Ready for Autumn

I've been ready for Fall for a few weeks now.

I know it's not right to push Summer aside, 

especially when Summer is so short lived in these parts, 

but when my calendar shows "September," 

 my mind automatically thinks "Fall."

Things were going along smoothly too.

There was a nice chill in the air.

 Until...this past week.

We had a couple of hot & humid days, 

with temperatures in the 90s.  

Ugh!

This left me wondering how it is that you girls in the warmer climates

 can decorate for colder seasons/holidays when it's so darn hot outside.

 It messes with the mojo, I tell ya!

Today I am happy though.  

Today is a sunny 70 degrees...a perfect Fall day!

So I guess it's time to start sharing all the 

Autumn goodness going on around here.

I feel like I've been a crafting & sewing fool lately.

I'm going to start nice and easy though, 

with the dining room chalkboard.

I think this is my favorite chalkboard design to date.

I'm no artist, but this task seems to be getting a tiny bit easier

than when I first began.

So friends, tell me, 

are you getting ready for Autumn, too?

 

Emmy Fashion 2014

It's been awhile since I did a red carpet fashion post.

And you all know how I love my red carpet fashion!

Here are my favorites from this year's Emmys:

Lena Headey

Sarah Hyland

(Age appropriate)

Halle Berry

(She always looks fabulous, and this color on her?  Amazing.)

Julianna Margulies

Allison Janney

(Gorgeous color)

I also thought Kaley Cuoco, Debra Messing,  and 

Anna Gunn looked great.  

 Did you watch the Emmys?

Who were your fashion hits & misses?  

 

New Curtains and DIY Curtain Rods

Living in the city,
 it's a necessity to have some type of window coverings. 

There are many times I wished I could go without,
at least for the Summer, 

but I know it would not feel right somehow...

especially at night with my massive windows bare for all to see inside.

I grew tired of my cream lace dining/sitting room curtains,

and I needed a solution that would
let the light in, 

give us privacy,
but not cost a fortune.

I decided on cafe style curtains.
It seemed the best of all worlds.

I found the curtains online at JC Penney.  

Here is a close up:  

The fabric reminds me of what burlap would look like

  (if  burlap was more of a fabric),

 with ivory embroidered flowers and vines all over.

There is another obstacle with curtains for this room.
The windows are so large it makes it difficult to find curtain rods.  

When I do find them,
  aside from the fact that they cost more than the curtains,

 the rods are so big and heavy,
they require middle brackets to keep them from buckling.

With cafe style curtains,
I couldn't put a bracket in the middle of the window,
so I needed another plan!

I researched a bit and decided to make my own curtain rods!

 My husband thought I'd lost my marbles when I suggested it,
but he dove in and got to work on it anyway.

It's nothing more than electrical conduit, spray painted,
along with L brackets and hole straps.

Then I capped off the ends with furniture knobs from Hobby Lobby.  

Piece of cake and so inexpensive!

The best part for us is the conduit isn't super heavy,

 so they don't require a middle bracket to hold them in place.  

See?  Kind of cute, huh?

Here's how it all looks now:

I have no problem sliding the curtains aside if I want,

like in the photo below.

I love this new look for my dining/sitting room.

It was just what I was looking for.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerful Cherry Kitchen (Summer Fresh)

This Summer, I wanted to add a little fun to my kitchen.
I thought I would begin by trying to make curtains.

When I got to the fabric store, I struggled to find a fabric that I liked.

Then I spotted the cherries and thought, 

why not?

There was just something about them...

so fresh, so fun, so full of Summer...

so I went for it.

The simple curtains I made led me to switch out our

 cobalt blue pendant light to a bright cherry red one.

I love it!

As I continue this "one thing leads to another" saga,

I decided to pull out some cherry dishes 

and put together a counter top vignette.

My cabinets with the glass doors got a lot more red added to them.

(I had to open the doors in order to get a picture without the glare.)

The wall art below was already hanging in the kitchen, 

so no need to change it.

And that is how I gave my kitchen a cheerful cherry Summer fresh look.

(now there's a mouthful!)  

 

The Proper Foundations for Women and Rug Pads Alike

How's that for a title?

Can we talk today?

I would like to talk about rug pads.  

Now I know what you're saying...

"Rug pads? Seriously?"

Please bear with me, I'll tell you a tale, we'll share some wisdom 

and maybe we'll even have a laugh.  Deal?

♥♥♥

Any fashion expert will tell you in order
for your clothes to look their best, you must start with the basics.
Those basics being properly fitting undergarments.
They are essential to how your clothes will look on you.
(Spanx, anyone?)

Yes, I know you're now saying...
"Wait.  What?"  
"I thought we were talking about rug pads?
We are. 

 When it comes to area rugs, the rug pad
is the foundation for making your area rug look its best!
(Just like those properly fitting undergarments.)

I shared my new rug with you a few months ago.

We purchased a rug pad from one of the big box stores,

laid it down, added the rug on top and called it a day.

I noticed, however, that the legs of my furniture

were digging into the rug, making it look,
for lack of a better word, wonky.  

See?

 My husband was quick to tell me that this "wonkiness" was
because I had bought a poor quality rug.  I quickly dismissed his
statement, but secretly began to worry that he might be right.
(And you know as well as I, we don't want our husbands to be right.)

But then....
I got my hands on a Premium Lock rug pad
from Rug Pad USA.

Now take a look:

Pretty amazing, right?

This is what the pad looks like: 

One side is rubber, the other felt.

I used the rubber side on top since my rug was

going over a carpet.  If I was looking to put the

rug on a hardwood floor, I would put the rubber side down,

making a perfect non-slip surface.

Honestly, not only does my area rug look better, 

but it also feels better underfoot.  Which really surprised me, 

I wasn't expecting that at all.

If you are in the market for a rug pad, please keep

Rug Pad USA in mind! 

Their pads are eco-friendly,

made in the USA (I love that),

and are shipped quickly with free shipping!

And...

They can be cut to size!

(Because just like women's undergarments, one size doesn't fit all!)

What more could you ask for really?

I'll be working on my living room soon.
New couches are on order and will be here shortly.
I know, without a doubt, I'll be ordering
a new rug pad for the living room area rug.
I've been spoiled now, there's no turning back!

Have a super weekend!
I'll be taking a short blog break to enjoy Summer.
See you soon!

**I was provided a rug pad by Rug Pad USA, however, all opinions are strictly my own.

Pantry Door Whimsy

Back in 2009, I painted my kitchen cabinets. 

They went from oak to white.

 I have a pantry that's just off the kitchen.

For some unknown reason, 

I never painted the doors to the pantry 

when I painted all those kitchen cabinets in 2009.

I guess I was thinking the pantry is not actually in the kitchen, 

so I could leave them alone.

 It only took 5 years for me to realize those pantry

doors would look better in white!!! lol

 I wish I had a before picture. 

 Why didn't I take a before picture?

Here are the doors, after I finished painting them:

In this narrow hallway,

the kitchen entry is to the left, 

a window to the right.

I bought new curtains for the window.

Having always admired these from Country Curtains

for their cottage appeal, 

I decided it was high time I bought them:

I love those wide ruffles!

Now the trouble was, 

because there is always trouble when I do something,

there seemed to be a lot of white in this hallway now, 

with most of it concentrated in this one area.

So, I decided to add just a little something to the doors to

break up some of that white. Something different.

A little whimsy....

...in the form of  vinyl decals, purchased on Etsy,

from this shop.

(This was the same shop where I purchased my stair decals.)

It's funny how just by adding a little detail

like this, is enough to change

the look, break up all the white, and make me happy.

When I come in my back door, 

I now see this as I enter the kitchen.  

Simple though it may be,

the little birdies make me smile every time.

A lovely week to all of you!

 

Lighter, It's a Wonderful Thing!

I've been wanting to write this post for a while now, 

but I never could sit down long enough to do it.
Well, that and the fact I was afraid I'd hex myself.

Can I just say that lighter is a wonderful thing?

I know you're asking, 

"What exactly does Gina mean by lighter?"

Well for starters, here is heavier:

Yeah, Heavier, with a capital "H."

Believe me, I was never one to have my picture taken.

Being Heavier (capital H),  I  ran from the camera.

That picture was taken on Christmas Day 2013.

Now I will share lighter.

7 months later...taken this past weekend.

(Sorry, I don't have the selfie in the mirror thing down, so 

you'll just have to bear with me.)

44 pounds lighter! 

 We used the old Weight Watcher system and did it

with a "let's try & just see what happens-no pressure" attitude.  

I think that helped, along with the fact that 

my husband came along for the ride, and my kids too.  

I didn't put the kids on the diet,

 but they endured my lighter, healthier cooking 

with rarely a complaint.

(Funny thing:  looking at that before picture and looking

& my daughter today, she too, looks thinner to me now.)

In case you are wondering, I highly recommend 

this website, Skinny Taste,

if you are looking for healthy & tasty recipes.

I've made many, many, many of her recipes

and I've been pleased with 98% of all I've tried.

Now, there has been shopping, lots of shopping!

My entire Summer wardrobe was too big.

Not that I'm complaining, but wow, it's hard building up a 

wardrobe from scratch, especially when you 

have to have something to wear to work everyday. 

Here's some of the old Summer wardrobe, stacked up

getting ready to be donated:

Lots of empty hangers:

Summers are short here.   When it's time to try on my

Fall/Winter wardrobe, I'll probably have triple the amount of

clothes to get rid of.  Eek!  

A lot of good has come from this weight loss...

besides all the shopping and being able to buy clothes 

anywhere & everywhere now.

I take the stairs everyday at work and I no

longer have to gasp for air when I reach the 3rd floor.

My cholesterol was borderline & it dropped 72 points.

I try to go for a walk regularly and I just plain feel better.

I don't want to give the impression that I am

the perfect dieter and have been for the past 7 months.

There are always days, or even weekends,

where I've been to parties or out to dinner,

and I've eaten more than I should have.

What is very different with me this time around though,

is the fact that I can tell myself, 

"it's ok, just begin again tomorrow."  

Whenever I'd dieted in the past and

had a bad eating day, I would get angry

with myself & give it all up for lost.

Not this time!

People are always asking me what my goal is.

I never set a goal when I started this.  

Remember I was just doing this with that 

"let's try & just see what happens-no pressure" attitude.

It worked & I'm very grateful.  

I do realize I have more weight to lose.

 I'm still heavy, just with a small h this time.  :)

I know I was not meant to be a size 2 and I'm fine with that.

Lighter is good,

lighter is a wonderful thing!