Just Popping In

 Just a quick pop-in today. I was going to take you into the family room-which would be our usual MO-or out onto the porch now that I have the pots all full of mums but, my grand dog is leaving this afternoon. Granddaughter #4 is coming by to pick him up on her way down to St. Pete so her mom doesn't have to drive up here tomorrow after she returns from NY. I realized that if I were to take you into the family room now, I would have to reset several areas as Bennett loves to be in this room so I move things around so he will be more comfortable. He loves to take himself up on the couch but really doesn't have enough room when all of the pillows are there so I usually just pile them on one of the chairs. He also occasionally likes to lay on the hearth so I move all of those things too. Once he is gone, I will move everything back and that will be the next place we stop but for today, just a few quick glimpses.

First, a glimpse in the living room.

That is one of my new chairs and it is now proudly "wearing" that beautiful deep orange throw. It actually looks like a sweater knit but it is cotton. It would be cozy to snuggle up with but for now, it is there as jewelry. It was needed because of the imbalance of this wall.

Because of where the couch is-and it's actually about the only place it can go-the chest has to be here to be centered with the couch. That leaves more room on one side of the chairs than the other. To compensate for that, I added the Ficus tree...and, that kind of did the trick but that side of the room was definitely then reading as a bit too heavy...and so, I added the throw just to give this side more weight. I think it works? Even if it doesn't, I love the color!

And then I thought we'd take a quick peek at the primary bedroom. I didn't add a lot-just enough to keep me in my good "autumn mood". Lol

First, the thing I see most days when I open my eyes.

Just enough of the beautiful autumn colors to make me happy.

And for the last few years this is where this beauty lands for my autumn decor although it takes more of a place of prominence for Thanksgiving. I have told you about this before. I found it at a new shop in Ocala-which unfortunately is no longer open-and fell in love with it. It was behind the check-out counter and I'm not even sure it was really for sale because decor items were really not what they were about but I asked and they gave me a price-which was realty kind of high in my opinion so I thanked them and went on my way.

But, as often happens to me, I couldn't get that thing out of my brain. It's hard to tell from here but it is crusty and rusty-right up my alley. Back then it had a thin autumn leaf garland twisted around it. I actually loved that but, over so many years, it didn't fair well so I added the leaves that are on there now. In any case, I had mentioned it to my husband and a few days later, he walked in from work with it in his hands. I was definitely spoiled that way. Lol

I truly love it but it is pretty large and can only fit in certain places so for now, it is here but have patience, it will be back bigger and better soon. 

This side of the room is hard to photograph because even with the shades on the bay window still down, the glare in the mirror is strong. Hopefully you can see all of the rusty goodness that I first fell in love with!

So that's it for today. I'm off to take Benny outside for a bit and let him run before he has to face that 2 hour car ride home. He is not a fan of that drive so I'm hoping if I tire him out a bit, he might settle a little-fingers crossed because my granddaughter will also have her kitten along for the ride. Fun times. Lol

Once I get things back to normal, I will return for the rest of our tour Stay safe and stay tuned.

Cabin Fever!

Oh yes! In my opinion, people can get cabin fever in seasons other than just winter! We may not ever get the snow that is the usual culprit in January and February in more northern areas but this summer's rain and storms-not to mention the heat-are starting to drive me crazy! I SO want to be outside tackling some much needed maintenance but it is just too darn hot. And so, I am busying myself inside with things that really don't need attention. Oh sure, there are probably lots of other things that do need attention but I think I have told you before-unless something really motivates me, I am not doing it...and, not much is motivating me today. Lol So, here I am with a look at the sunroom. I will say that when I took these photos the sun was shining brightly and picture taking-at least good picture taking-for me-was hard.

There's just something pretty about how the sun hits these colors.

This pumpkin pallet picture usually hangs where I now have the lanterns hanging so it almost didn't make the cut. I made this many years ago by using a felt pumpkin placemat from $Tree as my stencil. I liked it back then so the more I walked around with it, the more I wanted it out and this is where it landed...not very inspired but maybe inspiration will still hit when I least expect it. lol

Ever since I moved this corner cupboard out here, I have put a battery operated candle on the top. It helps the cabinet appear a bit taller next to the other cabinets in the unit and it adds a pretty unexpected sparkle when I head out into this room later at night.

I stuck the "Plum leaf" branches that I got from "My Texas House" in Walmart into the jug of autumn leaves and I love the way it looks together. It is hard to see here because those leaves are reading black but they are really a very, very dark brown-at least to my eyes. But, since they read black to me also, they will be back out in some kind of a Halloween arrangement next month.

I moved the cute "fingerprint" tree out here by the kids' childhood pictures. Daughter #3 made me that years ago-I guess that would be 13 years ago-when all of my grands were small. I have always loved any handprint or fingerprint projects I was given. They have extra special meaning to me now that all of those little hands have gotten so big! sigh....

So that is this end of the sunroom for this year. I have pops of autumn at the other end but that is the end that leads not only to the garage but also to the door on the side of the back yard where I take the dogs out...and that means it is also the end where I stash dog treats and brushes, grocery shopping bags-of the season of course-small garden tools for quick maintenance on this side of the yard and anything else that needs to find its way back into the garage or car. In other words, it is not horrible but it also isn't necessarily photo worthy. Let's just say it's evidence of a much lived in area. Lol

So that is it for the sunroom. I am off to water all of the potted plants or I might be off looking for new mums. Since I keep the living room closed off when the dogs are here so they don't go crazy every time a car goes around the circle, I tend to forget watering the pots on the porch-and, with our temps still hovering high, it doesn't take long!!!

Stay safe and stay tuned. 

 

Another Lazy Day!

 Good morning. It's another hot one out there so I am once again finding things to keep me busy here in the house. Not only are the girls (my granddaughters) wanting to make this ghost pillow but I also had a friend ask about it as something she might do when her two sisters come from Nebraska for a visit so I thought today just might be the perfect time to try a sample. Here is the picture I am working from.

I found this on Pinterest and, as you can see, it is from "The Button Box". It is definitely the simplest of the three designs I picked and one that will be cute as a smaller decor pillow rather than a truly functional one. I have blown it up as much as I can and I think it employs a small amount of reverse applique-much less than the jack-o-lantern required-for the eyes so that is how I am going to proceed. lol

I ended up deciding to go with a pillow that will be 9 1/2" X 12". This one is stitched on the outside so the size you cut is the size you get.

I decided to use chalk paint because I didn't want it totally filled in with white but, even though my chalk paint was a brand new jar, I have had it for awhile so I ended up having to water it down a bit so it would spread and I got full coverage whether I wanted it or not. Lol I think I can go back with some distressing ink when all is said and done if I still feel like it needs it.

I'm pretty sure the eyes need to be sewn and then cut away revealing black paint underneath. My first thought was to just paint the area on the pillow front that will be under the eyes but I'm afraid the black paint might show through so I am going to just cut it out and paint it then. Fingers crossed.

So I am back and the pillow is now completed. And, as usual, I am very glad that I made a sample because I think there are a few things I will recommend that the girls do differently if this is the pillow they choose to make. I cut my ghost out of the same drop cloth that I used for the pillow and after the paint had dried, the ghost is very hard. The edges of the ghost are supposed to be frayed and that is almost impossible to do with the hard cloth so maybe I would suggest the ghost be cut from a different fabric-maybe muslin?

The assembly was pretty easy. I played around with where I wanted the eyes and #31. Then I stitched it up, cut out the top layer and painted inside the eyes and along the stitch lines with black paint. I used the black chalk paint and it wasn't easy to keep the lines straight but again, these things are supposed to look rustic so I'm OK with it.

When the eyes are cut out you are also supposed to be able to fray the inside edges of them but again, the hard cloth wasn't letting me do that as much as I wanted.

Next I stamped on the 31 and stitched the front of the pillow to the back. This pillow has outside seams and is also supposed to be frayed. Here I am getting maybe a bit too much fray because this part of the drop cloth is not painted. I thought about running a bead of glue between the two layers at the edge but was afraid it might show so I am going to see how it goes. This pillow is just meant to be stuck somewhere decorative so I think as long as no one is using it as a cushion, the fraying should stop where it is. We shall see.

I left a bit of the bottom open to stuff it and instead of going over the stitch lines with paint, this time I used a Sharpie and it was so much easier to control. Then I stuffed it but not too much, stitched up the remainder of the seam and went over it with a marker as well.

And voila! It's finished. Again, I made some mistakes on this one that I hope will make a difference on any others that we make but it will look cute stuck somewhere and, my new Halloween pile continues to grow!

That pretty much took up my yesterday but it was a good day. Two game wins on our side-one for the Coast Guard Academy and my grandson who started and had a really good day and then one later that night for the Gators!

And, while all of that was taking place, granddaughters #1and 4, who both happened to be in NYC for different things, managed to find each other and meet up! 

Looks like my Labor Day is going to be pretty much what a lot of the many last days have been-dreary and wet! I'm off to clean things up a bit and then have some lunch and we'll see how the rest of the day plays out. Stay safe and stay tuned.

 

Crazy Day!

 Didn't think I would be back so soon but I guess I was anxious to make sure that the kerfuffle we had yesterday was indeed corrected-and it seems to be except that I am pretty sure that my photo editing app must have had an update because some things are still different than they have ever been but that is OK-that wasn't my problem yesterday! Since I am back up and running, why don't we take a peek in the dining room?

I still find myself sometimes having to catch my breath as I look at these colors. There is just something about the beautiful shades of autumn that make me so happy. In fact, at one point I actually thought about just keeping autumn out-and maybe possibly add a few jack-o-lanterns in October and turkeys in November. Since we don't do our big Halloween parties here at my house anymore and I am more often than not down in St. Pete for the real day, I thought that could work...until I mentioned it to my granddaughters last weekend and, as they say, if looks could kill. Lol And then I started to look at all of my new treasures for this year as well as the new decor ideas I am thinking about and I knew I couldn't go forward with that plan. What was I thinking?! In any case, let's go into the dining room while these beautiful colors are still here. And look at the pretty flowers my grand dog brought me to thank me for letting him be here this week.

I love this cross stitch that I made as a gift for my mom many, many years ago. She loved it and when she passed away, it found its way back to me. The sentiment remains the same.

And I think this is my favorite way to use that huge dough bowl daughter #1 gifted to me a few years back.

The same daughter also gifted me that chunk of an old balustrade. It is chippy and cracked and I love it so much. It's the kind of thing that would make my husband ask "how much did they pay you to take that off of their hands?" but, for whatever reason, those things speak to me! Lol

So while things remain quiet around here, my family is so scattered this weekend and I am thrilled to be getting lots of photos of their adventures. Daughters #1and 3 are in CT for my grandson's football game and then on to Cape Cod and a whale watching cruise.

 After that, daughter #1 continues to Sleepy Hollow for another decorating job. Granddaughter #1 is in NYC to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway while granddaughter #4 is in NYC to see Harry Styles at Madison Square Garden. Of course, grandson #1 is the one playing football in CT...

...while his brother is back in Gainesville pledging Kappa Alpha fraternity.

Whew! I'm glad I don't have to try to keep up with all of them! Lol But, it is fun living vicariously through them every now and then.

I will say that as I sit here and look over on my counter and see this...I am reminded of how much I do enjoy sewing when I finally get to it. I think I may have burned myself out because I used to sew A LOT! But just making those simple pillow covers this week may have rekindled a spark-we shall see. Lol

And this little cutie brings back so many memories. I made it in a junior high (that's what it was called back then) shop class-which was required of all students as was home ec. My mom was quite a sewer and I made it for her and it is now mine as well. I'm really not claiming any talent but it IS still usable probably 65 years later so that must mean something. LOL

Surprise! I hear thunder so it seems as if another one of the several thunderstorms we get every day is coming in. I am SO OVER this summer in Florida! Please Mother Nature...let autumn in!! I'll be back soon. Until then, stay safe and stay tuned.