Before And After Fall Wreath

So last year I made some fall wreaths to go on my front doors. I thought they looked really good. Lets just say I came back from the floral show and as I walked up to my front doors I thought to myself, I have got to fix those wreaths now. They looked really puny and unfinished. I learned about movement and texture and decided to put it into practice.

Upon first glance it looks pretty good. Here's the before shot on an interior door.

Here's what they look like after some TLC. I broke out my new glue pot and started dipping and sticking. I think they look so much better.

I am linking to DIY day at A Soft Place to Land

Flower Show

Well it seems like I can't get the hang of working at preschool and blogging. I've had sick kids for about a week now and am starting to have a little time. Hopefully I'll be back to work tomorrow, because no work means no pay. In the meantime here's a little eye candy. Oh I know it's a little early for Christmas decorating. I went to a Floral show last weekend. It was put on by a wholesaler that I use. I mostly use them for for their great ribbon, but they've got great Christmas ornaments and decor. They brought in 2 floral designers from out of state that gave us lots of tricks of the trade and it was day of epiphanies for me. I think the best one was when he just dipped the ornaments in the glue pot and stuck them to the wreath or swag or table arrangement he was doing. For years I have been wiring things on and it took forever. I bought a glue pot that day and can't wait to try it. But I have a huge window treatment installation this weekend and have to get that done first. Here are some pics from my day. I hope you get inspired.This birdhouse wreath was my favorite. I didn't think I was going to like it at all when he started it. Now I see all kinds of possibilities for this wreath for spring.

This is a wreath stand extended with a garland twisted around it. They then added the magic with decorations. I think there is even a reindeer stuck in there.I thought he was finished with this one when I took this pic. Turns out he had much more to add, just look at the following pic.

Wallpaper Debocle

I have wallpapered many times in the past. Did a cute froggy bathroom in my old house. Put up several borders back in the 90's. Most recently I put grasscloth in behind bookcases in my family room. I really didn't have any intention of papering anything else. One of the fabric stores that I frequent has an attached wallpaper store. They have some cute little birds in there. Of course I had the 3 munchkins in tow so I told them if they were good we'd go see the birds. I walked in there and my eyes were instantly drawn to this paper. I thought it would look gorgeous in a tray ceiling. Oh wait! I have a tray in my dining room. Sold. I bought 2 double rolls and off I went. How hard could it be? Little did I know. It is definitely a two person job. People if you want your marriage to survive, do not do this with your spouse!!!

I cut and prepped the first 9 foot piece. Tried to put it up. It wasn't sticking, it kept falling on my head, GRAVITY IS NOT YOUR FRIEND! I finally got it to stick. Then I couldn't get the wrinkles out. Well I took the first piece down and then spent the next hour and a half scrubbing the ceiling to get the adhesive off. I was so sore. That is the end of the story . I decided to call in the pros. I have never felt better about writing the check. They were worth every penny. It looks gorgeous!Before

After-I love how the light reflects off the paper.

I still need to move the table back into the room.

The only other thing to do in my didning room is to add a skirted buffet, similar to this under the mirror.

Photo from Little Green Notebook

Design Style

Have you taken a quiz to discover your design style?

I Have discovered that I am 38% Classic
38% Nantucket - I do love the beach, I grew up my whole life with a water view. Now I am landlocked in the Atlanta suburbs. Hopefully someday I will have property on the water or maybe just a pool in the backyard:)
And 24% French Ecclectic


Take your own quiz here. All images taken from Sproost.

Back to the Living and a Great Giveaway

Can I just say how much I despise summer colds!! Why are they so much worse than winter colds. I can't believe my last two weeks of summer vacation I felt so bad. Oh well, I still have 3 days left and I am going to make the most of them. I'll update you as the days go by.


Stop by Hostess with the Mostess to win a $50 gift certificate to Lisa Leonard Designs. She makes gorgeous jewelry. Just look at some of my favorites.

Not feeling well.

I'm a little under the weather today! Hopefully I'll be back to blogging soon.

The First Day of School

Well, today was the first day of school for this year. There were alot of first too:

• First day in a new school for everyone.
• First time riding the bus
• First day of Kindergarten for my youngest
• First day of Private school for my oldest
• First time mom has all kids in school
• First time I sat in the parking lot at school and cried.

Can't wait to hear all of the stories when they come home from school.

Hooked on Upholstered Chairs

I'm joining Julia over at Hooked on Houses for her weekly blog party. This week I am hooked on upholstered chairs. I am frantically searching for the perfect pair of chairs to put in my family room. Here are some of my fave's.Previous 2 chairs from Ballard's. I love that you can cover them in any fabric you choose. So Custom.

Above chair available here

I couldn't resist this silver faux leather from chairs1000.com . I wouldn't use it, but thought it looked very funky.

Well the Tate chair from Bassett Furniture won. This is the style of chair I think I will be using. I love the contemporary arm style, but not too contemporary that it will clash with my traditional home. This is the chair I am HOOKED ON.

Stop on over at Hooked on Houses and tell everybody what you're hooked on!!

Sneak Peak

So my sis wanted to see what I was up to the last couple of day in my sons' room. Here is a sneak peek of the wall with the dresser.

The pic is a little dark. I do need to work on my camera skills a little more. I love the IKEA dresser. It turned out great. My little handyman was a great little helper. I decided for now to leave the dresser white. I'm afraid of ruining it with paint. I'm debating putting a small chair next to the dresser on the right. I'm going to look for something I think. I'll show the other side of the room and the attached bath sometime next week. There's still more work to do. ***Upon further reflection I think I need to move the memo board down a few inches. It looks a all scrunched up to the shelf. Will have to do that tomorrow.***

Summer Days

Oh the lazy days of summer. I love summer.

• Sleep overs
  
• SLEEPING IN ( this is the one I will miss most)
  
• Swimming


• Going to Lunch with Friends


• Napping


• Playing Legos


• Casual Suppers


• Staying up late
  

I will miss the summer days. School starts on Monday. It is bittersweet.

Little Boy Room

Well I have been busy for the last few days working on getting my youngest sons room complete. I will not call him the baby of the family, EVER. I am also the youngest, and my mother to this day calls me the baby. It's something I do not like, so I will never call him THE BABY. I digress.

Anyway, we have lived in this house for 2 years and I am finally getting around to decorating the kids' rooms. My plan was to spend the summer getting it all done. The best laid plans never pan out.

Here is a view of his room in our old house. It wasn't much, but he was in transition to the toddler bed so it looked a little empty. I am using alot of the same accessories for his new room. I still love the circus toile so I made new awning window valances that need to still be hung. His new room has 2 smaller windows now. I am repurposing the old valance in his bathroom. We bought him a twin mattress and frame and I am going to attempt an upholstered headboard.

I went to IKEA and picked up this Hemnes dresser.Photo courtesy IKEA

I can't decide whether to leave it white or paint it dark blue like this one from Pottery Barn Kids.

Photo courtesy Pottery Barn Kids

Any suggestions on what I should do? I don't really like white furniture in a boy's room. Maybe I should put it together and live with it for a while. If I do decide to paint it, does anyone have any tips for painting IKEA furniture. I want to spray it, but I read somewhere it won't stick. What to do, what to do?

I should be finished with most of the room by the end of the week, (still need to sew a dust ruffle and a sham) and will post pics when it's finished.

Hooked on 3D Movies

Well this has been the summer of 3D movies. My kids love them!! I didn't always think the story lines were that great, but the 3D effects were all very good. Today we watched this movie at home.

I thought the 3D was very good, but I wished I had seen it at the theater. I thought it would be scary for my kids, but they loved it.

Here are some of the other 3D movies we have seen this summer:

I think my favorite 3D movie of all time would have to be Journey to the Center of the Earth. Probably because I had not seen 3D like that before. The story line was also good for an adult.

Here's what I'm hooked on. Now go take a look over at Julia's Hooked on Houses to see what everyone else is hooked on today.

The Incredible Shrinking Man

Almost 2 years ago my husband set out on a quest to lose the weight he gained after we got married. I guess I was a really good cook, NOT! We ate out alot.

Here's the before.

Here's after he lost 90 pounds.

I am very proud and a little jealous. I did lose 50 pounds but gained back 20, so now I still have 80 to lose. It's a never ending battle for me.

He's taken cycling back up and was in his first race last week.

He did pretty good for his first race in 22 years. He didn't crash and he didn't come in last. We were very proud of him.