USING WHAT YOU HAVE… {Thanksgiving tablescape}

Can I just say thank you for all the love I got on my living room?! Seriously, who would have thought I would have gotten such a reaction.  I think I’m gonna start decorating like this all of the time!

Today I wanted to share my Thanksgiving tablescape with you.  Btw, is tablescape a word or is it something we bloggers came up with? Anywho, I already told you that I wanted my table to consist of mostly things from nature.  I should have said things that humans made to look like stuff from nature because everything I used is fake, faux, whatever you want to call it!

I started with some fabric that I used last year for my Christmas table.  On top of that, I used kraft paper.  You know those rolls of kraft paper that you see at Lowes or Home Depot?  I’ve even seen them at Target, but mine came from Lowes because I grabbed a roll for when I’m painting my furniture.  Next up, I pulled out”some” of my milk glass.  I have a lot.  No seriously, I have A LOT!

I stuffed them with a bunch of faux foliage (stems I picked up from Target last year, some moss I had in the garage, and some plum colored plant thingy from Michaels).  The plum colored plants I bought recently because they were 80% off plus I had a 25% off coupon which made them 79 cents BOOYAH!

The plates I already had which I always pull out when I’m setting the table.  These plates were mentioned in one of my first posts (2 years ago!). 

The green glasses are from Goodwill.  I went back and forth on if I should buy them because they were priced individually.  I really hate when they do that

I pulled out my pretty little napkin rings I used last year for Christmas, but then I thought about the paper I had in my craft drawer.  Plum colored paper was just the perfect touch for this casual table. I cut little strips of paper, wrapped it around the napkins and tied it with twin.  How easy is that?!

The pumpkins came from Hobby Lobby last year and the pinecones are a mix of the regular kind and some that I spray painted gold.

I really don’t know how to take good pictures of table settings.  I ‘m going to try some more to see if I can get a few more shots that are a little better.  I still have a lot to do in this tiny little space.  Well, not really a lot.  I have a chandelier that I picked up from GW last year that has been sitting in my garage.  It’s time to hang that baby! Plus, I’m make some of those little paper wheels (is that what you call them?) to hang of the back wall.  I’ll be sure to show you that.

So, what do you think?! Have you put together your Thanksgiving table?!

MAKING A LIST AND CHECKING IT TWICE

While getting things together for Swoon Worthy Boutique, I had a mini panic attack.  I have been going going and going trying to make sure everything is together with the added aspect of my business.  I realized that I will get caught up in something and abandon other things.  One thing that I have abandoned (and it has me in somewhat of a funk), is my home. 

There are quite a few projects that need to be done around here so I’m going to start doing them now! I think this will not only ease my mind a bit, but it will also increase my blogging (I know I’ve been slacking around these parts!).  Tonia from Chic Modern Vintage told me to write a list and place it on the blog.  I hesitated about doing this because I knew that I will have to carry out with what I put on here!  But that’s ok.  I’m so ready to start back focusing on my home (while at the same time managing Swoon Worthy). 

My list of things to do

FAMILY ROOM

• Replace Ceiling Fan
• Finish painting ceiling (I know… pure slacker!)
• Make Curtains
• Purchase Curtain Rods
• Find TV stand or bookcase
• Paint inside of fireplace
• find a sofa
• find a coffee table
• finish painting spindles
• paint the powder room
• new light fixture for powder room
• find a rug

KITCHEN

• Paint Cabinets
• New dishwasher
• New Vent for over stove
• paint table and chairs
• rug for kitchen
• new light fixtures
• find hardware for cabinets
• find a rug
• curtains

Dining Room

• touch up paint
• paint and hang thrift store mirrors
• replace chandelier
• find rug
• recover chairs
• curtains
• purchase rod
• Decide what to do with pantry

LIVING ROOM

• Curtains and rod
• rug
• touch up paint
• find console table
• sofa
• reupholster chairs
• pillows
• replace light fixture
• rug
• lamps
• art
• bulletin board
•  paint front door

Yep, I have my work cut out for me, but you know what?  It’s doable! And I look forward to getting a chunk of this list knocked out by December 1st!

Think I can do it?!?!

FYI, the list will be posted on my sidebar so you can see my progress as I check things off.  And of course I’m going to blog about everything!

 

TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES OR CLEAN MY FLOORS

Do you ask friends and family members to remove their shoes when entering your home?

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I was having a conversation with Tonia of Chic Modern Vintage about this topic the other day. I’ve never done it myself, but have been to friends homes where they ask for the removal of your shoes.

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She told me that a family member even go as far as having socks and slippers for her guests to put on. AND she even supply foot spray and powders if you have “feet problems”. Now me personally, I think that’s a little too far! But I do like the idea of having different socks or slippers for guests that are washed afterwards.

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I’ve given it much thought and now I’m going to do this in my own home. The only problem is that I don’t want this

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So to those of you who already have this rule in your home, or are contemplating it, what do you do to keep the space tidy where the shoes are left at the door by guests?

SAMPLING AND PAINTING

So I have a little secret.  Nothing major, but it is a something that I’ve been keeping from you guys—well those of you that aren’t on twitter;-)

I’ve been painting my entire downstairs!

I’ve been doing it alone and it has taken a lot of time and it has been keeping me away from a lot of other important things like blogging and…BLOGGING! Anywho, I wanted to share with you how I decide on my paint colors

I sample paint everywhere in the room! I skipped priming the wall in the second picture because I was able to see the true color on the wall leading up the stairway.  The lighter color is Tony Taupe and the darker is Virtual Taupe both by Sherwin Williams.  I chose the darker color (Virtual Taupe) for the living room and for the dining room.  As far as the kitchen and family room, I painted those Accessible Beige.  Here is a peek at the family room before I finished painting it

The family room was originally painted Sensational Sand by Sherwin Williams, but it was a little too dark for the space.  My family room and kitchen is in the back of my house so I needed a light color to brighten up the two spaces. 

(the kitchen painted Sensational Sand)

Now, as for my kitchen cabinets, I will be painting those again too.  They will be painted the same color as the trim which is Aesthetic White also by SW . Oh and yes, I will blog about that process although it won’t start until after the holidays;-)

So, there’s my secret.  I’ve been painting! I’ll show you the space SOON!

 

AM I THE ONLY ONE CRAZY ENOUGH TO TAKE ON A LARGE PROJECT BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS?

WHAT I’M UP TO

Hi! Did you miss me?! I’m super busy this week. While Fall is making an entrance, I’m currently kicking a few things to the curb…LITERALLY! I am determined not to allow my home to be jammed packed full of unnecessary things. I want to be surrounded by things that I love or will love after a little TLC!

First space to get spruced up and cleaned out is my garage. This is what it looked like Tuesday

Okay, which one of you called me a hoarder?! Oh, sorry, that wasn’t you. It was my husband! You can’t blame me for not keeping it real!

Anywho….I’ve gotten rid of a few things which leaves me with this

I’m hoping that I can finish up by Sunday. That way, I can be doing something a little better with my time like starting on a nice little dresser for my two boys!

and hey, that will be one less thing out of the garage!

How are you welcoming Fall?

LAURENT ~VS~ CAMERON

Back in October I did a post comparing the Laurent table (no longer on their website) from Crate and Barrel to the Cameron table from JC Penney. I noted that the Laurent table was $1699 and the the Cameron table (without chairs) was $449 (at the time).

Here is the Laurent table from Crate and Barrel

And here is the Cameron Place table from JC Prenney

I decided on this table because I was able to get a similar look of the Laurent table at a fraction of the price!

Laurent Table $1699…

Cameron Place table and four chairs $899!

I only purchased four chairs because I would prefer two different chairs at the end of the table.

Overall I am pleased. The color of the set is more of an espresso. I’ve only had it for about a month and so far so good. Well, except for the fact that my son decided to grab the vase and slide it back and forth on the table…. SCRATCH GALORE!!! It’s not THAT bad, but its there.

So what do you think? Do you like the Cameron table or would you have chosen the Laurent table? I tell you one thing, we’ve been in this house for two years and I have yet to decorate a table for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any other holiday for that matter, so I plan to have a BALL decorating this one!

HOW I MET MY HOUSE...

AnNicole is having a party on her blog and it's titled "How I Met My House". I'm always down for a party!

We started our search for a home after I realized 5 people in a 2 bedroom apartment wasn't gonna work for us. Of course I was scared of the process since my parents arent home owners and his parents didn't think it was the best move for a newly wed couple with young kids and one income. But, what is that saying "You can't tell grown people anything"?! So we decided that it was the best thing for us plus our lease was ending soon and our third baby was arriving in a few months. After searching without any look, I saw this house

It wasn't much to look at, but it had almost all of the things that were on my "wish list":

*At least three bedrooms with a 2 car garage

*separate living room and family room with fire place

*eat in kitchen

*Dining room


*nice size backyard with fence (our house does not have the fence, yet)

*established neighborhood (we also drove through the neighborhood at night to check it out)

*at least 2 bathrooms (we have 2.5)

Oh, and it had to be within our price range (the economy made that pretty easy).

I knew that if we had the most important things as far the structure of the house, that I could definitely make it a home that we would love!




Looking back at the before photo of the house, I think I'm well on my way!