Estate Sale Finds

We hadn't done much yard sale-ing or Craigslist surfing in a while, but when Denny texted me last Friday and said, "I found you a door," I knew it was about damn time. Due to the nature of his work, he always finds the best antique stores, yard sales, and estate sales throughout his day while he's doing his thing. So on Friday, at the mention of the door, he also shared with me that he found it at an estate sale and that we needed to come back on Saturday to pick up his find and check it out. Because there was some cool stuff.

That's all I needed to hear.

I have been on the hunt for an old glass-pane wooden door since we moved in, back in April. We have a space over our sofa, between two windows, that would fit a door perfectly if it was hanging on it's side. So, for the last six months we've kept our eyes peeled until hubster finally got lucky last weekend and found it. Exactly what I was hoping for. Stripped down to bare wood, and 15 panes of glorious glass.

Here she is, set up in my garage for cleaning since I forgot to take a picture of it before we wrapped it in blankets and loaded it into our truck:

Oh, and the hardware?

Gahhhhhhhh. Hello, sexy glass doorknobs.

 And where it wound up, adding some nice warm wood tones to our living room:

We mounted it to the wall using a heavy duty french cleat picture hanger that was capable of holding up to 200 pounds (you can find them at Home Depot or Lowe's in the hardware aisle), along with making sure we found the studs and using some serious screws and anchors. It required a little bit of math and a little bit of painstaking drilling into my precious door, but it was worth it to make sure it was right. This puppy is not moving.

And I loooooooove it.

And while the star of the show was the door, we still managed a few more scores as well. We got this sweet little rocking chair, the embroidery hoops, and the blue mason jars for $20. The jars are for around the house, the hoops are for nursery and Peyton's big girl room projects, and the chair is a project for another day. It needs to be repainted and it is missing a top slat along the back.

I love good finds while we're out and about, especially when the hubster scouts them out for me.

Have you scored anything awesome in your travels lately? I'd love to hear all about it.

Some Exciting News

I've been super-slackeriffic around these parts, friends, and for that I apologize.

I wrote out a pretty sweet editorial calendar for myself, set up a nice M-W-F posting schedule and all that jazz, and could not stick to it.

BUT BUT BUT. I have a preeeetty good reason.

Not looking into the camera ever and seeming to be extra shifty is a new thing around these parts.

We're baking a new bundle of joy over here! New babykins is slated to arrive in May 2014 and we couldn't be more excited. Peyton is pretty pumped to be a big sister and she is totally team "Baby Brudder." Because we hate surprises, we'll be finding out if this baby is a he or a she around Christmas and after the holidays the preparations will officially be underway. So. Stoked.

So now you know why I have been a slacker blogger lately. I haven't had morning sickness per se, but it's more of an all-day-nausea-but-no-actual-puking. I don't know what would be worse--actually throwing up all day or just feeling like you could at any moment but never actually doing it? I am on the latter end of that spectrum and I can tell you it isn't fun.

Plus, oh my, the exhaustion. I was tired with Peyton, but I don't remember being this tired. I come home from work, crash and burn, wake up in the morning, and repeat. The weekends consist of napping whenever and where ever I can.

All of this is so worth it though, because we are growing our family. Eyes on the prize, am I right?

Because I had no energy for projects, I had nothing fun or worthwhile to share. I didn't want to post filler and junk every day, so I backed off on the posting. Now that I am mostly through all those less-than-pleasant symptoms, I am looking forward to sharing a lot more with you since I'll actually have the energy to, you know, do things. And hellooooo---a new nursery to put together?! YES, PLEASE. (PS: I've officially made my nursery/big birl room board "un-private" here on Pinterest).

At any rate, I just wanted to explain my general craptastic-ness, and I'm so looking forward to sharing this exciting next year and on. Thank you for reading, and thanks for being awesome.

And as for Wednesday's post? Here's a teaser photo:

Oh man. You guys. That door.

A Burlap Bat Banner {I'm Feeling Batty}

Because, honestly, who doesn't love bats and burlap around Halloween?

You might be reading this on Wednesday morning or later, but I am watching a Halloween marathon with the hubster as I type this (checking another item off of the Fall Bucket List, but does it count if I'm blogging and watching movies at the same time? Also, what is up with Halloween III: Season of the Witch?! So lame.)

Anyway, I digress.

I have a whole lot of Fall decor up in my home, but nothing that is legitimately for Halloween. Being that it's a little more than a week away, I thought I'd get on making something fun and easy to bring a little Halloween spirit into the house.

And so, I present to you the Burlap Bat Banner.

Isn't it fun? I was able to whip this bad boy up in a couple of hours, which means (if you have an awesome nap-taker in the house) that this can easily be done during naptime. High fives all around!

I'll share with you how to make this banner below, but you'll need a few supplies:

Burlap (you won't need much)
Black craft paint
Sharpie Marker
Bat template to trace onto your burlap (you can easily Google around for this)
Foam brush
Twine
Scissors
Hot glue gun & glue

I was super happy because I was able to find all of these supplies at home, so this project was F-R-E-E. More high fives for everyone.

Now, onto the good stuff.

Take your burlap and your template, and trace as many little bats as you'd like.

I feel like this is also a good time to give you fair warning that you'll be exposed to my heinous chipped manicure.
Sorry, friends.

I traced a total of six bats. There's really no rhyme or reason to this, unless you want to get technical about it and you know exactly where you want to hang it, how long you'll need your twine to be, how long each bat shape will be, and how far apart each bat will lie on the twine. I don't like math, so I tend to go with the flow. By all means, though, bust out your algebra/calculus/trigonometry if you need to.

Then (surprise), you are going to cut out your bats. Curse the idea of using burlap because it. is. messy. And your bat ears are getting shaggy (it's okay, though!).

Take your black craft paint and your foam brush and pounce on some paint.

You can see here I didn't get too heavy handed with the paint. Because burlap has such a great texture, I didn't want to hide it under a heavy layer of paint. I let some of the natural fibers peek through, and continued painting all of my little batty friends in the same manner.

They will curl up a little bit, but once the paint has dried (which won't take long at all if you used a light coat of paint), you can shape them back to flat.

This is where you might want to prepare yourself for hot glue gun burns. I guess this is the part where I share with you that there is no easy way to hot glue burlap without also hot gluing yourself. Stay strong, friends, but don't be mad at me/come after me if you get burned. I warned you, fair and square.

You'll want to apply small beads of glue at the top points of your bat on the unpainted side. Like so:

Top tips of wings and ear points.

If you let your glue dry a little bit, you can press your twine into the glue, keeping it taught and straight across the length of your bat and the glue won't be as hot. Or, you can be impatient like me and put the twine on right away and burn off your fingerprints. I suggest the first method. It allows for a bit more control of the twine. It also allows for fewer ouchies.

Repeat the process with your remaining bats and hang them where ever your little heart so desires.

I hung my bats on the random sticky-out wall between my living room and kitchen. The clock is from Target, if you're wondering. I can't find it on the website, though, but it was from the Threshold line. I don't know about you, but I love all things Target and Threshold.

Here's a nice crooked shot for reference. My living room is to the left and my kitchen is to the right of this wall. It's such an awkward wall, and I have a thousand ideas for it. The only one really sticking out to me is to plank this wall with stained wood, but the grille on the lower right is KILLING ME. Any suggestions?

I digress again. Back to bats.

I really think this banner is an easy, fun way to add a little spooky spirit to your home for Halloween. You could easily change it up with a different paint color or different shapes like ghosts, a witch hat, whatever shape you can come up with. If you can't tell, I'm all about versatile and customize-able projects.

So, have you made any homemade decorations for Halloween? Do you have any wonky puzzling walls in your home? Do you think I'm a sucker for burning off my fingertips? Seriously, what should I do about that eyesore of a return air grille? Feel free to share in the comments!

Wanna see where I party? Click here for a list of link parties I participate in.
Also linking up to:
Savvy Southern Style
Imparting Grace
Jennifer Rizzo

A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

We are making good progress on the family Fall Bucket List. I've actually been meaning to write an update post, but for now I thought I'd share a fun activity we did over the weekend.

I don't know about where you are, but it literally. rained. for. four. days. STRAIGHT. It was so miserable and gloomy and all I wanted to do was curl up on the couch with my favorite blanket and cuddle until it was over. Not to mention the fact that I've been so tired lately, that and the weather was a double whammy that was bringing me down big time.

On Sunday the sun finally came out, and while Denny wasn't feeling so hot, I made it a mission to do a fun activity as a family that wasn't too far from home just in case he couldn't hang. We decided to go to a local farm for some good old-fashioned Fall fun. I've actually been meaning to take Peyton out there since she' was born, but just never did. Mom fail.

Anyway, Denny hung in there like a champ and we had so much fun.

"Lost" in the corn maze.
We had a blast following Peyton around as she led us out of the maze.

I let go of my fear of dirty kids and bugs and let her play in the hay. I know, baby steps.
She had a blast.

Selfie on the hayride to pick our pumpkins!
Terrible photo of me, but I blame recovering from the rain.
I love my little family.

Daddy helping pick out our pumpkins. There were stinkbugs all over the pumpkins that we had to brush off!
Anyone else have stinkbugs around? I can't stand them.

An instagram shot on our way back from picking out or pumpkins.

Once we got done getting lost in the maze, playing in the hay, eating churros to our heart's content, going on the hayride and picking our pumpkins, we bought some more pumpkins, mums, and then stopped at a few roadside farm stands on the way home for produce and a fresh baked apple pie. We had such a great time and I'm so looking forward to making this a tradition for our family every year.

Do you have a favorite family outing or activity in the Fall? Anyone else have a bucket list for the season? How are you doing with it?

And on a side note, is anyone watching the MLB playoffs? Anyone else out there a Red Sox fan? Denny is, and I've been subjected to his yelling at the TV for the last few nights. Here's to hoping the Red Sox advance to the World Series and do it quickly, because a husband with the sads is no good.

Painted Dollar Store Pumpkins

I found myself in quite a pickle this Fall decorating season: while I was totally cool with our old decorations in our new house (making them feel pretty new), I had the itch for something actually new. However, I wanted to challenge myself to do it on a budget. 

Ideally, I would have liked to get these pumpkins from Pier 1. Not only are they amazingly metallic, they are capiz too. Say what?! But at almost $9 each and my unwillingness to buy just one, I had to get creative.

I went to the dollar store for some fake pumpkin and gourd goodness. Actually, there was not much "good" to these pumpkins, until I dolled them up and paired them off with a slew a fabulously scented candles. I used craft paint I had on hand, so this project wound up costing me $5!

And now for your supplies:
-A craft pumpkin of your choice. Extra points for cheap dollar store ones, because then your work is cut out for you.
-Craft paints of your choice. I am in no way in cahoots with Martha Stewart, but I am loving her line of craft paints. Especially the metallics. They make me feel warm and fuzzy. You'll also need a flat black craft paint, too. (My metallic choices were gold, rust, and copper)
-Foam brush, or other paint application apparatus.
-Paper towels (some dry, some damp)

Next, you'll want to brush on your base color. In this case, I chose gold. It took a couple coats, and my impatience didn't really allow for proper drying times and resulted in a streaky finish. But that's cool, because we're about to get crazy up in here.

Next, take your black paint and add it to the crevices of your pumpkin. Don't worry, you aren't leaving it like that. Take a damp paper towel and blot and blend it into the crevice. This will give your pumpkin some depth.

Kind of like "Hi, I'm a metallic pumpkin and I'm all dirty because metallic pumpkins totally grow in pumpkin patches. Also, aren't I extra deep and moody today?"

Check out below to see the difference of the black paint just painted on there (eek!), and then blended in nicely.

Then I wanted to take my complementary metallic paints and blot them on with a dry paper towel. Take a damp paper towel to blend the paints into your pumpkin.

It won't look so pretty, but keep blotting. Trust me on this one.

Once I finished, I took my pumpkin and added it to my tray (check out the tray I made from a thrift store frame here) with some more pumpkins to which I added just a plain old coat of metallic paint.

These pretty pumpkins are now hanging out on my living room coffee table and are adding the perfect touch of new-ness to my Fall decor. Not to mention they are set up with some of the most delicious smelling candles I have, so it's totally a Fall fiesta in here.

I'm also pretty sure if you painted a bunch of these and grouped them together in a wooden tray or a low wooden box, it would make the a fantastic table centerpiece for the entire Fall season. You're welcome.

Do you get bored with your seasonal decor? Do you use the same decor from year to year, buy all new each year, or add a few new pieces each year? Share in the comments!

Wanna see where I party? Click here for an awesome list of link parties I participate in..

Also linking up to:
Get Your DIY On at The Happy Housie
Savvy Southern Style
Imparting Grace
Jennifer Rizzo

Five Friday Faves

High fives and group hugs for Fridays!

Again, I feel super slackerish for being totally MIA all week, but I promise I have a lot of fall craftiness lined up for the weekend to share with you next week. Yessir!

Hope everyone has had a fabulous week and has an even better weekend. Feel free to share what you're up to in the comments.

And, as usual, here are my five favorite pins for your Friday enjoyment. Please remember to pin from the original sources, which I've included under each image. Also, feel free to follow me on Pinterest here and keep up all week.

 source: Love Mae

 My Fabuless Life

 source: The Shabby Creek Cottage

 source: One Tough Mother

source: The Chronicles of Home

Happy weekend!

Some things.

Did you miss me yesterday, friends? I missed you!

I have gotten so used to my Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule that I had some serious guilt over not posting on Monday morning. But I was so tired that writing on post on Sunday night sounded like the very last thing I wanted to do, so I went to bed at 8:30 PM instead. Boom.

I'll also be completely honest with you and admit that I have nothing super special to share right now, but I just couldn't neglect my blog for an entire week. So, I'm posting tonight and then I'll have my regularly scheduled Five Friday Faves, and then I'll be back at it next week in full force!

I guess what I'm trying to say is: I'm sorry I suck this week. Do you forgive me?

And now, some photos:

My sweet baby girl! My brother and sister in law threw a big ol' BBQ over the weekend, complete with some games for all ages. There was "wrap your team member up like a mummy with toilet paper" (harder than it sounds), and a scavenger hunt. I have no photos of either of these activities because I was an active participant, but haven't spread my blogger wings far enough to ask family to take photos for me (you know, for posterity...).

This particular game involved eating a donut off the string without using your hands. It was a sight to see, adults and children alike attacking their donuts with some serious gusto. I was impressed, fam. Totally impressed.

PS: You can totally tell my two year old got it. Just kidding.

Here she is, after everyone has consumed their donuts, delicately eating the powdered sugar off of hers. Such a lady.

Can't have a party without a pinata, amirite?!

Thanks, Greg & Kia, for a fantastic party! Can't wait till next year!

Tonight for dinner I made pork with fried apples and macaroni and cheese. Hubster had two helpings and said it was a "top 3" meal. Which made me insanely happy because I married the world's pickiest eater.

Also making me happy tonight:

It has been 80+ degrees for the last week, which is not getting me into the "Now it's Fall and the holidays are coming, yay" spirit. Today was the first seasonally cool day, and I got to marvel over this sunset once I got home from work. Pretty sure my neighbors think I'm nuts because I kept running outside to snap a photo as the sun continued to set.

You're alright, Fall. You're alright.

Five Friday Faves

Another Friday, another set of faves!

This week allowed a nice couple days off...but only because we had to replace our air conditioning system (ouch!). Thanks to buying a builder's grade home, we also got builder's grade major appliances and (surprise, surprise) they are junky. Surprise, surprise, indeed.

So, we bit the bullet, ripped off the bandaid, whatever other metaphor you can think of, and we replaced the whole thing. We figured this will pay off in the long run and now this is something we won't have to worry about for years. I am so grateful that the AC kicked the bucket after the heat of the summer was beyond us.

Now our goal is to pick a big appliance every year and replace it until everything is replaced with higher quality items. Next on our list is a high-efficiency furnace.

Anyway, once we got over the initial shock of spending an arm and a leg on the air conditioning, the rest of the week seemed easy peasy, and now it's Friday!

Here are five of my favorite pins from Pinterest this week. To see more, you can follow me here.

As always, please remember to pin from the original sources, which are provided under the pin images.

 source: Makely School for Girls

 source: A Subtle Revelry

 source: Amy's Cooking Adventures

 source: The Shabby Nest

source: Live Simply

As for our plans for the weekend, we have a big outdoor party at my brother- and sister-in-law's house on Saturday, and then we're hitting up Oktoberfest in Smithville on Sunday. I don't know about you, but I love Fall festivals!

What are your plans for the weekend? 

A Look Back at September

Happy October, everyone!

This is the part where I insert an exclamation about how last month FLEW by and OMG it's October already.

But seriously, guys, September flew by...and it's October already. This means we are creeping ever closer to Halloween, consuming turkey like there's no tomorrow, and December, which is like a month of awesome every day.

I won't lie...I definitely let this month sneak by me. You might remember in my Fall Bucket List that I resolved to make this a season of gratitude and would take a few moments each day to consciously be present. But wow, the month is over already and I feel like it never happened. This is the part where I resolve to try harder next month, especially since there is one more day in October than in September ;)

And now I'd like to share with you the top three posts from last month. You know, to kind of remind myself about what I did since it went so quickly.

#3 is my post on the Colorful No-Sew Fall Bunting I currently have hanging around my house by the yard. I love this stuff, and it is so versatile for the holidays, nurseries, big girl/boy rooms, your room,  parties, or just because. LOVE.

#2 is the Ruffled Burlap Wreath Tutorial I shared with you. This wreath is currently gracing my front door right now in all her sparkly, ruffly, burlappy glory, and I'm glad everyone enjoyed the tutorial as much as I enjoyed creating this wreath. To see the other wreath I made and shared this month, check this out.

And #1 is a post I could have sworn was from last month, but had to go back through my archives and realized that yes, this post is indeed from September. It's my Powder Room Makeover & Reveal, in which I proudly showed off the first and only room in our new home that is finished. I am thrilled with it and I still get the smiles when I walk by and see my handmade faked reclaimed wooden sign peeking out at me from the hallway.

And there's the best of September, all! Bring on October!