Pumpkin Love

I just love pumpkins. They serve as an icon for my favorite season--Fall!

Yesterday I made these little wooden plaques and they turned out so darn cute. Instead of black for my pumpkin faces I decided to use the nutmeg brown. I guess for me, brown IS the NEW BLACK...ha!



So here theyare sitting in one of my open kitchen cabinets....

Then I moved them in front of my Three Witch Sisters......

Aren't they just the cutest? I made these fabulous old hags from a pattern about 7 years ago. They are one of my favorite Halloween decorations. Lots of work, but they have given me years of Halloween pleasure. I'm thinking I might look like the one on the right if I stopped coloring my hair? LOL.

A couple close-ups of the little guys in fron of my leaf bowl with some of the same colors. I distressed the edges of the plaques to add some character.

I don't go overboard on Halloween decorating (I can't say the same for Christmas...: ) BUT, I do love unique and fun accents like these to put in little nooks and crannies.

I think I'll list a couple sets on Etsy and see what happens...I better get busy.

Bye for now...

Some Fall Eye Candy

I just love this pathway scene...could it be any more special? I have been on the lookout for an old Schwinn bike like this for awhile now...It just says "welcome" so well...



I just love this quick little bird feeder idea...so simple and sweet. I could fill the vessel with all of my remianing sunflower seeds...


Now this is really something....a flea market find chandelier/light fixture painted and turned upside down becomes the perfect pedestal for some elegantly carved pumpkins. So very creative!

Hope you are enjoying a beautiful day...

Best,

Sunday Favorites - Fall Color in the Garden

Thought I would participate in the Sunday Favorites post this weekend with Chari.

This was a summer post, but my friend Vesna uses the most gorgeous fall colors in her outdoor living space. I love revisiting this special oasis as September draws to an end...

Here's the original post from June. Take a stroll through Vesna's space...she is one talented designer and gardener.

My Shop Is Open

I did it! I set up an Etsy shop. I listed a few of my Harvest Moon signs. Just click on "My Shop" button on the left and it will link you right to my little shop.

Look for more fun items for sale over the coming weeks.

It Still Seems So Magical To Me...

Yesterday I spent some time going through photos. It was so fun to bring back a memory from a little over three years ago. Our whole family was part of my sister-in-law's very special wedding day. The entire family dressed up in their best all at once!

I know I'm preaching to the choir here...BUT...isn't it amazing that we now have the technology to take photos and save them on our computers or little things that are smaller than lighters???

AND...THEN...we can pop them into one of the wonderful photo editing programs out there and create ART with photos of our loved ones? It just really struck me how lucky we are to experience this technology in our lifetime. I really appreciate this magic!





My son hiding behind his Dad....CLASSIC!


My princess Allison in her special dress BEFORE she dripped chocolate from the chocolate fountain all over it at the reception

One of my all-time favorite photos with my babies from the head table

Thanks for letting me share this memory with you.

Have a wonderful autumn weekend.

Simple and Textural With A Bit of Bling

I prefer very simple window coverings. It was a bit overwhelming when our house was finished and I had so many uncovered windows. Many of them remain uncovered. Privacy isn't really an issue for us.

But what to do in the master bedroom? ??? I knew I wanted something neutral that would still allow in some light,. I wanted texture also. I decided on burlap. There is just something about burlap that I love. It's simple and basic, yet can be successfully mixed with many types of decor.

I ended up with these fringed burlpa panels from Ballard Designs.

Now for the bit of bling that they needed. I headed over to JoAnn's to the trim aisle...found this great flat lace trim and the off white tape trim. Turns out I had some leftoverr crystals from these light fixtures in the room....

This is how the embellishment turned out. I ended up with some one-of-a-kind drapery panels with some inexpensive trim and some leftover crystals (thanks to the light company--Murray Feiss).

I love the way they turned out. They look especially beautiful at night when the light catches the crystals and they sparkle along with the light fixtures.

I hope you are having a great week and enjoying this wonderful time of the year.

Best,

I Know This To Be True

I believe in the words from this great Mary Englebreit artwork. Arts and Crafts DO keep me sane. I love to create and there is nothing like the finished product. If it makes you home more beautiful in the end or puts a smile on a loved one's face, ALL THE BETTER!

I miss Mary and her Home Companion magazine so much! I had a subscription for years and saved each and every issue to curl up with at a later date. Her magazine is gone, but you can visit her great blog to get your Mary fix (I do!).

So yesterday I started a new project. This is a banner made out of extra burlap I had on hand. It measures approximately 40" x 11". I added wire to the hems on all four sides.


I stencilled "Harvest Moon" on it. When it comes to fall decorating, I like to get a lot of bang for my buck. If a good proportion of your decorations are fall, rather than Halloween specific, you can leave 'em up until the Christmas tree comes in!

What I love about this banner is that it is pliable. Since it is wired, you can tuck it in just about anywhere--on a bookcase, behind pottery on a hutch, even into a planting area outside in a protected area.

I will be making other variations of this banner in the coming weeks. I may even offer up some in an etsy shop...what do you think?

Happy Monday morning to all of you. I am feeling quite calm and "sane" after a weekend of fun creating : ) Oh yeah, and hearing from my son that he was home safe and sound after his camping trip to Yosemite.

It's Official Now

Autumn has arrived. It was 40 degrees when I kissed the kids goodbye as they ran for the bus this morning! I am just loving this cooler mornings and evenings.

This weekend, inspired by Emily at Not So Idle Hands, the kids and I made these fun pumpkins. They are so simple....you use recycled jars (and we have a lot of them), orange tissue paper, Mod Podge and a little green latex paint.

We put tea light candles inside (you could also use the little battery-operated ones). Look how great they look sitting there!

We were going to do some more Halloween decorating this weekend, but the time just seemed to fly by so quickly. We did get the boxes down from the attic, so hopefully we will get it done by next weekend.

My kids are 8 and 10 and really enjoyed this. I think the younger ones could also do this simple craft with a little bit of help. Spooky good fun!

The Best Birthday I Ever Had

It was 20 years ago. My water broke around 4:00 in the morning. We went to the hospital. After a very LONG day, he arrived just in time for dinner. It was a little after 5:00. We named his Logan Michael. He weighed 10 pounds and 4 ounces (yes, I ultimately had a c-section).







Today he turns 20. I turn 51 (but never mind about that...). I knew then and I know now that was the best birthday I could ever wish for. Every year since then has been filled with love for him and the joy (yes, and heartache) that being a mother brings. What a gift I was given. My first child born on my birthday. It has never ceased to amaze and delight me, even after all these years.







He says goodbye to the teenage years today. I celebrate the fact that I survived them (ha!). He is camping with his girlfriend and friends in the beautiful Yosemite Valley this weekend. I miss him, but I know he is happy and I will see him soon.







Today is a beautiful day here..just a bit of autumn in the air. I cut flowers from my garden, took care of some housekeeping and will go to my youngest son's soccer game at 5:30. Then we will go to Applebee's for dinner. This is a perfect day.







This week I made my first digital scrapbook. Turns out I went digital 7 years ago--the year Logan turned 13. So I compiled some of my favorite photos of him in celebration of "The Teen Years"...very therapeutic for me.







I have to share this photo with you...











Turns out he had "Adam Lambert" hair way before Adam Lambert did (the second runner up on last year's American Idol, in case you are not a fan).




Now this is a photo of him just a few months ago when he was here to visit. Quite a change...right? If you find yourself in the middle of the teenage years, remember this: most of their crazy little fads do diminish on their own. Don't sweat the small stuff. They are just trying to figure out who they are, in most cases.

Today he is a young man who has a heart full of love. I know happiness will always find him. I will always be his Mom, no matter how old h is.

Happy Birthday Baby! Thank you for being the best birthday present I ever received.

Mom

In The Pursuit Of Organization

This is our mudroom. I have had the lower baskets in place since we moved in. They are meant for shoes. Well...it seems shoes are constantly ending up on the floor "next" to the baskets and blocking the walkway from the laundry room to the kitchen (kids!).

Well...since I'm deep into my obsession with numbers, I decided if I labeled the baskets for each member of the family, it may motivate us to keep the shoes where they belong. Who wouldn't be motivated by their own special basket donning their birth date after all?

27 is for Allison, 14 for Jackson and 18 for me. . Daddy will have to share my basket since we only had space for three. We'll find another place to immortalize his special day --22.

A simple project that I used leftover dark blue chalkboard paint on the plaques and stenciled the numbers in off-white. Then I attached them to the baskets with craft wire.

Well...the good thing about these little projects of mine is that I dumped out all the shoes before I started, got into the cubbies and cleaned really well, tossed away the summer shoes that weren't in very good shape and only kept the shoes that we will be wearing here for the next few months before we need our rain and snow boots.

At dinner tonight I made them repeat after me "I will keep my shoes in my new personalized basket and not leave them on the floor...." We'll see if it keeps up. I hope so.

I love the way they look with my metal French cafe table marker in the upper baskets. Now what didn't' really dawn on me until today is just how much wall space on I have on either said of the mudroom. It's time to get some great family photos together there. That way we can recall wonderful memories as we are tugging our boots on o off. We did put radiant heating in the floor of the mudroom, so we'll look forward to the toasty warmth of that come winter days.

Easy and quick project...great organization impact...and now I have to work on some frames and photo displays in there and maybe a vintage or vintage inspired sign over the doorway....good thing I love to shop and create!

If you have any ideas for photos or artwork on either side of this built-in...send some ideas my way. I'm on a roll.....

For My Northern California Friends

I found out about this store on the My Romantic Home blog. It's called Move It Elsewhere and located in San Jose, California.

It's only open a few days each month, but it looks like a wonderful huge consignment center on Lincoln Avenue in San Jose.

Checkti out if you live close by. Vesna...this looks like your kind of place...have you been there?

Pretty Peppers

I grew these beautiful tri-color peppers in my garden. I love the colors in them.

Problem is...I am the only one in the family who likes them. What to do with all these pretty peppers?

Well...here's what I did. I seeded them and sliced them up. I baked 4 chicken breasts in the oven. I chopped up some Walla Walla sweet onions.

Once the chicken was cooked, I sliced it up nicely. Then I sprayed a frying pan with some non-stick spray. I tossed in the peppers and onions and sauteed them. Then I put in the chicken breast. To season it up, I cheated and just used this packaged fajita mix.

I continued cooking until it was done. Then I put my fajita into a nice whole wheat tortilla. Just delicious! Almost as good as getting fajitas at Chevy's once you add some cilantro and fresh tomatoes and lettuce.

Then I took the remaining peppers, onions and chicken breasts and divided them into three freezer bags. I popped those babies into the feezer. Now I have ready-made frozen "fast" food for a lunch or dinner.

What a great way to avoid having these pretty peppers go to waste.

Simple. Healthy. Easy. Don't you love it?

The Curious Sofa Decorates for Halloween

If you are in the mood to decorate for autumn/Halloween, you've just got to take a look at this incredible shop in Kansas - the Curious Sofa.

I totally enjoyed browsing through Debbie's shop and was amazed by her incredible creativity.

Enjoy and start thinking about how you are going to decorate your home...

Isn't this display just spectacular??? I JUST LOVE IT!

Look at this gorgeous autumn vignette....sigh...

It might be worth it to take a trip to Kansas just to go to this beautiful shop.