Cherries

Left to my own devices this weekend with the hubby gone working, I scrubbed down some more of the kitchen. This is the slowest paint prep ever. We will be diving into the blue paint this Labor Day Weekend. Can't wait to see what it looks like with its new color.

I sort of moved things around and rearranged little spaces here and there. The walls we will be painting are increasingly bare now so I am trying to perk up some of the flat surfaces.

My breadbox, ever in search of a good place to put it, has been over by the phone for a while. It is such a big clunky thing but a very necessary one as we always have so many loaves of bread in this house.

Could never get a good pick of this sweet little wax pie. My camera skills are lacking. Oh and don't forget to enter my giveaway. The details are on my sidebar.

Linking to:
Sue Loves Cherries
Very Merry Vintage Style
Creative Spark
Treasure Hunt Thursday
BNOTP

Wise as an Owl-Back to School Cupcakes

Remember these guys? I thought these wise old owl cupcakes would be perfect for a back to school treat for dinner tonight since my youngest school aged girlie starts school today. Boy, I said school a lot in that sentence. I originally made them for my daughter's birthday and you can see that post here.
She loves anything owl themed so these will be perfect.

Linking to:
Coastal Charm
New Nostalgia
Tuesday's Treasures
Bowl Full of Lemons
Eisy Morgan
Women Living Well
weekend-wrap-up-party
Comfy In the Kitchen
Nifty Thrifty Things
BNOTP
Stone Gable
Heavenly Homemakers
Time Warp Wife
Savvy Homemade
Terrific Under Ten
Wow Us Wed.
I heart naptime
http://todayscreativeblog.net/
Fantabulous Friday

Country General Store Fall Open House

 If you are anywhere in the area on Saturday, you have to come to my favorite store's fall open house. You will not be disappointed. I will be there when the door opens so come and find me and say hi. I will be the one with the big smile on my face and a bag full of goodies.

Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2011   Halloween & Harvest Open House Saturday, Aug. 27th 10am-5pm It's time for our big Halloween & Harvest Open House! Fall bonus buys thoughout the store! Yummy Food ~ Fun ~ Prizes Chance to earn CGS cash! Join us for our best Open House yet!

Was There a Weekend?

I am serious. Was there a weekend? My hubby had to work all weekend and I didn't go anywhere but church. Not very exciting. I stayed home and wiped a few things down. My hands are proof. Why don't I wear gloves? I do love staying home though as you get so much more done. I did some re-arranging here and there. Nothing big. I will have to share in a day or so.

Patio Decorating

Every evening we are home, I head out back with the littlest one for a Popsicle or some ice cream. Our patio is like another room in our house as I spend so much time out there.

Just like indoors, I start dragging things around and rearranging. Just basic puttering.

My other pots that were by my door faded long ago so it was so boring to look at this area. I put a little metal table, some candle holders I had in another spot and topped it off with a sweet little angel.

I like to light candles out here in the evenings. So I always have a few sitting around the patio.

 A little ivy plant down on the base of the table adds some greenery.

Linking to:
Dittle Dattle
Met Monday
Mod Mix Monday
Coastal Charm
Tabletop Tuesday
Bowl Full of Lemons
Cottage Flora Thurs.

Fall Lovelies

Perusing the internet for fall inspiration. Love the vignette below.

                                                                          source

Aren't these just made of the best of the fall colors?

What is more perfect them a basket of pumpkins for fall. I just love pumpkins.

               

Isn't this the most perfect fall porch? Those urns are stunning.

source

Just wanted to share the fall lovelies I found. Almost here. Except here in SoCal it can stay pretty warm for a while so I will live vicariously through all of your upcoming posts.

My Prim Side

I mentioned before my love of prim among other styles of decor so I thought I would share a little of my prim side. From firkins to crocks, I love the rustic look of primitives and have them throughout a few rooms in my home. I have made a few fall touches this week so I thought I would share.

The warm colors always draw me but I have sort of a dark dining area which makes it hard to photograph.

This old sifter was picked up on our vacation.

We thought maybe we would paint all of our trim this putty color but have since decided it will probably go back to white. I love the look but our house is sort of dark so we want a lighter trim. Bummer because that was a lot of work but at the rate I get to projects it will be here a while.

I am lucky my hubby shares my love of prims and helps me arrange things especially the high spaces as he is 6'4". No ladder required.

I love pumpkins and the colors of fall so this Wysocki hangs all year long. The antique dry sink was a coveted  addition a couple of years ago. I wanted one so badly and when a local antique store was closing I was able to purchase it for half of the original asking price.

Remember to join my giveaway. The link is on my sidebar.

Linking to:
Seasonal Sundays
SNS
Nifty Thrifty
Met Monday
DIY Showoff
The Girl Creative
Passionately Artistic
Wow Us Wed.

A Summer's Eve

Decided to light my patio candles and enjoy the waning light of the day.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Rose. She is now in part shade so she doesn't bloom much for me. Sure enjoy her when she does.

These bloom the color of sunset.

The vines are still green and  have almost covered my fountain. Soon the leaves will turn and fall to the patio.

I have not been planting much because of the heat but I am sure itching to get to the nursery and buy some new flowers for my pots.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Linking to:
Cherished Treasures
Sat. Night Special
Remodelaholic

Summer Baked Potatoes

We love baked potatoes but in the summer we do them BBQ style. I take the potato and after washing, cut them in half. Put a few slashes in the with you knife and add a dab of butter and some salt and pepper.

Wrap them in foil and put them on the barbecue first and let them cook a little before you start your meat.

When fork tender remove and enjoy. We add a dab of sour cream and a sprinkle of season salt.

Here they are all wrapped and waiting for the barbecue to heat up. I wish I had a picture of them done but the family was hungry and dived and I just said what the heck, no pic.

Linking to:
Foodie Friday
Full Plate Thursday
Frugal Friday
Sat. Night Special
Comfy in the Kitchen
Girl Creative

Lookie What Came in the Mail

The kindness of bloggers never stops amazing me. Look what I received in the mail today from 

Debbie at My Vintage Daydreams.

I mean just because. How sweet. 

She thought this night light matched my red toile sofa and guess what? It does. I plugged it in right next to it so you could see. Thank you so much Debbie. She is a newlywed and has some great pics of her wedding on her blog. Go check her out.

Organized Christmas Update

Early in the summer I did a post on planning ahead for an organized Christmas. One of the things I like to accomplish ahead of the holidays is a toy thinning and organization day. Especially now that I have a little one in the house with lots of little toys everywhere. You know they will be getting new things come the holidays so I spent the day cleaning out the bedroom and toy closet. This is one thing off my list of pre-holiday chores.

Sure it will get messy again but things have been sorted and two bags of trash and two boxes of donations are outta here so that is such a good feeling. Less is more!!

This is where we store some of Q's toys. It is a funny little closet in our dining room. It is next to the den so she can get things out to play easily.

The bedroom closet cleaned and vacuumed. Clothes sorted and ready for donating and the best of all, a closet floor you can see.

This corner of the den is Q's play area. All organized and sorted. I like to take all the odds and ends like McDonald's toys and put them in a basket in the trailer for camping. They become new to her when she sees them again and if they get lost or dirty, who cares because you were going to get rid of them anyway.

End of Summer

I am anticipating the end of summer. Cooler weather, soups for supper simmering on the stove. Putting on my favorite sweater. Of course in SoCal that change can take a while to come but a girl can dream. Instead I have to make changes indoors that reflect my desire for fall weather.

Gone are all the bee themed goodies in this corner. Though I did keep my skep.

I am a woman torn. I love cottage and bright colors but I also adore prim decor and its warmth.

So I probably break all design rules and mix it all up in here. Who am I kidding. I don't think you think of design and my house in the same sentence.

This place is a constant work in progress with a very lived in feel. VERY lived in feel. But I do have fun dressing up the little nooks and crannies. That is the fun part.

Don't forget to join my giveaway here.

Linking to:
BNOTP
Charm of Home
Common Ground
At the Picket Fence
French Country Cottage
Stuff and Nonsense
Farmhouse Friday
Show and Tell Friday
Sat. Night Special
Tatertots and Jello
Bowl Full of Lemons