MY FAVORITE THING TO DECORATE WITH

*sigh* Don't you just love them? I love how they come in all different shapes and sizes, colors, textures... they are organic, inexpensive and beautiful. They perfectly define the season. And I love that my daughters love them as much as I do. That makes me wonder, is there any person who DOESN'T like a cute pumpkin?!

I LOVE GARAGE SALES

Today on the way home from the gym I saw a few garage sale signs..............I had to check them out. Just to SEE....... I only had about 5 bucks in my wallet, but I thought I'd see if there was anything good..................
I got a really pretty robe (not pictured) a nice black cardigan with flowers, a classic white cotton Old Navy top that I think is new, a cute teal colored top with pretty sequin things around the neckline, a little ceramic bunny to replace the one my husband broke last Easter as he was putting the decorations away....................
And the COUP DE GRAS: a table that matches THIS! This is my very most favorite table I own and one of my favorite pieces of furniture because of it's history. This table belonged to my father's mother that she bought back in the 50's with food stamps when the country had fallen on hard times. I remember seeing it in her house when I was growing up. When she passed away my father gave it to me and it has been a staple in my home since I've been married. I've always looked for another one exactly like it so I could have a pair, every antique store, garage sale, etc, to no avail. Well, today my garage saleing really paid off!!! At the very last sale on the way home, I stopped and immediately saw a table that looked just like what I thought was like my grandma's table. I couldn't believe it. I asked the lady what she was asking for it- I ran to my car to grab my wallet because I didn't know if I had any money left. She was asking $5 but I only had $3 and get this- she took it! I could NOT believe it. I snatched up that thing so fast! I didn't even tell her what a find this was or how she was getting rid of a great antique table!
So the garage sale one has chipping paint all over it and I am going to strip it and re-stain it to match my original. I am SO excited!!! I never thought I would have a PAIR of favorite tables!!! This is the stuff shopper-hunters like me dream of!

DECORATING FOR MY FAV SEASON

I received a request (thanks Amber!) for some of my "creations." I thought I'd show my latest decor since I am feeling very Fall festive right now. So "Welcome to my Home"! Let me show you around. First off is my Welcome sign. I have a friend who has a vinyl lettering business on the side so she did these brown letters for me for a few bucks. (www.decoletters.com) I got the plaque at a garage sale for 25 cents and painted it cream and brown with acrylics I already had. (You can get similar plaques at Walmart for about $1). Then I just applied my vinyl letters (my first vinyl project!) It's really easy, and VOILA! A cute little welcome sign for our entry.

Here is our front door with some nice fall decor to welcome you. Even though one lives in a cruddy apartment, one can still try to make it look nice (Right?!?!) So this is my fall wreath I got from Big Lots for cheap years ago. The secret is to store it the right way so it doesnt get trashed! Then I took 2 pots that I already had (I wanted urns but I'm not willing to buy them when pots work just fine) and put some fake leaves I got at a garage sale for 50 cents around the outside tops. Then I just placed a cute little pumpkin that I let my daughters pick out on top.
This is my current china hutch display (along with a pumpkin plate, not pictured). I got this idea from thre Crate and Barrel store last week. It doesn't look like much, but on display it really adds alot of fun fall color and is very festive. And I think it just looks pretty in the simple glass jars.
This is my simple centerpiece. I am going for simple this year, folks! I might add some leaves later but I really like it like this. I got this dish/holder from a garage sale for $2 and have been using it for all sorts of things! The pumpkins are Pottery Barn candles I got on clearance several years ago. The reason I bought them ( a splurge- $6 for eight candles!) is because since they are wax, they will last forever and since they are small, they don't take up much space to store.
Okay: this is an exciting (to me!) story. I have been eyeing this fantastic red fabric by Waverly at Joann's for a long time. I don't even know how much it costs because I'm sure it's out of my budget, even with the 40% off. I am CHEAP people! It's hard to pay full price or just okay sale prices when I am used to garage saleing for quarters! Anyway, I just love it and thought it would be absolutely perfect for my kitchen in my dream house. Then last week I went to a fabric store Triad Plus Fabrics www.triadplusfabrics.com where they have all kinds of decorator fabrics for good prices, sometimes for killer deals, you just have to really look. (I bought the perfect fabric for my daughter's curtains here). So they happened to have a sale while I was there, and I happened to see these "Grab Bags" I had never noticed before. AND THEN! I happened to see a scrap of what looked like MY FABRIC in not one, but two of the bags. AND THEN I happened to notice the sign that said "Grab Bags $2.50 (hello! cheap!) but it gets better: "buy one get one free sale". WHAT?! Can this be right?! I GRABBED those bags (is that why they call them that?) And trying not to hyperventilate, half ran to the front counter to see if what I thought I saw was correct. She informed me it was, and a minute later I happily walked out of the store with my two bags full of fabric for $2.50 plus tax! And the even more fun part is: #1: I would have paid $2.50 for just my Waverly fabric but there was a whole bunch of other fun stuff in there too and #2: I had no idea what the fabric scraps would look like/how big they were and they just happened to be the perfect size for a kitchen window valance. So that is the story behind my new kitchen valance.
Here is a close-up of our friend Rooster and all the lovely rich colors.
I know it doesn't look like much- I didn't want to customize it to this cruddy apartment window so I can hopefully use it and the other scrap for my some-day kitchen in my some-day house. So I just ironed over the edges for fake hems and then wide-stiched hemmed the bottom and tacked it up. I just like to look at it :)
This is actually from last year, my first piece-quilt. I still have yet to put the backing on and finish the edges, but when it's hanging up, you can't tell if you don't look too closely :) My family loves this quilt wall hanging.
And lastly, we have a fun little 50 cent garage sale find. I hope you enjoyed your fall decor tour!

MY FAVORITE SEASON

It is here! Even though it is hard to tell with this ridiculous heat where I am, it is officially Autumn. *Sigh* I hope the cool weather comes quickly.

Happy Fall :)

FAVORITE TIME OF DAY

One of my favorite times of the day in my house is "quiet time." My girls bring me a stack of any books of their choosing and we cuddle up on the couch and read together. And then we do it again at night when they are in their jammies and ready for bed. I just love those vintage children's books with the original artwork, don't you? One of our house's favorites is "The Fire Cat" about Pickles the Cat who has big paws and wishes to do big things. Then there's my personal fav: "Where the Wild things Are" among about a thousand others. I'm grateful my parents always read to me. And I think my daughters love it as much as I do :)