My Fall Mantel

I am usually not late to parties....

(it cant start til we are there!) 

but it seems I missed all the Fall Mantel Linky Parties!

It was kind of hard to get into the "Fall" mood

when it has been in the high 90's all week!

So last nite I switched up the mantel to finally reflect 

the fact that we are halfway thru October.....

(um hello .... is someone going to tell the weather man?!)

One day I will get better at taking/editing pics.

Until then, this is what you get!

Ha.  

 

our wood letterpress letters
"STIGLO"
  

My lovely Santos that I won from My Sweet Savannah.

Her colors are perfect for Autumn.
I have a candle placed on a stand behind her wings.

When we light it she glows....just like an angel ;)





(she used to be in my bedroom, but I think she likes her new spot!)

a stack of old books with a vintage flashlight

it wouldn't be fall without a Yosemite pic!
(from our honeymoon) 

the soft glow from the glass sconces is so pretty...
i love the feathers that I added to my fall arrangement!

Stone vase wrapped with twine and and old ledger page

I added a few more "warm" colored touches....

old piece of fretwork
antique clock face
vintage spools
a white pumpkin tied with burlap ribbon


Even if it doesn't feel like Autumn outside....
It sure is inside!

Fall?!

this guy was sure confused!
Hahaha...

HAPPY WEEKEND!!

XOX,

Our Gallery Wall

Everyone is doing it....

Here is my take on 

"Our Wall" 

Because of my OCD, it wasnt as fun planning the layout as I thought it would be....

#1 - I do not have a stairway wall like I used to

{insert bummer voice here...wa wa waaaa} 

#2 - I still do not have all of our "possessions" unpacked

(meaning alot of our framed photos)

#3 - I am NEVER happy with anything when it comes to decorating

(why do you think Martha Stewart keeps buying and decorating new houses?!) 

See my layout on our living room floor?

( FYI - I really heart our Pottery Barn area rug that I bought for $100 back in the day...) 

That was the final, happy result that I came to.

Or so I thought. 

The Stig... 

(you can see his foot to the right of the photo) 

sat in his chair

for about 1.5 hrs watching me on the floor 

arranging.......

  rearranging...

sighing.

grunting. 

I think he gave me 1 or 2 sideways glances.

You know those glances....

The ones that tell me without speaking 

that I look like I am a crazy person. 

 I took a picture of the final layout

so that I could use it as a reference to start hammering 

100 holes into our newly built/drywalled/textured/painted walls. 

Oh yeah - this chick thought ahead!

"Uhhh....who suddenly put a thermostat on the wall???!!!"

"What do you mean it has been there this WHOLE time?"

 " (#^*%^GRE*^%#$! "

{insert LOTS of sailor words here}

And so the whole process started again! 

I used thumbtacks and tape instead of nails - just in case.

just in case the Stig decided to nail 100 holes in me like I did to the wall

 As you can see, I have yet to put our own personal photos in.

(Yeah - I wish I had sticks for legs!!) 

One day.

One day....so that when strangers come into our house, they will know what the

people that live there look like. 

:)

But I am really sorta totally diggin "our wall".

And if you can't see what the vintage word cards say,

they spell out:

"Look"

"at"

"the"

"story"

"of"

"us" 

 Pretty dang coolio if I do say so myself.

Which, 

by the way, 

I do.

:) 

XOX,

 

** ps - letter "S" and the custom ribbon badge

(which says "Stig Lo")

made by the amazing Jeanne !!

Christmas Mantel Linkup?

 (my transformed Christmas wreath)

Sorry for the horrible pics

I only had my camera phone handy.

(but I do have Picnik) 

Quick question -  

I just was wondering if any of you knew

if I still have time to link-up

to any mantel parties?!

No?!

Bummer.....

Hahahaha! 

I just knew I have a winner here.

Check it out - 

How many of YOU have a fire going when you take your picture?

(we actually need it for heat right now) 

Yeah....thats what I thought!

No need to look at the ledgestone samples on the hearth 

Or the boxes of electrical material to the right

I am sure you cant see the copper piping thats on the floor 

(which is worth a small fortune right now - holy crap ! Didnt know copper was so expensive.....) 

Or the fact that there is a junk drawer that has formed on the mantel

(i think theres a broken clock, razor blades, screws to who knows what, lotsa drywall and concrete dust, 

oh and some Domino's Pizza coupons on there too) 

Like my pretty candle on the mantel?

It smells yummy.

I light it everytime I go over to the house.

The workers think Im nuts.

(well, I am - but it has nothing to do with candle lighting) 

The wreath was sad on the fireplace wall.

So I moved it.

 (and no, its not snowing in our house - altho it feels like it sometimes!)

 My husband thought this was a riot.

(further proof that I am insane) 

This is the future doorway to our garage.

The door is going to be moved and a new one installed.

And the wall will be closed up of course!!

Like the paint samples on the kitchen/ dining room wall?

( I honestly believe that picking paint colors is THE hardest job on the planet. EVER.)

Which one do you think I chose? 

:) 

XOX

Lolo

  

FYI - 

Wreath is from The Robin and Sparrow

(I will be using it every season!) 

Glittered house numbers are from Shawnee23

Red dove ornament from Michaels $1 bin 

Grandmother's Clock

My Grandmother never had a clock like this.

(she had an annoying ugly brass chiming one though...)

NOONE's Grandmother that I ever knew had a clock like this. 

Imagine my utter delight when I opened the recent 

Pier One catalog in the mail yesterday....

*Mind you, I have been trying to be a REALLY good girl *

Well, let me rephrase that - 

a good girl by not buy anything Christmas related this year

:) 

Sooo....

I just thought that I would browse the catalog

innocently....

....until I turned one of the pages and saw her! 

I swear my heart did a pitter-patter

It is a skinny, slimmed-down version of one of my 

top-wanted items of ALL time.

It has been on my Christmas wish-list for a few years now...

A Mora clock!

I scratched off all my really important things to do today

feed the dog

schedule flu shots

modify homeowners insurance 

eat some truffles 

and put PIER ONE as numero UNO on the priority of things to do today

I walked into the store

(with catalog in hand)

And walked out of the store with my Grandmother's Clock

(at 20% off too!)

I cannot wait to show it to you when the house is ready to move all the *good stuff into!

*good stuff = non-building material stuff 

XOX

~ ps ~ 

thanks for hangin' on to your panties too.....

(hope you dont have a wedgie)

Tomorrow I will unveil the Giveaway!! 

(see tease info below) 

Fall Decorating Inspiration

Did you miss me??

No?!

Ha ha..... 

Well, I have missed me.

I hate when we get super busy with life 

and the brakes to slow down just dont seem to work.....

Time for the E-brake!

{*tires squeeling to a halt*} 

We have been going and going lately.

So much so, that I forgot what our home looked like

or how my bed felt to sleep in!

Phhewwww......!!

I am sooo ready for some fall inspiration

how 'bout you?

I wanna put on my fall boots and grab a cup of cocoa  

and go traipsin' in this :

 

irenesuchocki 

My dear friend Clare is so unbelievably crafty!

This wreath is sooo me :) 

The Robin and Sparrow 

Love me some burlap punkins! Middleburg always has 

the coolest seasonal things.... 

Middleburg 

Tell me fabric leaves dont just scream Autumn! 

 Jane Joss

I need this on my farmhouse table with gourds and mini pumpkins: 

 

Shabby Chic Cottage 

Donna's eye and creativity is amazing!

I heart those book page leaves on the wreath.... 

 dreyne'

 This guy is so adorable!

 

Vintage Green Limited 

I am the owner of this lovely banner.

Sshhhh....dont tell the Stig! 

I just had to have a lil new somethin' for my fall decorating collection :) 

 

Paper Eclectiques 

This necklace paired with a warm and fuzzy scarf: 

Garden 22 Design Studio 

 I think I have hearted everyone of their pillows in their collection!

Jolie Marche 

Frame a couple of these in a vintage window

or throw a few on your mantelscape....

 

CariKraft 

How cute would this be for a trick-or-treat

loot bag?! 

 

trubie 

  

These are the cutest lil punkin tags ever :) 

  

Lil Pumpkin Papers 

 I want these all over my house.....yummy linen!

  

Full Bloom Cottage 

Who?! 

Gotta love owls for fall..... 

 

Black Baroque 

White leaves and jute

*swoon* 

  

Sweet Something Design 

 Do you go hay ridin' for apple picking and pumpkins?

We do! 

 

 Family Attic

Haha....love the drunk skeleton wine bag! 

  

Bloom and Barnacle 

Oh yes.....this is me.

A warm and yummy pumpkin latte in this puppy.....

cozyin' up with the Stig by the fire

 

natalya 1905 

I love her trees.....felt leaves and a real tree trunk

I got these in green with red berries and acorns

for a Christmas party last year - 

Love em! 

  

Pinkbeeb0

So.... 

are you in the mood yet? 

  

Unfortunately for me, I am taking the fall season of decorating off

Booo....

:(

With the move

and all of the remodeling work

it just ain't gonna happen

And I am really bummed........

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year 

and I have always loved the warm colors in our home

Oh well......

Our goal is to have the house liveable for Christmas time though! 

You better believe that we will have a tree up!

I gotta make sure Santa knows that I moved...hehehe

:)

So tell me - 

Have you started your Fall decorating yet?

Whats your favorite thing you do to your home

to change with the season?

White vs. Dark - the Big Debate

image

I need your help

My brain has been a-buzz

All sortsa ideas and figurations goin' on in there.....

I have loved the rustic, industrial farmhouse look

for some time now

The Stig.....

not so much!

image 

He hasnt quite come to terms with my love of

rusty, chippy and worn

He thinks all the vintage doo-dads that I have found

over the years are really cool....

he even has his "own" collection of rusty crusty thing-a-ma-bobs

But - 

he doesnt quite understand the look 

that I am trying to go with in our future kitchen 

image

I have s-l-o-w-l-y been incorporating some industrial and metal

in our current kitchen

(i say slowly in the sense that he hasnt really noticed!)

to try to get him on the decor band-wagon 

You see

unfortunately for me

my hubby has a design sense too

(he really does have a good eye)

I say unfortunately because I dont have free reign

on decorating our house

(still not allowed to have "girly" colors or too many ruffles in our bedroom!) 

The Stig has his own decor and style sense

sometimes its a bit too dark, rustic and woodsy

Dont get me wrong....

I am a huge fan of rustic and wood 

He loves and trusts my taste

but its usually AFTER :

 - its already in our house

 - numerous people have praised how everything looks

 - constant reassuring from me

And our style is truly a blend of both of us.
It works.... 

image 

But, it seems we are butting heads with the kitchen/dining area

I am really pushing hard for a compromise....
aka my way :) 

I too am a fan of the rustic

(we have quite a few rustic pieces)

He is just leary of the white with the rustic

(he wants ALL wood! Ugh!)
And then I mention painting some wood white ....
You would have thought I bit his ear off!
(sorry Holyfield) 

I am just afraid that the kitchen of the new house (aka Edith)

is just way too small to have alot of wood

Hence the need for WHITE.

I dont think it can handle alot of dark wood.... 

This picture is one of my favorite inspirations right now:

 image

Love the openness, hints of industrial metal (dining chairs, stool,lighting)
Also the glass uppers! 

Isnt this kitchen a beauty??

image

Arent those stools the freakin coolest?!
And we have this same idea for our island.....old reclaimed wood
(once again, I am pushing for whitewashing it!) 

While the Stig is leaning pushing towards more of this :

image 

See how it just feels dark?
I do love the beams....especially the big ol' header withe the rock above it.

 image

This is his dream.....wood everywhere!! 

image 

I am willing to possibly go this dark on our cabinets.....only if we get a light colored countertop.
We both like Corian.
Crazy we agree on that!

This is what we already have to work with:

This is our farmhouse table.
Should I paint the legs, only, white?

Also got these barstools from Overstock.com
Love them!
(the Stig...not so much)
I just ordered custom white ruffled slipcovers for them
(to help soften the industrial look) 

We have ALL oak cabinets to work with...ugh
(hey I cant complain when we got them for practically "Free")

My plan is to either:

A: Paint them white
(yes, I know it will be a bitch - but remember I am trying to "lighten" up the kitchen!)

B: Stain them darker (the Stig is on-board for this)


What are your thoughts??!

Has anyone else tackled painting oak cabinets?

I would really appreciate any and all tips!


Also, how does your Hubby feel about the decor of your house?

Does he have an opinion?
Does he have his own style?
If so, what is it?
(besides the "stop and drop" style!)