Mixed Signals

 I finally got enough caught up around the house that I figured I could take a day and get out to some stores to see what I have been missing. This is definitely my favorite time of year and I really haven't been able to just stroll the aisles of some of my favorite stores...not that I NEED anything but, a girl has gotta keep up with the times, right?

In any case, not counting food and essentials like batteries, Halloween candles, etc., this is what the sunroom table looks like right now...an embarrassment of Christmas on a Halloween table.

I always say that for the most part, I am a traditionalist when it come to decorating. And maybe never more so than for Christmas. While I think the grinch, gingerbread men, candy canes, snowmen, etc. are cute for decor, I tend to only use them as a bit of a pop instead of an entire room scheme.

I am a sucker for just greenery with pops of red and of course, my vintage Santas. In the "old days", I used to order fresh greenery from a farm in N.C.-I think-. That was when it couldn't be found locally. Then when places like Lowes, Home Depot or the tree lots started carrying it locally, I would buy it there. But, alas, the last few years the greenery available hasn't been pretty and I found myself scrambling to find things I could use so this year I decided to hedge my bet. There is a new greenery out that doesn't look half bad-if you can find it. I actually couldn't find "the" one-although, I will admit, I only tries 3 places and then settled for what I did find. 

I bought a garland a few weeks ago and after opening it and fluffing a bit, I really liked what I saw so I bought another one of those. I also bought a matching wreath. I always put a fresh wreath on my front door. If I can find a nice, full one this year I still will and I will use the faux on a table with a lantern, candle or whatever in the middle. Then I bought 5 small spruce picks that look real, 2 spruce candle rings, and holly candle ring, some really inexpensive greenery garland to wrap the wire on the branches on my faux tree and that green sort of mercury glass tree. I think that might be pretty with some fairy light nestled inside. And then, there is that lonely autumn item-a small wood pumpkin shaped dough bowl that will come out for Thanksgiving.

It looks like quite a haul but most all of it came from HL and was on sale or Walmart and was inexpensive. This is always when I start to convince myself that I should go straight from Halloween decor to Christmas-the greenery just makes me so happy. Of course I will have to be sure to use lots of pine candles, wall plugs, sprays, etc. because I definitely miss the "smell" of Christmas without the real stuff but I have accepted my new reality and I will survive.

I'm home today with every window in the house open and loving every minute of this beautiful-FINALLY here-autumn. weather. I'm catching up on some things I've put off and next is one of the guest bedrooms.

This room was painted this color to go with the gorgeous designer bedding that matched the curtains. It WAS absolutely beautiful and I loved it but it was SO HEAVY that it was almost impossible for me to maneuver when I had to change the sheets and make the bed and I complained about it so often that daughter #3 brought over this duvet cover and shams and told me to give them a try.

They weren't my favorite but they were so much easier for me to deal with and, they kind of went with the curtains and pillows left from the other set in a kind of "not matchy" sort of way-which said daughter-who is an interior designer-keeps telling me is all the rage-no matchy-matchy any more! Lol

But, I am kind of over this wall color and started talking about painting it-which no one should have taken seriously since I still haven't painted the sunroom ceiling and I've had the paint for well over a year already but, I digress. Lol

The same daughter is trying to tell me these colors are all coming back into vogue so the room color shouldn't change. And so, she brought me this bedding that she had in her warehouse.

 Honestly, I couldn't see how I could possibly use white and gray bedding with a goldish color bed skirt, red walls, some walnut furniture, some black, some painted coral and cream???? But, she suggested that I change the material insert that I have behind the doors on the pie safe so that is what I am going to try now.

So, a number of hours have passed since I was last here. In that time I think I have now opened up an "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" can of worms. I got the old fabric off and the new put in but, I think there are even more things that I don't like now.

The fabric panels in the cupboard are the same color as the chair cushion but because they're up against the black of the cupboard, I think they read even a starker white than the bedspread. And, now the black of the cupboard is REALLY bothering me...so much so that I've been shopping the house to see if there is another piece of furniture I might move in there.

Of course, I could try to strip the black paint off of that cabinet and stain it again but that would definitely require me taking the fabric I just put on off again and I will tell you, that was a much harder job this time than when I first did it because this time I had to remove the old ones and both my screw driver that I was using to pry up the staples and my pliers which I was using to pull them the rest of the way out are, apparently, magnetic on the tips. That is great when you want to stabilize a screw but it made getting the small staples off of the tips twice as hard...taking twice as long. And I'm thinking I used thinner staples the first time. All I have now are industrial size because I've been using them to reattach the lattice on my fence so they are big and just difficult to get where and how I wanted them...so, consequently why I won't be in a hurry to redo it.

And, I really don't like those curtains and pillows with the bedding which would then mean I would probably need new art...and so you see...thankfully my daughter will be here on Friday so I'm going to pick her brain and see what she thinks-after all, that's why she gets the big bucks. Lol

Here's how we started...

...and what it looks like now...

There is one ray of light...as I was moving some things around to have room to put the stapler, pliers, etc. close by as I worked, I did this. And, I actually now have an empty shelf. This is almost unheard of in my house so I'm excited. I will bet it doesn't stay empty long. Lol Note: that color inside is what the outside used to be and what I wish I had back again!

It was right about at this point that grandson #2 appeared. I love it when they show up for a visit but, those are usually announced. Since this one wasn't, I figured he might need something and I was right. He now needs two new pair of uniform shorts hemmed. Lol I'll just add it to my list. Lol!!

Me being me, I have gone into that room so many times since I did this to see if I would change my mind or at least begin to warm to it...but I haven.t. And so, I took in some sand paper and just gave it a little try and, even if I can't get all of the black paint off, I think I will still like it better. Of course, it will be a mess and can not be done on the light carpet in that room so, it will be a project. But you know, I LOVE a project. I'll let you know.

I'm off to get my flu shot tomorrow but maybe I can get sanding by afternoon! Stay safe and stay tuned.