My favorite season is right around the corner.

*Warning: I'm going to swear in 3....2....1....

the wall color (very similar) that I chose for our bedroom.

Fuck Spring cleaning! Nothing inspires me more than autumn. I don't know if it's because it's my favorite season, or because the impending doom of WINTER is upon us, but nothing gets me MORE amped up to do house cleaning/organizing/decorating, than this time of year. I think it's the combination of the most awe-inspiring season and the thought of having to be stuck in a dreadfully decorated house that gets my juices flowing. Every fall I always end up making several trips to Goodwill to get rid of clutter (I don't want to be stuck inside with it for 4 months!) and doing house projects before the cold weather sets in. This year: I'm making Abe move the curtain rods in our living room/dining room UP to where they should be. The previous people left the curtain rods, so that's what we've been using, and we haven't bothered to move them because the walls of this 1917 house are lath and plaster....meaning it's a bitch to hang anything in these walls! BUT the curtain rods are hung at exactly the worst place possible, going against every design rule, and I can't live like this any longer. Abe said "You've lived like this up until now!" (because he doesn't want to help me move them, but what he doesn't realize is they have bothered me since we've lived here.)

Also, the upstairs bedrooms need a lot of help. More so our room, than the guest room. (the guest room is mostly used for my shoe-storage, and has a comfy futon (oxymoron?) in there for guests. Our room needs new curtain rods, possibly new curtains (if budget allows)...but really, and most importantly, it needed a new paint job. I'd LOVE to start painting tonight, but I doubt Abe wants to sleep with paint fumes, so I'll wait to start my latest project tomorrow. Look for updates soon!

Oh, and I guess I'll have to do a future blog post on our garden too, now that it's harvest season...

*all photos are from pinterest.

This rustic "Americana" style is definitely

Abe's influence on me...but I find myself

evolving past this style (still love it, though). 

This super masculine style is also Abe's influence on me.

Especially the weird scary stuff. (We have a lot of that

in our home right now).

The above bedroom is something I have been admiring

for months. Feminine, but not girly, modern, but 

not stiff. 

We've Moved! A work in progress.

BEFORE: the view from front door

living room then dining room.

BEFORE: Our new bookshelf.

NOW: Living room. (curtain rods need to be adjusted/

we do not have any pictures hanging on the walls yet!)

BEFORE: Dining room

BEFORE: Dining room from living room

NOW: Dining room *the boxes are from the

office/in preparation for painting.

Office: with landlords piano, which is now gone.

Office getting ready for painting.

Things are definitely more settled than they were. I still have a million projects left to finish! Perhaps we will hang our artwork and pictures this weekend? Look for AFTER office photos. 

Throw Pillow Fetish.

*excuse the dark photo, it was taken with my cell phone

several months ago. But those are what my old

throw pillow covers look like. Pear Green with

brown fern print embroidered on.

The throw pillows I sewed up today.

I went with the orange thread and bright orange "invisible" zipper.

Why not? I love going with the unexpected.

Burnt orange rope trim. I couldn't decide if I wanted to 

bring out the light duck-egg blue/green strip or the 

orange/brown color, but I went with the warmer tone

(I never fail to go for the warmer tone!)

there's nothing wrong with my old pillow covers, other than I've had them for a while and was getting sick of looking at them. Plus, the actual pillows are these really nice down pillows, and I figured I could just MAKE my own pillow covers! My original intention was to get RED fabric or pumpkin orange. Something to warm up the sofa/curtain colors that I have going on. But I found that really awesome plaid fabric for $5 (total) and the only other fabric I really (REALLY!) loved was this floral upholstery fabric that was $25/yard. The trim was actually pretty costly and the total for both covers ended up being just under $25 (now you can imagine how much the trim cost). I think overall it wasn't so bad in price, considering pillow covers at Pottery Barn are $29 Each (no pillow included). I will still be on the lookout for some more Christmas-y throw pillows (might even just purchase some at Target, take out the stuffing, add my own zippers). All in all, I would definitely pay $25 again for 2 pillow covers and an afternoon sewing project! 

Fall Leaf Wreath

This was the inspiration for my wreath, 

by my hero: Martha Stewart.

Here is the link to how to make the above

wreath. Make sure you watch the video!

My version of the wreath.

Supplies you will need for the paper leaves,

*as noted in the Martha Stewart tutorial.

TIPS: Paste over scrap paper or newspaper, change

the sheet out after it gets too sticky.

Have a damp wash cloth near so you can wipe

the sticky glue off to avoid frustrations.

*this part is really tedious and I am unsure

if I would ever do this particular project again!

Items you need to bundle leaves in preparation

for the wreath. In Martha Stewart's version

her real-leaf to paper-leaf ratio is a lot less.

I used more real leaves than paper leaves

for a more full wreath effect.

The wreath in progress....I ran out of both real and

fake leaves the first night.

Finishing touch! I used used floral wire on the back

of the bow to affix it to the wreath.

The paper leaves are really quite delicate, and

I am unsure the wreath would survive a windstorm

(I would bring it inside). But since 

I have a covered porch, I decided I wanted to

display it outside. 

Happy November!

weekend Project.

I purchased a vintage card table that looked VERY similar to

the one shown above, for $8. Except MINE had a big

slash in the vinyl.

So I cut the vinyl off (which was kind of gross anyway).

And painted the board that was underneath. 

It was a long project, mostly bc of the mishap I had to start.

(I didn't like the original design that I started painting).

"Finished" product up close. The colors are actually gray & Purple.

This photo washes out both those colors.

There were a few mishaps with the tape not sticking down...

as you can see, where the paint seeped under.

So today I will be touching up with gray paint and calling it good!

We already have a dining room table....but there have been so many times where I needed a light weight folding table. I'm very happy to be the owner of a (new?) folding table. :)