Less Words More Pics

Earlier in the week I shared my newly created fall wreath.  After hanging it on the door I got in the swing of fall decorating.

I don't let think you need captains for gourds and leaves...so here you go my simple fall decorating.  The photos were taken after dark, with and without flash...sorry.

 The pinecones are cinnamon scented- awesome.  They and the cute baby gourds were from HD. 

Does it look like fall around your house? 

Welcome Fall

The fall wreath is only part of our fall doorstep.  It barely seemed to stop raining in September, hence the wet, overcast photos. 

 I've never seen two-toned mums, I had to get the purple and yellow ones! I'm hoping they'll be hardy enough to come back next fall. 

                  

I've never planted ornamental kale but these green and purple ones seem fun.

We loved these little (non-eatable) peppers.  They were used in the awesome Bellagio conservatory display from our frist wedding anniversary trip.  And they can come inside once the cool weather hits. So fun! 

 

Do you have any favorite fall flowers?

Say It 3 Times Fast

Cheap Wreath, Cheap Wreath, Cheap Wreath

One of my September goals was to make something for me.  Well this is technically for the house, but I'm counting it as the same.

Pretty huh?

Kidding- when visiting John's parents this summer I found the wreath at Goodwill for $0.95.

The front color was ok (it actually photographed prettier than in real life), but too light for my needs.  FYI- the back was gold.  A few coats of Lab Brown later.....

Some fabric, buttons, glue and the final product.

One bummer about my black door is that dark items don't "pop".  In fact I think I'm going to have to make a "back board" for my black Halloween feather wreath. 

Have you made anything for your house lately?

Sunday Night

We've had a busy weekend.  Yesterday we made our annual trip to Harrisburg for JMU's homecoming.  For me the event is more about friends, tailgating, and local food...not football.

We had a great time....we even won the game, against an in-state rivale.  Sunday morning we got up, enjoyed breakfast at a local bagel then drove home.

On our drive we stopped at a recommended apple farm.  However it started raining, so instead of picking our apples we filled a bag and grabbed two jugs of apple cider.  I struggle, and complain about, ever fall to find "real" apple cider.  This was the real deal!  And they were making it right in front of our eyes.

After a quick nap, with football in the background, we decorated for fall.  I even did some research for school.  Pretty nice rainy Sunday.

Made even better by this great "night cap".

Warm cider, a brownie bit and two little pumpkin doughnut holes.  They doughnut holes were a star of the tailgate.  I definitely recommended them. One can of pumpkin is a double of the recipe, I got 5 dozen holes out of it.

What did you do this weekend?

Thanksgiving

Notice anything in these photos?

Can you tell we are hosting not only Thanksgiving for 9 but 5 house-guests the holiday weekend?


I'm in a rush to get baking, but before I tie on my apron- some fall decorations.  Kim's theme this week was "dare to entertain".  Now normally I'm not great at table tops, but this year more than ever the rush was on; we had the shop for food, plan the menu, finish the kitchen (more on that next week), etc. And in the move a box of fall decor (with my monogrammed funkin and crafted felt pumpkins) went missing.  So very sad.


So the decorating happened last night.  The good news was that my sister is here, so not only was it a lot of fun to have her join in, but she was a huge help.  Thanks Toots.


On to the photos- all taken at night, sorry.

detail shot- I'll show how I made these holders later in the week

woven pumpkins- Target $2 spot earlier in the fall

The dinning room table 

 Pilgrims in the dinning room

 The Thankful tree from last year's DIY party- it got "trimmed" in the move

 Cookie Jar with figure friendly, seasonally "treats"

Guest room dresser

In addition to my sister and John pitching in for the decorating, we were overseen by two cute, and festive pups (they are sporting matching turkey bandannas) .

I hope everyone has a wonderful, restful and tasty Thanksgiving!

Welcome to Thanksgiving

It's that time of year....to me Halloween is the start of the Holiday Season.  And once again Kim is hosting the DIY part.

Last year, for the first week of the challenge- Thankful, my mom and I "grew" a Thankful Tree.

This year's project needed to come together faster.  Using only items I had in my craft room and the drawings of a sweet student, I created Welcome Cards.  My parents, sister, Aunt and Uncle are visiting for the holiday; I'll leave the cards on their pillows.  Hopefully they'll know how pleased we are to have them.

This year I am thankful that my family is traveling to spend the holiday with us.  And I'm thankful for the sweet student who drew the leaves.

What are you thankful for?

Want to see what the others created?  Go see Kim's post!

Welcome Back

Hello, anyone still out there?  


How did a go a month and a half without blogging?  It has been a very busy time- the days flew by.  The good news is that I've lots of photos and much to blog about.  The sad news...my external hard-drive with all my photos for the past 5 years (wedding, honeymoon, Chester...) kicked the butt.  The geek squad was not able to recover  nearly enough.....yeah there have been fits of frustration.  


How was everyone's fall?


Who's taking part in Kim's 2nd annual Dare to DIY?!

This week's theme is "Thankful".

Last year my mom and I created a Thankful Fall Tree.

Sadly, it suffered some damage in the move.  

My project this year is a little less detailed but sweet- check it out later in the weekend.

First Week Of Fall

While the official date of fall may be later this month, for me this was the first week of fall.

1. We've had some fall temperatures (60's during the day)...never mind it will be in the 80's later this week.

2.School started this week.  

I'm at a new school (6th-12th grade) and starting a new/pilot program.  I have 7 boys all with Asperger's. 

I like my guys (most of the time).  I like the school- although it is a bit of a culture adjustment (teacher go by first names, kids get an equal vote in most polices and there aren't real rules), as this school is known as "hippy high".  I like most of the teachers, although I already know 3 are going to be a headache.  

We've already had some exciting events:

-1st day we put a kid on the wrong bus (neither he nor we knew his number) and he walked 3 miles home (yes, I felt horrible) 

-2nd day- had to step between two of the guys before they came to blows.

3.We attended our town's Fall Festival and Taste the Town event Saturday.  Very tasty (and crowded) 

4. Saturday evening I wore both long sleeves and jeans when we went out shopping and to the movies. 

Upcoming fall events:

I can't wait to make these again

Apple Cider Doughnuts 

And wear my birthday gift from John

Steven Madden Intyce Boot 

How is your fall going?  Any exciting events so far?

A Fall Table- DIY Dare

Well, I'm about 2 weeks late posting this DIY Dare. And I have plenty of excuse, I was sewing table runners but scrapped them (they were ugly), Thanksgiving, etc. In the end I figured, since I did the assignment (and took a ton of photos) I might as well turn turn it in late for partial credit. ( Is the teacher in me showing?)

We didn't host Thanksgiving, but I planned to use the opportunity to finish matching table runners I start in early Sept. I love the look for two runners, parallel across the width of the table, acting as placements. Late in the summer I found a pattern on a blog that I thought was cute, and went fabric shopping with my mom for fall hued fabric. But once they were almost together...I just didn't like the look.

The final table

Napkin rings made from the Saran-Wrap tube. I used double sided tape and left-over orange ribbon from the thankful tree.

The flash did something funny to the color, they aren't as bright and not nearly as shiny.

This shot shows the color a bit more accurately.

Using Martha's directions, I made a dozen tissue paper flowers, four each of; golden, cranberry, orange. I tried laying them on top of the napkin and standing the water glass. I think I like them on the napkin best.

A parting shot...

Go check out all the pretty tables created!