Fall is knocking at my door!

I've been busy as a bee getting my front porch all decked out for Fall and Halloween.  I will add more Halloween decorations to the outside of the house this weekend.  Fun, fun!  In the meantime, I wanted to show you what I've done so far.

 

I've added alot of pumpkins and cabbages to the stone steps. 

Of course, my husband is planning on pressure washing these steps, so I will have to remove these when he does that.  But, I couldn't wait.

I found quite a variety of pumpkins at Walmart.

The front door has been decked out in bright colors of orange, yellow and red.

And because we receive alot of trick or treaters at Halloween, I had to add my skeleton to the grouping!

On the other side of the porch, I added a tray of pumpkins on top of some raffia.

I use this sign every year to welcome the trick or treaters.

And I didn't forget the mailbox either.

(Just pretend you don't see that we need pinestraw.)

So.......I just need to add some spiders to the front of the house and continue our Fall clean-up that my husband started.  So, I'm sure I'll be back with more pics as that progresses. 

~ Kelly ~

I am linking to the following parties:

Vintage Inspiration Friday - Front porch

Door Decor Fall Linky Party 

Fall Decorating Party
Inspiration Friday

"Shut the front door!"

I just had to use that title for today's post!  You see, the paint project that I was working on was for the front door!  I will first show you a "before" picture. 

BEFORE

There was nothing wrong with my front door.  In fact, I painted it brown not that long ago.  However, I decided that I wanted to lighten things up a bit in the foyer.  So I decided to paint the front door this color instead.

AFTER

I think it makes it look more classic this way.  It started off as a stained front door.  It still is on the outside though. 

So come on in and let me show you around the foyer.  You can set your things on this bench.

This is the view from the front door looking into the other rooms.

I have extra seating in here too. 

And if you can't stay long, there are plenty of clocks to tell you what time it is!

I have a thing for clocks.  I have them everywhere.  I guess I shouldn't tell many people that because then I have no excuse to be late.

What?  You have to go now?  But I was just getting started!  Well, ok then.  Let me show you out.

I'm so glad you could come by for a visit. 

Do you hear something?  Oh yeah!  I almost forgot to tell you.

The bushes are now being pruned.  My gardener husband is busy at work trying to tame these wild bushes of ours! 

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some clippings to pick up.  Hopefully, I'll be able to share the rest of the yard clean-up with you soon.

~ Kelly ~

I am linking to the following parties:

White Wednesday

Wow Us Wednesdays

The Project Queen

Pending Projects

Hello All!  I was going to have a post ready yesterday, but it didn't work out.  So....I'm letting you know about a few projects in the making or soon to be around here.

But first, since blogs should always have some pretty pictures to look at, I did want to show you a little something I picked up last Friday.  I found this really large glass wine jug at a STEAL!

And yes, Kim, I bought a little bundle of lavendar (like yours).  Ha!  Found it at Hobby Lobby for a couple of dollars. 

Do you see the clock faces hanging off the jug?  Found those too (very cheap) and loved their vintage quality.

Now onto the "not so pretty" pictures.

My husband was going to do some projects outside, but decided he'll do it this week instead.  (We'll see.)

These projects include (but are not limited to):

Pruning these bushes

Pressure washing this walkway and freshing up the pinestraw

There are a few more projects that need to be done, but will share those in upcoming posts.  Hopefully, I'll be able to show the "after" pictures of these projects later this week. 

One in particular, that I'm working on TODAY, is a painting project.  I started it yesterday and it is still not finished.

So, hopefully I can share that with you soon.  I've got alot to do today and I'm trying to take advantage of getting the bulk of it done while school is in session.  If you know what I mean! 

Have a great Monday!

~ Kelly ~



Animal Instincts

I love decorating with items found in nature.  So, it only makes sense that I would also decorate with those that live among it! 

One of my favorite pieces in my home is this cow picture that my sister gave me.  She has them hung in her kitchen and now I do too!  Call me a copycat, I don't care.  Ha!

I love how rustic it looks and adds a farmhouse feeling to my kitchen.  Doesn't every farmhouse have a cow nearby? 

I have alot of animal prints in my home as well.  I like the graphic quality of their design.  The zebra pattern adds a slight modern touch.  I like modern in small doses.

Two of these are in my kitchen.

I also have a touch of zebra in my dining room.

Next up are leopard prints.  I have quite a bit, but they're scattered throughout so it doesn't feel like too much!

In my foyer, two large leopard print pillows sit on the bench.

Notice the antlers on the wall beside the bench?  Oh yeah, love those too. 

I also love pictures of dogs.  I only have one and it is prominently displayed in the foyer next to the front door.

At the top of my stairs you are greeted by a couple of rooster pictures.  I used to have roosters EVERYWHERE.  I have scaled  back and now only have a few.  I guess I had to make room for all the other animals, didn't I?

In my master bedroom, I have a leopard foot stool in front of a chest of drawers.

And I wouldn't want the other side of my bed to feel left out, so I have a dog statue filled with feathers and a real bull horn on the side table. 

 

You'll notice that I have no problem mixing all these animal "parts" with feminine elements either.  It somehow all works together.

Back in the family room, I have pheasant feathers in an urn and antlers stacked on books. 

What's nice about decorating with these items is that they fit right in with the Fall season. All I need to do is add a little Fall color and that's it!

And before I go, it goes without saying, that my FAVORITE animal in my house is this sweet guy!

He watches over our house when we're gone and thinks he's protecting us all!  Here he is lying on the stair landing (so he can see the front door).  So far, he hasn't tried to attack any of the animal "parts" I have sprinkled thoughout the house.  That's a relief!

~ Kelly ~  

I am linking to the following parties:

Feathered Nest Friday
Farmhouse Friday
The Project Queen

Vintage Charm Collection

Have you seen the new Vintage Charm Collection at Target yet?  It's been designed by James Gallagher for the Fall season.  I really love it!  I thought I'd share some pictures of it and show you  some of the pieces I already have.

 

He also has a nice kitchen collection.

See what I mean?

I recently bought this vintage looking stool.  I fell in love with the burlap top and rustic legs. 

Here is what the top of the stool looks like.

 You know I love burlap with french writing on it!!

So, of course I fell in love with this burlap lamp shade.  The price was much cheaper than those I've seen elsewhere too.

The writing is on the front and back side of the shade.

The item that started my interest in this collection was this green bottle with an aged wine label on it.  I placed it on my mantel.

I may go back and get the medium size later.  The one above is the small size.  They all have different labels on them.

For my kitchen, I chose these kitchen towels and oven mitt.  They remind me of an old striped grain sack.  I've seen these featured on other peoples blogs too. 

Well, there you have it.  It's been awhile since Target has come out with a new collection that made a big impression on me.  I figured you'd want to know about it too, if you didn't already.  Do you have a favorite? 

~ Kelly ~

I'm linking to the following:

Wow Us Wednesday party

Are you watching?

I always look forward to watching Dancing with the Stars!  I've never tried ballroom dancing, but wish I knew how to do it because it looks so much fun.  It's fun to see the costumes and the dance routines set to current music. 

I just watched the season premiere last night and here is my rundown.

My favorite to watch is Carson Kressley.

He is the most entertaining to watch.  I've always found him to be so funny at everything he does.  He's not the best dancer on the show, but he's certainly the most enjoyable to watch (to me).

I was interested in watching Nancy Grace because I followed her so much during the Casey Anthony trial.  She's also from my state of GA.

She's got some work to do to sharpen her dance skills, I'm afraid.  But, I give her a lot of credit for coming out and giving it her best!

The three best dancers that stand out so far are:

David Arquette

Chynna Phillips

and J.R. Martinez

I'm worried about my favorite professional dancer, Mark Ballas, not getting to perform for very long though.  His partner is not very good.  I'm hoping he can help her improve.  I just love his choreography and his sharp dance moves.  He's unbelievable!!

So, if you're not watching, you're missing out on all the fun!  It's good family television.  Hang in there Carson and Mike.  I'm rooting for ya!

There will be one couple voted off tonight.  Go check it out.  What is your take on this years season?

~ Kelly ~