Outdoor Fall Decor

Decorating the outdoors is one of my favorite ways to celebrate the fall season! It's a great way to add color to your landscape; it's easy, fun and inexpensive. The items shown above were purchased at the neighborhood farmer's market; the pumpkins, bales of hay, mums and corn stalks totaled less than $50.00! To celebrate Halloween you can hang up a ghost, crow or whatever else you can find, or add a wreath to the front door. I'm still actually waiting for mine to arrive- I held out for a sale! I can rarely justify paying full price for holiday items.

Another great way to find great outdoor decorations like planters is to visit estate sales. The cement planters shown were purchased on the last day of an estate sale and were discounted 50%! Cement planters are great for their versatility and can be used for many years to come. Estate sales often have a variety of holiday decorations and if you get really lucky you may even fiind a couple of valuable antiques!

Fall is in the air!

Labor Day weekend always serves as the unofficial start of the fall season or for some of us the absolute cutoff day to wear white. Does anyone really adhere to that rule anymore? I for one, do not. I still can't ignore that the days are getting shorter and the evenings are a little bit cooler.

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the fashion, colors, decorating my house, and warm apple cider.

Decorating for the fall, I always try to bring the outdoors in. I purchase small gourds from the local farmers market, they hold up quite nicely if you place them in a bowl and refrain from touching them, dispose of gourds that are bruised or scratched.

Paper Mache pumpkins, silk florals are also great items to stock up on.

I have a few simple rules to decorate for the fabulous fall:

1.      Pick your color palette: I love to incorporate yellow, orange, purple, maroon and a touch of gray

2.      Pottery: Large vases can filled with branches and silk florals- they are easily swapped out every season.

3.      Candles and hurricane lamps: excellent accent pieces that add texture, color and scent. Once again they can easily be swapped out when you're ready to decorate for Christmas.

4.      Decorative pillows: should always be clustered in odd numbers and vary in size. For example, Euro size, 16"x16" and a lumbar. To add texture purchase leather pillows, beaded and yarn, mix and match!

5.      Decorate the dining room- pumpkin plates can be used for both Halloween and Thanksgiving! Add cloth napkins to your beautiful fall table spread.

6.      Layer- all decor should be layered. Add candles, florals, pottery, give the eye various things to look at.

Remember to enjoy this time of year! Go apple picking, visit local farmers markets, and bake!

A long pause....

Hello world- I'm back and here to stay! I started this blog a couple of months ago with the intention of using it as a platform to help me and others balance the stresses of everyday life by focusing on the good things! Sadly, the things that matter most to me are the very same things I haven't been true to. Hence, my long pause and reassessment of self!

A lot has happened in these couple of months, some good and some not so good. I did plant my garden! I'm growing tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries and various herbs. My seedlings failed to thrive- my cat ate them :(! So I opted to cheat and purchased plants; I highly recommend this method of gardening for novices.

My breakfast nook project has also been completed- I absolutely love the results. In addition, we also completed the backyard fence installation.

While all of this progress is great I also dealt with some setbacks. My slate roof leaked into my bathroom and that was a very costly repair, which has delayed the bathroom renovation.

However, my biggest disappointment has been my inability to stick to the short list of projects. I continue to add to the list of immediate priorities and I can't seem to enjoy what has been accomplished. This has left me stretched way too thin!

This behavior also spills into my professional life; I continue to take on additional projects. In addition to working full time as a Director of a fast paced department, I also teach in the evenings. I wake up every morning go to work and the conclusion of my day, I come home cook dinner for my husband and we begin to work on the house! We are both quite literally working around the clock.

Quite frankly, this is not fulfilling!

Back in January on my return flight from China, I had compiled a list of resolutions. I have not stuck to my plan one bit!

What's worse is I don't know how to stop! I don't know how to say "No" and mean it. I struggle with living in the present and not thinking about tomorrow. So this is me getting back on the proverbial horse!

Wall art purchased from Homeward Bound in Buffalo, New York

On a side note: This breakfast nook was inspired by a French restaurant I visited in London, England. I loved the atmosphere, the colors and the decor- it was fun recreating the feeling of that lovely day! 

The table and chairs were purchased from Homeward Bound, in Buffalo New York, but can be purchased directly from Trade Winds Furniture; wall color: Martha Stewart Rain Water.

Spring Forward

Nothing reminds me more that spring is near than daylight savings time. Granted, it may not feel that way, given the cold temperatures and snow flurries, but nonetheless spring is in the air. I have gardening and breakfast nook projects on my mind.

This past weekend I visited Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; it was very inspirational. I took a ghost walk tour of Society Hill with its cobblestone streets and row-houses; it was lovely. Not only was the tour fun, it allowed me to take a sneak peek of the lovely home interiors. An excellent source of inspiration especially given that I'm restoring my breakfast nook. Some of the ideas that I came away with were the use of indoor shutters as window treatments and using wallpaper to accent walls.

My breakfast nook was built as an addition, the foundation of this room settled and the center sank about two inches. My first order of business was hiring a carpenter to reframe the room and rebuild it from the ground up. This process was surprisingly, quick and painless and well worth the trouble (provided you are working with a professional). The floor is now completely level and transitions smoothly with rest of the house.

The second order of business was redoing the lighting. The previous owner installed outdoor sconces along the walls. Once the structural and lighting tasks are complete I will begin decorating.

In the meantime, I'll be tackling my herb garden complete with oregano, sage, basil and mint.

Projects, projects and more projects!

This past Monday I invited a guest speaker from China to my Foundations of Leadership class (in addition to my regular daytime job, I teach at the college level), at the end of class we chatted about our jobs, and every day life. At some point during the conversation, she asked me why I felt compelled to work two jobs and if I was happy. I was quite taken aback, interesting questions, especially coming from a stranger. This gave me pause, I gave it some thought and answered honestly- yes! Do I work a lot? Yes, but I love what I do, I feel in my own small way I'm making a positive difference. All that aside it's not just my job where I derive a lot pleasure. I enjoy restoring my house, I love cooking, entertaining and all the other stuff in between. For example, I'm working on several fun home projects/hobbies and my husband is doing the same.

I travel quite a bit and I always try to bring home something from every country or city I visit. Over the years I've collected some really neat things, but now I'm struggling to find a suitable place for them in my house. I have Mardi Gras masks from New Orleans, and Florence, terra cotta soldiers from Beijing, to name a few.  I'm also working on making sense of my favorite recipes. I liken my cooking style to that of a chemist, a little bit of this and that. Recently, I've begun measuring my ingredients and writing everything down as I go.  My husband too has found success brewing his own beer! Of course, if all this can't seem to keep me busy I also have my book club to fall back on! 

One of three masks I'm trying to find a place for.

I'm so happy I managed to bring this mask back from Florence, Italy without a single a scratch. I wrapped it in thick sweaters and placed it in the middle of my suitcase.