Finally Dressed for Fall

So, I'm still trying to figure out my "Fall Look" in this house.

I've never had a mantle without a big screen TV in the middle of it!

Anyway, this is what I've got so far...

Downstairs I made some chubby pumpkins and stuck them on candlesticks...


I used this tutorial (posted by my Kentucky friend Danielle, Hi Danielle!) to make my pumpkins but then added a fabric stem instead.
Yep, that's what I got so far.
Recently found out that we will have 20+ people staying in our home for the Thanksgiving weekend.
I've got a lot to do... Can't wait!!

There she is... a chandelier redo and one very happy nannygoat.

I've been keeping an eye open for my "diamond in the rough".

Checking yard sales... goodwill... thrift stores.

Finally found her here.

I saw another lady eyeing her but I swooped in and grabbed her quick as a wink.

She was a mere $15.00!

A little spray paint primer (best invention ever!).

Then I spray painted her with Krylon's "Celery" which is a light creamy green color.

Yum.


The Chandelier was missing the candlesticks that cover all the electrical so I made my own.
I bought a plastic tube at Home depot and cut it into five little "candlesticks" then I use hot glue to give it the look of dripping wax... perfect.

Finally, I spray painted the candles white so they looked like this...

We knew we wanted to swag the light so that it hung over the bed in my 9-year-old daughters room so we bought a "Swag kit" from Home Depot with extra long cord and chains.

I made a simple chord cover to soften things up a bit.

So pretty.

But, not quite there yet.

So, I added little lampshades...

MMmmmmm.... there we go.

BEFORE

AFTER

What do you think?

balancing a big room and filling an empty wall

In our new house we have a great big family room downstairs that we LOVE!

On one side of the room we have this...

We needed an entertainment center with A LOT of storage for all our books, games, and yes VHS movies (I know, I know, I'm a little behind on the technology front).

As much as I would love a huge wall of built-ins or a ginormous Potter Barn entertainment center these 5 bookshelves from Target have been a great solution for a really reasonable price.
See the old window frame on top? My sweet friend recovered it from her home renovation.

It was one of the original windows in her 130+ year old house

and it is one of my favorite things in my house. Thanks again Tiff!

On the opposite side of the room we had a few chairs and a huge blank wall so the room looked very heavy on one side and bare on the other.

Sorry, no pictures of the huge, blank, beige wall.

Just use your imagination. ;0

I knew I wanted to use the wall to display our family photos and I framed each 8x10 in a beefy matted frame like so... But it wasn't enough.

So, I added these "buttons" and some ribbon above the frames ...

and then some vinyl lettering below the group of pictures like so...

The wall is 9ft high and 16ft wide and by the time I finished the display of family photos with the lettering it measured 9ft wide by 3ft high and made a huge difference.

But it still felt out of balance with the other side of the room and since I wanted to keep things very clean and open feeling I decided against adding more furniture/ accessories to the wall and instead picked up my paint brush.

I taped off the wall for 18 inch stripes (making sure I didn't need to paint where I had the vinyl lettering) and took the original beige paint and added white (just like with my painted wallpaper) to create a bit of a contrast without making it too "bold".

I wanted it to visually draw your eye but not smack you in the face.

And here it is all finished...

I LOVE it!

If I had really big muscles I would have moved the elliptical out of this picture but... well, I don't... which is why we bought the elliptical.

Next up for this room- DRAPES!

I already ordered the fabric... can't wait!!!

Elena and "Light up the Night"

A friend of mine shared the story of this sweet little girl with me and I wanted to help.
If you feel so inclined please take a moment to donate to help find a cure for cancer.

"March 18th, 2010 we went to the doctor because our two-year old daughter, Elena, was low on energy, had a low fever, and was developing bruises on her legs. We were rushed to the emergency room at Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake, and found out the earth-shattering news that Elena had High-Risk Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, ALL. We however are extremely grateful that today this type of cancer is not the death sentence it once was. Elena is now 6 months into treatment and is doing well. She still smiles nearly constantly. It is (insert correct word, I can't think of one that adequately describes this feeling.)... as we think that we would have buried her months ago if we hadn't gotten her diagnosed, or if the cure didn't exist.

Although most children (about 90% of ALL kids) like Elena do beat this cancer it remains a grueling journey with many risks. Elena will get chemotherapy until she is almost 5 years old. Like many before us we are participating in a study to help improve treatment. One of the drugs she gets, Oncaspar, is very effective, but an unacceptably high percent of patients have severe allergic reactions to it, some life-threatening. The study we are on is comparing this drug to a new type of similar drug that researchers hope will have the same benefits with milder side effects. So far Elena has not had a reaction to Oncaspar. This research is very expensive. And much needs done.

Please help our children in the fight to cure childhood cancers. We are raising funds to help with Leukemia research by participating in a walk on October 9th called "Light up the Night." We are trying to raise a fortune by that date to help fund leukemia and lymphoma research. Childhood cancer research is SO underfunded - generous donations are desperately needed so that we can improve treatment and eventually find a cure. Even $1 helps. Please visit our Team's Page HERE to donate. Donations are tax deductible.

Elena thanks you!"

ALSO, my generous friend Cassidy will be donating the proceeds of all sales from her etsy shop to Elena until October 9th so go check it out HERE.