A Few Random Items & A Big GiveAway Announcement!

Hey everyone!  Hope you're having a great start to the week.  I have just a few random things to share, but first I wanted to let you know about this "SUPER" giveaway that my friend, Liz @ Savvy Seasons, is having.  If you don't know Liz, or haven't visited her blog, please don't wait a second longer.  She has a great flair with decorating, & best of all, she knows how to make inexpensive items look fabulous.  She will even share with you where she makes her purchases.  What are you waiting for?  Go now, like right now, okay?

 Savvy Seasons is having a BIG GIVEAWAY!

Now on to a few things I wanted to share.  You know awhile back I asked for opinions on recycling systems.  Well, we decided to sacrifice a lower cabinet for this setup:

The Man got this installed in no time, and it's working very well.

Okay, not pretty, I know!  This was the original dining room chandy, but the previous owner had it hooked up really close to the ceiling.  And apparently it wasn't important to have matching globes.....LOL!

This one looks much better in our dining room.

So what did we do with this one?

We changed out the globes & hung it in the breakfast area.

It cleaned up very well.

When we first moved into this new home, I wasn't sure if I would have enough storage.  So, I decided to use the portable island from our previous kitchen.  I kind of liked the expanded island area, but found that I really didn't need it for storage.  It also made it kind of crowded when we added the new table.  Soooo.....

Presto, change-o......much nicer without it.

This is what our kitchen cabinets looked like before we moved in.  Very plain -- no hardware!

We found exactly what we wanted at IKEA & love how they look.  Best of all, we love that we can easily access the cupboards now!

Well, that's enough "show 'n tell" for now, but there will be more to come.  Hope you enjoyed your visit and please come again soon.

CAS

Falling! Falling! Falling!

Hey everyone!  Even though we have still been having triple digit temps during the day, our early mornings have been gorgeous, so I am not one bit deterred in my Fall decorating "frenzy."  Even in the midst of our continued unpacking and working on projects, I've managed to add some Fall & Halloween vignettes to our finished areas.  Some of these you've seen at a distance when I've done some of my room tours, but I wanted to show more details.  Most need very little explanations, so I'll try not to be TOO WORDY!  Ha ha!  So here we go on the "Falling Trail."

We will start in the entry, and I will allow the photos to speak for themselves.  Mostly, anyway....LOL!

If you are interested in how I did this super-easy & super-quick floral arrangement, go HERE

Glass & simplicity on the kitchen island. 

Just took some clear glass Christmas ornaments (from Michael's), put a few random berries, leaves & rafia inside each sphere & piled them in the jar.

Hope you enjoyed seeing some of my Fall decor.  It is such a wonderful time of year.  I hope all of you are enjoying it as well.  Thanks for stopping by & please come again soon.

CAS

I'm happily linking to:

Seasonal Sundays

Flaunt It Friday

Fall in Love With Your Home

Fridays Unfolded

Inspiration Friday

Vintage Inspiration Friday

A good deal? You tell me!

Hey everyone!  If you've been reading my blog for awhile, or at least since we moved, you know I mentioned that I really wanted to get a kitchen table to replace the bar-height table.  I really had a vision of a round table that would accommodate at least 6 people, maybe more if I could get one with a leaf.  I wanted to have casual family meals in the kitchen eating area where we (me) wouldn't worry about little ones & my light-colored carpeted dining room.....lol, I would try not to fret about that, but I know I would. Well, I had been watching Craigslist with no luck until a couple of days ago.  The seller was located in my town -- can you believe that?  We drove over last night, liked what we saw, bought it and brought it home. Do you want to see?

First, let me share a description of what I purchased......I know, I'm such a tease!  I got a 48" round, claw-foot, oak table with a 24" leaf, 2 captains chairs, 4 side chairs, & a complete set of custom table pads, including one for the leaf.  The seller told me it was 30-40 years old, so not in pristine condition & that the chairs needed a bit of TLC.  So, in actuality, 2 of the side chairs need quite a bit of work but the others aren't in bad shape.  Soooo...........

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I'm only going to use the 4 best chairs until we (meaning The Man) gets the other 2 repaired.

The set was in bad need of cleaning, & it was very thirsty!  Oops, Abby had to give the set her approval!

Someone had actually used a couple of the chairs when they were painting, because the seats were very scuffed & there were paint spatters all over them.  Who does that?  And yes, a spindle is missing.  We'll replace it with one from the really bad chair!

Love the base and legs -- both were in good shape with little or no scuffing.

Here I've used Old English on just half of the back -- amazing difference.  I love the detail in the carving on the back of the chairs.

Here I have one finished & one not.

Now on to the table top.  Before......

.....and After.

The base & the feet came out beautifully!

Ta-Da!  I just love it!  Now, would you like to know how much I paid?  Of course you would.

I paid $125.  Yes, I said $125!  I'm absolutely "giddy" with excitement about this purchase, but you tell me, did I get a good deal?

CAS

I'm happy to be linking up to:

Wow Us Wednesday

Strut Your Stuff Thursday

Treasure Hunt Thursday

Transformation Thursday

Inspiration Friday

Favorite Furniture of 2011