Chill in the Air...

 Really, a chill in the air? Well, not quite but there has definitely been a slight change in our temperatures-for the better in my opinion! So, even though the outside doesn't quite fit my inside, I can tell that autumn really is beginning to creep in a bit!

I did wake up to some rain this morning so the things I wanted to do outside are once again on hold but, that gives me time to visit with you a bit. Let's head into the kitchen.

It appears that up to this point I pretty much kept things as they were last year. I did change up this area a bit. I moved the "Eric Carle" inspired autumn tree that my granddaughter made down to the bottom, I moved the "fingerprint" tree that daughter #3 made me years ago with my three youngest grands prints out to the sunroom where all of their photos are and I added the water colored autumn tree canvas I made last year here. It is just a bit more simple and I like it.

That's pretty much it for this year's autumn kitchen. I'm off to get some things done. Looks like I might have a quiet week ahead so I'll be back again soon. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Quick Update

 So today is supposed to be my day to finish up all sorts of loose ends as my weekend is already spoken for...and I will get to it but, those of you who know me know that little things like balance, color, proportion, etc. can niggle at me until I just have to give in and address the issue. So, that is what happened with the raven dough bowl by the front door. 

That big open space to the left was bothering me and I was thinking of maybe adding a candle but before I got to that I was scrolling last year's Thanksgiving photos when I was reminded that I used a similar arrangement then and, not only did I add a candle but I also added a white pumpkin. And so, in no time flat, I had this and I like it so much better! I also added a little nest of shredded paper for the velvet pumpkins in the scale.

And then my eyes went back to the shelf. 

The books helped but they weren't the answer and so, once again, my mind went to candles. That will also add to the ambiance of the living room at night. I wanted to stick with the green but came up empty on the holders. I did have two of the same white holders from $Tree in my stash so I tried them with different sized candles. I settled on the middle size for the candle but the white of the holder was bothering me.

I actually pulled out some primer and some paint with the intent of changing them up but I'm not totally sure what color I want or if I can even get the paint to stick on that shiny ceramic even with a primer. And so I am going to sit on it for a bit. The background of the peat pots is white and there are white pumpkins on the tag as well as some white on the painting that hangs just below this shelf so I'm thinking I might be able to talk myself into it...we shall see.

And, before I sign off I need to share my grandson's last first day of school and his sister's next to the last first day even though this picture actually didn't happen until the start of week two. Hudson plays football and he had to be out of the house for early practices before 6 o'clock that first week-and, Presley was not about to head out that early so, this is the first day they both left at the same time. Lol I can't believe we are here! Time goes much too quickly-at least for this old Nana!

I'm now off to get those things done-unless something else catches my eye. You'll be the first to know. Lol Stay safe and stay tuned.

Be Still My Heart!!

 Oh goodness! It seems like forever since I have been here. I have been SUPER busy and only in the very best of ways. My weekend was busy. I had my two grand dogs here and one of them wasn't feeling all that well. She is an "eater" and has already had THREE obstruction surgeries and it looked like we might be heading to another for a bit so I was pretty much on "guard" duty all of Saturday. In the end, everything worked out and she was able to get up what she had swallowed-two months ago! It's hard to believe but when my grand daughter saw it, she remembered when it went missing. And then there were some lost keys adding to the "chaos-fun" and I ended up with an unexpected house full of people on Saturday night but it was actually wonderful because by then all of the drama had been settled. Lol

We all had a wonderful breakfast out and then a fun shopping day on Sunday. Everyone finally headed home to their respective cities and states later in the afternoon and then I sat down and called it a day.

Of course I woke up on Monday morning raring to go! It was finally time and once I started I couldn't be stopped. It only took me two days to do the swap even though I did move a lot of things and change up some others. That is just the decorating. I still have ALL of the sunflowers and urns, jugs, vases, dishes, etc. to put away but I had to put that on hold for a hair appointment and errands yesterday. I'm thinking once I leave you today I will be doing some clean-up.

I did get to the nursery yesterday and found some mums. They are loaded with buds but no blooms yet so let's skip the porch for now. We will come back to that when everything is in bloom.

Welcome to autumn 2025.

I didn't receive the raven until October last year so this year I knew I wanted to find a special place for him in the my autumn decor. I did make the raven picture last November and I like it with him so I created a little autumn nest in a dough bowl and I love him there. It's hard to see here but he holds a light bulb in his beak. Daughter #3 got him for me for my Halloween Edgar Allan Poe vignette but I love him in many of my decor themes August through November. If I could find a way to fit him in in December too, I would. Lol

Here are a few of the velvet pumpkins that I recently coffee stained. The difference from the bright orange is subtle but I think it is more my style. I do think I will go back and add a bit of ripped paper fill to the scale.

I love the velvet pumpkin stems that I found at HL and added to this arrangement. And I still totally LOVE that mercury glass jug that I found at one of my favorite shops down in Indian Rocks Beach a number of years back. 

And here are some wood tags that I made back when everyone was adding tags to everything.

I kind of thought about toning down my autumn decor this year and going for a bit less of the bright leaves and more of just the neutral branch effect but I couldn't find anything locally that I liked and I am just not that fond of online ordering...you can never really be sure what something might look like in person and faux "greenery" can look really cheap if you're not careful. And so, you're still looking at a lot of orange-sorry.

I actually love how the new pillow from HL totally matches the pumpkins that are on the throw and I still love the pillow my cousin stitched for me so many years ago!

The colors of the pillows on that couch make me so happy.

Of course, doing this wall each month is new for me because I only added the shelf last December so I still have a few months to find new decor. There used to be a very large, round mirror there that I loved but, all of a sudden I just felt the need to get rid of it and try something new. It's been a bit of a challenge each month and I truly don't think I've found my "groove" just yet and once December hits and I will be going around for the second time, I'm hoping I will get some new ideas. Right now I seem to be stuck with the peat pot crafts in the cubbies on either side. I definitely think they could use a bit more and I'm thinking of maybe a book or two but for now, it stands as is. I was just ready to be done and enjoy! Lol

I still love the faux tile pumpkin that I made a few years ago. When you look closely you can see that it has all of the same colors as the candle holders. They're all chippy and rusty and I love it all!

Not feeling those side cubbies...I'll let you know what happens here because I'm pretty sure something will! Lol

I just realized that I forgot to take a picture of the coffee table so when I went to do that, I did this. This is definitely not the answer but I like the addition of green and I might be getting closer! Lol Wish I had more green books. I will keep playing and you will be the first to know what I come up with.

I like this wooden pumpkin candle holder I made last year from a HL pumpkin. They added a different shaped one this year but I decided to pass on it. I actually may grab it the next time I'm in there and just use it as is...we shall see.

If you are very observant, you might notice that I changed out the small bowl in this vignette-it is visible in other pictures but I wasn't up to retaking them all. The bowl I used to use just "read" as too Halloweeny since I added more rusty things to this area. I like it better now. Lol

 And my "new eyes" just realized how much I still like the sign hanging on the mirror. I got that SO many years ago at Stein Mart. It was all gray tone when I got it and I just used colored pencils to add some color to the pumpkins-thought it made them pop a bit more.

So that is the living room for now. I am definitely off to do some putting away and I have a couple of busy days ahead so I'm not sure when I'll be back. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Monday, Monday

 Yesterday was Monday and maybe it was the promise of a new week or just the need to be outside again but, for whatever reason, I woke up determined to get to something that has been on the list forever and just continuously ignored by me-the dreaded "scrub the pool slide" chore. I usually have to do this twice a year and it involves lots of sun, bleach, algae, etc. Those are mostly the reasons I avoid it but it also is an arm killer! The older the slide gets, the harder it is to get clean. I procrastinated so long this year that I actually considered asking my pool guy how much it would cost to just take it down. Now that all of the kids are older and on to their own lives, my pool doesn't see as much "action" as it used to and those of us who do use it are no longer availing ourselves of the slide. Lol

But again, for whatever reason, I didn't do that and got busy on the scrubbing. You can see in this photo where I have started scrubbing and what it looked like before I did.

And then I spied another "list item" that has been ignored-the scrubbing of the chaise cushions. I think it's kind of funny that the cushions on the far end of the pool are the ones that seem to gather more algae in the creases because there are literally no trees there and the cushions don't have anything falling on them and should be able to dry out quickly. The ones at the close end of the pool are completely covered with my neighbor's huge oak tree branches and yet they stay clean. In any case, I got going on them next-if you give a mouse a cookie...Lol

And then I was on to repainting the chaises while the cushions were drying!

I ended up spending most of the day in the yard and I am happy to say that I think our temperatures are finally starting to fall a bit. I actually did almost everything without the need to cool off in the pool until I was ready to just take a break. It's amazing what one can accomplish without a heat index of 120 degrees! Lol

I still don't have first day of school pictures from my last two grands as they left the house at different times. It seems as if my grandson had a sunrise prayer meeting with the seniors on his football team before the start of school. Hopefully my daughter will snap a picture if the two are ever on the same schedule. That's my cutie the third from the left!

And then grand daughter #4 began her UF Law School orientation and is now an official GATOR!! I can't wait to see where this new adventure leads for her!

I've got a list of things to get to before daughter #1 and grand daughter #2 arrive later this week, so I am off to get started. I'll see you soon. Until then stay safe and stay tuned.