Fall Decorating

Every year when Fall rolls around, I get excited about decorating my house! My husband probably doesn't see the value in all this - but he knows I love to do it for my family. I feel like I'm blessing my family when I make it all pretty for them. I love the colors of fall and the scents and of course, the food and the weather. I guess it's my favorite season. Just wish it hung around a little longer.

The wreath above hangs on my fireplace screen. The picture really doesn't do it justice because the colors are so vivid and the ribbon bow is so beautiful in variegated shades of fall colors. I have had this many years and tweak it a little more every year.

My wall looks a little bare here. Its really tall and wide. I have other pics that show close-ups.

Our fall mantle with our little garlands of leaves, acorns and pheasant feathers. I doubled this and now it looks so much better. Found this one at Big Lots.

Since I took this pic, I changed this arrangement a bit. One of my Southern Living candlesticks has green wrapped around it instead of the orange and there are some other things on the table. I learned a long time ago from a decorating pro that you can layer things on your tables. Here, I have a tray, some dishes and then some candlesticks and then, still, some beads on the candles. I thought it looked pretty.

Made this arrangement from one I saw years ago in Southern Accents.

I love this lamp! It is my favorite. The pear candlesticks are really porcelain painted to look like brass.

My little crow that I picked up in Fredericksburg, Texas. He is tying his shoes with his beak!

These feather balls are really Christmas ornaments but I took the hangers off them and put them in this bowl.

All dressed up for fall

Showing the bottom of the bakers rack

This basket hangs on the inside of my front door with the vinyl letters below it that say, "God bless our home".

My scarecrow usually sits on the outside patio but it was raining so I brought him inside for awhile.

My table arrangement tonight. I change it quite often, centerpiece and all.

This is the centerpiece I am using now. I love this little garland with the rusty stars on it. I put some acorns and pumpkins and bows around on it and decorated the candles. I'll probably keep on fiddling with it till I like it.

I bought these Spode plates from T.J. Maxx a long time ago (They are a reproduction) and bring them out every fall. Today they hold my glass pumpkins from Dollar Tree

One of my other arrangements I came up with.

I keep all my fruits and veggies in baskets from Dollar Tree. I love this idea because it keeps them in site so I will use them! Also looks really pretty.

Candy Corn in a Southern Living vase.

My chicken came from San Antonio market. I put some pipberries around her to look like a nest.

Just a stack of dishes with my dishcloth napkins.

My granddaughter got into the act by decorating this little pumpkin.

Towels in my bathroom. I thought by using several different colors it wouldn't be the same old cookie cutter look.

Inside the tub I hung these washcloths and put these candles. Shower curtain came from Walmart, part of the Better Homes and Gardens collection.

Monogram pic from Kirklands. I put the monogram in it.

Bought this silver tray from Goodwill for $1. and decorated it with candles and beads.

I hope you like my fall decorating. I had a lot of fun doing it and hope to keep adding to my collection.

Baskets and cleaning......

Recently, I have been doing some Spring cleaning - cleaning out closets, drawers, cabinets, etc. We Southern women are serious about our cleaning. You all have heard the old saying, "Cleanliness is next to Godliness!" We just won't tolerate a mess in our homes! Every Southern woman I have ever known who was worth the title knows that a clean home is essential to everyday life. Having things clean and uncluttered is my idea of being happy! I truly love it when everything feels really clean and fresh! I also love the smell of lemons, limes and grapefruit! It is a fresh, clean scent that I want to have near me all the time. I recently purchased some Febreze spray in the lemon and lime scent. It just smells so fresh! I love it! Lavender is another scent that I love. I love to spray lavender linen water on my bed linens.

My goal is to have the windows and blinds clean, all the baseboards wiped down, all the linens freshly washed and smelling like "Apple Mango Tango", all the doors and moldings wiped down and the carpets freshly cleaned. Sound ambitious? I'm giving myself till the end of Spring to get it all done.

I have a goal: When I or someone else walks into my home, I want it to be like a welcoming party on the inside. I want to look forward to coming home to my home. I want it to smell good, look good and be a place of serenity for all who come here. I hate loud noises, bad smells, cluttered places and smelly laundry. Yes, I do have all of that, like everyone else but I am choosing not to have it anymore. My new fetish is called CLEAN!!

I'm going to concentrate this week on my bathrooms. Neither of them is very big but the drawers and cabinets could use a really good scrubbing. I am queen of putting things in little baskets and organizing them. I have to confess that I have a love affair with bleach! Having a bleached bathroom makes me sing the "Hallelujah Chorus"!

Yesterday, while shopping at Target, I purchased a Shark Steam Pocket Mop. I love it!!!! It's so easy to use and only needs water - no more harsh chemicals. When we use a mop and bucket, I always have a film on my floors. This mop leaves no residue. It dries almost instantly and leaves a little glow on the floor. I'm so loving my floors now! If only they made something that cleans this well for the carpets! I actually had fun cleaning my floors! I highly recommend this mop! It comes with extra cleaning pads that you just toss into the washer. It is easy on your back and honestly, my floors look like no one ever walks on them. I am going to give them a white sock test next time I clean. I'm proud of my tile floors!

By the way, Shark doesn't even know I'm alive and no, I wasn't paid to say all of that.

Having a little one in the house just makes me want to get it clean and keep it that way. She plays in the floor a lot and even picks up food that she drops and eats it!

I plan to show you a lot of the baskets that I use around the house. They seem to be everywhere but they help so much with organization. I'm always on the look for new ones. Can't have enough organization!

Snowed In!

We had over 12 inches of snow here in our area. This is very strange for here around the Dallas area. Usually we just get a little dusting or 1/2 inch and then it melts the next day and we forget all about it. But this time, we really got snow and a lot of it! It's 4 days later and it still is melting. Our roofs are still covered and most of the ground. Temps haven't been too warm so it might take awhile. It was so thick on our street that cars couldn't get in their driveways and had to park in the street! We don't know how to drive around here on snow like this. My husband and granddaughter made a snowman in our backyard when there was only about 4 inches on the ground. Little did we know that it would snow for almost 15 straight hours! There were lots of power outages, fires, wrecks, etc. so it most definitely made the news.

Here are some more pics of our backyard and snowman.

I'm blessed! I'm blessed! I'm blessed!

Our daughter and two grandchildren are coming tomorrow! I still haven't given the house a once-over or even bought many of my groceries. I've much to do and not a lot of time to do it in.

We won't have our Thanksgiving dinner until Friday afternoon. The other kids have to honor their wives by having dinner with their families so we put it off a day. No big deal - actually gives me more time.

I've made my menu already. We are having
Turkey
Dressing
Ham
Cranberry sauce
Sweet Potatoes
Layered Salad
Rolls/butter
Chocolate sheet cake
Pumpkin Pie
Cranberry Trifle
Cheesecake
Banana/blueberry bread
Tea/coffee

That should definitely fill everyone up! I've got to make my cornbread tomorrow, cook my cranberries, make my pumpkin pies, and my breads.
The turkey is thawing in the fridge, the sweet potatoes will be made on Thursday and the other desserts. We'll put the turkey in the oven early on Friday morning when I put out the rolls to rise. The dressing I make in my large crockpot and it takes about 5 hours so I'll turn it on early Friday morning also.

My house is all decorated and the table is set. I expect about 13 people in all. All the kids will be here except one. I'm looking forward to good food and lots of fun conversation! We always sit around and talk about good times together while we laugh and watch the kids play. Can't wait! My husband will get us all around the table holding hands while we say grace and thank our Heavenly Father for all our many blessings.

Thanksgiving is the only holiday that isn't comercialized to death! They aren't trying to sell you things. It's just a good day to remember our many blessings and be thankful. We should have more than one of these a year! I hope everyone will have a good meal to eat that day and be with someone to celebrate. If I knew a soldier that didn't have any family, I'd invite them.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone! God's blessings on all of you!

I'm still here!

All is well with me. Just been really busy! I promise to post real soon. I have lots of things to write about. Just need to find the time.

Sharing our courtyard with you....

I am sharing pictures of our beautiful courtyard with you because I am feeling a little bit nostalgic tonight! This was in a house that we previously lived in for 16 years! I don't believe that I have ever loved a house more than this one! Before we started on this makeover, the courtyard was covered in ground cover for years! We couldn't even use it, just walk past it every single day. From the day we moved in, I had plans to do this. Have you ever put off doing a project for years because of finances? We did for 13 years!

This picture is of the waterfall next to the front deck. It ran under the deck and you had to walk across it. The 'leaning flowerpots' are made with a rod that runs through the hole in the bottom of the pots. I picked it up in Canton, Texas.

This pic is of the side of the courtyard. There were three gates that went into it. My Mother bought me that sundial at Sam's Club for my birthday. It was exactly what I wanted. Over the years it had turned sort of verdegris patina. I love it!

This is a shot farther back showing one of our side entrances. It used to have a narrow deck going up to the door. I like it so much better now!

This is the right side of the pond and deck leading up to the front door. My copper flamingo came from Target.

My wrought iron plantstand came from Target. Several people commented that they would have bought it if they had seen it first! The concrete planter came from Wal-Mart. I fell in love with it so my husband bought it for me for Mother's Day.

I had been collecting furniture and things for years. I had this future courtyard in mind everytime I would buy something.

This waterfall gave off the most lovely sounds! It was almost like music listening to it! The little fisherman, my husband bought off the side of the road one day coming home from the First Monday in Canton, Texas! I gave him the hat and fishing pole. I used to put an American flag in his hands during the patriotic holidays.

A view of some of our goldfish. They would come right up to us to feed~

Well, every now and then I like to look back and appreciate what we had and what we worked so hard for. I still have all that furniture and accessories but I can never make it look that good again!

I posted this on Rate My Space tonight also. I guess I just wanted to share it with others. I was so proud of it! It gave us many happy memories.

Rhoda, at Southern Hospitality, is having a Garden Party so I joined in it today. Go over there to see some awesome gardens and flowers!

I've become a Blogaholic!!!

I'm not kidding!! I LOVE BLOGS!!! I honestly think I'm a better person because of reading blogs. In fact, I read them so often that I forget to post! I'm also a copykat. I copy things that I see all the time from other blogs. The first thing I ever made was this ragamuffin garland for my grandbabies room. I hung some of her little shoes on it. Lots of comments from people when they see it! I copied this idea from Nesting Place.




I made this picture frame and a silhouette also after seeing it posted on another blog. I also bought the frame from Dollar Tree, used my scrapbook paper and a cheap pearl necklace that I found. See, I'm also learning to be frugal!

Another time, I also fell in love with a sign I saw. It just spoke to me so I decided to make my own. It sits on my mantle and I get lots of comments on it.


Forgive me if I don't give credit from where I copied these ideas. I read so many blogs that I can't possibly remember where I saw it. If you notice one of your ideas on here, let me know and I'll be glad to give you credit. Imitation is the nicest form of flattery, you know!


The picture below is when I was making it. I'll have to take another pic of it on the mantle.

I got really enthused when I spotted this chalkboard plate. I made one that very day! It turned out fabulous and I use it daily. I love it!!! This idea came from Blogeritaville.

I'm telling ya, you blogging girls are special! You are so smart! I love reading about how other people live, about their lives, how they decorate, their families, how they cook, about their crafts. I have learned so much! I have copied so many pictures that my computer picture file is about to explode! I have bought things for so many new projects. Right now, I have projects to make a tassel, paper flowers, drop cloth curtains, paint a room with a decorative treatment on it, do a monogram, etc. I'll eventually get around to all of it because I am really pumped! I love doing these things! I have learned to shop more frugally. I have discovered the Goodwill and that we have three thrift stores right here in my town! I have made so many new recipes that my husband is in heaven!

I can't sing the praises of bloggers enough. I wish I had discovered this when I was a lot younger. I'm too old now to ever catch up with everything. Everyday it's like a new treat, getting online and reading new blogs. There are several I read daily but I always discover some new ones. I have hundreds saved in my favorites places. I'm hooked, pure and simple.

Just want to say thank you to everyone out there who blogs. When I am down, you lift me up. When I am bored, you give me something to do. When I am hungry, there's always a new recipe to try. In fact, my Christmas dinner was a complete hit because of all the recipes I tried. I got rave reviews! I am like an addict! I can't read enough! I am trying to wean myself however because my husband likes to get on the computer too! I usually spend a couple of hours a night on it when everyone is in bed. Round about midnight, I look at the clock and regretfully drag myself away from the computer. But, you can rest assured that I'll be back early the next morning. Like I said I'm an addict and a died in the wool Blogaholic!