Happy (early) Halloween

Happy Early Halloween everyone! Normally I show something pink on Saturday, but it just wouldn't be right to not showcase the colors of the season on a fall holiday. It wouldn't fell like fall to me without seeing all the oranges, yellows, reds, and browns of this season.

Normally, my mom or myself make the wreaths for everyone in our family, but a few weeks ago we were busy and relied on a

Cottage Curio Delights: Mixing Old and New Decor


I meant to show the Halloween costume I made for my chihuahua tonight, but she has been pretty ill the last few days, and most of my time has been spent dealing with her this week. The costume is a work in progress, which I hope at least she will feel up to modeling it for you by Halloween. I'll try to have a picture by Monday!

The only pictures I had on my camera were some things in the curio

Recipe: Orzo Salad with Lemon and Tomato

For a few years, my mother and I have enjoyed buying a deli sandwich and a container of orzo salad for lunch at a gourmet store nearby. Finally, we got the bright idea to look at the ingredients listed on the attached tag and realized it would be really simple to recreate this for a lot less money at home.

This recipe is very quick to cook and assemble and can be served warm or cold. It's so

Tuscan Theme Dining Room

Happy Monday everyone! At least let's  pretend there is something happy about Monday morning! I had a busy weekend away, so I didn't have time to do any home type projects in the last few days. However, my brother allowed me show you his dining room, which I helped decorate.  Since this was the first home he's had with a formal dining space, we started from scratch with an empty room and very few

Special Pink Plates

Happy Saturday everyone. I have been working on finishing up the redecorating of my guest room and hopefully will be sharing some pictures of that room soon. In the meantime, I thought you might like a sneak peek at a sweet little plate rack in this room.


Would you like a closer inspection? I thought you would. Sorry about the glare in the pictures. I had another post planned, but found out

I'm Still in the Fall Decorating Mood

Last week I shared some fall decorating ideas from my home, so today I thought I'd share a few more ideas for those of you who haven't decorated for the season yet.


Bring your outdoor garden statues indoors. If it has a tray or a basket, fill it with real gourds purchased at the grocery store. Then tuck in some artificial fall flowers, leaves, and berries for a rustic garden feel.




Same mums

Large Birdcage Transformation: Big and Subtle Changes

Have you ever seen something you wanted, waited to get it, then couldn't find it?

That's how today's transformation came to be. I've been wanting a birdcage forever, and in the spring I kept seeing them all over. White, blue, red, normal green shades, black, and even gold. All colors people would actually use. However, since I didn't know my decorating plans, I didn't want to buy one just in

Baked Squash Recipe

Every year, I look forward to fall just to make these baked squash. Of course, you can find some kinds of squash year round, but I especially love the winter varieties only found this season. My favorite squash for this recipe with is "Sweet Dumpling" squash. It looks like a little pumpkin that has white and green stripes. However, I have used acorn squash, golden acorn squash, and buttercup

Pink Candle Holders

You've probably figured out by now that I rarely leave anything as I buy it from the store. Years ago I bought these candle holders at Marshall's, but have never found a place to use them. A couple of times my mom and I have discussed selling them in a yard sale. However, since I like them so much, I've always kept them in hopes I could find a place to use them.



Before
Finally, I

Fall Decorating Ideas

The temperature is finally cooling and the calendar says it's October, so I knew if I was going to decorate for fall, I better get started. Since I'm in the middle of a full house redecorating process, I won't do very much this year, so I worked with things I already had. Here are a few ideas that may get your creative juices going to come up with new ideas for things you probably already own too

Cool Doggie!

Hi everybody! It's Mommy's dog Holly checking in again. Thanks for the many kind comments about my last post and especially to those of you who requested I come back! I'm a very happy doggie to know I'm so loved. It's hard to find time on the computer because I have to wait for Mommy not to be around, but I'll always come back.



Friends, why does Mommy keep humiliating me this way?
 Yes,

Pink Cottage Pretties

It's Saturday again, so time for some pretty pinks. Since we all know I love cottage style, today I'll show the newest pinks in my home.
Don't you love when you don't plan on it, yet find the perfect thing for your home? As you know, I've been decorating my cottage tv room. I've really wanted a battenburg lace pillow for my chair but have been unsuccessful in finding one. However, last week I

Decorate with Cherubs

When I was decorating my cottage tv room, I was aiming for a soft yet "old" look in the room. I never planned on having a cherub theme, because normally I don't like them. However, after seeing some white washed cherubs in a magazine, I decided to buy one. You know how all the sudden you find things and before you know it, you have a collection? That's what happened in this room.

Look for

Almost Homemade Chocolate Cake

Yum! I love cake, especially chocolate cake. For time and convenience, many times I buy a box of cake mix and add things to the recipe to make them taste more like a homemade cake.

Almost Homemade Chocolate Cake
-Chocolate Cake Mix (I used Duncan Hines, but use a gluten free cake mix to make this gluten free)
-all ingredients on the back of the cake mix box
-1/2 cup ricotta cheese
-3

What is Rub 'n Buff?

In my last post, I showed you the lamps I redid using Rub 'N Buff. Since a few people were inspired to do this to their lamps and someone didn't know what the product was, I thought I'd talk about it today.

Rub 'n Buff is a metallic pigmented wax that you can use to highlight or paint just about anything. I've used it on metal and wood, but I've seen it used on handmade embossed cards as well.