The Fall Mantel

I've been bringing out the Fall decor slowly and just in little bits.  There's really no FULL-ON seasonal decorating done here, except for at Christmas time.

When the kids were small, there was lots of pumpkin carving and ghosts and fake spider webs.

Now things are more subtle.

No more pumpkin carving...just glass and fabric pumpkins for me.

I like the quiet subtlety of it...but I sure do miss roasting those pumpkin seeds!!



Linking up @:

Cozy Little House
Our Home Away From Home
A Stroll Thru Life

Trying out Small Changes in the Kitchen

When we purchased this house last year, we knew that a kitchen makeover was not too far on the horizon.  Fast forward a year and we are just about ready to begin tackling it. Although the cabinets are solid wood, they are not in the best shape.  The dark walnut stain is showing wear and it really makes the kitchen very dark.  These pictures below were taken shortly after we moved in.

The hood cabinet over the stove is in pretty bad condition.  I am thinking of having it removed entirely and just using that space above the vent for display.  In order to get a feel of what it would be like to do so, I took the cabinet doors off this week.

And I added some decor I pulled from around my house.  I LOVE shopping the house and changing things up...don't you??!!

An antique platter on a plate stand, some of my gorgeous green glass pieces, an enamelware pot I found thrifting a few years ago, and last but not least that blue glass vase I picked up last week on clearance.

This change took literally five minutes to complete and I am loving how it brightens this dark corner of the kitchen.  Stay tuned for some BIG changes coming up for the kitchen...a whole new colour scheme that will be sure to lighten and brighten this room!

Have you made any small changes to your home lately?

Cheryl

The Autumn Garden

There is nothing better than being out in the garden on a crisp Fall morning.  The flowers seem to take on a greater beauty at this time of the day when the garden is just waking up and is still covered in dew.

The morning sun casts great shadows.

Some of the flowers have started to fade, but some are just coming into their glory!

 My favourite from the annual plantings has to be the black petunias...they are still doing quite well.

I know that winter is just around the corner, but for now, you can still find me enjoying the flowers in my garden.

Cheryl

Linking up @:

Lavender Cottage

Living Room Additions

I've been holding out on you guys...but today I'm coming clean and sharing some new additions that we've made to our living room.

Last November when our daughter moved out we gave her the couch and love seat that we had in our living room.  We lived with just two chairs in there since that time.  I really was in no rush to purchase another sofa, especially since back in March we decided to take down the wall between the kitchen and living room.   That being done and out of the way...we are still living with bare studs on the posts since I can't seem to make up my mind what to cover them with.

A few weeks ago we took the plunge and purchased a new sofa from Costco...a Broyhill charcoal grey lovely that makes me smile every time I walk by...

In my opinion it is the perfect sofa.  Three square cushions with piping on all edges to help keep the shape.  In addition, because the seat cushions are square they can be moved around so that they get even wear.  You know I have a favourite spot to sit and this way the cushion won't wear out as quickly because I can flip them over and move them to different spots.

Another thing I love about it is that the back cushions are stationary.  I do not prefer sofas with loose back cushions, I find I am forever straightening them.

My side chairs are a camel colour as you can see, but I really don't mind because this way the room looks more currated and not bought from a set.  Both colours are neutral enough to work together.  I can still change the look by changing out the pillows.  These are not the pillows that came with the sofa, those I gave to my daughter as they were an eggplant colour and not really my taste.

The fabric is soft, almost chenille like, not scratchy at all.  I also love how firm the sofa is, it not all
squishy and unsupportive.

With the furniture set in place I needed a little side table next to my reading chair.  I couldn't really find anything that spoke to me, but I did find this wicker box that I loved and I decided to try it as a table.  I purchased it at Homesense for $24.99 and I think it adds great texture and another storage option to the room.  It could even be used as a stool if need be.

I also picked up this great blue glass piece in the clearance aisle at Winner's for just $7.00...

...and this 8 x 10 frame with the cute print included for $9.99.  It found a place in the built-ins for now, but once the hallway is painted it will be used in a gallery wall I have planned.

I love finding things that don't break the bank, especially if I can get them on clearance.

Now I'm just working on deciding what to do with the support beams between the kitchen and the living room...and after that it's on to the kitchen makeover!!

I Succumbed to Peer Pressure!

Well I did it!!  I said I wouldn't but I did...

I fell to peer pressure and brought out some of my fall decor yesterday.  You know what made me do it...all those great fall home tours.  You know the ones, with the clean houses and the lovely fall pumpkins and leaves.

I wanted my house to look as good as those ones.

I didn't bring out too much, just enough to feel a little more  festive.

I'm going to hold off another week  or so on decorating the front porch.  My Impatiens are still blooming so nicely that I don't want to change them out for Mums just yet.

It's still 80 degrees here, so it's not really very fall like.

Darn those home tours...while it was nice to see all the Fall inspiration...it really did make me

feel behind the eight-ball to decorate for the season!!

Are you putting out your Fall decor, or are you waiting a little longer???

I'd love to know!!

Cheryl

Thrift Score Thursday...the Saturday Edition!

OK lovelies...I scored some great things this week that I'd like to share with you!

My BFF and I headed out Thursday morning for a day of thrifting out in Leamington Ontario...it's our preferred area of choice because we always seem to find some great deals out there.

First up is this great light up pumpkin tower that I found at the Value Village for $4.99.  I won't be putting it out until October but it will be a great addition to my fall front porch display.

Next are these two beautifully filled urns that I purchased for $7.99 each.

They will be a beautiful part of my Christmas holiday display.  Don't you just LOVE the colour and those pheasant feathers!

I'm thinking of adding a bit of teal blue to them as well.

I also found this great amber vase for $1.00 at the MCC Thrift store.

This last find was a FREEBIE that we picked up on the side of the road!!

She is STURDY and when she's cleaned up and given some new paint, she will be a great addition to the covered porch area in the backyard or she might even come inside as a chair for the spare bedroom.  I think Sloan would LOVE a new place to curl up for a nap and this might just be it!

That's it for this week's finds.  I'd love to see what you thrifted or picked up on the side of the road this week...be sure and share it with me!!

Cheryl

Almost There...

This past weekend I spent at the Flea Market in St. Jacob's and thrifting with my BFF.  We have been friends for 36 years and had never gone away just the two of us.  With life and husbands and kids it just didn't happen.  But last weekend we remedied that and decided to make it an annual event.  No great things were purchased, just some small household items, and no pictures were taken...sorry!

Back at home McG kept busy with work and projects in the back yard.  I came home to some significant progress and was able to help him work out there on Sunday.

He moved my fountain over to the back of the house where it could be seen better. This is probably my favourite of all the gifts he has ever made for me.

He added a brick border along the garden by the back door.  He and our son spent Saturday afternoon digging up the beach stone at the home of some of our friends.  They were re-doing their landscaping and were going to get rid of the stone.  McG and our son dug it out of their yard and put it into a trailer, brought it home, and then proceeded to  pass it through a screen box to remove the dirt and then put it into our garden.

McG loves a bargain even better than I do, and won't hesitate to do a bit of work to get something for FREE!

He extended the stone along the back of the house around the fountain as well.

We need to finish up this area this week by adding a bit of sod.

Last week, he also started to paint the garage and he added the "jewellery" to the garage doors that we purchased over at Menard's in Michigan as well.  This hardware is magnetic so there is no drilling into the doors!

This is as far as he has gotten with the paint, but you can tell already what a difference the darker colour is going to make!  I'm excited to get the project done, but it will have to wait...we are having our annual Labour Day party this weekend...and there is lots to do to get ready!!