I Love WS!

Although I rarely buy anything at Williams S*noma I sure love that store! I especially like to visit during this time of year as we enter the months that are all about food! They have such cute things for Halloween and I am in love with everything they have for Thanksgiving. Here are a few examples of my favorites this season.

Ragumuffin Garland

I told you yesterday about my ragumuffin garland inspired by the Nester, well, I found some clips and a few photos to put in it and I hung it last night in my bedroom on my mirror. I am happy with how it turned out! I put pictures of our family and both of my kiddos in it along with a few crystals that came with Myah's chandelier. It was so easy, I had all of the ribbon and material all I had to do was cut the strips and tie them on my natural jute. So simple, I am not sure it is as nice as what the Nester makes but it makes me happy!

Pumpkin Facelift

If you are a reader of my family blog at Myah's Days you already know that I had a bad week last week. Long story short, my hubby's car broke down just out of the blue, it needs a new engine of all things! So I was without wheels for a few days and let me tell you, I get a little stir crazy when I know I can't go anywhere. I am perfectly fine staying home all day in my sweats when I know I have a car in the garage and I know I can jump in a go someplace anytime I want. But just knowing that I didn't even have that option kind of freaked me out! Believe me I have plenty to do around here to keep me busy, but I decided to tackle a few projects that have been in the back of my mind for a while. Nothing major just little things that add up. First of all I made myself a ragamuffin garland like the Nester makes. I had extra scraps of material and ribbon laying around and at my sister's garage sale a few weeks ago she had lots of scrap material for sale so I snatched up the pieces that would go in my garland. It is not finished yet, I need to get some drapery clips and hang some cute doo dads from it, but I love it!

I also had some pumpkins in the basement that I had bought for a dollar at a garage sale earlier in the year. They were the fake kind that you find at the craft stores. I really wanted some white/creamy pumpkins to put above my kitchen cupboards, I remembered that these were downstairs so I got out my craftpaints made a "custom" color, and painted them. I love how they turned out! It was a 15 mintue project! Even better! I also cleaned out my craft cupboard and sorted all of my scrapbook papers, embellishments, and supplies, I got rid of anything and everything that I will never use.

I also went to the new HG's yesterday. Wow, what a beautiful store. It is brand new, building and all, I have been to quite a few HG's in my day and this is my favorite by far, and it is so close! I went with my neighbor and we could not believe the crowd. It was insane! I was amazed at how many men were there with their ladies. Brave souls! I bought Mark a new spice rack, he has been eyeing them for a while, he loved it and put it to use last night with some steaks on the grill. The new HG's gets 2 thumbs up from me!!

Home Goods Grand Opening!

For those of you who live near me, you know who you are, the new Home Goods is opening tomorrow morning at 8 am! I am so exctied. Just about everything in our house is from Home Goods, now it is only 8 miles away! When my good friend Sheri was at my house one day, my hubby called to inform me that we were getting a HG in our city, I started screaming, Sheri was sitting next to me and said, "oh my goodness, who is pregnant?" I guess I kind of over reacted!! I am going tomorrow with my neighbor, I will let you know what I think of the new place!

Giveaway Winner and Member of the P.O.O.P.I.E club!

Hobby Lobby has the prettiest fall picks this year, I tucked these into my ivy wreath on my hall tree.
This small fake plant sits on top of an armoire in our basement, I love trailing fakes that look real. I picked this one up last year at Michael's for $2!
This one I call Fern in an Urn. I love putting plants into my urn collection. I have had these urns for years and am always changing them. Fakes don't look so bad when you put them in an urn. They feel more classy that way.
See another urn. This is the area we fondly call the shelf above the front door. It is very tall in our foyer so I gathered these cool twigs from the spot across the street from my parents house where I used to play while I was growing up. I was always in the woods exploring. I added a tiny nest and a few eggs, this stays up all year. I love to add some fake moss to the top of the urns, then you don't see the junk I put in the urn to make everything stand up properly.
This is our hall tree in the foyer, I had this cool simple and airy garland for summer and I just added a few picks from Hobby Lobby to dress it up for fall.
Everyone needs a fern in an urn on top of the potty. I also like to add a little ribbon to the bottoms of my urns.
This is our coffee table in the family room, I don't know why I call it that not one person in this house drinks coffee, maybe I should call it the Mountain Dew/Sprite/Sippy Cup table, that would make more sense. Anyhow, my favorite topiary sits on this one with my fake apples that the kiddos always throw at each other, see if I used real stuff, I would have apples guts all over my house!
Here is the only fake ivy I own but it is a muted pretty ivy that I just can't stand to get rid of, actually I wish I had more of it, I have moved it all over the house. I put some more of my $1.50 picks from H.L. in it for fall. Love my rooster! I call this one topiary under glass. I love topiaries and this is the tiniest little one, I put it under the pretty cloche that I got for my birthday a few months ago at Tuesday Morning. Looks so cute in my cupboard next to my old books.
I love these dried hydranges from my yard. This crop was from about 3 years ago, I love their natural color, see, they are in another urn! Gosh, I am starting to realized that I might need some help with my urn addiction! These sit high upon my office bookshelf.
This is also in our office, I love this spiraly topiary, it really looks real, I put it in a pretty silver bowl-ish container from my sister. Think outside of the box, try putting your arrangements in your favorite vase, bowl, basket or urn of course.
I really felt uncomfortable buying melon colored tulips but they really match my pretty curtains so I went for it. I got them all for $12 at Joannes last month on their 70% off clearance sale. See the topiaries behind it, they have been in my family for a long time!
Here they are close up, I bought these at Homegoods when we moved into this house 8 years ago, I have used these all over the house as well. I think if you love something enough, you have to keep it no matter what others say. They look so proud standing next to the huge rooster my sister gave me.
Our hall tree holds this pretty ivy topiary, I know it is ivy and all but it is gorgeous in real life, I inherited this from my sister as well, she used to work at Ethan Allen and this is from there. So you know she was expensive! I like to tuck little things inside her for the season. I love the ribbon she is wearing, I got this huge roll last year at Costco for like $8 and I still have a ton left over, so pretty!

The Nester is having a fun get together today over at her place. P.O.O.P.I.E stands for People Opposing Objectionable Pretend plants In the Environment. She cracks me up! That is really just a "fancy" way of saying she hates fake ivy's and stuff. However she is not opposed to using fake flowers/greenery/naturals that look nice and "real". I totally agree with her. There is a place and time for those fakey looking ivys, blue roses,( the ones with the fake rain drops on them are REALLY precious), brass containers, anything with fake pearls on fishing line, you know the stuff I am talking about. Usually found in bathrooms of the local gas station to make it look "pretty" and give the room some "warmth". Ladies, it is time to free yourselves from the bonds of plastic flowers and open up your world to greenery that actually looks real. Or at least tasteful. I love real flowers and greenery but I do not have a green thumb, and have killed every plant that I have ever tried to grow indoors. Besides, I love my fakes. I am not obsessed with having greenery all over my house but I belive a few perfectly placed items can really add something to your decor without screaming "fake". Here are a few examples from around my house.
Oh and I cannot forget the winner of my giveaway was Blissful Nikki, she has the cutest blog! Thanks for playing along!

Favorite Fall Fragrances and Giveway!

I have to admit, I am a smell-a-holic. I love things that smell nicely, not overpowering or offensive. I grew up with a mother who burned more candles than anyone I know, I love lighting pretty candles throughout our home every night, even during the day. I have purchased a candle warmer and for $4.00, I think this is something everyone should have. Your candles will last for such a long time and it is a safe alternative to burning when you have little ones running around the house like I do.
I really don't burn alot of candles during the summer but once school starts something in me clicks and I am rummaging through my stash to find just the perfect scent to welcome my family home at night. Here are a few of my all time favorite fragrances. I have not purchased any candles yet this year, I am trying to burn up my stash that was left over from last year before I switched to my winter fragrances. My supply is running low, I think I need to make a run to Swan Creek! I can buy 18 candles for $20 and mix and match all I want.
What are your favorite fragrances this year? I am always wanting to try something new.
***I have had so many new visitors over the past few weeks, in honor of our new friendship, I am giving away a Glad*e Scented plug in with my favorite apple cinnamon scent refills, leave a comment or email me and I will have my lovely assistant draw the winner's name. I will leave it open until Wednesday night****



I was at a friends house a few years ago and her house smelled soooo good, I had to ask what that fragrance was and where it was coming from, she told me it was this. I love these apple cinnamon scented oil plug ins by Glad*e. Even Mark asks what smells so nice when I have these plugged in. It is a great way to add fragrance to your home without worrying about blowing out all of the candles before bedtime! I have these on all 3 levels of our home, it is a pleasant surprise when we go down to the basement and it smells yummy instead of basement-like!

My neighbor bought me a scentport for my birthday from Bath and B*dy Works. It uses little ports full of scented oils. I always love their pumpkin fragrances that they carry. They used to have a caramel apple that I loved but not any more. I want to try the new pumpkin caramel fragrance.

My favorite candles come from Swan Creek Candle Company. Usually the stores are located in a small downtown historic building and they also have an antique gallery inside. Any of their fall frangrances smell so good that I want to eat them! They are soybean candles and burn clean. So nice! I know you can purchase them online by visiting here. My favorite all time, all year scent is Mullbery and Mandarin.

How can you go wrong with Yank*ee Candles? I am so excited that they have brought back Apple Cider. I have a hard time with apple scented candles (read previous post)but this does not bother me at all and it has become a standard in our home during the fall. I think our all time favorite through the years has been the buttercream fragrance, it smells like I have been baking all day long! Right now I am burning a spiced pumpkin tart in my tart warmer and the house smells so yummy!

Fall Inspiration

Tomorrow is the first day of school, that means that Fall is approaching quickly! I love decorating for Fall. This starts a constantly evolving decorating season around our house. I have started to put my collection of "fake" pumpkins and gourds on my mantle. I don't have alot of really cool places around my house to decorate so I try to keep decor at a minimun inside the house. I have a few favorite pieces that I set out each year and I try to buy one special something each year to add to my collection. Usually a nice "fake" pumpkin or gourd. This year I found some of the prettiest fall picks at Hobby Lobby, they are so reasonable! I had a hard time choosing there were so many great items on their shevles!
My main decorating takes place on our front porch, I put my scarecrow out on my bench, add some hay bales, lots of pumkins and gourds and of course corn stalks! I get so much of my inspiration by going to the pumpkin patches, local farmers markets and roadside stands. Last year I bought the perfect Cinderella pumpkin, I loved it! I enjoy taking the kids to our favorite cider mills for fresh cider, donuts and pumkin picking. We try to hit at least 3 or 4 during the season. I also take tons of pictures during the season. I love taking a fall color tour and taking in the glorious changes going on. My favorite are the bright red maple trees, I cannot get enough of them! I love the rich colors and yummy smells of the season. I am always burning great smelling candles, anything that smells like caramels, pumpkins or spicy cinnamon. I cannot stand to smell apple smelling candles, I found out I was pregnant with Dayton in the fall of 1994 and I remember the smells of apple candles in the air and I was so nauseaus at the time, I still cannot stand it 13 years later!
Last year I stacked pumbkins in large urns on our front porch, of course I have no picture of it! I am addicted to white pumpkins, so so pretty!
Melissa at Inpisred Room is hosting a fall inspiration party so I thought I would share some of my favorite fall images from people, places and things that inspire me during the season. Some of the pictures are from my favorite store Violet's Blue, I took these a few years ago of their fall decoration. They are a huge inspiration to me!
P.S. Yes, I took all of these pictues, they are the places that I visit, and are near my home. I took the pictures of my kiddos next to the cool blue truck last year at my favorite pumpkin patch.