Just Steal It......

Do you like a steal?  A great bargain?  

I know I sure do. I thought I'd share a few of my favorite buys from the site Decor Steals.  Its a flash sale site that emails you the "steal" each day and they are usually a good bargain compared to what you will find them in the stores for.  I don't buy every steal...sheesh my husband would kill me lol. However I have bought quite a few this year that are some of my most fave things.  I like the unique finds they offer.

My one tip would be:  if you really love it, don't hesitate. I've done that a few times and lost out because they've sold out of the item. So I check right away for my email each day and if I can't live without it or will regret not having it I put it in my cart.  Lots of popular items like the holiday pillows sold out within the first few hours.

If you'd like to join you can click the LINK HERE and once you sign up for an account you will get $5 off your first order.  There is no obligation to buy a steal EVER...if you like it you buy it, if you don't then just delete the email LOL!  But if you like unique finds for your home then I would suggest you try it out.

I just received these pillows this week and I ADORE them.  They look like vintage feed sacks but are super soft.  The backside of the Reindeer pillow has the song lyrics to Rudolph so both sides are pretty.

The blue-grayish lanterns were bought from them as well...they sit on top of my media center.

And I love my little hobby horse...they offered it in different sizes. This one is sitting near my fireplace right now, but once I get my foyer Christmas tree up it will sit with the other vintage toys in front of it.

Love these whitewashed metal baskets...the smaller one holds fruit in my kitchen, the med one will be ready for holiday greenery and the large holds magazines in my bedroom.

And I love this bucket...it will be filled with greenery & twinkle lights in a few weeks.

Those are just a few of my faves I've gotten from them this year.  I have others including more holiday items that I will share as I start decorating for Christmas.

Enjoy your weekend...it is COLD here in Virgina!!

Fall Has Hit Virginia.....

Fall has definitely come to Virginia....leaves a'changin'...temps dropping. I like Fall & I like December but after that I hate everything till Spring comes back...literally. Not a winter fan here.

But I will enjoy Fall..something about the smells in the air, crunch of the leaves & warm colors everywhere...how can you resist it?

We live on Goose Creek which feeds into the Potomac River about 2 miles from my house.  Its always gorgeous in the fall even though the water isn't too high in the creekbed right now.  I walked Baylee down there the other day to check it out & take some pictures before the leaves start dropping.  Always so peaceful and my dogs get REAL happy to snuffle in the leaves and get their feet wet LOL!

Both of my dogs are Cairn Terriers so they love to go on walks and sniff out every frog, bug & animal within 5 miles of where they are!  Casey doesn't walk as far these days so she had to stay home but Baylee was on a mission and could not be stopped LOL.  She just cracks me up..the dog would walk until she could walk no more I swear!

I decided that Fall needed to hit the inside of my home too and pulled out my bin of fun :)

I love that the colors of my home complement fall colors so well...just warms it up that much more.

I love the lighter colors of my dining room now...if you missed the BEFORES you can check it all out HERE!

Paddywax Candle  
And this is one of my favorite Fall candles to burn....love the musky scent..reminds me of where I grew up near tobacco farms (not a cigarettes smell).  Its a soy candle and it comes in these beautiful amber apothecary bottles...burns for a longgggg time.

Out came the rusty colored pillow for the rockers and a matching mum for the front porch.  Like that rose photobomb there hahahaha...it couldn't help itself in all its beautiful glory.  The other bushes need to be clipped but waiting on a new blade for my trimmer...still not here...ugh.

New fall wreath on the front door and a couple of my pumpkins.  I didn't go all out this year because we are heading to South Carolina to visit Alexa at college over Halloween. Riley is staying home and I just didn't feel like decorating outside like usual...I will save that for Christmas!  But little touches always bring some Fall fun.

Have you decorated for Fall yet??

Don't Fight The Fall....

FUN FALL IDEAS 

I like Fall, I really do....I just wish it didn't lead into Winter...that's why I also hate Fall.  I am not a winter lover as you all know and it just makes me sad when I know its right around the corner.  And given the cooler temps we had in August, I'm kinda scared that winter may be here sooner than I'd like.

But I've started dragging out my fall stuff from storage and will get the house decorated a bit next week.  So I thought I'd share a few new & fabulous ideas I've seen around the web with you all...in case you needed to shake the summer sand out out of your shoes too ;)

Most of these are easy to create and inexpensive...certainly good things with all those fun fall and school activities on the calendar...oh and FOOTBALL!! (and pennant race baseball)

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Love this idea from Better Homes & Gardens...drill some holes in a real or faux pumpkin and fill with fresh fall blooms or silk blooms.  Would be pretty to do this with a bunch of different sized pumpkins and group them on the stoop or on a table.  Think I might try this......

www.thatswhatshesaid.net

Easy, breezy way to incorporate some fall into your home.  Buy some candles in different sizes at the Dollar Store, wrap with some scraps of burlap, faux leaves and twine...then group together on a pretty platter.

{via}

LOVE these floating cheesecloth ghosts.....easily made with some starch and bottles and wire.

Might have to try this too....stay tuned....

via BHG

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Duct Tape a pumpkin in fun patterns

via beadandcord.com

Love fun decorated pumpkins outside AND inside...so many different versions to create!

Via Pinterest

I love me some Christmas trees and I LURVE the idea of this fall tree...would look fab in my dining room. And those owls are too cute....fallish but not creepish..perfect to leave up thru Thanksgiving!

Love this idea using my favorite mason jars....paint 'em up white, distress and then stencil with letters.  Easy & beautiful!

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These would be SUPERcool to make...look a bit more involved but how cute are they??

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Have some extra wood laying around?  These are perfect for scrap pieces of wood and so whimsical to add to your fall decor.  You could even hit up Lowes or Home Depot and ask for some scraps that they have laying around...usually a lot of them are triangular shaped too.  Then paint and distress...easy & inexpensive..nothing better.

A super easy way to decorate your doors....would be cute with FALL as well.  Hobby Lobby & other craft stores have large wooden letters pretty cheap...spray them in fall colors, wrap with twine or other ribbon and add a fun burlap bow.  Or buy it on Etsy and support a local crafter.

tutorial here

And my own DIY Metallic Pumpkins from last fall...in case you missed it!  Easy to create and use every year with faux pumpkins and some metallic spray paints!

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Yup another mason jar project...I couldn't resist...how cute is this??

Perfect for a desktop or gift for a great teacher...I LOVE IT!!

Might make this for my niece who just started her first teaching job!

FYI:  MASON JAR PAINTING tutorial for the OUTSIDE if you need one here.  You can also paint them from the INSIDE, see here.

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And last but not least...fall pallet signs...I love them...the more rough & distressed the better.

Don't have a pallet...attach a few boards together or pickets..distress and paint and ta-da!

HAPPY FALL Y'ALL!

Feelin' Blue?

I've Got the Blues!

I'm in a blue mood folks...but no worries its not the bad kinda blues right now :)  I'm talking fresh blues, nautical blues, and soothing blues.  I can't get enough of the gorgeous blue patterns in fashion right now...I am loving the florals and stripes I'm seeing everywhere.  So crisp and gorgeous paired with anything from jeans, white pants, to skirts and shorts. I'm obsessed friends...it could be a problem ahahaha!  So just sharing a few things I have added to my wardrobe and some things I'm just drooling over with you.  Lemme know if you drooled, shopped or pursued too...ya know like a shopping buddy that always makes you feel a bit better!

Yes, I did get this light sweater from Gap...and the other one too! One thing I was lacking in was 

some lightweight sweaters for Spring so I indulged myself a wee bit. I'm always chilled & when I'm not well I'm even more chilly so I am anticipating a need this spring...hence the picking up of light sweaters lately. (I used 30% off coupon for Gap too)

I got this cute anchor sweater at Old Navy on sale for $12...I like wearing it with a chambray shirt underneath and tails hanging out.  The background of sweater is a darker cream, not sure why it shows up pink in pic.

I got this chambray shirt last year and I see Nordstroms still has it and it is on sale now...bonus!

It is soooo super comfy and such a worn/soft material and just long enough to leave the tails out from under your sweaters too!

Also this blouse from Old Navy....loved the beautiful blue pattern!

And I would love this skirt and these shoes too from Loft..waiting for them to go on sale though...I'm a sale watcher and then I put it in my cart and wait a few days to see if I really, really have to have it :)

And I may or may not be drooling over this Michael Kors bag...navy, white and brown...ummm LOVE! And its on sale right now....so need to not visit it...it is in my cart...should I push "checkout" or not...hmmmm LOL! I love a classic bag because if you take care of it you can pull it out over & over again and use it for years.

And how gorgeous is this bedding from Pottery Barn...OMGosh I love every bit of it!

Makes me want to redo my guest bedroom ASAP...that's gonna have to wait but a girl can dream right?
For now because I will be spending a fair amount of time in bed...ugh...I have bought a new fluffy down comforter to replace the old. Some new pillows because I like to sink into them.  A set of high-thread count sheets and a super fluffy, fuzzy blanket.  Now my bed is ready for me!

So are you as BLUE as I am? :)

Birds of a Feather......

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I've seen lots of robins fluttering around my yard in the past week so that means Spring is coming right?

 And I have the CRAZIEST robin family in the world that lives in our yard...no lie.  I mean it would figure I'd get the crazy birds right? LOL!  This bird scares me and the dogs I kid you not.  They used to nest up in the top of our cabana in the fan as it has vaulted ceilings and I got so SICK of cleaning up bird poop off the furniture.  So we got two faux owls and hubby adding some netting over the top of the light in the fan.  Well that showed them........until they decided to nest in the tree next to the cabana..oy vey!  He will sit on the fence and watch us when we come out and sometimes swoop down towards your head screeching! (and me envisioning Tippi Hedren in Hitchcock's "The Birds")  My Baylee is a total terrier dog that likes to chase...ummm just about everything...but even she doesn't bother him and sometimes she won't go in the yard if he's outside squawking hahaha! 

Brave souls that live in my house I tell ya...NOT!

He is the original ANGRY BIRD!  So other than Spring coming I can't say I enjoy having him return to the yard much but I do enjoy seeing those baby birdies every year.

When hubby and I lived in a 3rd floor condo when we were first married we had birds nest in our hanging plants out on the balcony.  Dontcha' know every time it stormed and those baskets swung around in the wind I was a nervous nelly thinking those babies were going to die.  You'd have thought I was the momma!

But I do love birds (maybe not that one Daddy Robin) but ALL the others for sure.  Especially those beautiful hummingbirds and bluebirds.  So I thought I'd share a few "birdy" things with you today...things I loved or would like to have myself :) 

Enjoy!

Bird Print

Love the cheery colors and fun quote on this print...only $18 and would 

be beautiful in a bright colored frame for Spring! LOVE!!!

Etsy Bird Pillows

I love the vintage postcard pillow found on Etsy. Beautiful images and this pillow 

would look AH-mazing in my bedroom. Just sayin ;)

And I LOVE the muted colors on those beautiful bird pillows at the bottom.

Such soft, pretty colors that would go well in most rooms!

West Elm Owl Candles

A few of these might be in my house...I can't for sure say HOW many!  Hahaha!  And not only do they smell amazing they are just too cute!  And once the candle is done & you can clean it up well, you can use them again for a multitude of things.

Streamline Bird Nightlight

I bought a few of these ceramic birds (and an owl) for each of my family's womenfolk for Christmas.

I thought they were adorable & they glow softly at night with a small battery so you can set them just about anywhere.

Hummingbird Brooch

And how much do I love hummingbirds?  They are just the most beautiful birds and I always look forward to seeing them return to my gardens each summer.  This beautiful brooch on Etsy is so delicate and filled with Spring colors that made me go "ooooooooooooh"!

Chirp Chirp!!