Happy Accidents

We are having a dinner party on Sunday night and I was at Cost Plus World Market this morning looking for some items for the party.

In the kitchen section, I came across this  towel with a French grain sack look and knew immediately where I could use it.

There will be 6 of us for dinner on Sunday, but with my chairs and window seat there is only seating for 5.

This chair will be drafted for duty on Sunday night and I do not like the yellow polka dot seat cushion.

Before I blogged or had ever heard of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, I found the chair seatless on the side of the street.

I don't even know what type of red paint I used and the seat cover was just some yellow polka dot - yes, it is that bright - that was left over from a quilt project.

I removed the seat cover and did a little sanding - oh how I wish I had used ASCP!

I stapled the fabric to the existing chair seat on 3 sides.

Once the fabric was in place I stuffed the seat cushion with batting I had on hand and finished stapling.

Steve was out on a run and I tried to screw the seat cushion back onto the chair, but I didn't have the strength so I had to wait for him.

For $3.99 (+ tax) and 30 minutes of my time, I have a totally different look that I really like.

I tried the chair in several places and with different items on the seat.

I would like for the chair to be sitting in the entryway right now, but Lulu's crate takes precedence.

The found chair with great legs and scalloped edges is sitting in a corner of the guest room ( a total disaster at present) waiting to be used on Sunday night.

It was total serendipity that I happened to notice the towel at Cost Plus and that I had the time to redo the seat cover.

I just love happy accidents.

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French Country Cottage - Feathered Nest

My Romantic Home - Show and Tell Friday

Rooted in Thyme - Simple and Sweet Fridays

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson - Share Your Cup Thursday

Thrifty Things Friday

Home Sweet Home - The Charm of Home

A small collection of glass

 I have been noticing people decorating with vintage bottles.

I only have a few vintage bottles, but I decided that shouldn't stop me from decorating with bottles.

I headed to the attic to find the bottles I decorated a decade ago and gathered other empty bottles from various cupboards.

Metal, twine, wire and ribbon - among other things - were added to bottles to "dress" them up.

Tiny shells, bits of sea glass and a ribbon weren't quite enough for the "beach" bottle, but a quote glued onto a wooden tag finishes it off.

A hand quote finishes off the bottle with the India theme.

The first bottle is new, but I made the other two bottles years ago.

A bit of ribbon was the inspiration for the number bottle.

I finished dressing the bottles yesterday so today's task was to find a home for each bottle.

I can't believe how many hours I spent at the task.

First up was a vintage ball jar from my grandmother which now holds straws on the kitchen shelf.

A glass canister sporting a strip of buttons from Anthropologie holds ribbon.

This bottle was the impetus for a vignette on my favorite green and yellow table,

but my grandfather's bottle capper and a display of hands overshadow the bottle.

3 bottle vases from Ikea dress up the dining room table

and a lone rose from the garden sits on a dining room shelf.

Bottles sitting in a box with books decorate a side table in the living room.

The hallway got a new vignette with a birdcage full of bottles.

Last week I moved the ladder from the front yard to the garden.

A wire garland of bottles was strung onto the ladder and filled with flowers.

It will probably be a lot of work to keep the flowers fresh so I might change the flowers to Halloween items later in the week.

I didn't realize I had so many different glass pieces - definitely a collection.

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I am joining these parties

Shabby Art Boutique - Shabbilicious Friday

Lavender Garden Cottage - Cottage Style Party

Elizabeth and Co.  - Be Inspired

Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesdays

Rose Chintz Cottage - Home

Ella Claire - Inspiration Exchange

Ivy and Elephants - What's It Wednesday

Tilly's Nest - Down Home Blog Hop

Fluster Buster - Creative Muster Party

October Garden

As a teacher with summers off, I usually had the time to create a lovely summer garden.

But, as a teacher and volleyball coach, my garden received little attention after school began in late August.

The garden is one of the projects I was most looking forward to in retirement.

The perfect summer garden did not occur this year because of this little girl.

Daily, Lulu stages her version of The Tasmanian Devil in the garden.

This past week I had time work in the garden cleaning up messes Lulu had created in the flowers, removing unhealthy plants and weeding.

The back fence has some flowers in bloom and I was able to plant  begonias under a tree despite Lulu stealing them when I wasn't looking.

 Yellow seems to be the predominant floral shade in the October garden.

A few red hibiscus flowers remain and the impatiens are returning after Lulu's trampling the day she arrived.

Three different chrysanthemum plants are full of buds that are slowly realizing that it is autumn and they should make their appearance.

It was gorgeous yesterday so we savored our time outdoors.

I brought out a sweet little placemat I found at a local shop - can't wait to go back and rummage through the trunk full of linens she has on display. 

A little bud vase I found at CB2 last week is filled with a few flowers I could gather from the garden.

Today the winds are strong and it is nearly 90 degrees so we escaped north to Summerland where there was no wind.

No gardening today . . . no projects . . . no baking the peanut butter cookies I had planned.

We are hiding out in the bedroom where it is cool.

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I am joining the following parties

Creative Home Expressions - Creative Home and Garden Hop

Twigg Studios - Sunday Showoff Party

Funky Junk Interiors - Party Junk

Be Different Act Normal - Show and Tell Saturday

Serenity Now - Weekend Bloggy Reading

Little Red House - Mosaic Monday

More Fall Decor

When Lulu first arrived, I created a basket full of supplies so I could do something with my hands when I was keeping an eye on her constantly.

She no longer requires constant supervision, but I still have the basket handy to pick up late at night.

I sewed felt "fall" shapes, stuffed them and strung them on thin cord.

The shapes alone didn't make a very exciting banner so wrote the letters for fall on colored wooden tags using a black chalk pen.

The front porch bench seemed like a good place for the little banner.

Flowers in fall colors were recruited from the back yard for the vignette along with a wooden pumpkin and a cross stitch pillow I must have made 20 years ago.

By the time the bench was decorated, I was on a roll.

I found an old grapevine wreath hanging in the garage and created a WELCOME sign for the front door.

A table runner made from the remnants of my old window seat fabric (I still love the fabric) adds color to the dining room table.

My garden has limited flowers in bloom right now so dried flowers in fall colors from Jo-Ann's fill a metal pitcher

Now the house is looking "fallish", but the garden is craving my attention.

My house definitely follows the old proverb, "a woman's work is never done".

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I'm joining the following parties today

Shabby Creek Cottage - Transformation Thursday

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson - Share Your Cup Thursday

The Charm of Home - Home Sweet Home

No Minimalist Here - Open House Thursdays

Fall Mantel

Rather than the first day of fall, I use October 1 as my date for fall decorations.

 After reading a post on Kirb Appeal about Kirby's fall mantel, I decided to go with glass containers.

Dried hydrangeas, the few that bloomed in my garden this year, fill one container.

A few tiny pumpkins and gourds join one of the trio of pumpkins I made from left over drop cloth.

Colorful leaves and a candle fill the other container.

My goal for October - Enjoy Life - is tucked into the container and mini drop cloth pumpkins sit at the side.

The center of the mantel looked empty so I googled autumn quotes and found one by Nathaniel Hawthorne which pretty much sums up how I have spent the first 9 days of the season.

Last January, Steve and I were hiking above city hall and he took the photo that inspired the painting.

It might have been winter, but the colors fit perfectly with my fall mantel.

The mantel is decorated and I need to make more changes around the house, but October began with a gorgeous day which I chose to spend outside just like Nathaniel Hawthorne would have done.

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I am joining these fun parties

Funky Junk Interiors - Fall Mantel Decorating

Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesdays

Lavender Garden Cottage - Cottage Style Party