Fall Decor

Fall is beginning to be my favorite season.  I love the jewel-toned colors, the warm scents, and the cozy blankets I bring out from our blanket box. I created a list of my favorite things for Fall, but unfortunately I wasn't able to splurge on any of those items, but I do see some DIY projects for the future.  This year I got some new flowers to brighten empty corners.  Here's some of the fall things you spotted around my house this year.  Seeing as it's November 30, my Christmas Tree and decor start going up tomorrow.  I'm pretty excited about seeing all the lights around the neighborhood, but that's another story.

Anyways, here's our dining room.  The table runner is from Crate & Barrel, so are the tea light candle holders as the centerpiece.  The orange tea lights are from Yankee Candle Company.  The black place mats are also from Crate & Barrel and are actually the backs.  The orange place mats I made last year and have fall leaves on the other side, but no one knew that!  I'm sneaky sometimes.

Joe had a good idea to put some flowers I'd gotten to coordinate with the table runner over here in the corner.  I thought it was a great idea and it looks fantastic and really finishes out the room.  I'm not sure if I'll ever move it. I might just rotate the flowers. These flowers are from Hobby Lobby and the vase is from Marshall's.  The frame I picked up on clearance at Bed Bath & Beyond and filled it with my favorite wedding pictures.

You saw this up in the dining room picture. I used contact paper, cut into shapes to give our door a frosted look.  I LOVE the way it turned out but it was a TON of work.  The windows next to this won't get the same treatment.  I think it'll make the room look to dark at night.

Here's another view of the dining room to view our finally completed photo wall and buffet decor.

Here's the little set-up.  The green vase I got from Nebraska Furniture Mart in Kansas.  The purple bowl is from Hobby Lobby.  The fake goards are from Jo-Ann's last year.  The vine ball is from Pier 1.  I made the runner for the buffet just out of linen from the fabric store.  It's the same color as the one on the table.

And here's our Photo Wall!  FINALLY! We've got a bunch of miscellaneous pictures and prints up there.  In the center we've got some scrapbook paper in Fall Theme, of coarse.  Starting to the right of the "S" and working clockwise we've got:
- Photo strips from weddings we've been to
- A picture of river rocks I took myself
- An image of the River Market downtown Kansas City from an old calendar we had laying around
- A picture we took during our vacation to Atlanta Botanical Gardens of a Lily Pad
- A sketch-up of our pooch, Daisy that my Hubby created on Picnik
- A piece of scrapbook paper
- A printable saying
- A Picture of a waterfall at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas
- A poem that came with the frame
- and finally, A picture of the pond at Forest park in St. Louis

We'll change out the three slot frame along the way.

Last but not least, here's our mantle and fireplace. Nothing fancy.  Just a cute little turkey hanging out there I picked up from Hobby Lobby.  I got the Owl from Nebraska Furniture Mart.  The Pumpkin from TJ Maxx, The leave garland from Jo-Ann's, The white vase from Target.  The candles and the holders are from Kohl's.

So Happy Fall Everyone!  Hopefully, you enjoyed my little fall decor tour.  What did you think of it all?

Quote of Inspiration

Today I need a bit of inspiration, so I thought I'd pass some along to you also.

It's almost Turkey Day!

My favorite memories of spending time with family are always at the holidays.  Thanksgiving is no different. As a child I remember driving 5 hours from our home in Kentucky to my grandma and grandpa's house near St. Louis.  It was always exciting to see our aunts, uncles, and cousins. So much so that my sister and I would stay up as late as we were aloud before being forced to go to bed, where we would wait until we heard the front door close and RUN out of the room to see our cousins that always arrived long after we were supposed to be sleeping.  Over the course of the weekend, we would play dress up, get our hair french braided, and watch movies with grandma and grandpa while all the parents went out to catch up, I kinda wish I new where but I really think it was dinner and the casino. When it comes down to the meal, I remember having tables in every room to seat the 50 or so people ready for sit-down dinner.  We'd have SO much food: turkey, sweet potatoes, canned cranberry sauce (with the lines and all), pumpkin pie, cool whip and much more.

I'll never forget the year that the sink got clogged and the dishes had to be washed in the bathtub.  HOPEFULLY nothing like that will happen on Saturday when I am hosting Thanksgiving at our house for the first time EVER!  It's not going to be huge, but 10 people is quite a bit more than the standard 2 in our household.

I won't lie, I'm pretty nervous.  Thankfully, since I'm a list-maker I think I have everything under control.

I've got a few lists going right now, including:

• Dinner Menu
• Shopping List
• Cleaning List
• Timeline for Cooking
• Decorations and Serving Dishes

So what am I cooking?  A ton of things!  I am just so excited, but I'm still trying to figure out how to have everything ready at the same time.

Our Thanksgiving Dinner Menu:

Main Dish
Herb Roast Turkey

Sides:
Old Fashioned Stuffing
Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Candied Sweet Potatoes
Green Beans with Toasted Almonds
Jellied Cranberry Sauce
Creamed Corn
Fresh Made Bread 

Desserts:
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie
Apple Pie
Whipped Cream

What's on your menu?  Do you think there is anything I'm missing for our dinner?

Happy Veteran's Day

Happy Veteran's Day!

A Veteran is someone, who at one point in their life, wrote a check payable to "The United States of America" for the amount up to, and including, their life.

So thank you, to those who have served, who are currently serving, and especially those who gave everything.

Weekend Warriors

I just LOVE weekends.  Not only because I get a break from the office, but also because of all the adventures that lay ahead. The only thing I don't like about the weekends is that Monday always comes too soon.

A few weekends ago, we actually had not a single plan on the calendar.  You know what that means: PROJECT WEEKEND!!!! I tend to refer to us in this situation as weekend warriors.  I got the urge to look up the Urban Dictionary definition of this and it cracked me up.  This weekend of course, was an epic weekend! Here's Urban Dictionary's definition:

weekend warrior a person who holds a regular job during the week which restricts their ability to party/go on trips/partake in awesome activities, and thus plans epic weekend adventures to compensate. As much variation and quantity of awesomeness is packed into the weekends as physically possible, warranting the rest of the work week to recharge for the next weekend.

So yes, the hubby and I "partook in awesome activities with as much variation and quantity of awesomeness packed into our weekend as physically possible".  Our standard Saturday morning routine includes letting the dog out, giving her breakfast, then laying in bed and discussing the plans for the day.  I was totally stoked when Joe suggested the first project on the list. Here's a look at the projects we worked on and their story:

Kitchen Cabinet Update

Our house was built in 2000. The cabinet style in that day (not so long ago) included a piece of trim over the sink connecting the cabinets on both sides. I've always thought it looked a bit funny and I told hubby a while ago that I really didn't like it and the main reason was that I wanted a pendant light where the can light is above the kitchen sink. I was so excited to get this project going!  Here's a picture of the kitchen before.

And here's the style I'm dreaming for: a pendant light, the spring curtain rod, rings holding the curtain....the cabinet color? not quite my thing. I'll stick with our oak.

Source

Here's the steps we took:

1. Hubby used a small pry bar like this one to remove the long molding piece along the front of the cabinet and the piece placed below the molding.  

2. We tried to remove as many of the old nails as possible.  This was really difficult and we ended up just breaking them off and hammering it as flat as possible on the wood so there wasn't a gap when we placed the molding back up there.

3. We measured the length of molding needed on the sides of the cabinets and marked where that would be on the long molding piece. Hubby used his miter saw to cut the trim to the proper lengths.  I must say figuring out the angle was a bit tricky, so be careful if you're trying this at home.  It's definitely a measure 8x, cut once kinda thing.

4. Joe reattached the molding pieces and puttied any areas that will need sanded and re-stained.  

5. Since Daisy HATES the compressor and the nail gun, we took a little trip to Lowe's to pick up a recessed can conversion pendant light kit to hang. During our trip to Lowe's I hit the jackpot.  I know I just went for 1 thing, but I left with with two more projectss.  When walking to the lighting section, I noticed on the clearance rack, a chrome 3-light vanity fixture (just like the one we've been looking for), and they were clearancing out a TON of fans (also, just what we've been looking for).  So convenient right?

6. We hung the pendant light fixture kit and LOVE the final product.  We've still got to match the stain to patch up some small spots, and update the curtain rod, but here's the almost finished project.

I made the curtain from some linen material.  I'm posting the tutorial soon, so watch for it.

Here's the breakdown:

• Small Pry Bar: $0
• Measuring Tape: $0
• Miter Saw: $0
• Nail Gun (and compressor): $0
• Stain (from Lowe’s): $8 (Still needs to be done)
• Pendant Light Converter Kit (from Lowe’s): $30
• TOTAL: $38

Guest Bathroom Light Fixture

As discussed above, the coming about of this project was due to the trip to Lowe's to purchase the Pendant Light Converter Kit for above our Kitchen sink.  We already replaced the cabinet pulls and the sink faucet, but couldn't really find a new light fixture to match the style.  Here's the before and after of the fixture.

Here's the breakdown:

• 3-Light Vanity Fixture (from Lowe's): $40

Basement Fan

Again, this project sprouted from the Kitchen Cabinet update with the Pendant Light Converter Kit.  The gold fan in the basement was really getting to me, especially after painting the room and rearranging the set-up. Here's the before and after in the room.

Here's the breakdown:

• Fan Fixture: $40

Entryway 

I was totally inspired by Jenna Sue's entry way art and coat rack so I thought I'd come up with my own version.  Her art work is wonderful.  I love the geometric patterns and the simpleness of it.

Source

I also really LOVE the idea of having knobs as coat hooks.  I really was inspired by these drawer fronts used as coat hooks.

Source

We've haven't finished the project yet, but we're about halfway there.  We'll be finishing it up soon and revealing our entryway soon!

Kennedy's Baby Quilt

I started this baby quilt a few months before the baby was due.  Before I was finished, a beauty came along.  There is a precious little baby girl that is so adorable, Kennedy Caroline.  She was born in July with some life threatening issues.  She is such a fighter and is now doing very well.  I was inspired to design a quilt from the breathtaking one below.

Source

I designed my own pattern to be the perfect size for baby Kennedy.  Over the weekend I finished quilting, then a few days ago I made the binding and completed the quilt.

I can't reveal it just yet.  I have to make sure that Kennedy and her momma get it first.  I'll post soon though.

I can't wait to see what this coming weekend has in store!

What projects are on your plate?

Fall Pinterest Challenge Project

Oh Pinterest, how I love you.
Each and every day I explore your world and find even more reasons I love you.
I LOVE the Pinterest Challenge Fall Edition.

And now, here's your hosts:

Sherry of Young House Love 
Katie of Bower Power
Ana of Ana-white.com
Erin of House of Earnest 

I unfortunately am one of those people who has about 15-20 projects going at one time. It usually takes me a long time to finish a project since I have so many going at one time.  I really need to work on this! Here's a few pins that are currently being worked on at my house:

So there's five things I didn't finish for this Pinterest Challenge.  I'll try to finish them soon and post them here.

Make sure you check out the hosts' blogs listed above to see what other bloggers have completed with the Pinterest Challenge: Fall Edition.

What have you been pinning or working on lately? Leave link and I'll go check it out.