Happy Thanksgiving…

The Secret to Dried Hydrangeas…

 

 

Yes, I know the secret…and I am going to share it with you! Here it is…

 

 

Put your beautiful bunch of hydrangeas into a vase with just enough water to cover the stems.
Then...let the water evaporate!

That’s it!

 

 

By allowing the water to slowly evaporate on its own, the cut hydrangeas dry perfectly. Every time!

 

 

 

 

 

I am giving my friend Lynelle the credit for this clever tip…and the credit for these beautiful blooms from her yard.

Thanks Lynelle!

 

 

 

 

October Chalk Art…

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday I finally changed my chalk board canvas to something a little more festive…

 

 

Witches, broomsticks and a little Hocus Pocus seemed fitting for the season!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As always, I just freehand my drawings and doodles. Sometimes I will browse my Pinterest board titled Chalk Art…see it here…for inspiration and ideas. My Halloween chalk art from a couple of years ago is one of my most popular pins!

 

 

 

 

See how I made my chalk board in this post. It is the perfect place to add a festive touch to my family room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life is a beautiful ride…

And so is my new Electra Cruiser!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have been wanting a new bike, and specifically a cruiser, for a long time now…so what better time than your birthday?! I spent a few minutes browsing thru Pinterest and fell in love with some of the beautiful photos of bicycles…

 

 

 

via

 

 

source?

 

 

via

 

 

I visited our local bike shop and picked out an Electra Cruiser 7D. This classic beach cruiser style comes with 7 gears and hand brakes. Perfect for cruising around town and to the market.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love the vintage styling and quality of the Electra brand bicycles. I was able to select a favorite color…Seafoam Green..and a few custom pieces like the  brown seat, grips, basket, and  white fenders…

 

 

 

 

 

I stopped by Trader Joe’s on the ride home and picked up some pretty fall Sunflowers…and just could not resist taking a few stylish photos of her…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I named her Genevieve. She is classic with just a touch of pizzazz on her handlebar bell…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Riding to the Farmer’s Market will be extra fun on Saturday mornings! Life is a beautiful ride…especially on a classic cruiser named Genevieve!

 

 



 

Happy Fall!

 

 

 



 



 

 

My (non-fall) house tour…

The title of this post is due to the fact that most all of my favorite bloggers are sharing their beautiful homes decorated for fall. I have not yet put out any fall touches…just some fun party décor!

via Instagram

 

 

For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you know that I have been decorating for my birthday/open house party! Since we were under construction pretty much all summer, I decided to throw a big party to celebrate my new decade…and our new kitchen!

 

Here is my party chalk art…

 

 

 

 

 

I was so happy to get my chalkboard canvas back up on the wall. I love having a prominent place to doodle and create.

 

Lets start the tour at the front door. We replaced our double front doors to add a larger single door with side lights.

 

 

 

 

 

After…

 

 

 

Door color ~ Sherwin Williams /  #7624 Slate Tile

 

 

 

The old door had 2 very small obscure glass windows that left our entry rather dark. The new door is 42” wide and fit perfectly in the space after removing the old 36” double doors. We found that we rarely opened and used the double door opening…maybe twice a year…once at Christmas to move in a tree, and if I bought a new large piece of furniture. The wider single door will now accommodate those two occasions…and lets in much needed light to our entry way.

The entry hall…

Ceiling Light ~ Overstock

 

 

We repainted the entry wall white which also helps lighten the space. I added a pretty new ceiling fixture with a few crystals that bounce the light around in a fun way.

The living room…

 

 

 

 

 

 

View into the new kitchen dining area…

 

 

 

 

 

Note that I still need to finish painting my Craig’s List chairs white…add it to the list!


The family room with the new mantel. I have been wanting to hang a mantel on this fireplace forever. When we were shopping for reclaimed wood at Heritage Salvage, I found this beam that I knew would work perfect! It is a solid redwood beam once used at Rodney Strong winery to hold wine barrels…cool! Our friend Steve came over the night before the party and hung it, as is, in about 10 minutes. I did not even sand or refinish it at all…I like its rustic and natural style…

 

Thanks Steve!

 

 

Here is a little peek at our back sun room…

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m pretty sure I have never shown this room before. It was an addition to our house, built by a previous owner. I love the all the windows and the french doors that open onto the back yard…

 

 

 

The yard, all dressed up and ready to party…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am happy to report that the new kitchen is done and ready to work in! Steve’s son Aaron is a talented chef and he prepared some delicious food!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Such a fun day spent with family and friends. I was so happy to open up our home after a long summer of the dust and disarray of remodeling.  I will be enjoying this festive décor for a few more days…then I will be ready to add some fall touches.

 

 

 

 

Happy Friday!

 

 

 

 

Hand Painted Sign…Cheers!

While it seems that most everyone else in blogland is decorating for fall these days, I am currently decorating for a party!

Today is my birthday! And tomorrow we are having an open house/birthday party to celebrate my new decade and our new kitchen.

Yes, I know I have not shared final photos of our new kitchen, but I have been so busy cleaning and prepping for the party I have not had time. Not only does the inside of the house need to be cleaned and decorated…so does the backyard. I set up a bar area in our outside cabana the other night and shared a photo on my Instagram…

via Instagram

 

 

I love the way it is looking out there! I hung an empty frame that I had sitting in the garage to cozy up the space…

 

 

 

 

 

I plan to add some colorful paper banners, but I also wanted to add the word Cheers to this bar area, so I came up with an idea today to add a hand painted wood sign.

 

 

 

Perfect!

 

 

This simple sign took less than 2 hours to make. Follow these steps and tips to create your own hand painted wood sign!

 

First, I went on my computer and found a font I (sort of) liked…

 

 

 

 

 

This is Papyrus which I like, but I wanted the letters to be a bit beefier so I penciled them in. I already had some old barn wood pieces so I selected one in just the right size.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used this clever trick to transfer the letters onto the board…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just rub a piece of white chalk all over the back of your paper, place it chalk side down on your board and trace the outline of each letter. Lift your paper and you now have the perfect outline of each letter to fill in with paint…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can retrace your chalk letters to make them easier to see if needed. Follow this tip,  that I shared in a past post to sharpen your chalk…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, I filled in each letter with some white craft paint…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simple…and oh so cute!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I added a couple of hooks and hung it inside of my empty frame with some twine…

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am looking forward to celebrating with family and friends this weekend. You can find me here on Saturday night…

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers!

 

 

 

 

Sharing at ~ The Shabby Nest, Serenity Now, Glitter Glue & Paint,