Jack-O-Lanterns 2010

Here's the pumpkins we carved this year, 

illuminated on Halloween night...

I went for a 3 and a starfish,

while Jacob carved Elmo for the kids.

Happy Halloween!

Book Page Wreath

I finally decided on a Fall wreath to replace the one on our front door 

(see this post on my choices).

Using the fabulous TUTORIAL from Emily at Jones Design Company,

I ended up making a book page wreath.

While it was ultra time consuming and used A LOT of hot glue, 

it was pretty easy to make and totally worth the time!

It was pretty inexpensive too - all I had to buy was a wreath form ($5 at Michael's) and an old Thesaurus (.79 cents at Goodwill).

Here's how it turned out...

 Isn't it pretty!?

I'm debating whether or not I should keep it on the front door...

I'm worried about it getting ruined outside (even though our front porch is covered) 

and I think it would look really pretty hanging in the house somewhere...

Inspiration Files: The Braverman House from Parenthood

I LOVE the show Parenthood (Tuesdays on NBC).

I look forward to watching it all week long.

But rarely do I make it through an episode without crying.

There's just something about actually being a parent that makes you really emotional about parent/child dramas (maybe that's just me though).

Anyways, one of the things that really draws me to the show (besides the great story lines) is how set designer, Julieann Getman, decorated the interiors of the characters' homes.

The show mainly takes place in three of the characters' homes and they are all decorated beautifully, yet realistically, like real people actually live there. 

However, my favorite house is Adam & Kristina Braverman's house.

When the show shoots in their house, I actually pause the TV to drool over their decor.

It just looks so comfy and homey. 

Like a place your kids and all their friends would love to hang out in. 

A place where lots of happy family memories are created.

Adam Braverman (Peter Krause) and wife Kristina (Monica Potter) live in a house based on a Craftsman in Pasadena. "Their style is Pottery Barn, right off the shelf," Getman says. "Not everything matches, but it's easier when it's done that way."

The red counter stools and pendant lights in the kitchen (painted in Benjamin Moore's green-gray Saybrook Sage) are from Pottery Barn. Though the sofa and chaise sectional in the family area of the great room were custom made from a striped material found at F&S Fabrics in L.A., many of the accessories are from discount stores such as Cost Plus World Market and HomeGoods. The wooden desk with barley twist legs, seen at left, was purchased at Wertz Bros. for $399.

The chrome pulley lights above the kitchen are $129 each at Pottery Barn. The cabinets are from the Kitchen Store in Culver City. The glass-front farmhouse hutch was purchased at Down Home American Country Antiques in Orange. 

The front entry of the Adam Braverman residence has a wide door with sidelights, a striped rug from World Market and a suzani-covered chair from Mortise & Tenon. 

Getman describes Adam and Kristina's bedroom as a "refuge from their fast-paced family life." 

It is painted in soothing Van Courtland Blue, a color in the Benjamin Moore Historical Collection. 

The headboard and bench were custom made. 

The rug, nightstands and dresser are by Pottery Barn; the lamps are from Restoration Hardware. 

The stool and floor mirror were purchased at Upstairs Downstairs in Culver City. 

The linens come from Bed Bath Beyond. 

"I shop a lot at Living Spaces," says Getman, who strives for realism rather than perfection. "It's much more what people can truly afford as opposed to what they see in magazines." 

I guess that's what I love most about that house - 

it's something I could actually afford to do in my own home.

Fall Decorating VS. the Ultra-Curious Trio

I love decorating for the seasons and accessorizing our home, however, having THREE toddlers in the house makes this quite challenging.

The trio are at that stage of life where they are curious about everything, which means anything that they can reach, cannot be left untouched (or mangled).

This means I cannot have any accessories on our coffee or side tables.

Silly me, I thought I could set out my vintage soda crate filled with my favorite magazines.

 

Apparently that was not a good idea.

 Nothing can sit on our fireplace hearth either.

Caught in the act!!
Can you see how most of my decorative twigs have been snapped off and broken?

If a chair sits next to a console table, nothing can be on top of the table that is within reach.

See what I mean?

There can be no tablecloths, centerpieces, or any decorations on the dining table.

 

Except maybe a lone toy. 

So as you can imagine, this year I've left most of my fall decorations packed away in the closet and I've had to settle for just decorating the mantle and hanging a wreath on the front door.

Here's some pictures of our fall mantle (that the kids can't reach!!)

Some random books covered in brown paper so they match 

along with some pumpkins I've collected over the years.

My homemade chalk board with a fall quote that I love.

More of my pumpkins and a vase filled with my homemade scented pine cones.

A vine wreath paired with a vintage looking tin star from the craft store.

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I can't even imagine how I'm going to decorate for Christmas this year. 

We'll probably only get to decorate the top half of the tree!

I guess these are okay sacrifices considering I have three beautiful, healthy children :)

Linking up with:

Finding Fabulous Frugalicious Friday 

A Little Knick Knack: Everything but the Kitchen Sink

 

Dresser Rehab: Finally Finished

I FINALLY finished the rehab project on my Craigslist dresser.

It was hard work.

But it only took me 3 months :)

Here's a reminder of how it looked when I bought it...

It was in such sad shape: peeling paint, missing knobs, red stains from an unknown substance, and drawers that didn't work. 

But it had great bones. 

So I scraped

and scraped

and scraped.

Then I sanded

and sanded

and sanded.

  

Then I painted two coats of primer and three coats of semi-gloss white paint on it.

I managed to fix almost all of the drawers glides by using a screw driver to some WD-40.

I only had to replace one of the glides because it was beyond repair. 

Thank goodness because they run about $5.00/each for new glides!

After scrubbing the heck out of the insides of the drawers to get them clean, 

I added some contact paper {from Target} to the bottoms to make them look super crisp and clean.

I picked out and ordered some classic oil rubbed bronze knobs and handles off of Ebay 

{Ebay has GREAT deals on cabinet hardware if you are ever in the market for some!}.

I chose hardware that looks really simple and classic since there are a lot of details on the dresser itself.

And after ALL of that hard work, here is how the dresser turned out...

Here is a before and after for comparison...

Oh and here's my old piece-o-junk that it replaced...

 

Much better, don't ya think??

{Hopefully I can get someone to buy that old thing!}

I am so in love with how it turned out.

Thank goodness I didn't toss in the towel half way through the project.

In the future, however, if I see a piece of furniture that needs massive rehab like this one did, 

I probably will run the other direction!


Here's the cost breakdown:
Dresser: $20
Stripping Supplies: $36
Paint Supplies: $37
Knobs/Pulls: $20 {included shipping}
Contact Paper: $5
Drawer Glide: $5

TOTAL: $123

My new dresser kinda reminds me of the one of been drooling over at Pottery Barn... 

 Except that one is priced at $1,199.

I think I like mine better anyways.

Linking up to:
Fingerprints on the Fridge Features Yourself Friday
Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday 
Transformation Thursday at the Shabby Chic Cottage 
Hookin' up with HoH #18 
The DIY Project Parade
Thrifty Tickle: Vintage Suitcase Friday 

Fall Wreath Choices...

This is the fall wreath that adorns our front door every year...

and while I love it, it is getting pretty tattered. 

You can't really see it in the picture, but all of the little berry balls have split open, revealing their styrofoam innards.

I'm thinking it may be time for a replacement, 

so I am contemplating making one of these beauties...

Martha Stewart gives a TUTORIAL on her website on how to make this corn husk wreath.

 

I like the look of this non-traditional wreath. It is made using a Styrofoam wreath form with wine corks and dried flowers attached using a glue gun.

This classic dried flower vine wreath is made by doing three groupings of dried hydrangea, grasses, berries, and blossoms that are attached with wire or hot glue to a grapevine wreath base.

This wreath can be constructed on a flat cardboard form using a glue gun. Simply layer on objects from back to front, starting with the artificial (or preserved) fall leaves.

This one could be made for very cheap...all you would need is a wreath form and some artificial sunflowers. The leaves are free because they are real leaves that have been preserved (click here to find out how to preserve leaves)!

How easy would it be to make this wreath by using a simple vine wreath and attaching faux berry branches to it?

The wheat bundle wreath wouldn't take much skill to make. Just attach some sunflowers and ribbon to a bundle of wheat.

Not sure I would hang this one one my front door...wouldn't want birds all over my front porch, but it would look cute on a fence or hanging in a garden.

A horseshoe shaped wheat grass wreath can be made using this TUTORIAL from BHG.

This wreath could be re-created by attaching miniature pumpkins to a circular vine wreath.

(images from the 9 wreaths above came from bhg.com)

An expensive Pottery Barn fall wreath that I'm sure could be replicated for about 1/10th the price!

This looks like a simple wreath made out of preserved or artificial leaves, but if you look closely, it is actually made out of scrapbook paper that was cut into leaf shapes using a Cricut. See this YouTube video on how to make a wreath using your Cricut.

And I love the unique design of this wreath (found at D. Reyne's) made out of pages from an old book.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Choices, choices, choices.

I think I'm leaning towards a wreath made out of book pages.

What's your favorite??