Bring on the holidays!

It is that time again to start thinking about the coming holidays! Before you know it, family will start piling in, kids will be running around and the tempting smell of baking pumpkin pie will fill the air. Is your dining room ready? Redecorating for the holidays can be intimidating when you have little experience with it. It can seem like an enormous chore, but it does not have to be. The smallest change or addition you make to your dining room can be the most transforming.  

Image courtesy of Linwood Furniture

Fill an empty wall with a hutch to add storage and to show off your favorite dishes. You can also use a hutch to emphasize height by placing a few accessories on top of it to carry the eye to the ceiling.

Image courtesy of Century Furniture

In a hurry? Add art quickly to create a new focal point in the room. Prop a beautiful piece of art against the wall rather than hanging it up. It not only creates a backdrop for other accessories, it creates another level to move the eye around the room!

Image courtesy of American Drew

You can’t go wrong with a rug! An area rug brings many benefits to the table. It warms the floor, establishes color, softens the noise, and anchors the table.

Image courtesy of Century Furniture

Bring in softness through upholstered chairs. Upholstered chairs can also introduce color or reinforce the existing color scheme. Be bold this year and mix up the chairs! Instead of including only side chairs and arm chairs, bring in more comfort and color with a couple of hostess chairs!


Not every redecorating project needs to be extensive and time consuming. A few subtle changes to your dining room can make a huge impact on the dining experience.

Second chance

I read a touching poem on another blog today that I had to share because it speaks to everyone.

if i had my life to live over
i'd dare to make more mistakes next time.
i'd relax, i would limber up.
i would be sillier than i have been this trip.
i would take fewer things seriously.
i would take more chances.

i would climb more mountains and swim more rivers.
i would eat more ice cream and less beans.
i would perhaps have more actual troubles,
but I'd have fewer imaginary ones.
you see, i'm one of those people who live
sensibly and sanely hour after hour,
day after day.

oh, i've had my moments,
and if i had it to do over again,
i'd have more of them.
in fact, i'd try to have nothing else.
just moments, one after another,
instead of living so many years ahead of each day.

i've been one of those people who never goes anywhere
without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat
and a parachute.
if i had to do it again, i would travel lighter than i have.

if i had my life to live over,
i would start barefoot earlier in the spring
and stay that way later in the fall.
i would go to more dances.
i would ride more merry-go-rounds.
i would pick more daisies.

by nadine stair, 85 years old

I spend some days wondering if I made a mistake. Some days, I feel so much guilt, I replay my life over in my head...the way I wish it could have gone. Some days, I remember there was a reason for everything and its a waste of time to "wish" and to "regret".
Do you have similar thoughts?
Time to start making a change before it's too late...

Poem from Lifestyle Maven
All art and photographs posted on my blog are produced by me, the owner and sole contributor to this blog.

When your dog is your only child

Today started out quiet. The sun was warming up the day and I felt it was a perfect opportunity to paint! I grabbed all of my materials and set it all up outside under the carport. My dog was following me around, wagging her tail and curious to see if I would include her. She's a 3 year old, pug and beagle mix, also known as a puggle. For those of you who have never met my dog she's just a little sweet thing. Only weighs about 25lbs (on a light day :) Of course, I spoil her rotten and include her in any activities of mine that I can. I gathered up her rope and leash and tied her up outside.

Matt was around the yard picking up branches and other pieces of nature's "trash" laying around. When I noticed the piles of branches and twigs I took a break from my painting and walked over to check it out. I saw plenty in the pile my dog would love catch and chew on. So I picked one up and threw it for her and she ran with excitement. She grabbed the branch and started chewing. I walked over to her and she was ready to play so I picked it up, threw it again and her little paws pranced across the yard after the branch. As she ran back she dropped the branch and quickly grabbed it again. When this happened though, the branch was sticking straight up in the air and as she went for it, it went straight for the roof of her mouth. The edge was sharp from her chewing it so it pierced the roof of her mouth. She yelped and dropped the branch then started to whine and cry. I ran straight for her, grabbed the branch and checked her mouth. There was no visible bleeding inside her mouth and nothing looked punctured. The sharp edge of the stick had some light blood on it, but it was not enough to rush her to the vet. We went inside and I crushed a low dose aspirin and put some (not all of it) in a soft piece of potato (left overs from last night) and gave it to her. She refused to drink water or take any ice so I gave her some ice cream (yes I'm aware it isn't that healthy for dogs) to help numb her mouth. She's been acting so sad ever since. She's responding normal, but is just taking it easy....and slow. I've been watching her since the incident and hoping to see improvements in her mood, but there isn't much. I don't have kids, so she is my only baby and she's my absolute pride and joy. It kills me to see her having a bad day...

It feels too good outside to be filled with worry

My three week vacation from work (awesome, I know) is almost coming to an end. I'm starting to feel anxious about going to work on Monday morning because I am currently without a vehicle! Anyone who knows me, would know my infamous trouble with cars. It doesn't matter the year, make or model, if it's mine it starts trouble. I'm not even given the chance to ruin the car, its like I receive each vehicle with the devil living inside of it! So, someone came and picked up my suv two days ago and I haven't heard from anyone since. Is my car fixable? Am I even going to get it back? I don't know, all kinds of things are running through my head today. I'm not too sure what will happen next, but I'm trying to not let that get the best of me. It feels too good outside to be filled with worry. If your yard was like mine today, you'd just wanna sit, relax and take it all in too.

Autumn is in the air

Well, unless you're a hermit, you can smell the change in season coming once you walk out your front door. So we all know it's almost time to break out the hoodies and boots- my favorite thing about fall!

Maybe you're looking for ways to start celebrating the season?

I love getting in the spirit for the coming holidays-Halloween being one of my favorites!

Some things I love to do around this time of year :

.1| Have homemade chili with family and friends while watching football

.2| Turn on the fireplace and take a nap

.3| Hand make decorations (blogs to follow on this)

.4| Take a walk in the leaves

.5| Try a new recipe (Well this is year round for me ;)

.6| Bake Cinnamon bread

.7| Have a Pumpkin spice latte or just use the pumpkin spice creamer in your everyday coffee-so delicious!

.8| Pick pumpkins

.9| Drink apple cider

.10| Break out the crock pot

Morning birds!

Okay, I just couldn't resist sharing this drawing with you!

I produced this drawing on illustrator (of course) and was inspired by a short film made by Pixar called "Birds on a wire" you should definitely youtube it. It is so cute and so funny.

Hope you like it too!

Digital scribble

Do any of you love to play on adobe illustrator and photoshop?

I find it to be the equivalent of playing in the sandbox as a child

I usually start out drawing whats on my mind at the time....

I tend to get lost playing on illustrator and before I know it, night has come

Does this ever happen to you?

Upcycled thrift store find

About four or five years ago I stopped by a local thrift store in search for picture frames.

I found two matching wooden frames with horrible pictures in them. The frames held character though and revealed their age quite well, something I was looking for. So I excitedly paid $1 for each frame and headed home.

When I came home, I lightly painted each frame with white paint. After the first coat dried, I knew a second coat would only take away from the beauty of each frame. Time was of the essence for me back then because I was so overloaded with college courses and work, I painted something quick for each frame and hung them.

I was never satisfied with my find until now. I am now living in my first home and space personality is more important than ever! I revisited the frames (as I knew I would one day...) gathered up all my craft supplies and similar to solving a puzzle, I found a way to combine what I had into something new!

In my recipe box:

random scraps of fabric (I love to sew)

clothespins

liquid nails (Hot glue works just as well in this case)

cardboard

The frame I have is a 11x14

So I cut the fabric about 13x16 to leave space for wrapping the edges

I took a 11x14 piece of cardboard and wrapped it with the fabric

I used liquid nails to adhere the fabric to the cardboard

Once the fabric was set, I placed the piece inside the frame and used the liquid nails to attach the clothespins to the fabric

And done!

I had a new way to show off pictures and notes :)