Fall Dining Room & Sitting Room

I really don't know where the time is going!

I'm sharing more Fall with you today.

I don't think I'll have time to show you my

Halloween decor at this rate!

Here goes anyway....

(with very little chit chat)

My Sitting Room

Coffee table vignette

The Blue Dresser

I have a thing for seasonal books & magazines.

This year, I decided to display all my Fall & Halloween

related books & cookbooks.

I loved having them all together like this.

It made it so easy to sit & enjoy them!

The Dining Room Chalkboard

(which by the way, I have taken down since this

photo was taken.)

And there you have it!

Thanks for stopping by to see me today.

Happy Halloween!

Fall Living Room

Hello, hello!

I was thinking that I had better finish showing you around 

my Fall home because before we know it, 

we'll all be decorating for Christmas!

We actually had a little bit of snow on Sunday.  

That's all I needed to begin having

visions of sugarplums dancing in my head. 

 As if I needed any help!

I showed you my mantel a few weeks ago,

so I thought I'd show you the rest of the living room today.

Come along, 

I promise not to talk too much.

Here's a close up of my little gallery wall.

Some things stay the same, 

some get switched out for seasonal accents.

The entertainment center shelves got the fall treatment, too.

Thanks for visiting me today.

I'll be back with a little more Fall very soon.

Praline-Topped Apple Bread

When Fall arrives, I just can't beat the urge to bake.

I swear, if I could, I would bake something every day.

I had this recipe from Taste of Home for a few years now,

and decided it was about time I give it a try.

Praline-Topped Apple Bread

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream

2 eggs

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

1½ cups chopped peeled Granny Smith apples

1¼ cups chopped pecans, toasted**, divided 

½ cup butter

½ cups packed brown sugar

In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  In another bowl, beat the sugar, sour cream, eggs and vanilla until well blended.  Stir into the flour mixture just until moistened.  Fold in the apples and 1 cup of pecans.

Transfer to a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan.  Bake at 350° for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes.  Remove to a wire rack to cool.

In a saucepan, bring butter and brown sugar to a boil.  Cook and stir for 1 minute.  Spoon over bread. Sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup of pecans.  Let stand until set.

Yield:  1 loaf

**To toast pecans, bake in a shallow pan in a 350° oven for 5-10 minutes, or cook in a skillet over low heat until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.  

♥♥♥

This was really delicious!

I don't think you'll be disappointed,

so give it a try.

Enjoy!

Fall Mantel 2015

Delicious Autumn!  

My very soul is wedded to it and if I were a bird, 

I would fly about the Earth 

seeking the successive Autumns.

-George Eliot

I love that quote as it pretty much

sums up how much I love Fall!

♥♥♥

It's about time I shared this year's mantel with you....

I put together a rather simple mantel this year.

I made the hydrangea wreath myself.

I bought a burlap covered straw wreath at Joanns.

Then I just glued some pretty fall colored hydrangeas to it,

as well as some leaves here and there.  I topped it off with a simple

bow and that was it...very simple & very quick!

I scattered some pine cones around.

I couldn't resist & added a strand of lights.

I have to say, now that it's getting dark earlier in the evening,

I do enjoy watching TV with the lights lit.

It adds such a warm glow to the mantel and the living room.

I filled a pretty basket with some fall goodies

to add a little something extra to the hearth.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my mantel today.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

 

Fall Decorating Begins....The Dining Room Hutch

Strange things are afoot here in New York.

Last I checked, the calendar did say it was September...am I right?

Well, we've been enjoying (and I use that term loosely)
temperatures in the 90s with high humidity.
Unbearable humidity.

This is technically weather we might experience in July, 

seldom in August, never in September.

We've been enjoying the pool, which is unheard of in September

  (unless maybe you have a heated pool). 

Most pools in this area are long ready to be winterized 

by the time Labor Day hits.  Oftentimes, our pool 

gets little use in August even because August can 

be such a sketchy month.  But here it is, September,  

and Summer is holding on.

Like I said, strange things are afoot here in New York.

Ok, now that I'm off that soapbox...

the house has been decorated for Fall, 

despite this unseasonable weather we're having.

Today I'm going to show you the dining room hutch.

I have to admire all the subtle fall touches that 

I've seen in blogland. They are really very lovely!

Unfortunately, you won't see them here.

I just don't think I'm a "subtle fall girl."  

I'm more of  a "bring on the warm, rich, beautiful colors of fall, 

in your face kind of girl."

Here goes:

I just pulled everything together here with

stuff I already had.  Nothing is new.

Well, I did make that little Autumn sign,

so I suppose that could be considered new,

but...

I had everything on hand already to make it,

so it didn't cost me anything, which is

a nice for a change.

So tell me, 

are you a "subtle Fall girl" or a more of an 

"in your face Fall girl"?  

Thank for stopping by today.

Enjoy!

Revealing the Upstairs Bathroom Remodel

Hello friends!

 I have been meaning to share our upstairs bathroom remodel 

with you for a few months now.

 There are quite a few pics, so you might want to grab some coffee, 

or maybe something cold to drink as you browse along.

Let's start with the before pictures, shall we?

Can I just say how much I despised this bathroom?

This bathroom is upstairs

and primarily used by my kids...who are now teenagers.

Before:

I loathe those blue fixtures!

I can't get over my tendency to want to shield my eyes!

Cringe worthy!

During:

The contractors came and gutted the place.

Oh what a mess!

Why such a mess you ask?

This bathroom was obviously added on years after the house

was built in 1933.

The walls were sheet rock...or so we all thought. 

When they got to tearing down the shower wall.....

it was plaster!  

(Just like in the rest of the house.)

Even though this bathroom is upstairs,

that plaster dust covered every single surface of my

house both upstairs & downstairs!

I really could have cried.

Thankfully, things starting looking up quickly.

After:

What an improvement, huh?

I fell in love with this gray wood look tile.

I loved it so much I wanted it used on both the floors...

...and the shower walls.

So much better!

I just need to add a few little accents to 

the walls yet, but other than that, she's all done!

If you're digging this whole before & after thing,

you can see the reveal of my downstairs bathroom

from a few years back by clicking right here.  

Thanks for stopping by today!

Linking to:

Tuesdays @ Our Home at Our Home Away from Home

A Table Rescue

Don't you think it's amazing how quickly this summer is flying by?

I can't believe it's the last week of July already!

Last year, after my new living room furniture was delivered, 

I found I needed a little side table...one that would fit between the couch 

and the radiator.  I knew this would not be an easy find

because the space between is so narrow.

One day, I dragged my poor husband out into the middle of nowhere for

an estate sale.  And there, I found it!  The perfect table!

I know you're probably thinking, 

"This was the perfect table?"

I know, I know, my husband was skeptical as well.

He was also not happy that I paid $20.00.

He thought it too much for something so beat up.

I brought it home, got right to work using

 a little "miracle elixir" which I know

you all know about.  :)

Annie Sloan's Old White chalk paint.

See now?  She's looking pretty good, huh?

I stenciled the top for a little added something.

Exactly what I was looking for!

She really was the perfect table!

Don't you just love it when you rescue something

and transform it from ugly duckling

to beautiful swan?

Have a wonderful day, friends!