Cautiously Optimistic!

We've been hearing about the possible tropical depression that may or may not come our way. I guess I have become rather complacent about these storms. I grew up in south Florida on the coast and we did have some pretty rough hurricanes come through but since I have been in central Florida, the ones that do make it here are usually the kinder and gentler versions. That doesn't mean that I would welcome one. We have lost power for as long as four days and had much debris to pick up but I really don't panic to the point of boarding up windows, putting out sand bags etc. That being said, the sky is very ominous right now and it feels like it is starting to close us in. We should know by tomorrow if this one is going to really turn the way they are predicting and what precautions we will need to take.

And so, it is not fun to be outside. It is hot, humid and gloomy! I am trying hard to find things to do here in the house to keep me busy so, after paying bills, I have decided that this might just be a good day to get serious about my Halloween plans. I can't set dates or even decide if I will be the one hosting this year because, with two grand daughters now in college, their schedules come first and we will work around just about anything so that we can all be together!

But, as I said, I may change up some of my vignettes this year. I think I will keep the living room as Edgar Allan Poe with all of the accompanying ravens but I am thinking of not doing the "laboratory". It takes up soooo much room that could house other treasures. Of course, the little kids will miss it-they love pretending that they're cooking up some wicked potion-especially with the google eyed glasses on their faces!

Oh wow, I've got to stop looking at these pictures. How can I not have a laboratory??!?

I picked up a few new goodies with the holiday in mind.

Don't know where any of this is going to go but I will spend the next few hours with a cup of coffee, my feet up and try to figure it all out. Stay tuned.

Wrapping Up Autumn Decor

I once again got SOOOO many little, nagging chores done today-things I have been overlooking for a long time. It feels so good to wear myself out in that way. Now I am keeping my fingers crossed that no tropical depression/hurricane comes through in the next few days and undoes a lot of my outdoor work!

In any case, I think I am down to just the guest bathroom and our bedroom to show you. And I didn't  do a lot in either but such as it is:

Now that we're done with the autumn decor, I guess I will need to start thinking about Halloween-like I haven't already begun that line of thought weeks ago! I am thinking of cutting back some of my decor this year. That is my plan but, probably, as soon as I start to pull things out, I will just HAVE to use it all. We shall see. Stay tuned.

Back to Work!

We had three days of fun and frivolity! A shopping trip out of town, lunch out, two football games to start the new season, a visit to our local Yankee Candle to grab up some of this year's goodies and a day of family visits, food and fun. And to top it off on a high, the good news that grand daughter #2 finished rush week at college by being asked to join her first choice sorority-Alpha Delta Pi. That was her mom's sorority as well so she is beyond excited and we are so happy for her.

It is always hard to get back to basics after such fun goofing off but I kind of hit the ground running today and I have already planted four new plants as well as two pots of mums, washed my car, cleaned up the garage so my nice clean car can get back in there, emptied a large round basin that just isn't going to make it as a planter unless I get some holes drilled in the bottom and recycled tons of stuff that has just been sitting and waiting to get disassembled. Whew! Feel like I have already had a full day and we haven't even had lunch yet!

While I'm here, how about a trip through the dining room?

Do you notice anything missing in this picture? I got rid of the wire shelves that were under the vineyard sign. I just wanted to open up the space. You won't have to wait long to see where it is now residing.

Moving on to the sun room...

Here is where the shelf ended up. I really like this shelf. I bought it from the Horchow catalog many years ago and it has traveled all over our house. Since these plants needed a bit more light I thought this could be a good fix.

So that is it for today. I still want to Windex my car windows, do some edging and get a few loads of wash done. I really don't mind all of these chores but I would do the last three days over again in a flash. I DO think it may be just a bit more fun to play then work! Stay tuned.

Change is in the Air

I think I felt it yesterday. While it is still hot, there is a bit of a breeze bringing much needed respite from the seemingly relentless heat! We spent the day with daughter #3. We started by doing some shopping at a beautiful new Home Goods down in the Villages. She found lots of things not only for herself but her clients as well and I, as always, found a few more seasonal things. Hubby had fun doing his usual people watching. Then we came back to town for lunch before having to pick up her kids. We went home with them and got to have a nice visit while we decorated her house for autumn. It was a lovely way to spend a day!

Along the way, we did a bit of "mom reconnaissance". My oldest grandson just started middle school and with that comes some new freedoms. It seems as if it is tradition for the kids to walk to a local hangout after school on Fridays. Last week they went to a small burger "joint" known for their milk shakes and this week it was to be Starbucks-which is right downtown and a bit longer walk. We "just happened" to be heading home around the time the kids would be walking and we also "just happened" to be driving down the roads we thought they may be on. Let's just say there were lots of groups of kids and lots of traffic as well so meandering as we looked was not appreciated. We were about to give up when I tried one more turn and there they were-his little group of 5 brand new 6th graders on their way with the "big kids" up front. It was just so cute and of course we had to do what all red-blooded moms and nanas are wont to do-we had to open the windows, honk the horn and yell and wave. Their reactions were adorable. Plus, it made his mom feel good to know that he was crossing at a light and walking without any goofing around. When we picked him up later we asked him if we embarrassed him and he said not really. I think he is used to our shenanigans. lol

So, somehow that leads me to the family room decor. Now that the barn doors are closed, I can show you what is going on in here.

I still really love this sign. The mantle has pretty much stayed the same the last few years but I really like everything up there!

We have a few new kids on the block. Sometimes PB gives me an offer I can't refuse. Such was the case with this water color pumpkin pillow cover.
 

And then I just happened to see this sign at JoAnns and I don't know why but it just kind of spoke to me and I knew it would look nice on the porch welcoming all of our autumn visitors!

We have a busy weekend. I just got back from Yankee Candle's Halloween party for 2016. I found some more treasures that I will share soon. Now we are off to an afternoon of football. Both boys have games today and the best we can hope for is a bit of cloud cover as we'll pretty much be at the field for the whole afternoon. Then tomorrow, daughter #2 and her family are coming down for a visit. Love it when all of this happens-it keeps us "young". haha. Stay tuned.

  

Woo Hoo!!!

The laundry area is FINALLY done. It pretty much took all of today to undo and redo! I am still shaking my head at some of the issues I encountered but it is done never-the-less. and I love looking at it. I have a bunch of wash piling up that I need to get to so I will let you know if it functions as well.

I'm sure it won't take long to fill up those other bins. I am heading out tomorrow to get a folding step stool to slide in behind the hamper. I have needed one for awhile and now I have the perfect spot for it. Whoever thought I could get so excited over laundry?! Stay tuned.

Can You Spell OCD?

Wow! Sometimes I am my own worst enemy!! I have mentioned before that I am a very symmetrical person-to the point of admitting that I fall very close to being totally OCD about it! And so begins my very sad tale of yesterday!

I thought I would be posting today about my beautiful new COMPLETED laundry area-but, alas, that will probably not be today's post. You see, as I was up on top of my washer-where it is very dark, shadowy and HOT, I needed way more hands than I have. As I was leveling the shelving track and dropping it down 3 1/2 inches so the wooden crown would fit-which I will admit to forgetting the first go round-the track must have slipped down about 1/2 an inch or so. I did not catch it until I was done and the shelves wouldn't get level no matter what I did. I tried to convince myself that the wood was warped but my eye kept going right to the track. I tried every way I could think of to jerry-rig but this system just didn't "allow" it! I gussied the shelves up and told myself NO ONE but me would even notice. BUT, that was the trouble. I was the one that WOULD notice and notice I did! I thought about it all night long and knew in the light of day that that track would be coming down!

But therein lies the problem. I used large, screw-in anchors-which held that track so tightly it would never fall down. But now I had to move the holes ever so slightly and that meant more holes in the drywall that would probably break into the previous holes-and that is just what happened.

I have now squirted every kind of hole filler I can find into those holes and I am keeping my fingers crossed that somehow they will hold when the screws go in but I am not counting on it. I have a back-up plan but it will involve so much more work that I am really hoping I don't have to use it. We shall see.

In the mean time, I am enjoying dreaming about how nice the finished area will look with these new treasures.

When I thought about things I had to have in this area I knew I would still need an over-flow area for dirty clothes. I used to have a laundry basket on top of the dryer for this purpose but it wasn't pretty. I have an extra 13 inches on the side of the dryer and this hamper not only matches the color scheme perfectly but the tag says it is 12.9 inches deep-honestly! Meant to be!!

I also wanted something hanging on that side wall but since I have relocated the "ugly" brooms and mops, I didn't need just the hooks any more...and, I thought maybe we needed a break from all of the wood so I found this metal shelf with baskets and hooks at HL-50% off to boot!

I also had plans to make a sign but, when I had to reconfigure where the baskets would go, I ended up with an empty spot that was just calling for this small sign-also from HL and also 50% off! Happy day...now at least the shelves will look symmetrical again-haha.

I did get all of the wood trim up and it looks nice. None of it fits perfectly because these "walls" are so far from even, straight or level but I'm O.K. with that-go figure! You can see all of the patches drying. Once I paint the area again, you will never know this happened-unless the anchors pull right out of the wall and the shelves fall! Oh well, it gives me something to look forward to!

Since I am not the world's best wait-er, it is a good thing this magazine found me yesterday. About the only thing that can take my mind off of finishing a project is the thought of planning Halloween. Time to put my feet up for a bit. Stay tuned.

Sweet Smell of Pumpkin

I wish I could say that it is coming from the oven but, alas, it is coming from the wall plug-in. Never-the-less, the smell of pumpkin is wafting through my house! And, the sights are everywhere! On to the kitchen.

I still love these two works of art. The larger canvas is a fingerprint tree made by my three youngest grand children and the smaller is a paper collage made by #2 grand daughter...both so special!

The sandwich plates on top of the stacks of dishes have come from Wal-Mart the last two years. They are very Pottery Barnish. Each year was a different watercolor print but very compatible. I am hoping I will find yet another group this year to give me a set of 12.

So that is the kitchen. I am using today to catch up on lots of every day type chores so tomorrow I can get back to the laundry. Stay tuned.

Ahhhh-Autumn...

...at least it is INSIDE of my house-outside, not so much!

I took a little break from my laundry area as I am still trying to make some decisions and decided it was time to get the autumn up. I swear I am already in such a good mood! I just love all of the sights and smells that this season brings!

As I was looking through these pictures, I realized that I didn't change a lot in this room from last year's decor. I like it so I am O.K. with that.

I still love the copper mercury glass.

The couch table just makes my heart happy. It has everything I love. I am so happy I bought that old water jug and holder. My daughter actually found it and knew it looked like me. It was not inexpensive but it is something that finds a home somewhere in the house all year long and still makes me happy to see it so I think I can justify the cost! And now that it is full of autumn leaves!!!??? Also, I still LOVE my rusty candle holders that I got at Shannon Roth. I have three different sizes scattered through the house.

I still love my PB pumpkin glass lights but I must say, they are really fragile. I broke several the year I bought them and PB sent me another set because they don't sell replacement bulbs (which is what I had called customer service to inquire about). I sure feel a lot better knowing I still have a few "back-ups" just in case I break more.

I changed things up a bit on this chest. Now that I have the beautiful old baluster, I try to use it every season. Because it is so big, it looks great with the chunky candle wrapped in an autumn garland. Usually the sunflower arrangement sits taller on a rusty urn but this year I kept it a bit lower by only putting it on the wooden "riser". Somehow it looks a little more balanced to me.

I love this time of the year! Of course, every time I open a door I am all too soon reminded that autumn hasn't really arrived just yet but a girl can dream, right?

I think I will be back to the laundry nook tomorrow-and lots more autumn to share. Stay tuned.