Fall Bags

Was in my favorite discount store the other day ....if you've read any previous posts you can take a guess at which one....scouting out some accessories for a current room project and got distracted.

I am easily distracted.

And the purses were calling my name.  I am a purse and jewelry kinda girl.  Doesn't matter what size you are - you can always find handbags and jewelry that will "fit you" and your budget.

Check out these fun colors for Fall - not your typical black and brown.

Mustard yellow

 

Orange and tan

Red

 Snake

Chocolate Suede

Eggplant

What fall color are you loving for accessories?

Pumpkin Yum!

Just a few pumpkin recipes I have been pinning from Pinterest.  It's no longer just pumpkin pie!!

Ready, Set....begin drooling! 

Pumpkin Better than Cake - looks so yummy!

Here's the recipe at  Something Swanky

 Glazed Pumpkin Buttermilk Doughnuts.  Who doesn't love doughnuts?!

The recipe can be found here at Barefoot and Baking 

 

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins with Streusel topping 

 The recipe can be found here at Food.com

Pumpkin Pound Cake

 The recipe can be found here at Sing for Your Supper

Pumpkin Roll Bars

The recipe can be found here at Six Sisters

Do you have a favorite pumpkin recipe?

It's feeling like Fall...ya'll

You may not know it yet....but I LOVE Fall.

The cooler weather, fall clothes (sweater, jeans and boots), candy corn, warm and yummy soups and casseroles (some of my favorite recipes), pumpkins, fall foliage, mums, Bailey's coffee, football...the list goes on.  The weather has been a little cooler the last few days and has me excited about my favorite season.

Speaking of...just made a family favorite recipe Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne that I pinned from Pinterest.  Here's the picture from her blog (hers is bound to be more photo friendly than any picture I could take).

The casserole is awesome...the original recipe calls for a double batch so it's great to eat one and freeze one or take one to a friend.  So if it's just for us, I usually half the recipe.

This time, I made some changes to suit my family's tastes ...and it was even MORE AwEsOmE!!!

I used wheat flour and pasta instead of regular, I used one part fat free half and half to one part 2% milk instead of whole milk, little brocolli florets instead of sun dried tomatoes ...and wait for it.....BACON!  We love BACON!  So I chopped up and browned some Turkey bacon and added that into the sauce.

YUM!

I saw these at my local Walmart Market store and couldn't resist.  Target bag is only for show, HA:)

Hopefully, I will plant the mum before it dies ...I'm not exactly a green thumb.

Loved these little Tiger Striped Pumpkins I found at Walmart as well.

 Thought these would be cute for a little arrangement in the house.  

Bring on Fall ...I'm ready!

Painting Upholstery

While catching up on all my decorating shows this past weekend, one show in particular used an interesting approach to updating an upholstered headboard...spraypaint.  My first reaction was gross that thing will be stiff as a board <pun intended> and will look so tacky.  But in reality spraypaint has come a LONG way - this new round of stuff is soft to the touch and has amazing coverage.  The headboard turned out great.

The product is called Simply Spray - it's non-toxic, non-flammable, water-based and virtually odorless.  Comes in a variety of colors and can be used on sofas, chairs, pillows, carpets, curtains, lampshades, linens as well as car, boat and RV interiors.  Once absorbed, the paint is soft to the touch and does not make the fabric stiff.

Customers have used it for furniture, curtains and even updating fabric upholstery in cars.  The paint works best on light colored items that you are wanting to make darker.

I think it would be a great application for updating a fabric lampshade that needs a new look or for  that playroom couch or chair that has taken in a lot of stains or wear?  Other options are using the spray to create designs on upholstery - like creating a monogram on a pillow, stripes on a chair or designs on curtain panels. I'm gonna have to give this baby a try....stay tuned!

Would you use spray paint on your upholstery?

Mirror, Mirror

Have a bathroom mirror that looks like this?

You know, the builder grade slab of glass that has plastic attachments to keep it on the wall.  These mirrors have also been glued to the wall with tons of adhesive.  So if you are looking for a change and want to take it down ...two things 1. Figure out a way to dispose of the glass (no one wants it believe me, been there) and 2.  be prepared to do some patchwork to your drywall and wall texture when you remove it.

OR ...what if the mirror could look like this?

This is an easy solution to the builder mirror and it looks great.  You retain the benefit of having a huge mirror in the bathroom which suits practical needs and the added bonus of creating lots of reflective light.

It's a company called Mirror Mate Frames.  It seems to be an easy process - you measure your mirror using their worksheet and tutorials - place your order - they ship you the frame - you assemble the frame and press-on mirro to install ...that's right PRESS-ON to install.  Average cost for a 3x5 frame is around $200.  Not bad for not having to tear down & dispose of the old mirror and then to find a large enough mirror to replace it or worse yet the cost of having a custom mirror/frame made.

Here are more before and afters:

(All photos from Mirror Mates)

What do you think?  Wish I knew about this when I tore down the big mirrors from two of my bathrooms. YIKES. This would have been a much easier solution!

Instagram-it

This is an easy project to create gallery style photos for your home.  I used my iPhone camera and used the app called Instagram to take my kids photos.  I wanted a little natural sunlight but not full on, so I took the pictures under our huge red oak in back ...this is one awesome tree.  Have you tried Instagram before?

So I took several pics ....reviewed them to see which of the kids expressions were best and which two looked similar in light source, shadows, etc.  Telling my kids they didn't have to smile was fun ...and resulted in some interesting looks!

What is he looking at anyway?

I took a WHOLE bunch but I will refrain from posting all the goofiness!

I picked my two favorites..printed them on 8x10 photo paper.  Note, the Instagram picture setting I used did not print to the full size of 8x10 - you will see some white space in the finished product but I am ok with how it looks.

I found frames at Target that were already matted with the thick white mats.  They were $29.99.  Here's similar frames.  They allow for a 11x14 opening.

I wanted some extra dimension so I found some double gray mattes at Hobby Lobby for under $3 each.  They allowed for an 8x10 opening.  I used this method for a client project and I find the extra matting creates a crisp professional look.

I used painters tape to attach the mattes and pictures to each other on the back.  Every so often, I would check the front to see how it looked and make sure they were straight.  I'm sure there is some technical, mathematical, well-thought out way to make the matting process easier...but I didn't do it.

Here's the finished product on the wall, so happy with how they turned out!