take you into the family room today as we are not only nearing the end of our tour but we are coming close to the end of my fall decor. I just realized how soon I will be switching over to Halloween...and that is a BIG switch over!

There are a few things different in the family room this year. Those of you who are faithful followers have already had a sneak peek. Here we go.

I'm not sure why, but I love this little window vignette.

Here is where I put the little shelf sitter I made this summer. It is not a favorite but it does help to add one more thing to this very large area of shelving, so I am good with it.

I am still loving the 4X4 pumpkins I made last year. They are so not my style...maybe that's why I like them?!

And here is the little cutie that brought about the change on the mantle. I did a post on this when I made it but it is just an old, foam pumpkin that was headed to the trash. I painted it with chalk paint and added the flowers. I couldn't actually find the flowers I wanted so I made do with what I could find...and that kind of spurred the idea to soften up the mantle as well.

So, here is last year's mantle. I got very excited when I hung the burlap leaves from the lights and really thought I would continue to do that...until I fell in love with the "dreamsicle" kind of colors on the flowers arrangement. That is when I decided to keep the leaves for my Thanksgiving decor and use some of the extra flowers I had on the mantle. These flowers were not inexpensive so I kind of killed two birds with one stone...really couldn't think of any other way to use them so they would have just been sitting somewhere until I did...but, I digress. Lol

And, here is how this year's mantle started out. I was planning to find some large soft orange flowers to add to the mix but never got around to it so when I happened upon the orange poppies in a stash somewhere, I decided to give them a try...and I like them.

I really love this room at night. Once all of the candles are "lit" and the lights are twinkling on the mantle, it is just so pretty. And, of course, there has to be some pumpkin spice scent as well. It is my favorite time of year in my favorite place. Stay safe and stay tuned.

The Big Reveal!

I'm so excited for the BIG REVEAL!

Can you see it? Can you see how fabulous it looks? No? Well, honestly, from here, neither can I! This has turned into another one of those projects that, unless I tell you, you probably would have no idea just how much blood, sweat and tears went into it. That is, unless you visit me often and get up close and personal with my kitchen. Then you will see it! There are no more grout stains that, no matter how much bleach and scrubbing you use, you can't get them clean!!

I must say that I am pretty proud of myself and this project. I have never done this before and I think I did a pretty good job. It is far from perfect but, the places that aren't so great are places where the tiles were either uneven to begin with or where there was hardly a grout line to begin with. My son-in-law dropped by yesterday and was asking me about what I was doing and I think I might even have impressed him a little with my tales of sawing out the old grout. That was a hard, messy job! In the end, this may be one of those cases where "if I had only known", I might not have moved forward but now that it is done, I am so glad that I did. Up close and personal it looks good! Of course, now it is like getting that brand new car and being a bit paranoid until you get that first ding or scratch...I don't want anything that isn't supposed to hitting these sparkly counters. Lol

Today is one of those days where I am running in ten different directions. Not because I have to but because I want to. I'm out in the yard then in the garage and then back to the house. Somewhere in all of that, I had an idea for a sign that I saw and thought I would give it a try.

I found a free pumpkin patch image to download (from sincerelysarad.com) and it was even editable so I could add my hometown. I thought that was fun. I didn't want to have to buy any supplies so I found a hunk of wood about 3/4' thick that would work but then also had some gallon paint stir sticks. For whatever reason, I decided to go with the sticks.

Out to the garage I went to my trusty friend, the miter saw. I just love that thing. I stacked up the sticks and in one swift swipe, they were all the proper length. Then, I used some wood glue for long time holding and hot glue for immediate hold to brace them all together.

I gave the back and the edges a coat of the Waverly antique gel stain.

When that was dry, I ModPodged on the sign and used my brayer to make sure there were no air bubbles.

It dried so nicely that I didn't put another coat of ModPodge on the top. But, I will say that it is about at this point that I realized that ALL of the letters on the sign are upper case except where I added my hometown. I really wish I had seen that earlier but, since this has gone so seamlessly so far, I decided to just go with it. I will say my OCD self was very tempted to just soak off the print and start over...but, somehow, I resisted that temptation. Lol

After this I decided that some distressing was in order so it looks like the sign has been hanging outside for awhile. I just used some orange, green and taupe colored chalk paint and dry brushed it on.

And this is where I got very excited. After all of the trouble I had rusting things last year, I had been on the look-out for a source so I didn't poison myself using chemicals that still didn't work to rust things like wire. I was absolutely giddy when I found some wire because I use wire all of the time...except that, since the day the wire arrived, I don't think I have done another craft that needed it...until today. And, of course, my trusty Dremel is so much more convenient than dragging out the "big gun" drill.

Once it was done, I looked for a home. It could definitely hang but I am not the hugest fan of small, hanging signs.

But, I thought I liked it better leaning up against something else. I actually found a few places but, nothing really jumped until I hit the foyer and realized that the weathered wood pumpkin with the rusty leaves would be the perfect place...and, the only place where the arrow actually pointed "into" the house. Not important but for some reason, a detail I couldn't ignore. Again, a little OCD over here.

Look how that beat up rusty sign just plays off of all of that other rust...sigh!!!

I'm still kicking myself over those lower case letters...and in all honesty, if I had not just spent the last week killing myself over that grout work, I probably would be re-doing it but I just don't have it in me. Know when to fold 'em! Stay safe and stay tuned.

Quick Peek at the Sunroom

I am still working on my kitchen counters so no "after" pictures to show yet. The upper counter of the bar area is giving me some shoulder issues because it is higher and more difficult to apply pressure. I am just doing it a bit at a time. I also have my grand dog Hazel here with me for a bit so, it is more fun to spend time with her. Also, the grout saw makes a noise worse than finger nails on a chalk board and it bothers her ears so I am letting it go until she leaves.

With all of that being said, I did manage to get up early today and make my son-in-law a batch of pumpkin donut holes for his birthday. It is always the first "pumpkin" flavored treat of the year and kind of a tradition. Now I just have to remember that Hazel is the food sneak. I need to have them out to cool somewhere that she can not reach...because, she will try! Ask me how I know. Lol

When Hazel and I went out early this morning, there was actually a hint of coolness in the air. Fingers crossed that it keeps on keeping on! But, I have pretty much lived my whole life in Florida so I know that might be too much to ask for just yet.

In any case, let's take a quick look at the sunroom. This poor room is always pretty much the "ugly stepchild" of decor. It seems by the time I reach this room, I am tired. And, because we do use this room a lot and it is already full of lots of things that don't ever get moved -like plants- there really isn't a lot of decorating area. And, because the room is so long and narrow and mostly reflective windows, photographing it well is almost impossible. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Lol With that wonderful build-up, aren't you just dying to see it? Come on along then.

Wow. Not really anything to add to the pictures. There is enough in the sunroom so you don't forget that it is autumn but not so much that you can't pull out a chair and sit down without moving a dozen things first-which seems to be the norm in the rest of the house.

I am off to take my little friend out for some fetch time but I'll be back. There are still a few more rooms to show you and I'm hoping some kind of fall/Halloween crafting inspiration will hit soon as well. If it does, you'll be the first to know. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Not As Easy As It Looks!

 Definitely not as easy as it looks. Or, maybe when I see it on TV they are just applying the grout to new tile applications...not having to remove old grout first. I am mid way through day two and I already have blisters on both hands! Holding that grout saw is a job. Not only do you have to apply a fair amount of pressure but, like in most construction projects, there are places where the tool can not go the way it is intended and you end up having to use a less dominant hand and turn the tool any way possible for it to fit. But, I am moving along.

I have learned a few lessons along the way.

1: this is not something that I would enjoy doing every day of my life...more power to those who do. I am sure the more you do it, the easier it might become but, right about now, I am happy knowing that I will probably never have to do this again in my lifetime!

2: read directions...don't just watch You Tube...unless, the video is using the same supplies that you are. I watched a video about removing old grout...although the guy was using a totally easier tool than I have. He also was using dry grout mix so all bets were off on details like...don't get any moisture on the tiles! When I finally read the directions on my container of pre-mixed grout, the first thing I see is "wet the tiles". Hmmmmm

3: it is sometimes better to pay more for convenience. In this case, I really lucked out. I just knew that I was going to go the easiest route possible (short of paying someone else to do it...Lol). I didn't want to have to keep mixing grout. It just sounded like a step I could avoid so I grabbed the pre-mixed stuff even though it was kind of expensive. Then, when I got the first section done yesterday, I googled the differences between the two kinds of mixes...I know, a bit late but I am that "measure once, cut twice kind of a gal"...and I found out that the one I am using is so much superior-at least if you are a novice and don't really have a clue what you are doing. It is mixed with granite particles so it will not crack, it is stain resistant and it doesn't have to be sealed! One less step is definitely worth the extra expense. Sometimes you get what you pay for!

4: it takes a bit more muscle than you might expect to work the grout down into the lines but, again, because I am using the pre-mixed, cleaning the tiles is easier and this grout doesn't leave a film.

By the time I am done. I will probably have learned even more but I thought I would check in because the "after" picture will still be awhile in coming. As I post, I have most of the next section "sawed" and will be applying the grout after a lunch break. Oh yes, one more thing I learned. It is probably a good idea to lay down a drop cloth because no matter how careful you are, some of the grout will definitely hit the floor. But then again, it was an easy clean up-and I waited until I was completely done grouting and still no issue.

The hardest part...after everything I just said...is not having full use of my kitchen. I think I can start putting things back on the first section but not actually use the counter just yet. I did put down a towel when I made my coffee this morning because I sure didn't want any coffee splashes to hit that new grout if it isn't fully cured. Everything is a bit of a mess but I guess that goes with the territory.

It is really hard to get pictures with all of that white and artificial lighting because it's raining today but I think you might be able to see some of the grout removed in this picture.

This is the sink side that I am working on now so this will probably be the most challenging...but, I will get there. After this is just the desk and bar area and I can live without those for awhile. I also decided not to do the back splash. There are a few areas that get spots but nothing like the counters so I am giving myself a pass. I really think that working on a vertical surface would be so much more difficult so, I am just going to give the walls a good bleach scrubbing in a week or so and go from there. After that, I will be emptying all of the cupboards...one section at a time...and repainting the inside and relining the shelves. Wow...talk about a project! I need to be careful what I wish for. Lol Stay safe and stay tuned.