Fall / Halloween Decorating

I don't know about you, but I love this time of the year!  The weather is absolutely beautiful here in North Georgia.  We have actually had our A/C off for over a week now with our windows open.  The breeze feels great in the evenings coming through our windows and the fresh air throughout the house just makes you feel good. 

I have been in the fall decorating mood for a couple of weeks now, but have been pushing it back thinking it was a little too early.  So now that autumn has officially begun back on September 22nd, it is safe to say that decorating is running through my veins.  

I finally got all the decorating done today so now I get to enjoy it and I know Cody does too, he just might not admit it.

There's not a weekend that goes by that Cody is not watching Nascar.

I grabbed some acorns out of the yard.  If you do this, make sure you bake them.  It kills the bugs.  Thank goodness I was telling mom what I had in mind because I had no idea.  The acorns were free and the other vase was super cheap to fill.  The peas and beans were around $1 and the popcorn I think $1.50.  The most expensive things were the candles at $3 so these are definitely some inexpensive ways to spruce up your mantle depending on the season.

 I found the white pumpkin at Michael's and used vinyl as my template for the B and painted it on.  The polka dots are just vinyl.

 

I found these frames at Ikea and spray painted them, added scrap book paper and added the vinyl in a Halloween font.

So awhile back, mom made me buy this glass jar just because it was $0.25.  I had no idea what I was going to do with it at the time, but it is perfect for this display!

The above pieces came from mom and dad's house a few years ago.  I bought some spray paint to touch them up and now they are like new again.

 This is what we get to look at when we come upstairs every day!  I hate clutter so a little goes a long way. 

Now that I have got this taken care of, I will get to enjoy all the festivals that are coming up in October.  It's going to be busy month!

Braves Game

Friday night my grandma and I went to the Braves game; however, this was not just any ordinary Braves game.  Friday night was Chipper Jones retirement night ceremony before the game.  The game was sold out with standing room only tickets for sale.  I have never been to the Braves stadium and seen how many people were sitting in the nose bleed section.  

Here are some pictures to sum up our night.

         

Even though they lost 3-1, we still had a great time!

New Art for the Bedroom

This past weekend I did a little antique and thrift store shopping in Jasper.  There may not be a whole lot of stuff to do around Jasper, but there are plenty of antique and thrift stores to keep you busy for an afternoon.  I didn't really have a plan or anything in mind that I was looking for, but you really can't when doing this kind of shopping because you never know what you are going to come across.  

I actually started my hunt Friday night after work.  A new thrift store just opened up so I had to check it out.  I came across an 8 x 10 frame for only $2.99.  You can never have enough picture frames and spray paint works like magic.  By the time Saturday afternoon rolled around, I had found a few good items and had the perfect project in mind.

Sunday morning Cody and I ran into Canton so we stopped by Michael's for one quick second to pick up some scrap book paper for my project.  It had to be record timing for me in Michael's.  I went straight down the aisle I needed and there it was, the perfect sheet of scrap book paper for my project.  That never happens!

So here are my supplies.  I didn't take a picture of the frame or keys before spray painting them.

Oh and those keys, $2.95 for both of them.  There was only a price tag on one of the keys so the lady was like, I guess that's what she gets for not making sure the price stickers are on good.  Jack pot, works for me!  And the scrap book paper, $0.21.

Right now, we have no decorations in the master bedroom.  It's really been a last priority on my list.  Most visitors are going to see your kitchen, dining room, living room and guest bathroom so those have been my main focus the last 3 years.  However, right before Cody moved in, my dad and I (okay, well mostly my dad), painted the master bedroom and I had bought a new comforter set for the bed.  New paint, new comforter, no decorations = awesome!

So here is our first piece of art that I made from my thrift store shopping finds.  I couldn't be more pleased with the way it turned out.  
 

 

I actually glued the keys to the glass with E-6000.  That has to be the best glue ever.  It works on anything.  Then the lettering is brown vinyl.  I just love cheap DIY projects! 

Back to Organizing

Who said Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest?  Clearly that is not the case in today's society.  It seems like every weekend something is going on so there is not much resting going on.  However, this past weekend, I was able to get out and have a little me time shopping around Canton.  

After hitting up Kohls, Target and Best Buy, I decided to take a look around the new Dollar Tree that just opened up.  It was extremely clean inside, but it has to be the smallest Dollar Tree ever.

However, I did find this and knew exactly what I needed it for.

 I'll give you a little hint.  Last Christmas, Cody and I decided to get ourselves this little bad boy.

We absolutely love our Keurig.  While I am not a big coffee drinker, there are plenty of other options for me.  So I hate the boxes that the K-cups come in.  They take up too much room in the cabinet and are ugly.  Plus I am too cheap to buy the actual thing that holds the K-cups so I decided to use the handy dandy Cricut to come up with this.

   

It fits perfectly in the cabinet and takes up much less space.  I already had the vinyl on hand so this project only cost me $1 plus tax.  If you are wondering, the font is Jenna Sue.  It is free on Dafont.  I am really loving this handwritten font right now.  

Oh and we normally don't have this many K-cups on hand at a time because let's face it, they ain't cheap.  It just happened to work out that a co-worker and her husband didn't like the hot chocolate so she gave me 3 boxes.

Now we are just waiting on the cooler weather so we can enjoy all this hot chocolate! 

Say Goodbye to the Acura

Melissa came home for the weekend from Chattanooga Friday night.  While it's only an hour and a half away, getting here more often is a little difficult with her busy schedule.  Unfortunately, we didn't let her rest much while she was here, especially yesterday.

She has had her Acura for 6 or 7 years and loves that car; however, it had almost 300,000 miles on it and things were starting to get costly to repair.  Yes, you read that right the first time - 300,000!  It still rides smooth, just a little loud. 

So yesterday, Sarah, Melissa and I hopped in the car and headed out to look for a new car.  

This is where we started - Cherokee Toyota.

However, we did not leave or make it any where else to look at cars.  Luckily, we did not have a pushy salesman, but everything is just a waiting process.  Now I know why this is at the bottom of people's list of things to do that is fun, wait, wait and wait some more.  

It was love at first sight.  She found a 2011 Corolla S with only 9,000 miles on it.  At her rate, she still has 291,000 to go!

 

The day was long, but worth it in the end.  Now we know she will be able to make it back to Chattanooga safe and sound without the worry of breaking down.  

It was hard for her to part with her Acura, but so worth it.  

I guess Judd didn't want to part with it either.

  This little stinker was sitting here while she cleaned it out before we went back to finalize all the paperwork.

Congrats on your first big purchase and enjoy!

It's Time for a Family Gathering

Yesterday was Cody's family reunion at Amicalola Falls on his nanny's side of the family.  It is always the same time and place every year, the second Sunday in September.  And yesterday, we could not have asked for any better weather.  It was gorgeous and definitely started to feel like fall.

We always play at least one game of horseshoes while we are there.  This year I let Michael play against Cody so Cody could win for once!  Haha!!!  Who am I trying to kid?  I can barely make it to the other end!

Left to right: Savannah and Cody's cousin, Hannah

Of course, he hates taking pictures and we decide to sit right in the sun for some great light, not!

 Cody's Nanny

 

Cody's Nanny and Sister, Hope

Zach and Brook's Triplets - It's hard to believe they are going to be 5 in December.

We had a lot of fun yesterday at the family reunion.  Great family time, food and weather.  Couldn't ask for much more.  Needless to say, it was a great day for a Sunday afternoon nap when we got home.

What I Love About Sundays

I have a love, hate relationship with Sundays.  It's the last day you have of freedom before you have to go to work on Monday.  However, it's the best rest day of the week.  While I am laying around watching Lifetime movies, Cody is watching Nascar or something on Sports Center.  It's the day to lay around and do nothing and not worry about a thing. 

I can remember growing up, Sunday was the day that you had that great meal for dinner.  One of those dinners that took all day cook, but was so worth it.  Today is one of those days for us.  With fall is just around the corner, homemade vegetable soup has been on my mind.  Even though it is still a little hot outside, I couldn't wait any longer to make this.

And this is how it all started...

Only a few more hours of this simmering and we will be able to enjoy our homemade vegetable soup.  Let's just see if I can keep Cody out of the kitchen.  It's going to be real hard because it is making our entire house smell delicious!

  

I made a big enough pot that this should last us through most of the winter.  We will be able to have it for a couple of days and then freeze it so we will be able to get several meals out of it.  While it may take all day to get this cooked, it is so worth it in the end.  

 

With Labor Day tomorrow, one more day of rest.  We are so thankful for our 3 day weekend.  I hope you have enjoyed your Labor Day weekend like we have.