Turkey? Done. Next?

I declare victory for Thanksgiving break.....I hope you do, too! I noticed today that it has been a week or so since I last posted. I was fighting a bad cold/sinus infection last weekend....and it reminded me that during Thanksgiving last year, I was sick! Yuck. So....that, combined with trying to get ready to go out of town, made the days leading up to the break super fun. ; )

Did you do Black Friday? I did not....but I did do Black Saturday morning at Jo-Ann Fabrics this morning. At 7am. Yee haw. I did listen to my gardening show on the radio on my way there. I am the ultimate in coolness. And I was there for 2 hours. It is amazing how much time I can spend walking around a store when I am by MYSELF!

I have been working on some fun accessories/repurposing lately, I just have dropped the ball on taking pics of the finished products. So, I may have to do a little photo shoot tomorrow so I can show off all of my fun new-old things. And a little project I did over the weekend.

Unfortunately, Blogger is having a bit of a glitch...AND it's a holiday weekend, so I will hope that they get everything working right tomorrow! I know you will be on pins and needles waiting to see some lovely things....; )

Fall's last gasp

Well, here we are, the weekend preceding Thanksgiving. It doesn't seem much like it's time for Thanksgiving....I suppose it's because this is one of the earliest dates possible for Thanksgiving. I *think* that T-giving is always the 3rd Thursday of November. And November 1 was a Thursday.

But I digress. We have been putting up some Christmas stuff this weekend, mostly because I don't like putting it up after we've gotten back from being out of town. : ) So, I took a few moments to enjoy the last of my fall decor.

I tend to do a lot more of "fall" decor, rather than Halloween. Too much changing up in too little time! The only nod to Thanksgiving I do is on the mantel.

I add in a little framed quote about giving thanks and a turkey tea light holder.

An appropriate quote for me.

Then......on the front step. I posted some pics of my flowerpots a few weeks ago. Well, the frosty weather got to my sweet potato vine and killed them. What they looked like....before.

So, I cut back the vines and stuck some seed pods I found at the park, walking around with my daughter.

Does anyone know what seed pods they are? Also, you can see Christmas stuff looming in the background....

I was digging the texture it added. Don't forget to use things from the garden or nature in your planter pots. 

Enjoy fall while it lasts.....the stores have already moved on. ; )

Have a good Sunday, you lovely people.

Party Time......

Time Travel Thursday at The Brambleberry Cottage

Fridays Unfolded at Stuff and Nonsense

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage

Show and Share Day at Just a Girl

Simply Creations Link Party at Simple Home Life

Addicts (not so) Anonymous Addicted to Decorating

Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table and Dreaming

Project Parade at The DIY Showoff

Creative Bloggers' Party and Hop at Homemaker on a Dime

Tip-Toe Thru Tuesday at Crayon Freckles

Pinspirational Thursday at The Artsy Girl Connection

Make the Scene Monday at Alderberry Hill

Sunday Salvation at Sassafras Salvation

Tuesday Talent Show at Chef n Training
Flaunt Your Flowers  at Tootsie Time
What I Wore/What's Up Wednesday at Rae Gun Ramblings
Sunday Roundup at A Rosie Sweet Home
Overflowing with Creativity at It's Overflowing
Manic Monday at Silo Hill Farm
Mannequin Monday at Artsy Girl Connection

Designer shades

Anyone else out there in disbelief that we are about a week away from Thanksgiving? I suppose it falls super early this year. I can't say I'm terribly disappointed about having a more prolonged time between Thanksgiving and Christmas.....more time to get Christmas stuff done is never a bad thing in my book.

I took advantage of the beautiful weather we had last weekend to snap some pics of fall color around the yard. I've been burning it up a bit in my craft room, so I'll be posting some of that soon.

I seem to forget each year how great the Japanese barberrys look in fall color.

The new Virginia sweetspires have shown some great fall color....I can't wait until they are a little bigger to show off more of those reds. The leaves stay on for a long time, too.

I've really enjoyed this plant....my perennial geranium 'Tiny Monster.' There are a few purple blooms coming on with the reds and maroons.

Last, but certainly not least.....red maple.

Are you still seeing fall color where you are?

One tweed life

I was inspired lately to DIY my own bracelet recently after perusing my latest InStyle magazine. Tweed is on the radar for fall. I had been admiring some tweed-y little jackets at TJMaxx a few weeks ago.

One of the best ways to work trends into your wardrobe is through accessories. They are low-commitment and give you just a hint of the trend without breaking the bank.

This page caught my eye...

Extra orange coloring added by my daughter. Those shoes are pretty sweet, huh?

So, I took a bangle bracelet that was a little plain-Jane that I inherited from my sis.

I had a scrap of tweed-y fabric that I bought in the remnant bin and used to make a little scarf. I cut a long but not-so-wide piece from it.

Enter hot glue gun. I attached the end to the inside of the bracelet. If you try this, be careful not to burn your little fingers!!

I wrapped tightly...and ended up needing a second piece.

I used a pair of scissors to trim off the bigger strings.

I wanted to add a little metallic chain to it like the one in the pic, but did not have any that was small enough on hand. I probably would have sewn the end on, wrapped, then sewn on the other end.

Not too shabby for stuff I had around the house! I love the piecey-ness of the fabric. I guess this means I can break out my tweed hat that I bought MANY years ago from Old Navy with aplomb....

What trends are you rockin' these days now that neon has been put to bed??

Party Time......

Time Travel Thursday at The Brambleberry Cottage

Fridays Unfolded at Stuff and Nonsense

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage

Show and Share Day at Just a Girl

Simply Creations Link Party at Simple Home Life

Addicts (not so) Anonymous Addicted to Decorating

Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table and Dreaming

Project Parade at The DIY Showoff

Creative Bloggers' Party and Hop at Homemaker on a Dime

Tip-Toe Thru Tuesday at Crayon Freckles

Pinspirational Thursday at The Artsy Girl Connection

Make the Scene Monday at Alderberry Hill

Sunday Salvation at Sassafras Salvation

Tuesday Talent Show at Chef n Training
Flaunt Your Flowers  at Tootsie Time
What I Wore/What's Up Wednesday at Rae Gun Ramblings
Sunday Roundup at A Rosie Sweet Home
Overflowing with Creativity at It's Overflowing
Manic Monday at Silo Hill Farm
Mannequin Monday at Artsy Girl Connection

A new look?

Okay, I am getting old.......I guess.

My husband calls me "the vulture." Why, you ask?

For this reason.

This is how I would look at the computer. My colleague at school also noticed that I would lean in to the computer.

Well. I took myself off to visit the eye doctor. I probably hadn't been in about eight years. He said that I am nearsighted in my right eye and farsighted in my left. Oooookay.

So, I ended up with some new glasses to help with my computer and mid-level reading. Hm. This will be a bit of a change for me. : )

I picked up my new glasses today. My new look?

Just so you know, I did not lean in to the computer at all to write this blog post. Well, except to take the "no glasses" pic.

I think I need a new nickname......

Fall porch pots

Well, I can't believe that November is upon us. It has been quite a ride since school started. I've been teaching more band this fall than I ever have and it's definitely made the time fly by. I've been neglecting my blog a bit, so here are some pics of my front porch pots.

We started with this at the end of the summer.

I was a bit sad to see this one go....though I had to refresh it halfway through the summer, it turned out great. I pulled out just about all of it, except the sweet potato vine.

In went ornamental cabbage, mums and pansies.

It doesn't look like much here. In fact, I think this is before it got watered after planting and it all looks a bit wilty. One plant I did taking a liking to this fall is my mustard plant.

The texture on the leaves is amazinga nd it has gotten more and more purple as the fall has gone by. 

Here are some pics of my porch pots from about 3-4 weeks ago. Blooms just coming on the mums and starting to show a hint of color on the cabbage.

And.....here they are now.

The remains of the hurricane and the cold temps have decimated the sweet potato vine, but everything else looks great. I'm not crazy that the purples of the cabbage and the mums don't match...so I'll keep that in mind for next year!

In a few weeks, we'll be working in some Christmas. : )