I'm Baaaccckkk!

I'm finally back! Didn't mean to be gone so long, but the computer gods had other ideas and my computer was infected with a pretty mean virus. It had to be taken away, but we're both back now and chomping at the bit to get on with my favorite holiday of the year!


My house is all decorated and I have many pictures to share, but first I want to fill you in on last weekend at my house. It is the weekend we wait for all year long! We have all 7 grandchildren here and it is our official start to the "Halloween season" for our family!

Hannah and Morgan

Caitlin and Olivia

Hudson, Presley and Harrison



After a quick lunch, we started on our crafts. We have done this for so many years, it is hard to find something we haven't already done either here, in scouts, in church or in school. This year I saw this name plaque on Pinterest and thought the kids might enjoy making it.


My original plan was for them to make them pretty much as the sample was made on Pinterest-very simply decorated with painted polka dots and I even bought some glittery confetti in case they just wanted to glue those on and go really simple.


Silly me! The four oldest are just not the "go simple" type. Before I knew what was happening, they had invaded my paints, trims, etc. and were off on their own individual fantasies. It never fails to amaze me how much imagination they have!

These really did work well as a craft for a child. As usual, I did some preliminary work so that they didn't have to use the glue gun. They would have been fine with it, but I'm always wary of an accident. I pre-painted the plaques, made the tu-tus for the girls and hot glued the leg warmers. If I had only been working with the 4 oldest (ages 10-15), I would have let them do all of this but since the little ones were involved as well, I wanted it to be a good experience for all!

Presley's was the basic plaque and she was fine with that.

The boys didn't want tu-tus on theirs, so I cut out a witch's hat for them and they loved it. They painted their own dots-and believe me, they painted them where THEY wanted them. I have a round sponge dabber, so this is an easy task and always successful for little ones! And then, they wanted the glitteries as well. I think they all really turned out well and each was fitted to the individual's level and taste-truly a kid-friendly craft!

Next, we made worms. Notice the boys are missing for the making part of this although they did pop in and out but new Lego sets were just too strong a draw! Now these things are a bit of a hassle to make and until the girls figured out an easier way to unmold, a real paint in that aspect also, but SO WORTH doing! They truly look like the real thing and can gross everyone out-even the person who mixed it up and knows it is only Jello and heavy cream!

The big girls and the 2 boys absolutely loved these but Presley would have nothing to do with them-not even one little taste!


Here are my 3 helpers making a new item for my livingroom. I love it that these kids are getting to be so self sufficient (well, sometimes I still miss my "little ones" but growing up is inevitable eventually I guess). I simply told them what I wanted, cut the strips of gauze and they did the rest. You will see the finished product when we tour the livingroom.


Dinner was super easy this year. Since we have been doing this for so many years, we have tried about every Halloween food out there and I have finally learned that with everything else we try to cram into the day, we are usually pooping out by dinnertime and don't want to spent hours in the kitchen. This year we went back to a favorite-English muffin mummy pizzas. Each kid put their own together with jarred pizza sauce, strips of mozzarella and sliced olives. They also made celery fingers and we added mummy brains (broccoli and cauliflower) and fruit-by this time, we were out of catchy names. We also don't spend as much time on the table settings-just that much more to clean up. Hope I'm not coming off sounding jaded. It's just that we have learned what really matters over the years-not to mention that we were running late and had a Gator game to watch.

We ended up with candy corn pudding parfaits-so simple and they loved them!


While the 2 oldest and the 2 boys were outside tossing a football, these 3 made chocolate covered popcorn mix. It was a bit frustrating because we just couldn't get our Wilton candy wafers to melt so that they would drizzle, but these guys persevered and even though the mix didn't looks anything like it should have, everyone loved the taste. We bagged it up and sent it home for snacks.


Not everyone got the "scary" command but by this time, I think we had taken about 50 pictures, so as long as we were all there, it's good! So sad the weekend is over!! Already gathering ideas for next year!!!

Come back soon and I'll show you this year's decorations. I have made a few changes and am loving it! Stay tuned. And so happy to be back!

Taking a Breather

When I saw this picture, I knew I had to borrow it because it fit my thoughts exactly. I am going to take a little breather and let life happen. There is much going on in my life right now and I need some time to just let it happen. But rest assured, I am thinking about the rest of the things I want to do for Halloween and my decorating. I will do them...just not sure when. You will be the first to know. Please stay tuned!

All Is Right With the World

What a wonderful weekend we had! Lots of family fun...and the Gators beat UAB to boot! Olivia is turning 10 today and wanted to have her family celebration at our house this weekend. It is super hard to plan much in this family during the fall because it has to fit around the Gator football schedule. This weekend was a home game and everyone was going to be in town-yeah!

Liv decided she wanted to do a 50s theme and her mom - my oldest daughter - outdid herself once again...right down to Liv's older sister wearing an old diner waitress costume and serving us all diner style. The menu consisted of hamburgers, hot dogs, REAL french fries, chili, pimento cheese spread and crackers, some crudite for the vegetarians in the group, Coke in bottles and 3 flavors of homemade milkshakes. The little kids were in heaven - as were some of the big kids too!

The birthday girl enjoying her chocolate-Oreo shake!


Olivia and her older sister, Caitlin, who served as our waitress. Mom kept her running with shouts of "order up" coming from the kitchen.



The table centerpieces were filled with 50s candy and the favors were old fashioned Coke glasses filled with said candy - another heavenly moment for the little ones. Even Presley (who is only 2 ) caught on to those candy dots in a flash and devoured a strip before you could blink! If you notice the Happy Birthday banner hanging in these pictures, Kris made it from some of her old 45s. It was fun to check the back of the records and make note of the songs and artists.

We all had a wonderful time helping Olivia celebrate her first decade and then snuck in a little Grandparent's Day celebration as well. A fun time was had by all and another memory filled weekend is in the memory book!

I've Been Busy!

Since I've got so much coming up. I just had to get started on my Halloween crafting. Everyone will be here this weekend so I thought it might be a good time to present this year's gifts because my girls are all "early decorators" like me.

I actually tracked down the witch society picture that has been everywhere on Pinterest and I purchased the download. As you can see, I have used it in 2 ways so far-the decoupaged picture and just a framed photo. I love it! The decoupaged picture was a many stepped process, but I am happy with the way they turned out. Half the battle is always just finding all of the supplies!


Then, also on Pinterest (I think), I saw some old moldings turned into wall hooks. They were distressed and craggy and the black one immediately made me think of Halloween and how cute the witch photo would be hanging on it -does anyone else's mind work like that? But, I digress!I had all intentions of finding old, actual lock hardware, but time prohibited that, so I remembered my new Tim Holtz die and the lock on it served the purpose. I just put together different sized wood and molding, painted, distressed and embellished. I think it will look nice.

I also whipped up some skull frames. I just downloaded the picture from Graphics Fairy, printed on a dictionary page and framed with a $ store frame. They were a bit plain for me, so I purchased some Jolees embellishments and it gave me just the pop of color I was looking for.

Now that I am breathing a little more easily with gifts off of my plate, I am compiling the list of things I still want to make for my house this year. The "Dead & Breakfast" sign is number one! It has been on my list ever since I first saw it and this is the year. It is a big project requiring many power tools - yeah! Now, my house has to be decorated by Oct. 1 for the grandkid weekend and we will be gone much of the time between then and now, so I may not have it done by then but it will definitely be ready by the time the trick-or-treaters are ringing the bell this year! Stay tuned.

Oh yes, see that wonderful picture of Poe? It is going to pop up somewhere, some way...just not sure how just yet!

Lest I Forget

Even though I never need reminding that this is my FAVORITE season of the year, I happened upon two things that I had downloaded during the summer and then forgot I had. Thought I might as well finish them off as they are both "no brainers".

I found the banner download at Penniwigs. I simply printed it and then bordered the letters with an orange and a rust background. I think it gave them a bit more of a presence. Then I punched the holes and strung on some rustic twine. I actually wanted to do a bit of embellishing but I have too much going on this week to drag out a lot of supplies so I was a bit reluctant to do so and then when I saw it like this, I decided that "less is more".


I also found this fabulous fall print somewhere on the internet, but so long ago that I don't remember where. I will try to search for it and let you know if I find the source. I simply put it in a frame I had and propped it on the table by the front door.

The next few weeks are going to be very busy-including some travels. I will be looking for my "fall fix" along the way and let you know what I find. And, when I return, it will be Halloween in my house-stay tuned.

What Has Come Over Me?

I told you I wasn't a "summer" kind of girl. As soon as my house is decorated for autumn my mind starts processing all things fall. It truly doesn't matter that it is still in the 80s outside...I suddenly think of warm, cozy autumnal things and soup is always right up there on the list.

I posted that I made a tomato-roasted red pepper soup last week. It reminded me how much I love to make soup not to mention the fact that it makes many brainless meals after it has been done and "what are we having for dinner?" is one of my least favorite things to hear in the whole world! It's too much pressure and even though I love good food, I would usually rather spend my time doing something more fun than cooking. I like cooking O.K., but I would so much rather be crafting, gardening, sewing, decorating or spending time with my family!

So the bug got me again today and I figured why not? I would make another big pot of soup and we would live on it for the rest of this week. Only problem with that is that I made one of my all-time favorites and I could literally sit with the pot and eat until I fall over!

This is a pot of Vegetable Soup with Vermicelli from Martha's cookbook "Entertaining". I not only love that cookbook but I love that recipe. I make it more often than any other soup. I love pasta, so I always add more vermicelli than called for and hence, I always have to add more stock so that there is a hint of liquid in the soup. I also use almost all vegetable stock (it calls for chicken) with just a touch of chicken for some body. I am not much of a salt person, but this soup needs a fairly good amount to bring out all of the other flavors. It is made with extra virgin olive oil and lots of fresh veggies so it is relatively good for you-if I could eat a bowl without having a huge hunk of buttered bread in my other hand for dunking.

Since I have "pinned" so many soup ideas, I think I am going to start trying one new recipe a week. I'll let you know what I find out there. Stay tuned.

More Small Glimpses of Autumn

I'm sure those of you familiar with my house are saying "wow, where did that room come from?". You caught me. That beautiful room isn't in my house-it is on one of my Pinterest boards. I "pinned" it because after moving some things around in my living room, I was at a bit of a loss as to what to use on my sofa table.

This is what the table looks like now and I think it is very disjointed. I don't like the look of all the things in a row even though I have been seeing that look in high end decorating. I have decided that even though I don't own a long trough like the one above, I could certainly make one rather easily. I'm just going to nail some 1X6s together and stain it. After all, the box isn't the focal point and most of these things are old, so perfection doesn't prevail.

I may not get to it until I am putting up my Thanksgiving stuff, but it IS on my list and you'll be the first to see it, I promise. Since I use most of my faux pumpkins and gourds on my "abundance" mantle, I will need to keep my eyes open for some good sales before November rolls around.

I love this pumpkin tureen. I bought it at a country store several years ago and use it every time we eat soup this time of year. It somehow just makes it taste better. We'll be using it tonight as I made a big pot of homemade tomato-roasted red pepper soup yesterday to take over to my daughter's house. She made caprese paninis to add to it and dinner was delicious. Even Presley who is only 2 loved this soup. Because we were celebrating my son-in-law's birthday, I also made a pan of Congo bars and another pan of Paula Deen's brownies. It was the first time I made that Congo bar recipe and they were just O.K., but Paula's brownies are to die for. I only make them for other people and I ALWAYS leave the whole batch with them because they are just what you would think of when you think of Paula Deen-decadent eating!

I found these votives last year at Big Lots. I don't really like that store but I will check it out certain times of the years to see what they have and when I found these mercury glass votives in both green and orange for just $1 each, I bought every one they had. It's hard to tell, but they're quite a bit larger than a regular votive holder. I can use one or the other almost every season or holiday all year long-love it when that happens!

Here's my old, faithful sugar mold sitting on a runner I bought a long time ago that really is nothing more than silk leaves glued on a backing. It would have been so easy to make, but I was still teaching, sewing, raising kids, etc. back then, so purchasing fit the bill just fine!

Can you believe even some silly new dish towels can get me smiling. I have several other new ones that have leaves but somehow this graphic pumpkin really makes me happy!

Lastly, this is an Indian corn tureen I made MANY years ago when I was doing ceramics. If I remember correctly, I also made a matching set of corn dishes and salt and pepper shakers-haven't a clue where they have made their way to and I almost didn't even unpack this guy this year, but then I remembered how long it took to not only paint each corn kernel a different color but to paint each one 3 times as you have to do with ceramics. After all the time it took to make, I really should set up a little shrine for it and display it ALL YEAR LONG.

And now for my reminder that pride always goeth before a fall...well, you get the idea. When I was gloating the other day about all of my found time I should have known it would come back to bite me and bite it did. When I ran out to get the mail and my shutters had dried from my cleaning, they were even more faded than before-the strong bleach water probably didn't help much, but I digress. So, I ended my evening on Wednesday by repainting all of the shutters on the front of my house. It really feels good to have it done, but I wasn't feeling that was while I was climbing up and down the ladder and struggling with large bushes and vines!

I have been out doing some errands so that I am ready to go full steam ahead on my Halloween gifts and decorations-even think I have talked my husband into letting me make the "Dead and Breakfast" yard sign I have been wanting-so stay tuned!

Serendipity!

O.K., I must be living right because, for once, I have actually FOUND MORE time in my life than I thought I had! So, how does that happen you ask. I was under the impression that my family would all be at my house this coming weekend for the Gator game and then Liv's birthday party and Grandparents' Day celebration. And, me being me, I had lists drawn up and my week pretty well planned out when my youngest daughter called. In conversation, it became apparent that I was off by a week. What?!!! I have the whole week ahead of me with none of those plans I had already made? What's a girl to do!

Let me tell you right up front that that didn't mean I could sit and eat bon-bons for the week as I have a number of things on my plate that have to go on no matter what, but it did mean I could breathe a little more easily and perhaps fit in some of the things on the never ending to-do list.


I headed straight to Pinterest and found the two organizational ideas that I had been waiting to try. The first was so simple-a real no-brainer as I had a tension rod not being used just sitting in my closet. I grabbed it and put it up in my bathroom vanity and I must say, it really does free up space under the sink. I know the picture looks like the space is still pretty crowded, but this is actually only 1/4 of the under vanity space, so across the whole area, it does make a difference. I must admit that I had really wanted to use it under my kitchen sink, but my cabinets are configured in such a way that that wasn't possible. I really could have used the space under there, but I will keep watching Pinterest and maybe someone will have another idea for me that will work-heck, maybe it might even spur me to come up with my own idea!

Then, I put together the cabinet door cutting board holder I was coveting. I bought the 1X2 the last time I was in Lowes, so it was a simple matter of a few cuts, a few nails and voila! Now, I will admit once again that my pesky cabinets did not co-operate the way the one in the instructions did. Seems as if the doors where I wanted to use this either had a shelf inside that came out right to the door (hence, no clearance for said holder) or, I had already installed pull out shelving and that kept it from working as well. The picture above was taken before it was mounted. I ended up having to put it on one of my narrower doors so I can only fit a few of my boards. That will be fine as my really good board is huge and I only use that these days when I am cooking for a crowd. The other "boards" we use are those real thin foldable boards and they slip in a tiny space anywhere. So, the space I just created works perfectly for the boards we use most every day and the main reason I even started this project was to free up a drawer where the boards had been previously stored. Now, I can separate "that drawer" in the kitchen that holds all of the extra utensils and is like entering a dark cave every time you have to search out a potato peeler, egg slicer, etc. I have since put all of the baking utensils in one drawer and cooking in the other and it is a true joy to open them now and actually find what you are looking for instead of just giving up and trying to pry something open with your teeth-just kidding but I have come close!

And then to top it off, I really thought that my dark green shutters on the front of the house had faded and I have been putting off re-painting them. Well, since I just got the gift of an unplanned week, I thought I would do a few of those things that just keep getting pushed back on the list. And, I already had the paint out as I was touching up some nicks in the front door paint-another list slider! Imagine my surprise when, after first rinsing the shutters with bleach, I discovered that they really didn't need re-painting-just cleaning. Apparently our pollen count was really high this year and there were layers of yellow pollen just glued onto those shutters. Who knew? Guess if I did a better job of washing windows I would have found this out sooner but now I have a bit more unplanned time to spare. I am going to light some candles and sit down and make out my "must do this year for Halloween" list and then I am going to try to stick to it. I can already find myself running in different directions and wanting to do it all and I am going to monitor myself so that I take time to "stop and smell the pumpkins". We'll see how that works!

Ask & Ye Shall Receive!

I had pretty much finished my autumn decorating - with tweaking still to come - when I looked around and realized that this was the first season/holiday that I didn't have a "subway art" picture anywhere in my house. I actually headed to a blog search but couldn't come up with any that weren't mostly Halloween and, of course, that just wouldn't do for my fall theme.

Then, as I was perusing Pinterest, someone had pinned the above art. I couldn't grab it quick enough! I love something so simple and free to boot. If you want to get your own copy, go to my Pinterest button and you will find this image in my autumn board. A simple download, print out and frame - with a frame just sitting around waiting to be filled - and I had another autumn decoration to fill an empty spot just crying out for this! I have seen many blogs with tutorials on how to produce your own subway art but I am just not that confident enough with my computer and why bother any way when someone has already taken all of the hard work out of it for you?!

Love any chance I can get to show some glitter. These are the paper mache pumpkins that the kids and I painted and glittered last year. So simple and pretty and since I got the pumpkins the year before at the end of the season, a very inexpensive project as well.

These are my Southern Living jars that usually sit on my family room mantle. Since they were banned from there this year, I wasn't sure where they would go but since this is a tall area, they seem to work well - and once again my simple footed bowl makes its appearance. I guess I love that thing as I think I have used it every day since I made it - another one of those freebies as it was made from an old candle holder glued to an old monkey pod bowl that I think I bought when I was very first married and those things were all the rage!

I changed the side board up a bit this year too. This is usually where the apothecaries go, but I wasn't about them this time. Don't know how I can go from loving something so much to not caring at all - I think it has to do with what I have to go in them. Certain holidays just seem to lend themselves more to that decoration than others. They will probably be back for Halloween filled with skulls, bones, etc.

In any case, I was feeling the need for BIG here so I took 2 of my floor candle sticks and put them with the candleabra I got at Z Gallerie several years ago. I think it works because of the height of the lamp also on the side board.


The hutch and the baker's rack leave a bit to be desired, but I use a lot of the pieces on there so I like to have them out and accessible.


Do you see that pumpkin harvest sign hanging above the tureen? That used to hang outdoors on a wrought iron piece near my front door which has now moved to the new patio. That meant it had no home until I stole the black "autumn" sign that used to hang here for the family room. As they say, "necessity is the mother of invention" or "decoration" in this case. Do I love it as much as the other? No. But, it will fill a need until I run into something I like better. And let's face facts, it really won't be here very long because the first weekend in October will be my chance to have all of the grandkids here together for all of our fun festivities and the HOUSE MUST BE HALLOWEENY by then ! Trust me, my mind is already thinking. I have a bunch of new things I want to make but time goes so fast this time of the year, we'll just have to see how it goes. Stay tuned!

Moving Right Along

This mantle is a real departure for me. Usually this area is chock full of pumpkins, gourds and leaves. And, that is right where I was headed again this year when I happened to look at the PB white jar in my hands and realized that I wanted to try and use it somewhere in my autumn decorating. The rest of the vignette can be owed to procrastination. Now, procrastination isn't usually a word in my vocabulary because I generally want everything done YESTERDAY!

But, if you can remember back to when I was changing up the walls in my dining room, you might remember that this "window" came down. I was going to put it out in the garden but truthfully, I paid so much for this when I bought it that I wasn't quite sure that I was ready for the elements to work their magic on it. It was meant for indoor use so it wouldn't have lasted too long in our summer daily rain routine. So, it has been sitting by the side door to the pool waiting for me to make up my mind.

When I walked in to the family room with the white jar, I knew I needed something else white to balance the mantle and my eyes fell right on the window. I tried it out and I loved it but it was missing some "weight". They say every good design needs some black so I grabbed my favorite autumn sign from the end of the kitchen (of course this created another big void in that area but I'll show you what I did there in my next post).

Everything on this mantle I already owned yet it is all completely new to this vignette and contrary to my "traditional" self as far as themes and colors are concerned, I LOVE IT! It feels so serene at night when the little orange lights are aglow.



The rest of the room hasn't changed much. I just try to make sure there are always lots of yummy candles and I light them EVERY day! I truly try to use everything I have to set a mood. Nothing is ever saved just "for company" in my house. Many years ago, I happened upon a book by Alexandra Stoddard and found that her theory of making even the mundane beautiful was exactly how I lived. I have since read every book she has written and her idea of "grace notes" prevails in my home. If there is a way to make a dull, irritating routine into a life-enhancing ritual, I will do it. I truly believe it does reduce stress, replenish your inner self and celebrates the senses (as she so eloquently states on the cover of her book "Living A Beautiful Life".

Any way, I know it does in my world. I like order - although if you saw my house while I am in the middle of a project, you would doubt that. But I am always striving to get to "that place" . I love the niceties in life. Maybe I was born in the wrong century but I want mt coffee out of bone china, my wine out of crystal, etc. I love the "rituals" of life. Guess my age is showing but in this stress filled world, I figure anything I can do to make things better, I am going to do. That being said, it is time to pour the wine in the crystal, light the candles and turn on the autumn lights. Today is slipping away but I will be back tomorrow. Stay tuned.