Welcoming Fall To My Home...

Every Leaf Speaks Bliss To Me,

Fluttering From The Autumn Tree

~Emily Bronte

I've been doing some decorating around the house.  While it isn't officially here yet...I'm Welcoming Fall.

I can smell the Pumpkin Spice, Apple and Pumpkin Cheesecake candles burning now.  Here is a peek at what I've been up to...

Little Fall Tree In The Dining Room...

Fall Vignette Above Hutch In Dining Room...

Our Little Scarecrow Witch Friend In The Foyer...(she's been here longer than the kids I suspect...many years)...

Grandma's Old White Cabinet Decorated For Fall...

Inside The Cabinet...

Mmmm...My Favorite Scent...

Jackie

Making Your House (or apartment...or duplex) Into A Home...

Stamp your personality on your home.

Invest some love in it.

Give it something of yourself.

Your colors.

Your pictures.

Your favorite objects.

In return, it will welcome you

and your friends.

~Patrick Lindsay

I like coming home to a neat (although not necessarily very clean) and tidy home and making my home a comfortable place to be has always been a priority to me.  I have lived in apartments, duplexes, and finally a house that we bought 10 years ago.  Wherever we have lived, I always arranged the items that I had in the most pleasing way that I could.  I don't have expensive taste (thank goodness) and most of the items in our home I have collected from flea markets, garage sales and from eBay.  I remember walking into homes when I was in my early 20's and thinking that my house would never look like that.  Several times when that happened, the homeowner would say, "oh, your house will look just like you want it to someday because it takes years to collect all these items".  That is exactly what happened...because here I am 20 years later and my house, for the most part, is close to what I had envisioned.  It's never done and I'm sure I'll always be checking out the local flea markets...but that's the fun part anyway!  

Home is where the heart is.

My little office nook in the kitchen corner...

My new gallery wall in the foyer...some photos I have taken and Wal-Mart frames.

Another view of the kitchen...

A little primitive and a little industrial...my favorite decorating combination...

My Grandma's old chair in the corner of the living room.  2 handmade and lumpy toile pillows and one dollar store pillow.

Thanks for Stopping By,

Jackie

Craving Lightness and Brightness...

"Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments, embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour." 
-   John Boswell

 
I'm trying to Embrace the Blessing of the Winter Season and sometimes that is hard for me to do.  We're in the middle of the Long Dark Winter Days now and I'm craving Light. 

These days I find myself pouring through magazines and decorating websites looking for a little inspiration to make my surroundings more cheerful.  It's about this time I start treating myself to Bargain Fresh Flowers each week as well.

The photos here are giving me some ideas about some of the projects I have in mind for these winter days.  Perfect way to spend the winter...planning projects and hopefully completing some too.
 

Christmas Is A State of Mind...

I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month.  ~Harlan Miller

 

Christmas Carols, Snowmen and Holiday Cheer were enjoyed by all this past weekend at the Holiday Open Houses we attended.  I had a great visit with my Mom and enjoyed seeing my cousin and Aunt as well.  We missed the girls who couldn't be with us.  I can hardly even believe that I'm almost ready to start my Christmas preparations.  I'm not in any hurry to by-pass my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, but I'm in the Christmas Spirit this year.  I have a lot to be Thankful for and I enjoy making my home a warm and inviting place for family and friends to find comfort in.  I look forward to sharing some of my decorating and our family traditions with you this season.

My Cute Shopping Partner...

Christmas Trees on The Old Truck Set the Mood...

The New Winter Sign For My Foyer Will Replace...

...this Fall Sign...

Ice Skating Cuteness...

Thanks For Stopping By,

Jackie

Touches of Fall Around The House...

"Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn."
-   Elizabeth Lawrence

 

Decorating Inspiration from the Big Screen...

Obviously I've been in some sort of nesting phase for the last couple of months because most of my posts have been about decorating lately. It continues today. Even this weekend my plan is to unload a lot of junk from my bedroom in order to prepare the room for a much simpler, cottage-like feeling. Painting commences next week.

As I watched You've Got Mail for the about the 25th time last week, I realized one of the reasons I love the movie so much is because of Meg Ryan's apartment and her quaint little bookstore. The story is sweet but I really like the look of almost all the sets. The feeling of her apartment is what I'm striving for in my house...I never quite get it...but I'm still trying. I love everything about her apartment. All the books. Old, chipped up decor and the mismatched fabrics. It's comfortable. I also love the movie this one is based on called The Shop Around The Corner. The decor isn't as charming...but the movie is worth watching.

Can't forget about the bookstore...

If you don't have kids you probably haven't watched Alvin and the Chipmunks...or maybe you have! The first thing I said when the scene opened up in Jason Lee's house was "I LOVE his house". Every time it's on I take mental notes about how it's decorated. Now I have some photos.


So, now there is a new movie that I haven't seen but several blogs have been buzzing about it and have featured photos from the movie...mainly the gardens. It's Complicated starring Meryl Streep. The movie looks really cute but I can't wait to see it because of these....


I'm a practical enough girl to know that most real gardens don't look anything like this....but a girl can dream, can't she?

I found photos of these movie sets all over the internet but the best collection is at Hooked On Houses. If you pay attention to the decor in movies like I do, chances are you'll find one of your favorites on her blog.

Have a great weekend and in between de-junking I plan to catch up on some of your blogs...I'll see you there.


Jackie

The Old Girl Gets A Facelift...

No, not me...although now that I've hit my 40's I may rethink that whole nip and tuck thing...

The real facelift is happening in our old house...there has been a lot of action here in the last few weeks. Our old bathroom has almost been completely remodeled with new ceramic tile and it was finished last week. This week our kitchen floor is being ripped out only to find a LOT of mold and decay. The pesky and not so pleasant scent that I was blaming on the dishwasher has unveiled itself in the floor and subfloor under the refrigerator. The leak is fixed and new ceramic tile floor is going in.

Our house was built in 1968...the same year I was born. Most of the time I don't feel too old but a lot of the time I feel like this house is ancient in all it's 1960's suburban rancher glory. I've decorated around some the retro features of our home and some of the features I think I've decided to keep...like the old swag light in the newly remodeled bathroom. I think it sort of fits with my shabby, french country, primitive look that I've got going on in there (how's that for eclectic?). The swag light and the faux marble counter top will be staying for now since the funds have run out. I have become friends with the old light fixture again since I spent 18 hours painting in there. Yes, 18! I ran into some issues...which is almost always the case with my painting projects.

I wish I had some before photos of the bathroom...just imagine old vinyl floor tiles with moldy subfloor underneath and an unusable shower with many missing pea green tiles and moldy drywall behind it. Oh, and we can't forget the mold growing all around the tops of the walls throughout the whole bathroom. Just lovely!!

This looks much better...






This is what I was looking at out the window for the two days I was painting...foggy and misty weather...perfect interior painting weather I'd say!

My Creative Space...

Well, I guess I will call myself a creative person. For as long as I can remember I have always been working on something whether it's decorating my home, planning, planting or tending to a garden, stitchery, scrapbooking, journaling and visual journaling and most recently building a Dream Board and Writing. Everywhere we have lived I have claimed some spot in our house/duplex/apartment as my Creative Space. In this house, I'm fortunate enough to have an office. It doubles as a spare bedroom but most of the time it's my space. It's not super organized but it's very comfortable. It's a place of Prayer, Peace and Creativity. Here's a little tour of my Creative Space...

I Still Like to Send and Receive REAL Cards...With REAL Handwriting...Here is my Stash!

You Can't Ever Have Too Many Pairs of Scissors...

Much of My Writing Inspiration over the last 10+ Years Has Come From These Books...

You Can Never Have Too Many Binder Rings Either...

The Works In Progress...

The Clean Side of the Office...

A Box Full of Sticker and Paper Love...

A Sweet Gift From A Newly Found Friend...

The View From My Desk...Those Twigs are a Beautiful Hydrangea Bush...

Where Do You Create?