Curly Willow

Hello everyone!

Remember, I said I would show you what I bought at the Yellow Daisy Festival last weekend?  Where this is what I bought.

Curly willow!

I know you are probably laughing right now because most people, that go to a festival where things are handmade, don't come back with something like this.  But I did!  This sort of decoration fits my decor perfectly since it's all natural and has lots of texture.  That is something I need with a mostly neutral color palette.  

I bought two bunches of it and it was a VERY good price!  I did not have any except a few sticks from another bundle I bought years ago and it wasn't as nice as this.  So, I'm very happy to have this!   As you can see, I simply placed it on both ends of my mantel.  I think it looks great for Fall too.

Now, the festival I'm REALLY looking forward to is the Country Living Festival!  Unfortunately, I have to wait about six more weeks for that one.  I promise to come back with more than just curly willow from it too.  LOL!

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

Yellow Daisy Festival

Hello everyone!

This weekend, my husband and I went to the Yellow Daisy Festival at Stone Mountain, GA. They've been having this festival for 46 years now!  And do you know what?  I've...never...been!  They basically started this festival when I moved to GA (I was 3).  My husband didn't even realize that I've never been.  So, what's a sweet husband to do?  Take his wife!  So, that is what he did.  

I had him take some i- phone pictures to share with you today.  I purposely didn't take my camera because they frowned on picture taking here to protect the artists creations from being stolen (I guess).  Hopefully, someone won't be coming to my door now to arrest us for taking pictures.  LOL!  

All of the vendors sell homemade wares.  So, nothing sold is mass produced.  

Luckily, most of the vendors were set up in the shade.  It was extremely hot and crowded though.

Here are a few pics of things that caught my eye.

Sorry, these pics aren't the greatest.  They were taken (secretly) and among many people.  So, it was hard to get a good shot.  

This festival was held in the same location that the Country Living Fair was held last year and I can't wait to go to that one again next month!  I do like the Country Living Fair better.

So...........wondering if I bought anything?  Yes, I did!  But, you know I'm going to have to share that with you in my next post.  Go ahead and throw something at the computer now.  LOL!  

Hope you're having a good Monday so far.  (Ugh.......Monday's) 

~ Kelly ~

My Basement Storage Room

Hello everyone!

TGIF!

Are you as happy as I am that it's Friday?  Well, I guess it's almost over, but I'm thrilled that the weekend is finally here anyway.

My husband and I worked hard all day cleaning out our basement and garage.  It was a messy job but so glad that it's done.  We ended up taking things to the dump, and Goodwill.  I also have some things that will be heading to the consignment store soon. 

I took some pics of my storage area just to show you how awful it was.  This is where all my home decor "extras" and holiday decor gets stored year round.  

Before

Doesn't it look like an explosion went off?  Or...........a scene from TLC's Hoarder show?  

The holiday stash is all in the back and isn't a wreck.  It's the front part of the room that's a disaster.  So, that is what I worked on today.  

I could hardly walk in here from everything taking over the floor space.  It was time to get it off the floor and onto some shelving.  

Notice we have a dehumidifier in there.  That has been the BEST thing we've ever bought for our basement.  No more mildew!  

 Are you ready to see what it looks like now???  

After

The most important thing is to get things up on shelves and I treat them like a store.  I try to place "like" items together.  All containers, vessels, vases together.  All baskets together.  All plants together etc.  That way, when I'm looking for something I know right where to find it.  It really is like going into a mini-mart down there.  

There is another storage area just beyond this space, but it is still a wreck.  My husband uses it for his camping and fishing stuff.  So, he's got some work to do on his side.  

The very best part though, is the storage under the basement stairs that I am now using to store all of my faux flowers in.  Now, I don't have them strewn in the middle of the room anymore.  I have a little space just for them.

We even hung a clamp light up so I could have light under there.  I love this little space!  I still need a few more containers to separate my flowers, but other than that, it's done.

I'm a organizer by nature, so to have this space cleaned up and organized makes me very happy!  

There is another small area, to the left of these flowers, that I store small furniture pieces and artwork.  I forgot to take a pic of that.  

I couldn't live without a space to store all of my "extras".  This really helps me when I make changes to my home as you know I do a lot!

Where do you store your extra decor and holiday items?

~ Kelly ~

Fun Finds for Less than $8

Hello everyone!

How is your week going so far?  Mine is going pretty good.  We finally got some much needed rain last night.  It's amazing how much better things look outside once it rains.  It has been so dry and hot here that we could really use a lot more rain actually.  What a contrast from last summer!  

I wanted to share a couple of small new things that I found that prove that it's not always the expensive things that put a smile on your face.  These were all less than $8 each and can most likely be found at a store near you too!

First, I found these cute galvanized letters at Michael's.  

They can be hung on a wall or used standing up as I've done.  I'm using them as bookends.  You can choose any letter of the alphabet too.

I chose X and O for "hugs and kisses" or "tic tac toe".  

Then at Home Goods, I found this cute little wooden mortar and pestle. I've always loved them (even though I don't really use them).  Silly, I know.

My husband and I are planning on doing a major garage/basement clean-up this weekend.  Can't wait to have it all done!  Guess, it's getting close to Fall cleaning now huh?  

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

Labor Day Weekend

Hello everyone!

We've been enjoying a relaxing Labor Day weekend here.  We spent some time with our friends that were camping at the lake.  They invited us to join them on a boat ride and for dinner. 

The lake was crowded but the weather was beautiful!

We walked down to where their boats were anchored to enjoy a fun boat ride.

We found a quiet cove for some swimming and anchored the boat.

Our friends took their dog along as well.  He even had his own swim vest on!

We returned back to the campsite.

And prepared dinner at their camper.

It got dark, so I didn't get any pictures of our food, but it was really good!  Doesn't everything taste better outdoors?  We roasted marshmallows and made smores before we left.  

What a great way to end the summer!

Hope you're having a great Labor Day weekend too.

~ Kelly ~

Bathroom Makeover

Hello everyone!

Can you believe that there is a room in my house that I've hardly shown you?  It's our upstairs hall bathroom that my kids share.  It has been the same way for years (yes there are some rooms I leave alone) so it was high time to give it a makeover.  Since the room is used by boys, I needed to keep it masculine.  But, since I also want it to flow with the rest of the house, I chose a simple neutral color scheme.  You see, it used to be bright!  I forgot to take a full room "before" shot, but here is the apple green paint color on the walls.

Before

I grabbed my camera just as I was getting ready to paint over the green.  At one time, it was very juvenile in style since it was for 2 little boys.  Now my sons are 13 and 20 so it was time to give them a more grown up bathroom.  

I chose a grey and white color scheme.  No surprise there, huh!

After

The new color has completely transformed this room!  I used Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore on the walls.  Did you know that the guy at the paint store told me that it was the most popular color with that brand?  I know I've seen it used all over blogland and now I know why.  It's such a pretty shade of grey.

I bought a new shower curtain from Target, as well as soap dispenser and toothbrush holder.

I plan on replacing the shower curtain rod with a silver one too.  This one has seen better days.  

I hung fluffy white towels and a white bath rug sits in front of the vanity (not shown).

I'm thinking about painting the peg rack black too.  Not loving the pine wood in there.

Now, if it was in the budget, I'd love to replace the full size mirror with a black framed smaller mirror and tile the floor in small black and white penny tiles.  But..........this will have to do for now.

So, there you have it!   A much cleaner looking and more grown up space for my two sons to use now.

I love this color so much, that now I plan on repainting my master bathroom in it!  

Thanks for stopping by.

~ Kelly ~

An Elegant Farm Wedding Part 2

Hello everyone!

Ready for some more wedding photos?  If you missed any of the first ones, you can see them HERE.  

Let me reintroduce you to the bride and groom, Jennifer and Joe.  Jennifer is my niece.

I left off with the cake display, so now onto the rest of the reception.

More gorgeous flowers were displayed in these candlabra's.

The food was served at these food stations. (Sorry my photo is blurry.)

Here is what was served.

Oops!  Too small to read!  They had these little menu signs set up at each station.  They served a large variety of gourmet foods such as, parmesan crusted chicken, shrimp and grits, flank steak, and even tacos.  

There were several bars serving drinks as well.

Anyone up for some dessert?  This dessert station offered up gourmet cakes and cookies.

I agree with this sign too!

Now a wedding reception just isn't complete without some good music and dancing is it?  

They took care of that too.

Here is the wedding party lining up for the first dance. (I believe many of the girls had changed into more comfortable shoes by this point.)  There were even flip flops offered to people on the dance floor!

And the bride and groom's first dance.

The wedding cake was eventually cut and served to everyone.

Some of the other details that I didn't get pictures of were the slide show playing during the couple's dance, a photo booth for guests to enjoy dressing up with silly props (as a take home souvenir) outdoor yard games, and even a late night food truck to serve guests that lingered late into the evening.  I'm sure I'm leaving out something too!  

It really was an incredible wedding and one that the couple will have wonderful memories of.  

I'll leave you with this professional photo taken of the couple on the farm.

They are now enjoying their honeymoon in Greece and Spain!  Lucky guys!

Hope you enjoyed seeing pics of this fairytale wedding as much as I enjoyed it.




Congratulations to

Joe & Jennifer
August 23, 2014

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~