Dress Up Plates...

One of my favorite things is my dress me up plates from Southern Living...

I have the round one...  Looks boring over there, but you can write on it and add ribbon to it and it becomes awesome...

I have the tiered one...  You can do so much with it...  on the tier or off!

or all Goddy... like this...

TJMax had some dress up plates.  I think I bought them all...  They ranged in price from $3-$7 bucks.  That beat the Southern Living price range of $75 - $100...  And look at how pretty!!

I used them for a Bridal Shower and had plans to resell them... but they are so cool and become so many different things, I am keeping them!!!

They look perfect on a table...  They just dress it up!

   

Hello, I am Home Decor Challenged!!!

My name is Colleen, I am Home Decor Challenged...  What's your problem?

So I have begun the ever painful process of painting the kitchen/family room.  They are attached so it makes it even more painful than just doing the kitchen.  I love a finished product, I just hate the mess you have to make to get there.  It is a lot of blue tape around cabinets and the idea of pulling out appliances to paint behind them makes it more difficult.  Not to mention kids...  How the heck does anyone get anything done with kids around???  Yes, you can put them in front of the TV or make them read...  but that only lasts so long.  Paint can open and you find yourself playing a board game with a bored kid and realize...  Opps, left the open can of paint by the blind dog's dish...  U-huh ='s big mess to clean up!!!

Then there are the three days a week when I have 2 hours to myself, kid-free time.  Some people that work would say, "man you are so lucky you can have ALL that TIME to yourself."  Hey people, two hours is not that much!  Plus with volunteer obligations, you go from six hours a week to two...  Then of course there is the home business to run (but somehow people don't count that)...  Phewwww....  good thing I have a blog to vent on...  Let's get back on track...  Home Decor is what this post is really about...

I wanted to live on the edge and go crazy with color but I came out of the paint store with creams and tans. Truthfully, my colors look awfully similar to what is already on the walls in the two rooms I will repaint.  But, it looks a little dirty and this will clean things up!!!   I am just not brave...  perhaps I will be when I paint my bedroom!  No one sees that!  I suck at home decor.  I admit it, I am home decor challenged.  Give me a computer and I will make you a crazy good lesson plan!  Give me a paint swatches and I go all boring!!  

What's is your area of expertise and your challenged areas???    

Wake up and get to it...

Yes I am in the middle of a dinning room make over.  In fact, every free moment I had this week was spent in my dining room tearing down the wallpaper... 

It took me a week of tearing and scraping and with three hours to myself on Friday, the last part came down.  I estimate that it took about seven hours of work to get the paper down.  I was so hoping to get started painting on Friday; but I was scheduled to volunteer at my son's library...  Duty called and then Friday night came.  I decided to take care of a 4 week cold turned to sinus infection and found myself at the doctors getting antibiotics.  All home improvement stopped till today.  Off to Home Depot and we now have three colors of paint, a new Chandelier, and new fixtures for the outlets.  So have I started painting? NO.  

What have I been doing???  Got the kids to bed and found myself online Christmas Shopping and then I started thinking about cookies I will make for Christmas this year.  I mapped out the cookie baking and my dinning room remains colorless...  However, I have my cookie designs mapped out.   Red Stockings, Green Christmas Trees, and White Snowflake Cut-outs.  I ordered some fancy sugar for toppings, got my stars ordered for my cookie trees, and some sugar crystals for my snowflakes.  The dining room is still all white.  The furniture all pushed into the middle of the room.  A few scraps of wallpaper backing lines the carpet.  I am wondering if my hubby could be bribed to do the painting...  hmmm... what would be a good bribe? 

Maybe if all goes well, in a few weeks I can post a picture of my hard work...  A picture of the dinning room that is! 

Hey, love this book if you need sugar cookie ideas:

I Want To See Your Fall Decor...

I am a snoop... I love shows like House Hunter (on TLC). Similarly, I like to look on house listing sights. No, I am not looking for a new house, I just like looking to see how other people decorate... I will admit that when I walk my dog at night I like to look in lit-up windows to see how people decorate. I am not a great decorator by any means. My husband calls our house a little bit of french, some modern, and some country. I am probably more confused then anything. One thing I do like is quotes, pictures, the colors red and green. I try to base my decorations around those things.

I love the blogging world for all it has to offer... Especially when people post pictures of the inside of their home. My girlfriend Rebecca (who is gifted in the area of decorating) shares her fall decor on her site. I love the scarf on her mantel. She got it from Lillian Vernon. I want one. Before I knew where she got it, I went out looking for something similar and unfortunately, never found it... so I settled for this black thing with lights instead.

If you like snooping at others homes and love Fall decorations, hop over to Tip Junkie's Tour of Fall Homes. You can share your home too!

In 2008, I shared this. Here is my home all ready for Fall 09. Welcome, come on in... I love mums!

This is my entrance way. You can see a little bit of Fall and Halloween here and there.

And my Kitchen Island. Here's me being creative with fall leaves on my server.

My dining room with the spider web on the chandelier... kids love that! Then my fave pumpkin on the table.

Don't forget to get your kids decorating too... You know how I love perler beads. My kids made Halloween shaped sun catchers with Perler beads. Aren't they cute?

Have a wonderful Fall!

How do you decorate for the fall?

Talk to Me Tuesday at Tip Junkie was all about how you decorate for the fall It was so fun looking through other homes. I got some ideas for next year. My favorite were:

http://3beekmanplaceapartment.blogspot.com/2008/10/dear-martha-stewart.html
She shows you how to make a larger than life shadow witch... Note to self: try next year!

http://mattandkatiebrendel.blogspot.com/2008/10/politically-correct.html

This is funny & is great for this calendar year!

http://blackeyedsue.blogspot.com/2008/10/favorite-season-favorite-holiday.html She has the wire pumpkin I should have gotten when I saw them on 40% off at Target!

http://dawnscakes.blogspot.com/2008/10/come-sit-for-spell.html
Cute!

Do you feel inspired now... I do!

10 Faves at My House

One of my favorite blogs, Tip Junkie is running a 10 favorite things in your house challenge... I thought I would participate since I already have most of my fave things on my computer. So here goes in random order...

#1. My Southern Living Two Tier Tray!!! I LOVE THIS and use it all the time. It cost a lot for my standards, but I get so much use out of it. Here you see it all dolled up for a cookie exchange a few years ago. I keep it out in my kitchen on the island all the time. It has held many a cupcake, appetizer, and cookie.

#2. My Sons Big Boy Room. I did the stenciling myself and my husband and I painted it and painted on the mock border. It has sports quotes all around it. Red Sox Nation, It's a Great Day for Hockey, Go Navy Beat Army, How about some football! When we bought this house, the room was HOT pink.

#3. The Baby Room. I always wanted a storybook theme since I love Children's Literature and I came up with the idea of having various scenes from my favorite children's books throughout the room with the famous Dr. Seuss quote above the crib reading; "The more that you read,the more you will know,The more you learn,the more places you'll go." If you want to see more of the room, I have the pictures here.

#4. The painting of Mt. Rainer

The only REAL art we own.

This just reminds me of a time in my life when life was simple and times were all fun & almost carefree. My husband and I spent our first few years of marriage in beautiful Washington State while he was stationed on a Submarine out of Bangor. We spent many weekends hiking this grand mountain. I also could see Rainier clearly from the school I worked at. When we left the west coast we knew we wanted something special to remind us of our life in Seattle. This is the gift we got at a going away present from the other Officers on the boat. I will often get lost looking at it a remembering where we started our marriage and how far we have come. Someday we both hope to share beautiful Seattle with our children. It was good to us and a wonderful place to start our life together.

#5. My favorite chair and MY Laptop with one of my children (Teaching Heart) displayed on the laptop.

#6. The Old Irish Pub Sign I bought my hubby. Funny, we hardly ever use the bar for what it is for. I think we have had like three parties down there in the six years we have lived here. Still the sign is so cute & IRISH like us!!!

#7. My Tassimo - It's like my own Starbucks in my house!!!! If you don't have one... you are missing out!

#8. My shelves in the playroom. All neat and clearly marked. I love seeing organized things and just looking at how every toy has a place makes my heart happy.

#9. My Linen Closet - Sometimes I keep the door open just so I can see how neat it is. I love containers and how they make a closet look clean and keep it organized. It's just makes life easier. Sorry, I am a bit of a dork, I know!!!

#10. My entrance way. I love walking into my home and getting that feeling of this is mine and this is where I belong. This is the first thing I see when I walk into my house. There is no place like MY home!!!

If you made it this far.... thanks! I would love to see your favorite 10 things in your home. Hop over to Tip Junkie and post your blog!