Finding Fall

This past weekend the temps went down to a new low -- 92 degrees! -- so I decided to take advantage of the cooler weather and decorate for fall.

(Note: That was sarcasm at its finest.)

Anyway, I was feeling more frost on the pumpkins than pumpkins on the vine, so I mostly ignored anything orange and went with a little yellow, and a lot of brown and white.

Oh, and a floating pumpkin.

one white pumpkin + an old bedspring coil = a floating pumpkin

Fall leaves fall

~Emily Bronte

Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;

Lengthen night and shorten day;

Every leaf speaks bliss to me

Fluttering from the autumn tree.

I shall smile when wreaths of snow

Blossom where the rose should grow;

I shall sing when night's decay

Ushers in a drearier day.

Family Room Makeover: It Started with a Rug

The time was here, the time was now ... a family room makeover, and it all started with a new rug. Isn't that how home improvement projects begin? You start with one thing -- like a fresh coat of paint or a new couch -- and then things spiral out of control. That one thing makes everything else look dated, or dingy, or just bleh, so before you know it the one thing has multiplied into many things.


So, the rug. We purchased a lovely one which brought some new colors into our room, mainly blues and greys which I found very soothing and fresh. Then, because the rug was smaller and exposed more of the hardwood floor, I suddenly didn't like how the exposed bricks on the fireplace looked anymore. And so I painted them ... farmhouse style.


I was starting to like the brightness of the room and decided to make some additional changes. After deciding what would stay (the couch) and what would not be changed (the wall color since it was painted recently) I reevaluated everything else.


Before long I replaced our brown coffee table and our wooden end tables. Then the window panels, artwork, couch cushions, and even the coffee table accessories.


My favorite purchase was the coffee table. It took some searching because I didn't want anything brand new but rather something with a little character. After visiting antique stores and browsing online, I finally found exactly what I was looking for at Consign Design, a local furniture consignment shop.


And now we have a new, updated family room anchored by a very nice rug which was the genesis for all these changes. I'm still tweaking a few things. I'm not sure about the artwork over the fireplace (I think I want something with a dark frame for the contrast), the reading chair in the opposite corner needs to be replaced, we need some lamps, and I may change out the window panels for something with a bit more color, but give me another week or so and I will have everything done.


In the meantime, here is the result (so far) ...

Family Room: Before

Family Room: After

P.S. In case you're wondering, here is where I got everything (most of it on sale or on clearance!):

rug: Home Depot

curtains: Pier One

coffee table: Consign Design

end tables: Carolina Pottery

artwork: Pier One

couch cushions: Target

A Thanksgiving Centerpiece in Four Easy Steps

My friend Mary Louise is a master gardener. She hosts workshops, gives talks, and blogs at MLCHgarden.com where her motto is cultivating life one garden at a time. Recently she did a Facebook Live tutorial for an easy Thanksgiving centerpiece. At first I was wary because easy for Mary Louise means totally the opposite for many people (like me). But here's the other thing about Mary Louise: she can also be very inspirational, so after I watched her tutorial I thought, "I can do this!"


And I did.


And so can you.


Here's a list of everything you need to make Mary Louise's Thanksgiving centerpiece: pumpkins, moss, adhesive spray, and succulents. It's so easy you won't need to take notes ... just follow the photo tutorial.

~1~ Assemble your supplies.

~2~ Grab a handful of moss, shape it, spray one side with adhesive spray, and plop it down on top of your pumpkin. No scooping pumpkin innards!

~3~ Remove a succulent from it's container and break up the root ball. Then, make an opening in the moss and insert the succulent. Repeat until your pumpkin top is covered.

~4~ Fill in spaces with additional moss (I used three different types).

That's it ... four easy steps to create a centerpiece which will transform your Thanksgiving table.

(P.S. Mary Louise says that in order to keep the succulents fresh, just mist lightly with water. Then, whenever you're ready to get rid of the pumpkins simply remove the succulents and transplant them into pots or containers.)

Writing, Fall, Waiting

The past few months I faced a looming deadline which was all sorts of scary, but wonderful, too. Yesterday I met the deadline and closed my laptop. And so now I wait ... and decorate for fall.

Exterior House Maintenance

It was time ...


New roof, new shutters.


Removed trees, pruned bushes and Crepe Myrtles, touched-up paint on exterior windows and porch.


And this fall we have plans for some interior maintenance, although last month we got a head start with a new water heater.

Getting Ready: How to Furnish Your Apartment

Tomorrow Joe, Nicholas and I are flying to Little Rock, Arkansas to help Nicholas find and sign a lease for an apartment. Then, in one week he leaves for training in Denver, after which the moving van will be here to pack up all his stuff for his new life (and career!) in Little Rock.


You should see our rec room.


But we won't go there; instead, let me share with you how we've helped Nicholas stock his future apartment.

1. We started with what he had.

Which, truthfully, wasn't much. As far as furniture goes, he basically he had a television and a bed (top mattress and box spring, but no headboard). The mattress was brand new, but the box spring wasn't. So we decided to keep the mattress and then purchase a platform bed (with a headboard!) so we didn't have to deal with storing and/or transporting a bulky box spring.

2. We shopped yard sales, estate sales, and consignment stores.

(with the exception of the desk, nothing was over $100)

3. We re-purposed.

Up in our attic was a white bookcase that used to be in Timothy's nursery. We brought it down, painted it black, and re-purposed it into an entertainment center. Nicholas' flat screen television will sit on top, and the canvas storage bins (not shown) will be used for storage.

4. We re-upholstered.

Also stored in our attic was a kitchen table and four chairs that Joe and I had when we first married. It's quality furniture, but the chair cushions needed to be replaced.


It's amazing what a bolt of Waverly upholstery fabric, a staple gun, and a rainy afternoon can do.

And there you have it. All this preparation has been exciting, but also bittersweet. Keep us in your prayers this weekend as Nicholas makes some big decisions!

Rec Room Reveal

Shortly after moving into our house we decided to build a separate, two car garage at the end of our driveway and convert our old garage into a rec room. The old garage door was replaced by french doors; the industrial gray walls were painted a sunny yellow; the concrete floor was carpeted; and benches were added around one wall. We purchased a beautiful farm table, and accessorized with inspiration from all things Italian Countryside (think Tuscan farmhouse).


EVERYTHING happened in our rec room: dinner parties, slumber parties, gaming marathons, scrapbooking, RC racing, Lego tournaments, school projects, and billiard tournaments.

Our rec room used to be the garage.
(before photo)

But after 13 years it was in desperate need of a makeover. Here's what I wanted to do:

• paint walls, window frames, and doors
• replace lighting over table and add lighting over pool table
• create focal wall
• change the felt color on the pool table
• add seating for gaming and television
• replace café curtains
• replace existing farm table with a trestle farm table 

It was a lot to take on, so after I consulted a friend who gave me some ideas, I created an inspiration board. This really helped me stay on task; however, after I picked the pool table cover I added a robin's egg blue (not pictured) to the color palette.

rec room inspiration board: neutral colors, contrasted with dark woods,
and accents of red and robin's egg blue.

And so I got to work, starting with the walls. Arrivederci yellow, ciao Carrington beige.

Yes, I did all the painting and, yes, I rigged that ladder.
paint: Benjamin Moore's Carrington Beige

Our rec room has 12-foot ceilings, so I got a workout climbing
up and down a ladder for almost a week.

Then we (or rather, my husband) hung two lighting fixtures (purchased at Lowe's) -- one over the farm table and one over the pool table -- and created a focal wall by hanging an antique mantel (which I sanded and stained) and a giant clock from Hobby Lobby.

Two lighting fixtures in a weekend.
My husband is a saint.

Mantel purchased at an antique store; corbels purchased
at Lowe's and stained to match.

I finally found a place for my Piero della Francesca plaques.

After looking at café curtains at Bed, Bath & Beyond, Target, Pier 1 Imports, Ikea, World Market, and Amazon, I finally found what I was looking for (quite by accident) at The Christmas Tree Shop.

café curtains from The Christmas Tree Shop

I also decided to remove the top half of our hutch to create a bar/serving area for entertaining. But don't worry, I moved the top half upstairs to my work area and repurposed it as a bookcase.

Where did the top half of our hutch go?

Repurposed as a bookcase

Slowly but surely, our rec room came together. Here are some "after" photos ...

Ready for entertaining ... or board games ...
or Lego projects



The bottom half of our hutch can now be used as a bar,
sideboard, or serving area for when we entertain.

antique armoire repurposed as a television cabinet

robin's egg blue for a pop of color

Chairs from Costco
(deeply discounted since they were the floor models);
pool table pad changed to a Cape Cod blue
(arrivederci billiards green!);
artwork (w/ added shutters) to hide the fuse box.

So there you have it. I'm still on the quest for a trestle farm table, some artwork to hang between the windows, and a throw rug to bring out my accent colors, but all in good time.