Fall Decor...

Fall is here!  I love this time of the year! I have never been so ready to hibernate and have definitely been enjoying winding down from the busy summer.  I have been using my crock pot more, snuggling on the couch with a blanket and have been decorating for the fall season...

When decorating for the seasons I have a few go to items I love to use every year...

1. Candles - I can't get enough candles in the Fall and Winter season, I love the scents of pumpkin, apple and cinnamon filling the house...

2. Pumpkins and Gourds - I LOVE spreading these little gems all over the house.  I need to invest in some fake gourds so I can use them year after year.  For now, the real ones will do and they are inexpensive and add a lot of fall personality.

Another thing I like to do all year long and for every season is to find little odds and ends that might fit into my current decorating theme. This wine bottle purchased from Trader Joe's was enjoyed this past weekend and is now perched on the mantle.  I love it so much and adds a little more spook to my fall theme.

The AMAZING mirror was handed down from Justin Great Grandpa.  I love its large scale, the mid-century look and how big it makes the room feel.  I think this baby may stay all year long!

On the floor surrounding the fireplace I have a little pumpkin/gourd patch and I put our little elephant friend there. He's so cute!

Here is a full fireplace shot... not a very good picture but you get the idea...  The antique card holder with all our birthday cards is throwing the look off a bit but I like displaying that kind of stuff  =]

I LOVE my little 'Gobble 'til you Wobble' turkey - picked him up at Marshals for $6!

On my bookshelves I added some gourds, mini pumpkins and some little berry garlands.  I fished my star lights out of the basement added them there as well..

I didn't do much in the dining room, I just added some Fallish garland around the hutch and made a little 'Give Thanks' sign...

I used some cute orange scrapbook paper I had and hand wrote the letters and cut them into squares.  I used twine to tie the letters to a glassless frame.  I think I should have printed the letters on to make it a little less 'homemade' looking...

Here is another mantle shot, sorry, I am a little obsessed with it =]

My mom and I took the dogs to the park yesterday and noticed a chestnut tree with a bunch of little chestnut droppings around it.  We gathered them (in a doggy poo bag), brought them home and put them in a wood bowl on the dining table.  A fun FREE Autumn touch!

I Love this time of year and am enjoying every minute of it. Happy Autumn everyone!!

Inspiration Alert!

I just shared with you the beginning stages of our back yard and I thought it would be fun to share with you our plans regarding the front! 

Here is our house.  There are been some changes since this photo was taken but it give you an idea of what were working with.

Here is our inspiration! I found this beaut on Pinterest and fell in love with it instantly!  I would like to mimic the cedar shakes since our home as a similar set back roof area and will definitely be painting the house in the same grey color.  I would also like to add thicker trims and mouldings all over and throw in some black accents.  

Photo Source

I love this with my whole heart and can't wait to start next Summer!

Other things we would like to do would include adding a short fence on the left side of the house to separate our property from our neighbors (to keep our pups in check) and some sort of fencing along the front with a gate. I don't want anything view blocking so maybe wrought iron or something? We also want to create a larger stoop in the front door area and will extend the front door roof out further and will match the angular peak of the other roof lines. Plus we need a new roof and gutters and blah blah!

Whew! We are going to need some serious time and moolah!

Anywho. Just thought I'd share =] 

Tomorrow is Friday!!

Backyard Progress Part 2...and 3....and done.... For Now....

It's been one week since I have last posted!  We have been working away in the backyard making sure to get everything in place before the weather takes a turn.

Last Tuesday, I shared with you the thrilling adventure of digging sprinkler trenches and gluing PVC pipes together and today I present to you a working sprinkler system! 

Once we had the pipes glued together and all the pieces in their place, we turned over the "On" switch and made sure everything was swimming along correctly and that there weren't any leaks.

Everything was working perfectly so we filled in the trenches, raked and rolled out the dirt and prepped for sod.

By Friday night we (Justin, not me) had half of the yard finished!  We ordered 4 pallets from a local turf distributor and used every last piece.

Saturday the sod laying continued with the help of a wonderful, great, awesome friend (thanks Jake)!

To make the process more efficient, we had two trucks to handle the turf pick up. 

Then we rolled up the sod pieces and loaded them onto wheelbarrows...

And took it out back where it was nicely laid out.

Here is the finished product! Sorry for the picture quality, it was dusk and had just started to rain..

I can't wait to add all the decorative touches next summer but will wait patiently.  I am just thrilled to finally have a back yard!  YAHOOOO!