Be Careful What You Wish For

Those of you who are frequent readers of my blog know that I love to stay busy. Many times that need can be accomplished out in my yard. And, my yard is more than large enough to keep me going. But, you also know that I am NOT a lover of heat and Florida summers are not for the weak. Unless I am just doing a quick fix-up, floating in the pool or out there REALLY early, the outside will do nothing this time of year to help keep me occupied. And so, I am always looking for indoor projects.

And that brings us to this!

I can not tell you how many times these items have been in my cart at Lowes only to go back on the shelves before I checked out. Each time I considered the cost and the fact that I would really rather replace my kitchen counters than re-do them. And then there was yesterday. As I roamed the store looking for ideas, I realized that with all that was going on in the construction industry right now, new counters were probably not going to happen. I have two daughters in design work and the tales of how long it is taking to not only get supplies but to find people who can actually do the jobs, are scary and off putting. And so, this time the supplies made it home.

I am going to re-grout my tile kitchen counters. These counters were done many years ago and they have held up well. They have had a few mishaps - like the occasional can that has dropped and chipped it, the new sink replacement that cracked a tile or two, etc. - but for the most part are still intact and holding well. The only problem is the grout. I have cleaned these things so many times that I have pretty much worn away a lot of the grout and that means that they stain if you just look at them. I can spend a whole day with bleach and my little battery powered scrubber and get them looking like new and, literally, within a day of regular use, they are back to looking stained and horrible. I also painted the grout at one point. That lasted for a bit but not long enough.

I will admit that grouting is one of the few things I have never tried but, I have watched lots of people do it on HGTV and it looks easy enough. Lol I did just look at a short YouTube video and actually got a tip or two that I hadn't thought of...like DO NOT go over the cleaned out grout with anything even slightly damp or you have to wait a long time to make sure it is all dry again or the new grout won't hold well. Also, don't use the counter for about 36 hours after completing. That last one definitely put a crimp in my plans to knock this project out in a day.

Even though I thought I had worn out most of the grout in the heavy wear areas, I discovered just how much "sawing" I will have to do to just get started. It isn't a hard job...just tedious and a bit rough on my shoulder. Right now my plans are to start and do what I can and then just keep on keeping on until I get it done. If I remember to take pictures, I'll bring you along on the ride.

While I was at Lowes, I found some orange garden mums. They weren't what I wanted but I grabbed some when I saw them. And then, I had to hit WalMart for some chalk paint and found the color and size I really wanted...and for less. Of course, I grabbed some in there as well. And so, added to my to-do list today will be some planting of urns...in between grout sawing. Lol At least I will be busy! Lol Stay safe and stay tuned. 

Time to Dine

Today is looking like another kind of laid back day before the new week begins so I thought we might as well head into the dining room before I head off to find other projects.

I don't know if it is just because I love fall decorating so much or some other reason but this is one of the few times I like the way the niche looks.

Even though I am not at all good when flower arranging of any kind is involved, I'm pretty happy with the way the dough bowl looks. Of course, there really isn't much "arranging" involved but I'm proud of the way I "stuck in" the flower stems. Lol Definitely takes a knack and finesse. LOL!!! I also love that I can use some of my old jugs from days gone by. When my house was more country, these jugs stayed out all of the time. Now, for some reason, they just seem right to be to be out for autumn. I also love the "circle of strength" cross stitch that I made for my parents years ago and came back to me after their deaths. 

I didn't go back and reshoot all of the pictures but I thought I would throw in a reminder of the autumn leaf tweak.

Every time I look at a picture from this end of the room, I question if I could use that loveseat space in a better way. But then, I have family/friends over and I realize just how very often that seat is full. I actually even find myself sitting there for a quick minute several times a day as well. Guess it is safe for awhile longer.

So that is the dining room for this year...until it's not. Nothing is ever totally free from possible tweaks until it is actually coming down to make room for the next decor. I do have a dentist appointment tomorrow and then plan on running some errands while I'm out, so you never know what I might happen upon. Fingers crossed I can find some pretty pots of fresh mums! Stay safe and stay tuned.

 

Spicing Up the Week

As the week ended and I was once again looking for things to keep me busy, a few ideas popped into my head and I scrambled to see what I could do with what I already had around the house. I used to get so many of my ideas from magazines but, once they starting getting so expensive...and most of their content began showing up on sites before the magazines showed up in my mailbox...I discontinued most of my subscriptions. And, I am still OK with that. I do occasionally pick up decorating magazines when I see them and one of my favorites is Tuscan Style. I was just sitting perusing the pages the other day and I saw a couch with orange and hunter green velvet pillows. The colors really popped and I remembered that I bought the same pillows at PB not that long ago. I used the green ones for Christmas and St. Patrick's Day but I'm not sure why I didn't think of them for my sunflowers and autumn decor. Of course that sent me into daughter #1's closet...where many, many seasonal things are stored and, before I knew it, I had all sorts of things pulled out and I was roaming the house to find places to use them.

I actually started with some orange poppies that I had in an old mix of summer flowers. I haven't used them for years and, honestly, every time I come upon them I think about just tossing them but, for whatever reason, I haven't. I was looking for some "orange sherbet" colored flowers for the FR mantle but couldn't find any so I thought I would give these a try. And, to my surprise, I'm good with them. I know you haven't even seen the FR yet but here's a sneak peek. The flowers on the mantle are new but when we get in there, I'll show you why I went this route this year.

Then it was on to the pillows. I love the extra pop of color and the dark green matches the stem of the pumpkin perfectly and just brings them all together.

And then there is the very old cake stand from Southern Living. I love this thing but, since I bake very few cakes these days, I don't think of this piece very often. Of course, it is definitely autumn with all of its leaf and acorn design and, because everyone -including me-is using "risers" in their decor these days, I once again walked around trying to find it a home. I tried several places before I got here. It does rise whatever is on it up pretty high so finding a place was difficult but, since I love the dough bowl candle so much, I decided to see how that looked. I think I'm OK with it...at least for now.

And, as I was saying, lots of risers are in use this year...

I found this one the other day in the Target $ Spot. I think I am about to wipe on a coat of antiquing gel and make it a bit darker...and, it probably won't stay here forever but I kind of like it near one of the cutting board displays.

Here is a riser I made. I have some cute trays for some seasons but when I couldn't find one I liked for August, I grabbed an unfinished wood plaque at HL, glued on some wooden balls as feet and stained it up. I actually like it because it is flat and easy to keep clean.

And here is the chunk of beauty that started me on my love for all big hunks of wood. I found this at Williams Sonoma years ago. I think it came out when the charcuterie phase was just starting but I love using it in all sorts of vignettes as a riser. I don't think I've used it for charcuterie even once. lol

So that is my stroll through my tweaks for this week. I was going to take you into the dining room but I think I will save that for another day. I'm off to see what other fun things I can find. Stay safe and stay tuned. 

Out I Went

What with the heat still pounding on us and the virus everywhere you turn, I really haven't been heading out much these days. All I can say is that it is a good thing that I can find so many ways to keep myself busy around my house. For once I am happy that I have a never ending to-do list.

But, occasionally, I do require some things that mean a trip away from home...like food. lol And so, with that in mind, I set out the other day and decided to do as many little stops as I could handle. It seems that I desperately needed a Clinique visit so, for only the second time since Covid began, I headed to our mall. I figured while I was there, I might as well load up on my favorite seasonal hand soaps and candles as well. Then, I was off to Home Goods, Target, Old Navy, Chicos and finally Publix. I definitely knew that I am out of "shopping shape". I used to be able to shop all day long. Maybe it is the heat or maybe it is just that I am getting older but these few stops wore me out. I didn't find any of the "big" things I was looking for but I did manage to find a few more autumn things to add to the already cluttered autumn decor I have going on.

Can one ever have too many leaves? I truly do not need any more leaves but, when I find some that are well made and look a little real, I always grab them. These came from the Magnolia section of Target. I really had no preconceived idea of where they would go but I like the pop of color added to the canister of twigs. If I see anywhere else they might go, I can always move them later. 

Then, for whatever reason, I was drawn to some small velvet pumpkins in the Target $ Spot. The first thing I thought was "I have to redo those horrible stems". But, when I brought them home and put them in the small dough bowl on my kitchen window sill, I just loved the way the stems mimicked the ones on the pumpkin can and, since there is also gold on that label, I was suddenly good with that tacky gold...go figure! It might change at some point but, for now, I'm liking it.

And, of course, if I spy orange tulips, they have to come home with me as well!

So, with my "travels" behind me, I was once again looking for something to do. I am not much of the "farm truck" kind of gal but I do enjoy them when they're full of seasonal things. I happened upon a free image that I downloaded of a truck full of pumpkins and leaves and, even though I knew it would be another of those "not my favorite" kind of craft, I decided to give it a try. And, with no new motivation coming to me, I decided to grab another piece of fence slat and try the tissue paper image again.

I pretty much followed the things I did on the Halloween one. I painted the wood with several colors of orange chalk paint and then decided that I should probably top them with white chalk paint. I did that mostly because I knew I wouldn't be able to cut too closely to the image...especially the wording...and was afraid the white tissue would show against the darker colors.

Then, I ModPodged the image on to the board and was still underwhelmed. I decided to see if I might have some small artificial leaves that I could add to give it a bit of dimension. And, I did. I actually found quite a lot to choose from but, in the end, I used some clear acrylic stickers that I had. They definitely help...just not quite enough to knock this craft into the "I love it" category but, enough to at least find a place to sit it. lol

It actually looks like it might have been made for just this spot as that pumpkin in the back of the truck looks suspiciously like the one on the shelf. Am I trying too hard to justify this craft? lol

So that is it for today. I'm off to tackle a few chores but I will be back. Stay safe and stay tuned.

 

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.