Rescued From the Trash

Rescued From the Trash
Can you believe what people throw away? Completely sound, functioning furniture just in need of a little tlc! Several years ago when we lived in Florida, I found two chairs waiting in a trash pile for pick up one day.  It was my very first 'dumpster dive'.  I was so excited, I had to remind myself to breathe!! I hopped out, loaded them up and raced home. Eager to begin work on them, I pulled them out for closer inspection.  They were GROSS. Bad paint job with bad paint. Lots of drips and globs. And sticky. And the seat cushions?  Eeeek! Someone had taken a can of lime green spray paint to the old shiny damask fabric, rather than recover them. Ok, I was starting to understand why they were in the trash :)


Homemade Date and Nut Bars

Homemade Date and Nut Bars
These homemade date and nuts bars taste just like Larabars, and they're quick and easy to make!


Is Black the new Orange?

Is Black the new Orange?
I think it's official.  Orange is out.  Black is in!  Even better when it's soft black velvet pumpkins, topped with real stems! I've seen these around blog land for several years now and have been just waiting for the right time to try my hand at some.  I found a great tutorial over at  The Lemonista Velvet Pumpkin Tutorial . She figured it all out and it was easy! If you can push a needle in and out of fabric, you can handle this too. Check out these cuties I made!  My only problem was that I didn't have any real pumpkin stems.  It's only August here after all...pumpkins aren't even in stores yet!  What's a girl to do? I went out to our garden and looked at our zucchini plants. Hmmm.  Some of the stems were starting to dry out, and they do bear a similarity to pumpkin stems.  I cut them long because I really wanted that free form, curly look, laid them on my pizza stone in my oven at 170 degrees, and let them dry out for several hours. Som


Is Summer Almost Over?!?

Is Summer Almost Over?!?
I don't know about you, but in my neck of the woods it is still H.O.T!! Maybe the hottest weather we've had all summer. Crazy. I don't care, I am ready to decorate my house for fall! Fall is my favorite time of the year! Seriously. Having just moved here to TN last December from FL, I completely missed fall and jumped right into winter :( I grew up in Canada, so fall to me means crisp cool mornings, thick sweaters, apple picking, the smell of school bus exhaust (ha), Labor Day, Indian summer. I Love It. Period. Cooler days are ahead, I just know it. And soon those beautiful fall colors will make their appearance. For now, I decorate! So I changed up my mantle this morning from summer to fall . It was kinda sad to put away the dreamy blues and seashells of summer BUT I was super excited about the new pumpkins I made and eager to get them displayed. I'm not really crazy about orange and have wholly embraced the white pumpkin craze. Without further adieu, here a