Fall in the Dining and Sitting Room

Last week, I shared my dining room hutch and chalkboard with you.

This week,  I thought I'd share the rest of the dining room 

and the adjoining sitting room with you.

The dining room:

I found the Canada Dry crate at an antique show.

I was so thrilled!

My Dad was the manager of Canada Dry locally,

so the crate is for sentimental reasons.

Although knowing my Dad, he's looking

down at me from heaven saying,  

"You paid money for that?  
I had dozens of them you could have had for free!"

Of course, he would be right, but those free crates are no where to be 

found now.  It took me a long time to view this kind of stuff
and not think of it as junk.  Now, after all these years,
I see the value.  

Anyway,  I filled my beloved crate with lots of  fall goodies.  

Just a note:  the crate has our city & state stamped on the side.

Who knows?  Maybe my dad handled this very crate way back when.

The sitting room:

My favorite blue dresser got the Fall treatment.

I got the suitcase at the same antique show where I found the crate.

(I made a good score that day!)

A vignette for the coffee table.

I even added a little Fall to my white wire shelf.

Isn't that little pumpkin painting so cute?

It was an Etsy purchase.

I hope you enjoyed touring this part of our home.

Next up:  

My Fall mantel!

Linking to:

Fall into Fall @ DIY by Design

 

Fall Decor (Dining Room Hutch)

Last week, I showed you my dining room chalkboard all set for Fall.

 Today, I'd like to share the white hutch in my dining room.

I found the pumpkin platter late this Summer @ Home Goods.

It was only $10.00, so I couldn't resist.

I was thinking of how nice it would be to use it for Thanksgiving dinner.

At the time, the thought didn't occur to me to use the platter

for display purposes, but I'm glad it did occur to me....I love it here!

All my old familiar pieces being used.  

Nothing new.  

I did struggle with the mirror.  

I added just about every wreath in my possession,

but liked none of them.

I tried wall pockets, I tried burlap banners...

nothing was doing it for me.

Then I saw a burlap wreath on Pinterest

that I really liked.

I bought exactly $11.15 worth of supplies

but had no real plan for what I was going to do.

Within 20 minutes, I had made this wreath:

 Funny thing is,

it was exactly what I had envisioned for this mirror all along!

I'll be sharing more of my Fall home

with you in the upcoming days.

See you soon lovelies!

Linking to:

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

Tuesdays at Our Home @ Our Home Away from Home

 

Sweet Zucchini Cupcakes

I don't know if it's only me, 

but have you noticed that zucchini is getting a big boost

in popularity lately?

For some reason, I keep seeing recipes 

dedicated to this green squash everywhere.  

I have always liked zucchini, 

well...mostly breaded & fried, 

and as I get older, I'm finding I like it other ways as well.

I have enjoyed this recipe for a few years now 

and thought I would share it with you today.

I believe the recipe came from Everyday Food magazine.  

Oh how I miss that magazine!

These cupcakes are so yummy

and the cream cheese frosting is a wonderful

little bonus that compliments the cupcake perfectly.

Sweet Zucchini Cupcakes

1½ cups all purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts
1 zucchini (10 ounces) coarsely grated (1½ cups)
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used canola oil)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting (below)

Preheat oven to 350°.  Line cups of a standard 12 cup muffin tin with paper or foil liners.  Set aside.  

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  Mix in nuts.

In another bowl, combine zucchini, oil, eggs, and vanilla; add to the flour mixture and mix just until combined (do not overmix.)

Divide batter evenly among cups.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes.  (I find this was too long and baked mine about 25 to 30  minutes.)

Cool in tin on wire rack for 10 minutes; turn cupcakes out, right side up, and cool completely. Meanwhile, make Cream Cheese Frosting.  Using an offset spatula or butter knife, spread frosting on cupcakes.  The frosted cupcakes are best eaten within 1 day.

Yield:  12 cupcakes


Cream Cheese Frosting

In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, beat 4 tablespoons room temperature butter and 4 ounces room temperature bar cream cheese until smooth.  Add 2 cups confectioners' sugar and ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract; beat until light and fluffy.  Refrigerate until ready to use, up to 1 day.

Even my picky son, who will go to

great lengths to extract anything green

or remotely healthy from any dish I've made,

loved these, so please give them a try!

And yes, if you're wondering,

I am still dieting, but I do find

I can indulge every now & again, but 
still keep on track.

Have a wonderful week!

      

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!)