Treat Yourself to Breakfast in Bed

This morning I decided to have breakfast in bed.  Whether you are fixing for one or for a couple it’s a fun decadent treat.  I quickly created a cranberry pineapple pecan relish to spread on a cinnamon raisin bagel, brewed a cup of cranberry breakfast tea and set up a little table in the morning sun by the bed.  Ahh, what a way to start the morning!

Apple themed party with a DIY Apple Craft

A crisp breeze is blowing through the sky bringing fall smells with it.  Deep reds, oranges and yellows are showing in the landscape, I close my eyes and remember walking through an apple orchard to pick my own basket full.  I can hardly wait to sink my teeth into the juicy ripe red fruit.  I decided to  invite some friends over for a fall themed party featuring apples.  My theme was born out of an apple challenge and I will share with you a simply adorable and super easy apple craft I whipped together in about an hour plus a cider recipe.

  

How I get ready for winter holiday guests

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Last summer we moved to our fixer upper retirement place.  When the family and friends started coming in for the fall and winter holidays it was a bit of a mess but I still managed to make it special.  This season I’m getting organized and stocking up with essentials to make my home “guest ready”.  There are new bed linens, pillows, towels, seasonal remedies and everything is looking so cute I can barely wait for my first visitors to show up!

Easy Halloween party decorations plus a free printable

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There are spooky things lurking about the neighborhood!  It’s Trick or Treat Season!  Come with me while I put out the party decorations and sneak a few Hershey candies from a special Halloween Variety Bag I picked up at Wal-Mart.  I’ve got some very easy DIY Alien Egg Sack decoration you can throw up in minutes, a fun candy monster activity for the kids, yard games, and even a fun “Park Your Boom Here” printable.

Frame door wreath for fall home decor

It's great to be putting out fall decor again.  Here is a sneak peak of a fall open house tour coming.  I have a framed wood monogram hanging on my door but this year decided to give it more depth.  Rummaging through the bin of fall goodies in my storage closet I located a darling crow on weathered wood from a craft show years ago.  He needed a little re-glueing and I shortened the weathered board he was attached to the wired and tacked it to the framed monogram.  I am loving the three dimensional look and textures of the raffia bow.  

Master Bedroom Reveal

I’m a type A planner and decorator which means I have a plan and work steadily toward it.  Over time I perused magazines, Pinterest, and watched hours of HGTV.  When I realized we were moving and I would get an opportunity to redecorate I started paying special attention to which rooms drew my attention the most.   I made a secret Pinterest board and began collecting decorated rooms that I would love to live in.  What I found is that I am drawn most to light colors and clean looks.   I loved the bright white trim with contrasting walls and I loved big windows with minimum coverage. 

A DIY small bathroom renovation and reveal

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I have finished both the guest bathroom and our master bathroom.  They are updated and slightly renovated.  I did most of it myself - DIY hubs changed out the toilets for me.  Those suckers are heavy!  Actually, we put new water saving toilets in the master and #3 bath.  The #2 guest bath toilet is still is good shape and matches the décor.  Here is a tour of the guest bath. 

Bird themed tablescape

I hear a Mockingbird singing away outside.  The sound is very pleasant and makes me smile so why not be inspired and bring the outdoors in?  I gathered several bird books from our bookshelves, a beautiful fresh ivy a friend sent to me with a bird decoration and tiny bird cage to arrange on the dining table.  The simple grouping gives me a sense of satisfaction and another smile.

Upcycled antiques and display ideas

Hubs and I have going to auctions on our retirement “to do” list.  The first couple years we spent all our time renovating and preparing to sell our home of over 45 years and have been busy renovating our current home.  We are finally at a point we can enjoy going and doing some things on that list.  DIL brought by an auction notice that was only 15 miles away.  The description looked intriguing so we headed over to the neighboring town to check it out.  The upcycled projects and display ideas were worth the trip!

Christmas Home Tour

I love driving through neighborhoods all lit up and I love holiday home tours, don't you?  This year we moved to a 1956 home we are actively renovating and I could barely contain myself to wait until after Thanksgiving to put out the Christmas decorations.  I'd love for you to stop by for an open house tour and then head over to my blog world friends for more seasonal fun.

  Ring the bell and come on in.  I'd love to give your a tour.

Christmas tree decorating tradition

Many people around the world are partaking in the tradition of putting up and decorating a Christmas tree.  From what I’ve read we owe this fabulous tradition to the Germans.  Thanks.

Bake, Decorate, and Create for the Holiday

Christmas crafts, Christmas foods, Christmas decorations, Christmas traditions are near and dear to most of our hearts.  It started when I was a kid hearing the season music, the smell of a fresh tree in the house and anticipating the Santa watch on Christmas Eve.  My Dad was very excited about the holiday and went to great lengths to make it special for all of us.  My grandmother made hot cocoa as we little kids waited anxiously and the uncles took turns guarding the door to the Christmas room increasing the excitement until everyone was present and ready.  In that spirit here’s a look back at some of my favorite December posts. Each photo is linked to the original post with recipes/tour/DIY’s.  I hope you enjoy it and hop around to some of the other blogger participants in our Look at Christmas Past.  Clicking on each photo will take you to the post.

A Thanksgiving table for the fall

I always enjoy seeing the beautiful table settings on Pinterest and blogs I visit.  Now that we have a formal dining area I get to dress up a table for myself. It was fun to pull together some fall items and know I get to leave it set up for several days.  This table started with a moss green fabric runner topped with a wide burlap ribbon.  The centerpiece is a green glass vase I picked up at Ross and large sunflowers from Michaels.  The acorn squash, butternut squash and pine cones are real but the acorns are not.  The fabric pumpkin is one I crafted last fall. 

2 DIY Fall door decorations

Last Sunday afternoon DIL and I sat around the table for a great afternoon of crafting.  Our goal was to create a new fall decoration for our entry doors.  DIL wanted a shabby sheik burlap look and I was after a little more formal look repurposing an old frame I found when moving. 

Easy DIY Fall decorating ideas

It's a beautiful day outside, perfect for some fall decorating.

Home Staging

We definitely made a good choice on realtors.  After listing the house with them we took the rest of the weekend to remove and store things from the closets, off shelves and off the walls.  Monday a home stager came over.  I (not so secretly) looked forward to this part.  She was great.  I learned that my taste is not so far off the mark and had already done a lot of the right things to remove the personal stuff and allow the buyers to see themselves in our home. 

 

Pretty Fall Mantle decor

  

My daughter’s fall mantle is lovely and I’d like to share it with you.

This darling hand carved zebra came home with her from a medical mission trip to Kenya.

             

The globe on the far right is a bit difficult to see, but it is a puzzle hand carved by her great great uncle.

The guest bedroom

A look at the guest bedroom, finished, dressed up and ready for a guest.


The quilt was made by my late Great Aunt.  The solid yellow pillow and yellow roll pillow are made from tea towels.  The painting was given to me by a teacher friend, David Mask.  He painted it on recycled materials from a build at his home.

I replaced the 1970 ugly tile with a plank vinyl product from Home Depot.  It matches the hardwood  laminate in the rest of the house so well you can hardly tell it's different.  And it was really easy to apply.

This is my grandmother's Singer sewing machine.  It still has her things in the drawers.

Did I not say "Ugly 70's floors?"

The rocking chair hubs gave me when we brought home
our eldest child in 1973.  The basket has vintage
toys saved for the grands and that is the fabulous
new vinyl flooring.

The mirror and comb set belonged to my mother in law. The doily
was her mother's and a piece of vintage jewelry from my collection.

Some added crystal closet door knobs
hold on to my monogram.

Hubs put up new crown moulding too.

 Now, bring on the guests.  If you'd like to see more of the whole house do over, click the tab on the menu bar up top or go here.

Check out the parties I like to attend here.

My Holiday House tour 2012.

Let it snow and enjoy nature.

The snowman vignette.  Those snowballs...just styrofoam, no crafting required! 

I'm decorating in two houses this year,  mine and mom's.  I'm spending a lot more time with her because  I can and want to. She's having total hip replacement in January and another in about March.  Several of my blogs recently have stemmed from some great quality time there.  If you still have your parents, I encourage you to take advantage of your time and share it with them.

Mantel

Pecans waiting to be shelled on the hearth.

A vintage decorative box, recycled vanilla bottle,
styrofoam "snow"ball on a vintage doily.

Break time happens here :-)

Fresh greenery and crepe myrtle branches from the yard in our ash bucket
with a few more snow balls.

The kitchen is where the holidays begin, those decorations can be seen here.

At mom's house:  You can see how we changed the old, way too big, fake tree into an adorable table top masterpiece here. the door DIY sock wreath  I made for mom here and check out the cinnamon/applesauce garland here.  If you're interested in seeing the fabulous west Texas sunsets or other things I found cool, check out my Instagram site here. You can find soup recipes that were adapted for the two of us that are heart healthy and diabetic friendly here and here.

Kitchens are where the holidays begin.

Some of my best holiday memories involve the kitchens of my mother, and grandmothers.  I love the smells that cause me to stop, close my eyes, and spend a moment remembering those days.  To make sure my kids and grands will have moments like that when I'm gone, I start with giving the kitchen a look and feel that says "Nini's kitchen".  Use herbs to create wreaths or add to an existing wreath for an aroma that lingers all season.  You can see a photo tutorial on how to make a Rosemary wreath here.  Putting out some eye candy certainly lends to the air.  Use what you have, add ribbons, herbs, cookie cutters, ornaments to make magic. 

Cookies...who doesn't associate them with Christmas!

Rosemary wreaths smell wonderful.

I love this collector piece depicting
my favorite Christmas movie Miracle on 34th Street.

Miss matched stemware
and coordinating ribbon pulls the candles together.

Balance colors across shelving.

Rope lights above cabinets create great mood. I did it myself!

I hope your holidays are filled with wonder!

You can see where I like to link up here.