It's Been Way Too Long

I took a little time off from blogging again. Football season takes up my weekends since we go to all of the Alabama home games and we have been working on a HUGE project at my house which I will share with you.  First I need to take down all of the Christmas decorations.  I am always ready on December 26th to take everything down. 

Come on in!  I'll show you a few of my decorations before I pack them away.

 

 

 

I decorated the dining room table differently this year.  I like it so much that I am thinking of just changing out a few things and keep it up for the New Year. 

Guess What I Have Been Doing This Summer?

It is hard to believe that school starts back tomorrow.  I haven't had a lot of time to blog this summer because I have been so busy doing other stuff.  I did manage to squeeze in a lot of porch sitting along with all of my projects.   Now I will share with you a little at a time with what I have been doing. 

My first project was the staining of my front door.  Even though it's covered, it still weathers a lot.  It also faces the west and gets the hot sun in the afternoon which over time causes it to fade.  I went a little darker this summer and it gave it more of an aged appearance. I used Behr: Misson Oak in a satin finish with polyurethane.

 

Do you see that gorgeous hanging basket? It has grown so much and I have to keep pruning it.   I'll tell you about that on another post. 

 Check back later and I'll share some of my other summer projects.

High Tea and Girls Day Out

Yesterday I got to spend an afternoon with 2 great friends.  We began our "Girls Day Out"  with an afternoon tea at this cute little tea room in Woodstock called Tea Leaves and Thyme.  It was reminiscent of my childhood days when I would pretend to have tea parties. 

This was a big girl's tea party.

Next it was off for SHOPPING at the Woodstock Antique Market.  Remember I decorate on a budget so if I find something that I really like, I will duplicate it without spending a lot of money.

Cute little chalkboard.  I know I can duplicate this.  After careful examination I discovered that it is a plastic tray (yes, plastic) from the dollar store and the center is painted with chalkboard paint.  Can you see the price tag?  It was $9.95!  You have got to be kidding me!

I have seen this so many times before on other blogs and I can definitely do this.  Off to Goodwill to look for old books.

Now this is something that I CANNOT duplicate.  These are beautiful tassels created by Traci at Timeless Southern Home.   I have featured her before: A Unique Find.  

There it was calling her name! 

Aren't they just beautiful!  We went there just so I could show my friends these tassels.  This is going to look so pretty in her kitchen.

This is next on my "to do" list. 

Add a Little White

I needed a little change to my bedroom so instead of putting a lot of money into new bedding, I decided to make a subtle change by just adding a little white.   What a difference it made by just this small change.  In the fall, I'll just take it off and put the comforter back on.  (I'm still keeping it folded at the foot of the bed).  There is a Tuesday Morning in the same shopping center as the gym where I work out.  I'm not sure if this is a good thing or bad thing because it is too tempting.  Yesterday, instead of turning right to go to my car, I turned left and walked right to the store.  There it was, a beautiful Matelasse coverlet with matching shams and it was in white! The price was too good to pass up so I bought it. What a difference it made by just adding a little white to what I already had.  I'm all about doing things on a budget.  It adds a little "summer" to my bedroom.

This is before:

 This is after:

 

Oh, and while I was there, I found this cute little fake book.  I couldn't pass it up because I have just the spot for it.

Joining Wow Us Wednesdays

A Unique Find

Recently I made a little trip to the Woodstock Antique Market just to purchase one of Traci's beautiful tassels. She has a little booth stocked with all kinds of cute little tassels. Click here to  pay her a visit at  Timeless Southern Home


Isn't this beautiful!

My Hanging Lantern

I have been wanting to hang a lantern from the ceiling of my porch for a long time. A few weeks ago in The Pottery Barn, I saw some lanterns hanging from the ceiling so I grabbed my camera out of my purse and took this picture.

I decided to duplicate the look. The Pottery Barn has some great looking lanterns but the prices are a little more than I want to pay.

On my way home, I stopped into T.J. Maxx and look what I found.

And look at the price!

I then found this battery operated candle with a REMOTE CONTROL. How cool is that? I won't have any trouble turning it on while it is hanging from the ceiling.

Now a trip to home depot to purchase rope and a hook. I wanted a rustic look so instead of using a chain I used large rope.

My husband came up with a great way to tie the knot so it won't fall. I like my version better than the one at The Pottery Barn.

I'm Back With a Little Monogramming

I took a little break from blogging but I'm back now. Spring is here and I have a lot of projects planned to complete.

I want to share with you how I achieved a designer look to my bed. One day while browsing through a major department store, I saw a comforter set that I really liked but it was very expensive so I decided to duplicate it. I grabbed my phone, took a picture and set out on a scavenger hunt. I found a comforter set at a very famous discount chain that had a similar pattern in the same color scheme but cost a lot less. Instead of using the bedskirt that came with the set, I found a crinkled bedskirt at Tuesday Morning. Then I searched for coordinating pillows and found the perfect ones at Old Time Pottery.

Now for the finishing touch: I had the pillow shams monogrammed.

I'm linking to Addicted2decorating

I need a Little Spring

First it was the snow and ice and now it is rain. Last weekend we had 2 beautiful sunny days but it was just a teaser. It has rained all week so I decided to make my own springtime by making a little trip to "Michaels".

I started with a few cherry blossoms and a crystal vase that I already had.

Add a few twigs that I found in my back yard.

I then added some greenery. To make it look more realistic, I curled some of it around my finger.

Then I added some glass beads.

Add a little moss and it's done. Very simple.

I needed a little more color so I added one sprig of "Forsythia". Now I have brought a little spring into my home.