Might Need Therapy...

Just brought in the Fall/Halloween decoration boxes from the garage - there are 13 big Rubbermaid bins (spooky number!), plus I have some more decorations in the attic & closets & 2 more bins just of Thanksgiving...think it might be time to seek professional help. Wonder if there is a "Halloween Decorators Anonymous" I can join? I have about double that for Christmas...

First Day of School

Just to show you how crazy things have been around here, school started last Tuesday & I'm just getting around to putting pictures on my blog!

Lulu all set for Kindergarten with her new teacher.
Here she is looking just a bit apprehensive.

Under no circumstances was I allowed to take a picture of Coco in his class - apparently once you hit the 4th grade, it is no longer cool for your mom to photograph you in the presence of your peers...so I had to sneak this one!

The first week & a half of school went well and the kids seem to be settling back into a routine!

Wall of Plates

I have been wanting to decorate the wall in my entry foyer with plates for so long. Inspired by Kimba from A Soft Place To Land & trying to be frugal, I made my rounds to the local thrift stores looking for plates with a great shape that I could simply spray paint.

Unfortunately, the thrift stores in my area don't have many great bargains and most of the plates & platters were in the $2-3 range, plus I would still have to spray paint them all the same color. I didn't really find many plates I liked anyway.
I hit the jackpot at TJ Maxx & Home Goods. Most of these plates were purchased on clearance for $2. The most expensive was the large platter in the middle for $5.99.

This is the view from my front door. It is hard to see in the picture, but the plates visually take up a lot of room on this otherwise big, empty wall.

I'm so pleased with the way it turned out! It is exciting to finally get a project complete!

Already??!!

Is anyone else disturbed by the Halloween candy on the store shelves 2 months early??? I don't mind seeing the Halloween decor (heck, I started buying new Halloween decorations 3 weeks ago!), but for some reason I was completely dumbfounded to find the candy already in my local supermarket. It is only the first day of school & still in the 90's and I am sooo not ready to think about Trick Or Treating!

Back In The Swing

The last week has just been crazy! Besides recovering from a 2 week vacation (why do we always need a vacation from our vacation????), I had a Bunco party on Thursday & we are scrambling to gather all of the supplies for back to school.

Tomorrow Lulu starts Kindergarten! She is very excited, but very nervous. I know she will be fine as soon as she walks in the door.

On top of that, Coco has been sick with a fever, fatigue & sore throat. So, I of course start to stress about H1N1 & the start of school tomorrow. Luckily, his fever broke this morning, but he does still have a sore throat.

Sorry I haven't been around lately. Hopefully I'll be back in the swing of things soon!

Laundry Room Re-do ~ Wall Art

I knew I wanted to add some pictures to the laundry room walls, but just couldn't find exactly what I wanted. So, I took some scrapbook paper and Dollar Tree frames & made my own "art" (I use the term "art" very loosely!). The frames were $1 each and the scrapbook paper was on sale at Michaels for 41¢ a sheet (used 5 sheets because the striped paper has circles cut out from a coordinating paper). Not bad for $7.05 + tax!

Laundry Room Re-do ~ Paint

When we first moved into our house 8 years ago, I was thrilled to actually have a laundry ROOM. Our previous house only had a laundry closet with bi-fold doors. I figured since visitors rarely see my laundry room, I could go crazy with the decorating - so I did!

I wish I had a before picture when the room was decorated, but all I have is the picture I took just before I re-painted. The room had a garden theme with sky blue walls and a white picket fence painted on the walls. I had gotten giant wood/metal garden flowers 70% off at Joanns and I hot glued them in a row on the fence (you can see where I've had to patch the walls - apparently hot glue rips the dry wall when you take it off...hmmm, maybe not my best idea).
Inspired by 320 Sycamore and Real Southern Living & encouraged by my BFF Karyn, I painted the room Behr Asparagus. Here is the first coat:

I will admit that I was having heart palpitations as the first coat went up - it was bright....REALLY bright. The paint drying on my fingernails looked like a neon highlighter. The color did darken some as it dried and I went ahead and did a second coat.

After living with the color for a few days, I have to say...I LOVE it! The cabinets and appliances are white and I plan on adding black accent pieces. Over the next couple of days I'll show off some crafts I've been working on for the room, but the room won't be completed until we get back from vacation.