Nesting for Fall....

I had a super day at home today.

I puttered.
I played and had fun!

I tweaked the house for fall by changing some tablescapes.

My decorations are very simple.

I used items from around the house along with things that I have slowly collected over the years.

Nothing is the same from year to year.

Canadian Thanksgiving is one month from today!! {October 11}

So I am celebrating Fall & Thanksgiving.

{It is too early for Halloween for me. I don't decorate for Halloween until Thanksgiving is over.}

The tablescape below for the coffee table is my fav so far.

I started with the piano top.

I find the piano top the hardest to make look interesting without making it too 'granny'.

Does anyone else have this problem?

My piano is old....over 100 years old. It came with me from Nova Scotia.

I picked up the 'Give Thanks' blocks from the Real Canadian Superstore on sale last year for $2.94.

The black candle sticks and candles are also from Superstore.

The books are turned around so that the different colours of the book spines don't make it look 'busy'.

I put away the glass bottles on top of the martini bar and it went from this:

To this:

And I changed out the little table by the front door from this:

To this:

I am going to  'tweak'  this a bit. I think it needs something else.

And then I put the shells and candles on the tray on the coffee table away. It went from this:

To this arrangement of items. The apples are fresh. They smell wonderful!

Fall leaves tucked into a white pitcher.

The white pitcher was a previous 'makeover' project. You can read about it here.

The cozy corner in the living room went from this:

To this:

A  fall wreath went on the door of the pantry in the kitchen.

All small changes to reflect the season.

And then I used my new pictures to make a new fall banner for my blog!

Super fun day!

Finally,  I would like to share with you this very special homemade decoration.

It will stay the same from year to year.

Yes.

You see my son's name carved into the coffee table.

t.y.l.e.r.

The little stinker.

I told him that the next time he wants to carve something in this house... be smart about it and carve

h.u.n.t.e.r. {his sister's name.}

{There is a story here which I will share on another day. But it was so out of character for him to do something like this!}

We won't mention how this was the first new coffee table that I ever owned.

It was only a few months when this new decoration appeared.

But we will mention how this table is going with him to University some day.

What you can do in a day: Paint a bathroom.

I woke up this morning determined to get this project crossed off my list.

This is what the bathroom looked like this morning. Although I liked this colour, it was showing lots of wear and water stains. Also, some of the facial cleansers my daughter uses not only bleached out some of our facecloths, but some spots on the dark blue wall as well.

Time for a change.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I chose a lighter colour to make the bathroom feel more bright & airy.

I wanted an overall scheme of blue with hits of of white & turquoise for accents.

I have loved the colour BM Smoky Green for 2 years and was waiting for an opportunity to use it.

Smoky Green, despite it's name, shows as a beautiful bird's egg blue on the walls.

It's so pale that when you open the can, the paint looks white and you think the paint store has made a mistake!

After I finished painting the walls, I made a few other changes.

The knobs on the vanity were looking kinda yucky.

So I made a quick trip to Home Depot and picked up these pretty looking knobs.

I decided to change up the accessories a little. I found a 'memories'  tag in my scrapbook supplies and decided to tie it to this starfish for a touch of whimsy.

The starfish  seemed at home above the pictures of the kids, so I hung it there.

This is the other side of the mirror. I found the framed shadowboxes with shells at the Jysk store for $2.99 each. That was a deal I couldn't pass up.

I am keeping the same shower curtain for now. It works with the new colour, and it brings some turquoise blue to the room, and I like the ocean theme for summer. The little potted succulent came from Safeway and was $4.99...I love the  hit of turquoise to the room. The larger potted flower came from Homesense and I have had it for a few years....again, I love it because of it's turquoise shade. I just move it to a new home every once in a while.

I just have 2 more projects for this bathroom before I will consider it finished.

1. Switch out the ugly 'hollywood' lighting strip above the mirror. It came with the house.

2. Add a frame to the mirror. The mirror came with the house too, and it is glued to the wall. Adding a frame with trim around the perimeter will be much easier than trying to get the mirror off the wall.

These 2 items will require some help from Mr. Echoes of Laughter.

I am happy with what I accomplished today.

Shades of blue & turquoise together make me so happy!

Did I mention that I am expecting guests from Nova Scotia on Saturday?

Nothing like a little extra motivation to get some projects done!

This post is linked to:

Decorating Your Home @ It's a Blog Party

Show & Tell @ Blue Cricket Design

Spotlight Yourself @ It's so very Cheri. 

Strut Your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple

Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage

Home & Family Friday @ Home Is Where My Story Begins

Show & Share @ Just A Girl

Remodelaholic's Anonymous @ Remodelaholic

DIY Day~Beach Edition @ A Soft Place to Land

just bloomed....

The peonies in my yard have finally bloomed. I have missed them for the last 2 years since I left for Nova Scotia for 6 weeks before they flowered. I absolutely love peonies....and they remind me of my beloved Grandmother.

I picked a bouquet for the white pitcher.

 

And cut a small bouquet for the powder room.

 There is nothing like fresh flowers.

our new "hot" drink station...

Tyler loves hot chocolate in the morning. Somehow, making hot chocolate in the microwave just never turns out that great-lumpy with gobs of hot chocolate not dissolved. Last week, we got the Keurig Ultimage Singe Cup Home Brewing System. I first got to try this system at my parents house this summer. I instantly had "gadget envy"...and I am not normally a gadget person. The system comes with little cups filled with coffee, tea or hot chocolate that can be loaded into the machine for hot brewed drinks. It can make 3 different cup sizes and it can be programmed for a 'turn on' and a 'shut off' time. It can also provide instant hot water into a cup for other things...like soup or a tea bag. I don't drink coffee and therefore don't enjoy making it for visitors because I am never sure how it tastes, but this home brewing system takes care of that.

I made a little basket for our hot drink station with assorted coffees, teas, hot chocolate, spoons, and chocolate & vanilla sugar. The kids love that they can make hot chocolate anytime they like.

Ron loves to make himself tea in a matter of seconds. I like to make honey, hot water and lemon to drink. Yesterday, I even used hot water from the system to heat thermoses for the kids' lunches before adding soup.

Our new "hot drink" station fits perfectly into a little corner in our kitchen. Now I just need to find some people who drink coffee.

out in the garden...

Gardening is not my "thing".

I wish it were. But I have always been a "drive thru" gardener. Zoom into a space, plant a few flowers to look pretty for the season. Zoom out. And that's about it.

Pathetic. I know.

The gardens at our current home were carefully planned and executed by the home's first owner. Her name was 'Marge' and she was a gardener....the trees, shrubs, lilac bushes, peonies and hostas and lots of things I can't name..... speak to her expertise. If she still lived here, the gardens would look stunning.

Unfortunately the owners between her and us were not gardeners. Our neighbours tell us that these owners did not even own a lawn mower. The gardens, under their care, or should I say lack of care, were untended and became overgrown with weeds.

Enter me. I keep trying to perform CPR on these gardens. I weed and I plant here and there a little. I sigh as I look out the window. I keep thinking these gardens could look much better if I knew what I was doing.

So my goal for September is to spend an hour everyday in the perennial gardens. Weeding, cutting back, pruning, shaping and tending.

In spring, I hope to reap what I sow.