Fall in the Hall

(Thank you to A Stroll Thru Life for featuring this post!)

Hello, everyone!  Hope you're enjoying a great weekend!

I've got another fall vignette to show you.  I always keep my seasonal decor pretty simple, so I just added some small fall touches to the hallway. (To see this area before, go here.)

I found these little twig pumpkins at an antique show last weekend, and the burlap one came from TJ Maxx.
I gathered them in an old market basket, and added the .75 price tag.

About a week ago Keith took me to a charming little town about an hour from us.  This fall arrangement in one of the shops immediately captured my heart...metal bucket? great rusty patina? wheat bundle?  Sold!

I grouped them together on the rustic shelving unit that's in the hall.

I just found this adorable sign at the shop next door to our shop.  I love it's rustic simplicity.  I hung it inside the chippy frame.

The giant clippers and no. 4 tin were already hanging on the wall-I just left them as is.

The bottom 2 shelves hold my banana crate and my 'Hams and Bacon' bin-2 of my favorite finds!

So there you have it...

A super simple fall vignette...

...added to the hallway.

Thanks for stopping by...have a wonderful day!

I'm sharing at these great blogs:  i should be mopping the floor
                                                Creative Home Expressions
                                                Dwellings (Amaze Me Monday)
                                                Cozy Little House
                                                A Stroll Thru Life
                                                Coastal Charm
                                                Knick of Time
                                                Ivy and Elephants
                                                We Call It Junkin
                                                Timewashed
                                                Have a Daily Cup of Mrs.Olsen
                                                From My Front Porch To Yours
                                                Common Ground

Saturday Spotlight: Sherry from No Minimalist Here

Hi, everyone!  Myself and (Kris) Junk Chic Cottage wanted to do a regular feature on our blogs, something unique that hasn't been
 done before.   So we came up with an idea to 'spotlight the real life behind the blogger' in a more personal way.

There is so much talent and inspiration in blogland, and we thought it would be fun to bring you a closer look at the person behind the blog.

Every week on Saturday we will spotlight a blogger and have them tell us a little bit about themselves and their blogs.  You will be able to see and read about each of the bloggers on both Kris's and my blog. 

It's an honor to have Sherry from No Minimalist Here as my guest today!  Sherry's blog was one of the first that I started following when I discovered decor blogs.  I mean, her blog name alone had me hooked! :)
She has stunningly gorgeous style (her home pics are magazine-worthy!), a very successful blog, and hosts a weekly linky party.  Please sit back, relax, and enjoy getting to know Sherry better!

Hi everyone!

I am Sherry and I write the blog  No Minimalist Here.

  I am honored and excited to be included in Saturday Spotlight and a big thanks to Susan for inviting me.  

My husband and I recently sold our home in Virginia and moved to Florida to help take care of my 87 year old dad.  We are in the process of looking for a new home that works for the three of us.  Being a caregiver for an elderly parent has been challenging but I wouldn't trade this time for anything! 

My husband is the kindest and sweetest man that ever walked this earth and he has been my rock so many times in the last thirty three years.  His love and support during this difficult period has been amazing and I am so thankful to have this extraordinary man as my husband.

Below are pictures of our previous home.  I hope to be showing you photos of a new home very soon.

   

If a Designer walked into our house they would probably freak out.   You won't find any one style, but a mix of different styles that are a little "all over the  place".   Charles  Faudree is my favorite designer and I love the French  Country style, but I equally love coastal design.  Italian pottery is also a passion of mine and I adore transferware.

 Steve and I love to travel and we have been to some amazing places.   Our travels have greatly influenced my decorating style.  Instead of t-shirts or other souvenirs I always bring back a small painting or nice decorative piece for our home.

  

Decorating has been a passion for me as long as I can remember.  As a child I would constantly rearrange the furniture in our home, and the homes of my friends and family.
By age seven I was drawing floor plans, designing furniture and fabrics.  I would take my mother's fabric remnants and paint designs on them and she would make pillows for my room. 

This antique Olive Pot was one of my favorite finds.  It was an auction find and cost me $25.00!  A few days later I saw a similar pot at an antique shop for $325.

My favorite room in our previous house was the Morning Room.  This room is off the kitchen and I loved all the windows and light.

 My blog,  No Minimalist Here  is all about decorating on a budget and I strongly believe you can have a beautiful home without breaking the bank.

I hope you will drop by for a visit and follow along as I decorate our (soon to be) new home.

Susan,  thanks so much for the feature! 

Sherry, thank you so much for sharing with us!  Please visit her blog No Minimalist Here, then hop over to Kris's blog to read about Marty from A Stroll Thru Life.

Got The Blues: Part 3

Hi, everyone!  I hope you're enjoying your weekend!
Are you tired of seeing my little blue room yet?  I hope not!  Don't worry, this is the last installment!
(For a recap of what I've shown so far go here and here.)

As I said before, this room is tiny but I've sure managed to fit a lot into it!

I found this little rusty stool at the flea market recently.  I thought it would make a cute stand next to the comfy chair to hold a drink while I'm reading. I love that it has a little shelf on the bottom!  I got the doily at an antique store a couple weeks ago.  I haven't seen many blue ones (unless I just never noticed before!)

The biggest change (or shock) to my decor is that I actually bought a BLUE piece of furniture! (Gasp!)

I knew I wanted some kind of hidden storage for all of my supplies, magazines, etc. in here.  When I saw this cupboard a few weeks ago, I thought it would be ideal, but wondered if I should take the plunge and really go BLUE.

I mean accessories are one thing, but a piece of furniture is quite a commitment! ;)
But at the perfect size and price, I figured that it could always be painted when if I get tired of the blue.
It's not perfect-the doors don't shut completely and the knobs definitely need changed-but
for now it's perfect for me, and I'm content with it.

On the top I displayed a crock that I just bought, an enamel pitcher of faux lavender that I had, and the fantastic NO. 3 basket that my friend Kris from Junk Chic Cottage sent me last month to cheer me up after we lost our kitty Cole. (So sweet!)

I've been collecting blue and white linens here and there to stack in the basket.  I like the 'farmhouse vibe' that they give.

I brought this enamel table (notice the cool blue rim!) home from our shop to use as a desk, and I recently found the wooden chair at another shop.  I can't believe that they both have almost the exact same chippy white paint with touches of green!  They were meant to be together.  :)

On top of the desk I placed a great cubby unit (also from Kris)...

...filled with some of my favorite fun and functional things...

...along with a chippy shutter, a bundle of lavender, a vintage first aid kit, a piece of pottery filled with scissors, and a lamp.

It's all set to inspire me to create!

Here's a wider view, including the chair...

Since I use this room for relaxing and creating, I tried to maximize the small, awkward-shaped space
by filling it with things that are not only functional, but that give me a happy, peaceful feeling!
I try to do that in all my spaces; however, this was a little different since I was playing around with color, specifically one that I've never used before.

So...what do you think of my 'blue experiment'?

I can't say how long it will stay this way...but for now I'm really enjoying the change!

Thank you so much for stopping by!  Have a wonderful day :)

I'm linking to these great blogs:    Creative Home Expressions
                                                  i should be mopping the floor
                                                  Dwellings
                                                  The Dedicated House
                                                  White Lace Cottage (The Scoop)
                                                  A Stroll Thru Life
                                                  Coastal Charm
                                                  Knick of Time
                                                  Savvy Southern Style
                                                  No Minimalist Here
                                                  Ivy and Elephants
                                                  Have a Daily Cup of Mrs.Olsen
                                                  From My Front Porch to Yours
                                                  Rooted in Thyme
                                                  The Vintage Farmhouse
                                                  Common Ground
                                                  Shabbilicious

Saturday Spotlight: Brenda from Cozy Little House

Hi, everyone!  Myself and (Kris) Junk Chic Cottage wanted to do a regular feature on our blogs, something unique that hasn't been
 done before.   So we came up with an idea to 'spotlight the real life behind the blogger' in a more personal way.

There is so much talent and inspiration in blogland, and we thought it would be fun to bring you a closer look at the person behind the blog.

Every week on Saturday we will spotlight a blogger and have them tell us a little bit about themselves and their blogs.  You will be able to see and read about each of the bloggers on both Kris's and my blog. 

I'm so happy to have Brenda from Cozy Little House as my guest today!  She is a blogger that I admire-she always has a positive attitude even though she's been through some difficult times.  Her style is colorful and fun, and she hosts a weekly linky party.  Please sit back, relax, and enjoy getting to know Brenda better!

Hi, I'm the blogger behind Cozy Little House. And Susan has asked me to tell you about the blogger behind the blog.

I've had this blog since the spring of 2009. Unfortunately, during a move from Wordpress.org back to Blogger, some crazy things happened, and I lost 1500 posts. So I just started over at the end of July 2013 and kept right on going!

I tried to come up with some photos of myself, but I'm the one always behind the camera. So this is all I have!

And I found one from when I was very young. I had a rather unconventional childhood. I really don't have photos of myself during that time.

I am divorced. My girls are grown and in their thirties. I have two Yorkies that I refer to as the pupsters. They are Charlie Ross and Abigail Rose. They are seven years old. They keep me hopping. And they are spoiled absolutely rotten.

I rent a 1010 square foot house built in 1934 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. When I was going through my divorce in Texas, my oldest daughter, a real estate agent, purchased it so I could rent it from her. (Bless her for that!)

I moved in two years ago this month. Scared half to death that I couldn't make it on my own. My confidence dipping low. But I can now say I have found my way. And it is in no small measure that my readers brought me to where I am today. In so many ways, my blog saved me. Truly kept me going.

I have a Bachelors degree in Professional Writing in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma. And I feel I am finally using that degree again.

Knowing I didn't have much money to start a garden my first summer here, my readers sent box after box of cuttings and bulbs from their own gardens. I'm sure the postal service wondered what was in all those big boxes from all over the country.

I opened them to find irises, day lilies, hostas, all kinds of perennials. And now I have a garden, thanks to them. Which is very important to me.

When I walked in this house for the first time, my daughter and her husband had worked and painted and had my appliances delivered. So all I had to do was move in. I love my hardwood floors (the boards are probably an inch wide, and I imagine they are the originals), and my beautiful white woodwork. They don't make houses like this anymore!

My most recent big project was decoupaging my lower kitchen cabinets. They were white and very plain. I'd already removed the top cabinet doors. My kitchen is tiny, so I wanted to do something to incorporate my personality.

So I decoupaged favorite images, favorite poems and quotes, lots of birds and flowers, which everyone knows I dearly love. And I did it all rolling around on my garden cart.

You see, in early July of 2012 I broke both sides of my right ankle, and had surgery. I still wear an ankle brace. There was no way I could get down there to decoupage without some help. My little garden cart was perfect. I just rolled along and glued!

That injury has set me back quite a ways in doing things in this house. But I'll make up for it!

I love color. The primary colors are my favorites. So you will see lots of color in my home. Like many bloggers, I love to move things around. And "shop the house."

You'll see lots of quilts in my house. Many I made myself over the years. I also love to decorate with vintage tablecloths and treasures I find in junk stores and such. And things I've made or sewn myself.

This old house is in a neighborhood of other wonderful old houses from the thirties. All different, all unique. No cookie cutter houses here. My house exterior is pretty plain. It is really just a little blue box, as I like to call it. All the action so far is inside.

I spend my days online, researching, writing, blogging, editing photos, etc. And often I can be found outside with my camera while the dogs sniff around the yard. I love nature and taking photos of birds. It brings me serenity to be outside, whatever the season, to enjoy the abundance of beauty that nature provides us.

I managed to get this shot a few days ago. It is a red-bellied woodpecker. I was amazed that he/she stayed there looking out that hole for so long! Normally I just have seconds to get a photo.

I'm a homebody to the core. I don't go out much. About once a week to run all my errands. Because really, where I want to be is home with the pupsters. And of course, all of you reading blogs!

I want to thank Susan for asking me to participate. And tell you all who I am and what I'm about. I truly enjoy this series she and Kris are doing. It's so much fun to learn more about bloggers I read every day.

Brenda, thank you so much for sharing more of your story with us!  Please visit her at Cozy Little House then hop over to Kris's blog to read about Anne from Dream Designs by Anne!  :)

More Blue: Part 2

Hi, everyone!  Thanks for your kind feedback on my 'blue room experiment'!  (In case you missed it go here.)
Today I'm going to show you some more of this little room.
We had this chippy blue window at the shop, so I snagged it and brought it home (in fact I just noticed the price sticker is still on the top corner-ha!)

The white bookcase was also at the shop, so...you guessed it, it came home with me, too! (Are you sensing a trend here?)
The blue metal sign that I hung behind the window came from a flea market in Tucson last year.  I had bought it to resell, but I liked it so I ended up keeping it even though it never went with any of my decor.

The bookcase fits perfectly into a little space between the windows and a closet.  I took down the bi-fold door and hung a gauzy white curtain to cover the closet.

I recently found these pretty mason jars and thought they'd be perfect for a splash of blue on the shelves.

The rest of the items are just some fun things that I gathered from around the house.  I just got the white ironstone 'urn' at the Country Living Fair, and filled it with old shaving brushes.  The calender page dated 1947 is from June, my birth month.

Last week at the flea market I scored this vintage serving cart.  I love the color!  It's hard to see, but it's painted the softest, palest shade of green.  I thought "Hmm...I'll try a little mix of green in here with the blues" for some variety...and I like the slight bit of contrast that it gives against all the blue and white.

 

I also just found the lard tin at a local shop and was drawn to its color and graphics.  I thought it would look great filled with the dried hydrangeas that were given to me by my friend Suzanne last month.  She grows them and always saves me some-I love them!

I added these distressed crates that I already had to the shelves for some much need magazine storage.

Here's a view toward the bookcase and closet...

You can see that the cart is between the bookcase and the trunk.  This room may be small, but I sure packed in the furniture-ha!

In the narrow space between the 2 windows I hung this vertical wire card holder and spelled 'must love junk' from various cards...

Well, there you have it...the second part of my blue room reveal. I still have more to show you. (I told you that I packed a lot into this tiny room!  :)

Thanks so much for stopping by...I really appreciate all of you and your sweet comments!
Have a fantastic day!

I'm linking to these great parties:
                                                     White Lace Cottage (The Scoop)
                                                     Savvy Southern Style
                                                     Coastal Charm 
                                                     Ivy and Elephants
                                                     No Minimalist Here
                                                     From My Front Porch To Yours
                                                     Lavender Garden Cottage
                                                     Have a Daily Cup of Mrs.Olsen
                                                     Common Ground
                                                     The Dedicated House
                                                     Rooted in Thyme
                                                     Shabby Art Boutique