Screened Inn

I LOVE outdoor spaces and in the south they are truly a must! It's really nice to have a place you can enjoy the weather without bugs and prolonged exposure (no sunscreen or repellent required). One of the things we liked about our floor plan was the option to have an extended patio and/or screened porch. We opted for the extended patio and Ray screened it himself shortly after we moved in (yes, he's SUPER handy)! It took us quiet some time to put together a plan for the space but....

Before

we managed to take it from this sad empty space to this comfy space in a few weekends.

After

I'm still looking for a practical indoor/outdoor rug and have a shelf to hang on one open wall but for the most part, it is finished and we are really excited. The plants are all herbs we can use for cooking and they give the space a great smell. The buffet is full of matches, candles, casserole holders, trivets and all kinds entertaining pieces we can easily access when entertaining. The lamp is from this post--I found a space for it and it fits in nicely. I just spray painted it, added some ric-rac to the shade and a new light bulb. Now, all we need to do is host a party--football anyone? Pin It

Pinecones & Pumpkins

It was another project weekend and I must say, we made some major progress! God bless my sweet mother for entertaining the boys while I cleaned, organized, decorated and purged my little heart out--it was fabulous! Friday afternoon I started my painted pinecones project. Notice how I say started and not finished! Since it rained, I wasn't quiet able to finish spray painting but again, major progress....

Here is the bag of pinecones I gathered last weekend.... and here they are all spread out before the spray paint.... and here with the first few coats. Again, not finished but major progress!

Saturday morning, Mom and I headed over to the Mt. Laurel Community Yard Sale and we scored some major bargains. My absolute favorite find of the day was this awesome set of pumpkins for $10....

They are already perfectly perched on top of my china cabinet for Halloween, along with the empty hurricanes which will house my finished painted pinecones & some acorns. I'm so glad it's Fall!

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Yard Sale Bliss

Tomorrow will be the last yard sale of the season for me. I plan to venture out early for the Mt. Laurel Community Yard Sale. Never been? I would definitely suggest squeezing this little baby in--it's always a great one! In the spirit of yard sales, I thought I'd share some of my bargain finds from the sales this spring & summer.

I got this gold trinket box for $2. Its new home is in our upstairs guest bathroom and it neatly holds cute little toiletry items.

I got this lamp for $1. It has a neat shape and the shade is in perfect condition. I don't have a plan for it just yet but for $1, I just couldn't pass it up! Check out this awesome petite elephant shelf. I got four of these and they were just $4 total! Since I collect elephants, I was excited to find these and plan to use them in our media room. Chips & dip anyone? I got this wicker chip & dip tray for $2. This dainty twig butterfly was $1 and it was so cute I just had to get it. I always dig through the book & magazine bins at yard sales. I found this cute cupcake book for .25 and I know I'll be putting it to good use soon!

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Feel Like I'm Falling for Fall

Fall is a wonderful time of year. I am so excited that Fall is here and am hopeful that our weather is about to get cooler--I'm ready for sweaters and knee boots! I'm also ready to use all those beautiful Fall colors and accents in our home. With Fall decorating in mind, I gathered a few ideas to get help get those seasonal decorating juices flowing....

Painted Pinecones Aren't these pinecones AWESOME? A few weeks ago, I decided to change out the vase fillers in all my hurricanes and glass vases. Rather than buying new filler, I thought it would be neat to create my own filler for free. The boys helped me gather tons of pinecones and this project is on the agenda for Friday afternoon--I plan to paint (and glitter) them to add some seasonal decor to all my hurricanes and vases--very Fall! I think I'll throw in some acorns too!

Pinecone Trees

Painted Pinecone Wreath

What a great idea to re-purpose all my painted and glittered pinecones, don't you think? Just click on the photograph for step-by-step instructions for creating these cute trees. For the wreath, just purchase a wreath form at your local craft store (or make your own with sturdy wire), pull out the glue gun and some ribbon and you'll have a gorgeous, hand-made wreath for your door in no time!

Harvest Barn Party

One thing I have always wanted to do is host a barn party! I'm not exactly sure why, I just think it would be extremely fun and a wonderful way to welcome Fall. Anyone have a barn they want to share with me? I promise to clean up when the party is over!

"Wordy" Candles

You can use this great idea or you could use your initial to accent some Fall scented candles. I like to create my own "C" template with a cool font. Print, cut out the letter and tape the template down onto your candle. Use a sponge brush to paint inside the letter and you will instantly have a beautiful, personalized item to add to your holiday display!

Initial Pumpkins

I use this idea every Halloween--it's simple and one of my favorites. I think this year I'll use both capital and small letters in several fonts. Did you know that pumpkins last longer with all their "insides" removed? Grab the how-to here.

Styled Fall Bookshelf

Festive Halloween Party Table Display

I LOVE these Wood Carved Pumpkins and plan to order some to add to my Halloween collection. The great thing about these is that they'd be great for Thanksgiving too! Just add a cornucopia, some Fall leaves and candles. If you love these as much as I do, order some from here.

Wrapped Hurricanes

Check out this easy idea for wrapping hurricanes for a wonderful Thanksgiving display courtesy of Martha Stewart. Don't y'all just love her? Welcome Fall into your home with some of these crafty projects--you'll be glad you did!

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Happy "Dust" Day

Today is my wonderful husband's birthday. He has been referring to today as "dust" day for the last few weeks because as he sees it, he is going to "turn to dust before your vary eyes". You'd think he was getting old (he isn't). Well yes, he is technically getting "older" but you know, that's what happens in this crazy thing we call life. In celebrating his special day, I've gone back and gathered up some photos of us over the years (yes, these make ME feel old). Happy "Dust" Day to my special guy, my "Lobster", my "Boo-Boo", my soul-mate, Ray--XOXOXO.

New York--December 2004 Jamaica & Kenny Chesney Concert--May 2005 Oregon & Seattle--July 2005 Law School Graduation--May 2006 Athens & Santorini--May 2006 Bar Induction Ceremony--October 2006 Jackson's Newborn Photo Session--April 2007 Jackson's 2Yr Photo Session--February 2009 Leaving Hospital with Macklin--April 2009 Disney--September 2009 Gulf Shores--July 2010

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Weekend Roundup

The weekends are not for resting at our house! Our weekends seems to always be full of projects, cleaning, cooking, birthday parties and prepping for the week ahead and this weekend was no exception. We spent Saturday morning doing mostly this.... The boys would live outside if we let them. It doesn't matter how hot it is or if it's raining--they love being outside. We walk to the lake in our neighborhood several times a day to see the ducks and geese and then we spend a lot of time in the driveway riding bikes, trikes, wagons, trains, golf carts, the dog--whatever--it doesn't matter! We gathered pine cones on this outing for one of mommy's Fall projects (I'll post about that later this week). We also managed to return some drawer pulls to Hobby Lobby, go grocery shopping at Publix, pick up a gift card at Academy, drop off clothes at the consignment store, browse Chelsea Antique Mall, buy mums and garden items at Rockett's Bug Juice Gardens, run through Wal-mart to get a birthday present, and start decorating for Halloween! Oh yeah, we watched some football too! Sunday, we had two birthday parties. One was a sports party and they both had lots of fun throwing the football and basketball with Daddy..... The other party was an "Olivia" themed party. Macklin didn't make this one (he was still napping) but Jackson had lots of fun eating ice cream and pretending to be "Olivia".... After dinner, both boys got to enjoy their party treats. After a quick bath, Jackson was ready for bed but insisted on taking his pig nose with him. Needless to say, it was a fun weekend! Pin It

All Aboard

My camera hasn't been working this week so I'm a bit behind on "good" pictures to use on the blog. However, I was lucky enough to get a good picture of of the best purchase I've made to date a consignment sale and I wanted to share. Jackson is completely obsessed with trains (and dinosaurs but that's a different post). He talks about trains everyday and wants to ride every train we see! I attended the Giggles and Grace consignment sale last Friday and spotted this little booger and just couldn't pass it up! It was only $40 and in my book, it's the best $40 I've ever spent on a toy. Every evening when we come home and every morning when he wakes up, the first thing out of his mouth is "Mommy, can I ride the green train?" He is having a blast, tooting the horn and riding it everywhere (it works on and off the tracks). He has even given Mackie a spin on it! Pin It

The Weekend Rush

Saturday was a fun-filled day for all in the Carle household! Our plate was a full one as on the agenda for the day was a promising yard-sale, a birthday party in the park, Macklin's first overnight stay with the grandparents, a trip to Tuscaloosa and a shrimp boil to wind down the evening. To start the day off right, I got up extra early Saturday morning to prep party clothes and gameday outfits, organize the car, pack an overnight bag for Macklin, reload the snack bag and have a cup of coffee. I headed out to my yard sale knowing I was on a tight schedule. The sale was set to start at 8 am and our birthday party was starting at 9:30 so I had to be extra careful with my time management and believe me, that is not my strong point. I arrived at the sale, scoped out some items but didn't see anything I couldn't live without (a rarity for me). Although I left empty handed, it was a fun early morning adventure! I decided to make a quick stop for breakfast and then drove like a mad woman to get home, eat, and change clothes so we could make our way to the park. The birthday party was the hit of the day--Jackson and Macklin had a wonderful time and played like crazy! Jackson even told me it was the "best party ever" and that he loved me for bringing him--how cute is that! After the birthday party, we headed to Tuscaloosa to drop Macklin off at Gramie's for the night and to take Jackson to campus for some football gameday fun! We got to walk around a bit to check out the vendors, the statues, the stadium and some of the tailgating festivities--the atmosphere was great but Jackson was tired and ready to go home! On our way home we decided to have a shrimp boil while enjoying the game. We made a quick stop at the grocery store and got home in time to cook and relax before the game. Check out the yummies: The day was crazy and full of non-stop activity but we had so much fun! Pin It