It's Officially Fall

HAPPY FALL!!!

Yes, it's finally here despite the fact temperatures reached today were 80-83 and tomorrow, is expected to be 86.  On the plus side, I noticed the leaves are finally starting to change colors.

Just in time too...my fall decorations are up and I must say it's looking pretty nice around these parts. Feel free to take the tour.

Okay, so we begin at the front door.  (I really wish my door was a different color)

I usually drape garland down the stairs of the stairs as well but I ran out.  Those are the mums I purchased  couple of weeks ago.  The flowers are starting to shrink up which means I'll be purchasing new ones in the near future. I also put two standing scarecrows out there. As an afterthought I decided to add a few faux pumpkins (not shown).

Once you enter my little palace, you notice I dressed up the coat closet...I had to since it's the first thing you see when you walk in lol.   The wreaths hanging above are kind of small (from Dollar Tree). My original plan was to dress them up but I changed my mind.  I didn't want to not use them so I just threw them up there.  A couple of swags I bought from Dollar Tree years ago were re-purposed from bedroom doors and hung on the door knobs.

Once inside make a quick left and Bam! The foyer.

I filled a glass vase with miniature pumpkins.  Then I stuck in a couple of berry bushes and a scarecrow pick.  FYI, the raffia was already on the vase. 

See my little Harvest sign I bought from Walmart a few years ago.  It was plain until I dressed it up by hot-gluing a miniature pumpkin, scarecrow and leaves to it.  This sign has been re-purposed all over my little palace.  

Last but not least, I filled a metal wired basket with scented pinecones and wrapped some garland around the base.  A nice spice scent greets you as you walk through the front door.  Mmmm mmm!

Now we move into the livingroom. (I didn't do much decorating in this area.)

Here's a closer look at the shelf.  

The candlesticks and vase are there year round.  I just changed out the candles and added a few branches. The grapevine wreath usually hangs on the doors of my armoir but I choose to use it here this go round.  I really would like a nice piece of art hanging there but haven't found 'that one' yet.  

Remember the pumpkins I showed you from my big Dollar Tree score?  Well here they are. I spaced them out with some battery operated tealights.  So cute! 

For either side of the television I borrowed two of the candle stands that normally sit in the diningroom and changed out the candles with some fall colored ones.  And for an added touch, some potted mums.

I also dressed up the side table.  One of my fall trees was to sit here, but I changed my mind on that idea too. Instead I filled a metal bowl with faux pumpkins, gourds and leaves.  

Now in the diningroom, it's a different story. I went all out in this area.

The table looks pretty much like it did last year, except for the centerpiece I recently made.  It goes  nicely with the other decorations.  

My buffet is looking pretty spiffy too. 

I added this beautiful fabric only today.  Came across it shopping in Walmart. The candles I picked up a few years ago from you know where. They each have a leaf embossed on the front. 

Did you notice how I wrapped the lamps with garland. Cute right?  It's not shown in these photos but at the base of one of the lamps I created a vignette using small pumpkins, pinecones and a small bale of hay (Thank you Pinterest). I'm thinking of adding a small scarecrow  to perch on top of the hay.  

Now for my master piece. This is the part I've been waiting to show off.  My autumn tree.

I'm so proud of myself.  This is the first time I've ever done one.  

I covered the entire tree with leaf garland, then added the cute owls I bought a week ago.  To finish it off I filled in any spaces with sunflowers, crab apples and glittery leaves.  I even made the tree topper.  I just put together some leaf and berry bunches with feathers and grass, and tied them up with cute fall ribbon.

It's even prettier with the lights on.

I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the box to find that this tree was pre-lit.  This is the tree I bought on clearance last year for $5. 

Well I'm going to stop here as I am getting tired. I'll come back tomorrow with the rest of the tour.  Stay tuned.

Fall Crafts

Good morning. Been awake since 5 a.m., like I'm getting ready for work.  Funny. If this was a workday, I would have struggled to get out of bed.

Any who, yesterday I started putting up my fall decorations.  I spent the entire day crafting and decorating.  Only thing left to do is set up my fall trees and decorate outside my front door.  So far I'm very happy how everything's looking so far.  I do need to get back to that Dollar Tree for a few more things.  I used nearly all the garland I bought inside... they were to be used outside.  Once everything is the way I want it, I will post the results.  But here are some of the crafts I worked on.

This centerpiece is sitting on the dining table.  Everything used to make this, with the exception of the candle, came from Dollar Tree.

1. foam wreath
2. sunflower bunches
3. crab apple bunches
4. glue gun
5. glue sticks
6. orange burlap ribbon (not shown here)
7. glitter leaves (also not shown)
8. cylinder glass vase (not shown)
9. 6" white pillar candle (Walmart)

I found this idea on Pinterest.  However, it's just a photo.  No instructions on how to create this centerpiece.  So I just eyeballed it (which is how I do most of my crafts).

First I wrapped the foam wreath with the burlap ribbon

 Then I added the sunflowers, clustering them in threes around the wreath.

Finally I filled in the space with crab-apples and glitter leaves, leaving some of the burlap exposed.

And that's all there is to it. Looks really nice on my table.

My next, easy craft was a couple of wreaths.  Again everything used to make these were $1 items and came from Dollar Tree, with the exception of the scarecrow (Walmart $.98)

1, twig wreath
2. floral bunches
3. fall ribbon
4. scarecrow pick
5. glue gun
6. glue sticks

First I wrapped part of the wreath with ribbon.  Then I glued the scarecrow on one side. And lastly, I glued flowers along the bottom.

End result:

This masterpiece is going to hang over the mirror in the master bedroom.  Not sure where the other wreath is going just yet. Hmmm maybe in the kitchen.

Finally this little beauty was so quick and simple.  Just my type of craft.

I just wrapped some leftover orange burlap ribbon around a glass candle holder.  Then glued silk leaves to the burlap and some berries that broke off a berry garland I have.  Just to think, I was about to toss them into the trash.

To finish it off, I inserted this votive candle that I picked up from Dollar Tree (2 per pack).

Well that's all for now.  Since we're not gathering today to watch football, I'm going to set up my tree and get started on my front door area and catch my Ravens at home.  I hope they win tonight.  Go Ravens!!!

Look What I Found

Shopping in Walmart last week I came across one of my favorite Halloween classics.

I look forward to watching this on television each year. Now I can watch it whenever I want.  And it was only $7.50.  I also found a Simpsons Halloween dvd (I like the Simpsons) and a Scooby Doo 2 disc set.  Both were only $5.

Last month friends over at Magical Holiday Home were discussing movies they like to watch around Halloween when I realized I don't really have any movies. Hence my recent purchases. The only Halloween dvds I have are Monster High and Sponge Bob, that I bought for my nieces and nephews when they were little and would stay over on weekends. It was one of the things I liked to do with them.

Now I'm on the hunt for a few more, Hocus Pocus, Betle Juice, Casper, Nightmare Before Christmas, and a few others.  I'm not into the scary movies like Halloween.  Will be having nightmares for weeks lol.

Can you believe fall begins in 6 days?  Yey, I'm so excited.  And this weekend the fall decorations are going up. Came home today and started cleaning and clearing space.  

Well I need to clean my kitchen and then I'm turning in.  Good night!

Sunday Football

Here in the USA, you know fall is coming when football season begins.  Everyone sporting their jersey's, t-shirts, and whatnot of their favorite team.  Tailgate parties going on all over town.  Just a lot of fun and making memories. It's really something special for us football fans.

Yesterday was the first game of the season for my Baltimore Ravens. You saw purple everywhere! (Oh, by the way, we won.) Folks were very excited to see the Ravens come back after last year's horrible season.  All of our best players were out with injuries from torn Achilles to fractured hips, to broken arms. It was a really bad time for us.  But it looks like things are getting back to normal.  All of our injured guys were back and looking as healthy as ever.  And if they keep playing like they did Sunday, I'm pretty sure we will make the playoffs and possibly, dare I say it, the Super Bowl.

Every Sunday or Thursday, or Monday - whatever day our Ravens play - during football season, my friends and I get together to watch football.  It is so much fun watching the game with friends.  Lots of laughter and screaming at the television, doing the Raven's chant every time they score a touchdown, "Oh, oh oh oh, oh oh."  Not to mention the enjoying a refreshing beverage and eating yummy dishes each person contributes. At the end of the evening, I usually have no voice.

Since it was such a lovely Sunday afternoon, we cranked up the grill. We had Italian sausages, hotdogs, hamburgers, fried chicken, bbq chicken, spareribs, tossed salad, macaroni salad, a few other dishes I can't seem to remember right now, and my Spicy Italian Crescent Ring.

It was easy to make and only took minutes to put together.  Here's how.

Ingredients
Salami
Prosciutto (The recipe called for capocollo but I couldn't find it)
Ham
Banana peppers
Red roasted peppers
Provolone cheese
2 cans of crescent rolls
Black pepper

Using a round pizza pan, I first unrolled each can of crescent rolls and laid them out in a circle. Be sure to lay the dough so that the wider ends are facing inward and the smaller ends are facing outward (Taking the shape of the sun). Then on the wider end I layered the roasted peppers, half slices of provolone cheese, salami, prosciutto, ham, banana peppers and topped it off with the other half slices of provolone cheese.  Like this:

Next just pull the ends of the crescents up over the deli meats and tucked them under. Finally sprinkle a little black pepper over the top and let bake in the oven for 22 minutes at 375 degrees.

And Voila!!!

My friends really enjoyed it.  I was even asked to make one for a housewarming party next month.

I found this dish on Facebook, but you can get the entire recipe here.

Getting Ready

It is Hot! Hot! Hot! out today and I have no plans to venture out whatsoever!

I spent my morning doing routine weekend house chores and once that was done I pulled out my tote of fall decorations.  I must say, sure isn't a lot in there lol. Good thing I hit the Dollar Tree earlier this week.

Originally, decorating wasn't to start until the end of the month, but I will be busy that weekend so up they go next week.  Plus I hear the weather will start to be more comfortable, in the 70's. Perfect for putting up decorations.

You may be wondering why that Christmas tree box is in the photo?  Well this year I'm doing something I've always wanted to do but never got around to doing it.  Decorating a tree for fall.  I first saw the idea on an old HGTV show called Room by Room.  That was one of my favorite programs.  I especially loved their fall and Christmas shows.  So many cute-cute ideas.  I really miss Matt and Shari, sigh!

Then recently I saw several on Pinterest.  I told myself that this year I was putting up an autumn tree.  Matter of fact, I'm putting up two.  A 6ft tree in the dining room and a small 2ft table-top is going in the living room.  Then when it's time to decorate for Christmas, tree is already in position. Just need to switch out the decorations lol.

I guess that's it for today. Next time I post, it will be the results of my labor.

Look What Followed Me Home

On my drive through the counties on Labor Day, I stopped in several Walmarts.  Just looking around for some fall inspiration and picking up a few things I needed at home.  

As I stroll through the garden center area I see all the pretty potted mums. I love mums.  To me, it's a symbol that fall will soon be here.  

 

Along the fence there were more mums sitting on metal shelves with a sign above that said "clearance" so I mosey over to see how much they were on sale for.  I picked up these two beauties for $1.97 ea.  They're big and full and so colorful. Not sure why they are marked clearance because they look just fine to me.  Now tell me!  Do you see anything wrong with these mums? 

This weekend I plan to go back to the Walmart that had these on sale.  I hope there are some left as I want to get two more.  My idea is to place them outside my front door.  Hmmm, I may get four and put two out on the balcony.

Today's Trip to Dollar Tree

Jackpot!!!

Today I decided to go to Dollar Tree, just to see what they might have.  I had been to several Dollar Trees in the last few day but wasn't finding much in fall decor.  In every Dollar Tree I visited, everything was nearly gone. If I were planning to decorate for Halloween or have a Halloween party, I wouldn't have a problem whatsoever as there are isles of decorations, party supplies and costume accessories there.

I really didn't want to have to spend a lot of money at Michael's or AC Moore, so I said I would try one more Dollar Tree. Let me tell you I am so glad I went.  I don't know why but they were just putting out their fall decorations. I found everything I needed and some things I wasn't looking for but wanted.

See the mess all over my dining table?  I cannot wait to start decorating!  I found garland, pumpkins, silk sunflowers and other floral/berry bushes, twig wreaths, acorns, burlap ribbon, glitter leaves, even some small bales of hay.  Oh and these cute owl ornament.

I bought six (Think I will go back to get six more).  These are going on my Autumn tree, an idea I got from Pinterest.

How about these adorable acorn salt and pepper shakers?  Could not believe these were in Dollar Tree (They also had owl salt/pepper shakers). They will go nicely with my table settings.

Even the pumpkins are cute and colorful this year...not just plain old orange.  These are going on the shelf above my television. I'm not sure if I want to cut off the top and fill with flowers or leave them as is.  Still deciding.

Yes!!! I am very happy about today's findings.  When I'm done in here, my little palace is going to look so pretty.  Time to pull out the totes.

Stay tuned!