Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Preparing for Bad Weather

Since I have all of the major things covered for being prepared in the chance of a hurricane, I was thinking about other things that aren’t so related to cautiousness that comes with a storm. As I peered out my living room {the one we use}, I saw the lone pair of hydrangeas that have just bloomed.

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Since we have been here this month, the hydrangea plants have not produced as well as I would have hoped. I’m aware that the heat is not their friend though. If you don’t know me that well, I adore hydrangeas in all colors, and we actually have a yard with a decent amount of hydrangea bushes. My ultimate dream would be to have bushes in all colors, but I’m not in tune with all of the soil ph and alkalinity or whatever it is that controls that.

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Long story short, I ventured out into the backyard and saved my hydrangea blooms from the wind, rain, and whatever else that we’re going to get tonight and tomorrow. I should at least have one pretty thing left from our yard {especially since it is lacking a good bit in the organized landscaping department}.

School is out tomorrow, which means we’ll be making up a day during our already limited holidays {the day before Thanksgiving}. While I don’t wish terrible weather on us, it better not be all sunshine and roses tomorrow since we have now lost an off day in a particularly needed time. I pray that all in our area remain safe and sound though. I certainly don’t want to see damaging winds or anything of the sort.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Fall is in the air?

When school starts back and football games begin to be announced for their upcoming arrival, I immediately start thinking that it is time to break out the fall décor. When is it finally ok to put the leafy wreathes on the door and start burning all of my warm and toasty scents in the Scentsy? I’m about to bust to put it all out and go raid the stores for even more stuff. I’m trying to hold back until September 1st, but it is taking every bone in my body to hold me back. It seriously doesn’t help my case that the stores have it all out now. FYI {Stores rack up when I walk in the door during the month of August….school supplies and fall décor….oh, dear!}

Since I haven’t actually put any of my seasonal items up for fall, I figured I would share with you some photos that I found on Pinterest {yes…again}. It’s the top ten reasons that I really love fall….and I’m sure I’m going to forget some things. It might be an ongoing list.

{One}

Jeans, boots, sweaters, scarves…those are my favorite things to wear. I swear I sometimes wish I could move somewhere in which I could practically where these items all the time.

fall wardrobe

{Two}

S’mores….dear heavens! I can taste the things in my mouth now. Now that I have a fire pit at the house now, I think I’ll be cooking me up some on a nice, cool night.

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{Three}

Football…college or high school. I’ll take either really. I’m more a college football kind of gal, but the occasional appearance at a high school game doesn’t hurt. I actually adore the sounds and smells that come with attending one. College football is exciting to me though, too. We’re not the tailgating at the game type {not that there’s anything wrong with it}, but we do love to watch a game at the house. I’m hoping that this year we can even have a few friends over to watch the games with us.

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{Four}

Fall scents….anything warm and cozy. I have been saving up my scents of mochadoodle and pecan praline. When I open my scentsy basket, all of those scents combined exit into the air, and it makes a heavenly smell.

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{Five}

A cozy fire. For the first time, Colby and I actually have a fireplace and a place to put our wood inside the house. I am dying for it to be filled to the brim with wood and to hear a crackling fire as I relax on the couch.

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{Six}

The changing of colors and a nice breeze. When fall is really in the air, the leaves will slowly but surely begin to change and the wind will so gently blow them to the ground. That breeze is one of the best feelings in the world to me. I could sit outside in the afternoons for hours just soaking up the atmosphere. I have already spotted a few color changes here and there. So, do  I have permission to throw up the fall decorations yet?

fall leaves

{Seven}

Everything to do with pumpkins! I have a gigantic front porch and a lovely back porch that I’m ecstatic about. I can see pumpkins and mums and all of the rest on it this year. It might not actually become reality because of the moo-lah that is involved with such, but I’m willing to give it a good shot. Going to the pumpkin patch and carving pumpkins are some of the best memories you can make. It takes you away from the hustle and bustle that can really come with all that happens during the fall season.

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{Eight}

Hay rides and harvest festivals, oh my! I have even made a Pinterest board {surprise, surprise} for such things. I’ve heard talk around church about a possible harvest festival, so I’m trying to get up some new and creative games for it. Every year we have a hay ride through the fields behind our church, and it is so peaceful to be curled up in a blanket {another love of fall} beside the one I love and gaze at the stars with all of those who are dear to me as well.

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{Nine}

Trick or treating! Last year was the first year that we had trick-or-treaters, and Colby was more entertained by my excitement of little ones showing up in the costumes than the kids themselves. It’s a sight to behold. Since I’m on a budget, I’m going to try to find a cost-efficient way to have some trick-or-treaters this year without breaking the bank.

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{Ten}

Hunting season….actually yes! Praise the Lord that I am finally going to be free to do as I please this year and won’t be tied down with school {in a degree seeking way anyway}. While I don’t love the mess that sometimes comes with it, I do love the way Colby smells after going hunting and seeing his excitement after killing “the big one” thrills me just as much. It will be nice to spend some time at the cabin here and there on the weekends and just break away from reality. If you teach second grade Reading Street, you will understand this next statement. I love a rural area! For all of you who are not teachers of the second grade, ‘rural’ was one of our amazing words this week.

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That’s my top ten list of why I love fall, y’all! I know you have your own things that just make you desire this time of year to hurry up and arrive just like I do. What did I miss? Any suggestions of things I should try and do this year to celebrate this amazingly wonderful season that our Lord created?

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Mantel Love!

Now that we’re in this new house, I have something new that I have been dying to have. When we were at the old house, I didn’t know how long we were going to live there. Even though we didn’t have kids and still don’t, I still wondered how I would explain Santa Claus coming through the front door and not through the chimney to my poor innocent children. Luckily, we have now solved that problem for our non-existent children and now have not one but two chimneys for ole Saint Nicholas to come down.

With those two mantels comes my favorite part, and that is the decorating part. One is in our den, and the other one is in our living room the living room with no furniture, but I am still dreaming up what all I want to do with it in general. With a plan, I can scope out the stores for some awesome buys for the cheap. With that being said, I will still plan to change it out for the holidays.

I shopped Pinterest for some inspirational photos once again and created myself a new board just for that.

mantel 1

You have probably already spotted what I love what this photo. Hello, white! Topping it off with baskets and small touch of color through flowers is right up my alley. The framed out chalkboard doesn’t hurt either. Simple but beautiful. This might be more for our den mantel though than our living room. I feel sure I could make it work in either though.

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Simple and easy. Greenery with some gorgeous containers to hold them….all with interesting shapes and a gold mirror. Classic.

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I like this because of the layered look….something I definitely need to work on. The good news is that there is no right or wrong. You just have to scoot things around until it all looks balanced and makes sense.

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Another lovely combination of old and new, green and white.

Are any of these appealing to you? I think I could find things from all of them to incorporate into a mantel arrangement all my own. I seriously get way too excited about details when I don’t even have furniture in there. Now if I can just get my piano moved from my grandmothers, that would at least put one thing in there.

Well, tomorrow is day three of school. So far, so good! I have a great class this year! The bad news is that I’m pretty exhausted from it all. I’m sure I’ll be pooped by the weekend. Happy Hump Day!

P.S. The husband hung my curtains up {and rods} yesterday. God love him! He’s been a sport through it all. Pictures to come!

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Just Another Day on the Job

Every year the Poarch Creek Fire Department that Colby works for invites all of the families of its employees to enjoy a day of fun in the sun and good eating. This year did not disappoint as the food was just as terrific as always, and the kids were consistently entertained by the giant water slide. Since I didn’t want to scare anyone away from the gathering, I decided to bow out of the bathing suit required water slide and instead opted for the ride in the ladder truck.

I have always wanted to go up in it, and I have had many opportunities but decided against it multiple times for various reasons. I almost backed out of it this time except that my dear husband made it priority when we first arrived before everyone got there. Ya’ll it was so fun!!! And, he didn’t even take me all the way up!

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I wasn’t exactly thrilled about having to put on all of the gear, but I suppose it added to the experience. I was just a like a kid in my class on career day. I was fascinated by all of the gadgets and such. I apparently wasn’t the only one who was just as curious about going up in the ladder truck because one of the other fellow fireman’s girlfriend wanted to go as well.

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And then, it was time for the ride up. You could see both prisons from where we ended up.

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The kids had their own fun going up in the ladder truck as well. My friends, Kate and Spencer, brought along one of their friends’ kid since he adores fire trucks. I’m not sure how he felt about going up in one though.

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Colby and I are so grateful for the life that we can now have because of being employed by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. They have been wonderful to us, and we hope to have many more years of employment here. They are the reason we were able to even move. The Lord has blessed us in so many ways, and this job is one of those many blessings.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Paint {and how to paint} or not to paint?

So, how do you all like the house? Did you notice a trend in all of the before photos? Some form of gold or yellow everywhere! I’m not opposed to people painting their walls that, but if you have viewed my pins on Pinterest then you know that I love light and airy….and white! Sorry, Mom! I do love that white! And not just any white! I love bright white….like Benjamin Moore White Diamond kind of white. Just like the white trim, I want to paint our built in cabinets in the den to match.

Of course, like any man would, my husband loves the cabinets just they way they are, and he would prefer to just leave them alone. Plus, it is something else he sees himself having to paint. To be quite honest, I don’t blame him at all because painting is better in theory than in the actual act of doing it.

So, here’s the question….do I paint the cabinets or leave them alone? Or, the better question is how do I paint the cabinets? I am loving cabinets that are painted mainly one color but have the back of the cabinets painted a different color. Do you agree? Does it give it that little extra pop of character? What do you think? Weigh in on what you think. These are some inspirational photos that I found on Pinterest, and they are pinned on my ‘The Living Area’ board. The background colors of these are not exactly my choice on a few, but it gives you the idea.

Let’s start off with white on white….

Built in Cabinet 7

Built in Cabinet 3

And now for white and a color background…

Built in Cabinet 1

Built in Cabinet 2

Built in Cabinet 4

Built in Cabinet 5

Built in Cabinet 6

And our current cabinet in its current state of plain old stained wood….

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So, what do you think? Comment and let me know what you think I should do!

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Our House…..before we moved in!

Many of you have been asking me to post pictures of our house, but I’m not quite ready to post pictures of the house in its current state. As of today, it is probably as close to normal as possible. There are only a few boxes still hanging around. As of today, I organized our dining room and made the china cabinet all pretty. Just like the old house, I have a ton of future projects for this house, but I think in my future list of things to do, it will be more painting and material objects.

We are loving living in our new house! I honestly can say that I do not miss our old house at all. Since I had started packing the house up before we officially moved, it was beginning to feel less and less like home. Now, we are all cozy in this house, and it is like we haven’t missed a beat. Plus, you know I love a good project, and buying this house really gave me something to do after finishing up my Master’s degree and decorating my classroom.

Phew! It has been one busy summer. I finished my school, gave my classroom a complete makeover, and moved to the other side of town. Since {work} school is beginning back this week, I think the only thing I’ll miss about living in the old house is my two minute drive to work.

Enough about me though….let’s get on to the house. These are the photos I made the day we walked through the house. I was in a bit of a hurry to snap some photos, so they are really not the best quality, but it will give you the idea of how the house appeared until August  1st when we began the painting and moving in.

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The foyer

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The kitchen

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The breakfast room

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The lovely brick den

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The Hall to the Laundry Room

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The Dining Room

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The Living Room

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Bedroom One

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Bedroom Two

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Guest Bathroom

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Master Bedroom

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Master Bath- One

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Master Bath- Two

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Master Closet

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The Backyard

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So far, paint has met almost every surface, and you all know that my taste in furniture is a good bit different than what was in here before. It has certainly changed in looks. I’ll be sharing bits and pieces in the weeks to come {as I have time}. I can’t wait for you all to see what we’ve done.