Friday Fives......

Wow, the week has gotten away. With my  Willow House Fall EXtravaganza this past week, that's ALL I paid attention, too......poor bloggie was unattended.  And afterwards, took some recouping time....ahh....but no blogging.  So let's get back into the bloggy groove with Friday Fives!!!  Who will join in?? I hope I haven't lost ALL my readers with the neglect of my blog!!  Will you comment at least with a HI to let me know that SOMEONE out there is still reading??? thanks!

So let's get to know one another thru our Friday Fives!!!

1.  Where are you in birth order of your family??  One of many, oldest, youngest, etc?

2.  Where were you born?

3.  Do you live in a small town, suburbs, or large city?


4.  What do you WISH was in your town? particular store, museum, more parks, etc?

5. Have you done any FALL gardening?? Tell us about it!

Happy Friday, y'all..........looking forward to some much needed cooler weather to come!!!

More ABC's of decorating.....

Let's see, we covered A for apples, B for burlap, C for candles, so today we are moving on to D, E, and F.

How did you like the centerpieces I had pictured for A?? Weren't they lovely?  I have been working on decorating my own home for fall....my FAVORITE time of the year to bring out the decor.  I do love Christmas, but it's just not the same as fall.  I'll bring you a few of those photos as well.

For D, let's take a look at DRIED things......for fall, there is an abundance of dried things you can use in your home for decorating.  There is a wealth of supplies just on the "dried" aisle at your hobby store, not to mention what's FREE and out there in nature! Wheat stalks, dried artichokes, dried fruit as in orange slices and pomegranates, and those little putka pods that look like tiny pumpkins?? LOVE those!
Take a look:

Dried acorns, right outside!

Putka pods

gorgeous dried wreath

For E,  let's consider all the fabulous EARTH tones we bring out for the fall.......for some reason, I'm drawn to the rusty orange that becomes abundant in the fall.......LOVE the colors of the earth, although I tend to use more green and blue in my home than any of the rest.

So what do YOU like in Earth tones???  It's possible to use either very warm earth tones or more cool colored earth tones....I guess my choices fall within the cool colored earth tones...what about you?

Finally for F, think about all the dried fall foliage that is available for home decor.  It can be as simple as taking a walk and collecting some branches of leaves, or buying packages to bring home and display in vases, urns and bowls.  It is abundant and many times free....so get out and go for a walk and see what's out there for you and your home!  Enjoy this special time of the year.

Come back tomorrow and I'll be bringing some pictures of my own home and decor for fall. See you then!

Friday Fives!!

So glad you are here for Friday Fives!!! It's a way for us to get to know one another as bloggers and just have a little fun!  So here goes.....

1. What's your favorite kitchen appliance?

2. Do you watch cooking shows on television?  Which one do you like?

3.  Have you done any fall decorating?

4. Do you like to use candles? Favorite scent?

5.  What is on your bedside table?

Join the fun and let's talk about ourselves and enjoy getting to know one another.  Thanks for participating!

It's all elementary, my dear Watson....

Do you feel overwhelmed by the ideas offered in the blogworld, media, design tv shows, and such?  I thought I would offer a series of posts to show you how you can come up with some great design and decorating ideas simply by using things learned in elementary school, and maybe even in kindergarten!

I'd like to do a Series of Decorating Ideas using the Alphabet, Shapes, and Numbers..does that make it sound elementary enough for even the decorating challenged readers out there???


So today, I'd like to show you some ideas (and you'll have to forgive me if they have a lot of Willow House pics in my illustrations)...you know that I love me some Willow House--anyway, I'll show you some ideas that begin with A, B and C.......as not to overwhelm you, I'll go slowly.  We'll talk about the rest of the alphabet, as well as shapes and numbers!! You'll not want to miss out!

For the letter A, I'd like to suggest decorating with APPLES!  Here is a link to a website that shows you just how to build this centerpiece......love the mixed colors and textures here, don't you??
Apple Centerpiece

Or how about this lovely one?? You can mix pumpkins, apples, pears, Indian corn, Pine cones,  you name it! Again, instructions can be found HERE.







You can core them and put votive candles in them,

either by floating them in water, using them as placecard settings for your table, or simply using them on the mantle or tabletop.....take a look,  with instructions found HERE.

How about mixing them with flowers?

they look outstanding on their own, either in this GREAT Cinnabar footed stand or in a hurricane!!! 

For B, let's consider the uses of Burlap!  Burlap has been a favorite in blogs across the waves for sometime now.  You'll find people make curtains, pillows, table runners, etc out of the long ignored burlap.  It's now back in STYLE!!!

Consider that it adds great texture to your displays and who doesn't love that?   NOW you can get it in multiple colors from off white, to tan, to green and red.  There's bound to be a burlap to meet your decorating needs!  I even have one that is red and tan plaid, although I haven't seen it around in a long time.

wrap around a plant or vase!

Multiple colors of burlap for your decor!

A collection of fun from Tip Junkie!

A great burlap monogrammed lampshade

 For the letter C, let's consider the use of candles.....do you actually use candles?  Some do, some don't.  Do you like scented candles or unscented?  Last year at Sam's, I got a set of Flameless Candles, and I've loved using them this year in my Willow House party display.  They have a glow about them that I love and they even are lightly scented.  And I don't have to worry about the flame when I am in someone else's home!  So if the flame is a concern for you, try out some of the flameless ones available now...some even have a remote control (on QVC, I think) so that you can use them up high conveniently.....

remote control flameless candles

Candles in a hurricane are so beautiful,   aren't ' they?                                                                                                                 

available as tealights

So there are some elementary uses of ordinary things you can consider for your fall decorating.....stay tuned for the rest of the alphabet . It's really quite elementary!

Friday Fives

1. Have you ever had a pajama party?

2. What's  your favorite all time movie?

3. When is the last time you went on a DATE?

4. What's for dinner?

5. Tell us about your favorite pair of shoes......


Friday Fives are all over the place today, right?? Just random questions designed to get to know one another better....have a FABULOUS Friday!!!

So Inspirational!!!!

This group came in 2nd and was just incredible.....Silhouette

Terrific inspiration!!

An online magazine that is chockFUL of great ideas and inspiration??? YES, there is a new one that you simply must check out!!!

Open publication - Free publishing - More event planning

9.11.11

The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His  love, He will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLj4akmncsA&feature=share

Friday Fives!!!

I do love Friday Fives...for some reason, I get more comments on Fridays, so I guess you like them, too!! 
I hope you have a great weekend planned.....even though it is supposed to get warmer than it's been, having had a week of cooler days has been SO refreshing, and gave me a resurgence of hope that summer will not last forever!! I do look forward to getting out all my fall things to begin decorating with.  I see so many have already begun, but I haven't had time this week, and knowing that it's just not quite fall here yet, has caused  me to hold off......anyway, enjoy your weekend, whatever you are doing and enjoy the Friday Fives!!!

1. Do you feel fall in the air at your house??

2. Do you feel like your decorating preferences in color and style have changed over the last ten years?

3.  What is your favorite fall scent that you enjoy in your home?? Do you use candles, reeds, sprays or how do you add scent to your world?

4.  What is your favorite thing about fall?? More than ONE?

5.  Are you excited that FOOTBALL is back???

Enjoy your day!

A whole lot of workin going on.....

As if I didn't have enough moving and shuffling going on around here, my husband and I went out furniture shopping on Labor Day (with the REST of the world, I might add!) and ordered some things.  First of all, our kitchen chairs have just had it. They are 30 years old.....and keep coming apart.  We've repaired them over and over and now they are just ready to retire! So we shopped online for unfinished chairs and then we went out looking at a few furniture stores.  We found a great little pub style table and four chairs for our kitchen for less than the price of what we would have paid for those chairs.  I am ready for a new look anyway, so I am glad we did it.
While we were looking, we found a lovely bedroom suite, with a sleigh bed, which I've always admired....and decided to update our son's room, so that it would be available for a guest room as well.  We've really not been equipped very well for having guests....just a single bed downstairs.  If we had a couple all we could do was move in a trundle.....so now we are going to have a nice outfitted room that we won't even mind having guests stay in.  But we had to move out all of my son's stuff so that I could clean the carpet and give it a new coat of paint.  Well, I got the room emptied and the carpet cleaned today.  OH my word...it was a mess.  I handled the empty nest and missing my son by not really going in his room very often....and when I moved all the furniture and found all that dirt, boy oh boy, did I get a work out!! It is officially going to be clean for a change!! I am excited.  Now I need to go and find some new bedding!! That part is the FUN part!

So I did some moving things around in my living room also, when we moved in the new couch.  I am so thrilled with the way things are shaping up in there.  It turns out that our WH Meditaranean Bowl and the Olivia Antiqued Bowl paired together are a perfect match to the pillows!! I couldn't wait to show  you.  I decided to use the Cordova Nesting Tables that I've been using as side tables, and put a third with them for a different look for the coffee table...tell me what you think.  I am still adjusting accessories, and still need to get my blue chairs reupholstered, but I've got to get upstairs done before the rest of the living room falls into place....whew.....lots of work going on, like I said.  So here are a few pics I snapped of the sofa...not a great photo, since I shot it with my Ipad, but it gives you a good idea.
So that's why I've been a little scarce......too much to DO!!! I'll catch up, hopefully and be back full swing.  See you later!

Friday Fives!!

Yay for Friday Fives!!!!

1. It's Wear your School Colors day...what color represents your school???

2. If you were given a $500 gift card to a store of your choice, what store would you choose?

3. You walk into an ice cream store--will you choose your same favorite, or try something adventurous?

4. Coffee, Tea, or something else?  Sweet or unsweet?

5. What are your  plans for Labor Day ?

I finally got my couch!!!

Happy September 1st......here's to COOLER Days, hopefully!!!

It looks like my house is under construction since I've sort of turned everything upside down, with the new couch coming yesterday and all........boy have I got some work cut out for me! 
I LOVE, LOVE the couch....you'll remember it looks like this....

When we picked it out, they really had no red accent fabrics that I liked for the pillows, so I decided to go a different route, and if I didn't like them, or couldn't make them work, I had the option to purchase or make some different pillows.  Well, I REALLY like them.  It requires me changing out some accessories and doing away with some RED things I had in that room, but I decided the change is good and I really like that colors.  I had already two areas of green accent walls, and it goes perfectly with those.  I have two blue wing back chairs in there that must be covered anyway, so I'll be trying to find some fabric that coordinates with it all and get those done.  I'm planning to replace the drapes, too, so I'm hoping it all falls in to place easily......what do you think....what kind of fabric would you choose to go with this???  In the photo, it doesn't show as well, so I will try to get some photos later of it actually in my room...but in the meantime, I have to get everything reasonably put back together as my son and his girlfriend are coming for a visit this weekend.......yikes, I better get moving!!!