Where We Gather Pt. 1

Hey everyone!  I've been dying to share my Fall mantel and the rest of my family room with y'all, but have decided to just show the mantel first so as not to get more photo-laden than it is anyway.  I've spent a lot of time tweaking the mantel &  thought I had it finished a while ago; but then I came across something I had pinned on Pinterest and realized I wasn't quite finished.  Does that ever happen to y'all?  Anyway, I got this great idea from Emily at 52 Mantels, for a really cool garland and it didn't cost me anything -- I already had what I needed.  You will be surprised when you see what and how this garland is made.  Emily is one talented lady, so go check out her blog if you haven't already.  Okay, let the pictures tour begin!

Our mantel is pretty small and shallow, but The Man is working on some plans to give the fireplace and entertainment area a new look.  

I'm thinking that will probably be a January project.....hope, hope, hope!

I Love Aprons!

Hey everyone!  It's been so much fun watching Fall pop up all over blogland!  There are some seriously talented and fun-lovin' people.  I'm just a wee-bit jealous that some of you are already into Fall weather -- cool, crisp, and changing leaves; but there is a "feeling" in the air, a slight glimmer of hope, that cooler less hot days are just around the corner.  I might even be able to add some mums to my front porch!

Well, today I wanted to talk about aprons.  Do y'all like aprons & use them?  I love aprons and almost always wear one when I'm cooking.  I have a couple of really cute ones and love having seasonal ones;   but as the retailers have caught onto the trend of cute aprons, the pricing has gotten a bit crazy.  Don't you agree?  So, I decided to try my hand at making a trendy Fall/Halloween one.  I looked through my stash of fabric and found some leftovers from a few years ago when I made some trick-or-treat bags for my grandchildren.  Now, all I needed was a pattern and simply used a current ready-made apron for the basic shape.

Okay, if I had gone to the store to choose fabric for my apron, I probably wouldn't have chosen these; but I had this and just decided to be "wild and crazy!"

Fall Has Arrived in the Heart of Our Home!

Hey everyone!  Of course y'all know which rooms I'm talking about, right?  You guessed it, the kitchen and breakfast rooms.  I've actually had this finished for awhile, but I just kept tweaking and tweaking.  That will probably continue, but I couldn't wait any longer.  I also want to mention that nothing new was purchased for any of these vignettes -- just shopped my stash!  You know the drill, grab a beverage and get comfy -- plenty of pictures!

 As you enter my kitchen, this area is just to the right of the doorway.