Straight Outta Coffin

The holiday has come where it is entirely appropriate to place dismembered body parts, skeletons, ghosts, spiders, and cemeteries on your front lawn and I couldn't be happier.  

I love how in October the neighborhood turns spooky and dark.  

While my Halloween decor isn't all that gory, I applaud the neighbors who turn up the thrill factor and also anonymously slip the number of a good psychiatrist through their mail slots.  

I concentrated most of my Halloween decorating on the mantel thinking aside from the Jack-O-Lantern lights and webbing, everything can be left up through Thanksgiving.  The cinnamon broom is from Trader Joe's and smells like cooler weather.

The drooping eucalyptus is a timely accident, I've had it since August and now it is perfectly dried for a Halloween mantel.  

I also covered the federal mirror in the entryway with a web. A $1 bag goes a long way and instantly makes anything look creepy

Over the summer I ordered this cement dog from Ballard and have been so excited to dress him up for holidays.  We affectionally call him Wellington and currently he is all set for Trick-or-Treating thanks to a pumpkin bucket attached to his collar.  

Mini pumpkins on his head and on the rockers are cute little details. 

The front door planter is piled with pumpkins.  I have a problem with squirrels eating regular carving pumpkins but have noticed they don't seem to be attracted to the warty ones.  

Maybe they are harder to chew through?  

A peek at Wellington through the Japanese maple that is starting to change.

The other indoor spot that got festive is the window ledge above the sink.  Just like with the mantel, I can leave everything except the clings though Thanksgiving.  

The ledge theme is mini: I put gourds in a mini Le Creuset and mini pumpkins on a mini Delft plate.  

At the side entrance I put a warty pumpkin in a planter and layered in a crow doormat.  

The dinner bell always hangs there but I especially like how it takes on a sinister feeling paired with the crow.  

Now for a dog photo:
I had to include this picture of Birdie because she coordinates so perfectly with fall decor.  

Her coat is the color of pumpkin spice and her body is shaped like a velvet gourd on four legs.

Notice Russell peering out the window, Happy Haunting!

Welcome Summer {Please Don't Stay}

 Summer is not my favorite.
I don't relish the extra hours of daylight, the heat is my sworn enemy, and the sun makes me feel sluggish.  The way a lot of people feel about winter is the way
I feel about summer.

So this post is just a collection of glimpses around the house lately, a distraction from the day's
hot and sunny forecast.

Russell Westbark is back, you might remember him from this post.  We had him along with his two siblings when they were just 6 weeks old.  He was adopted but then later returned {no fault of his own} so now he is a 4 month old loving playful boy looking for a forever home again.
He does an expert head tilt and is so cute it hurts.

Russell loves to empty the toy basket each morning and scatter everything all over the living room while Birdie keeps a close watch.

I put these flags on the front door for Memorial Day and decided they should stay up all summer long.  Once they were situated might as well leave them in place for July 4th and then for Labor Day.  

I used to have a tray on the entry table for mail but I never used that tray because I go through mail immediately.  So in its place I put an antique boxer that belonged to my grandma under a glass dome and an antique dish to hold mints.  

We've recently started watching TV with closed captioning turned on {you really do catch so much more!} so it's fitting we would have a dish of mints by the 

front door.  

I finally figured out what to hang between the brass lamps in the dining room.  This brass laurel wreath is from Restoration Hardware's holiday collection and I got it on clearance in January.  I didn't want anything to actually sit on the sideboard and deter from functionality but I also didn't want something just one-dimensional on the wall.  Laurel wreaths are so classic and this brings a dose of traditional to what is probably the most modern room in the house.  

Also, I'm considering having the metallic walls painted over.  They were fun when we first moved in but 3 years later they are starting to feel gimmicky.  During the day they look kind of cheesy but then at night with the lamps turned on they look pretty and sophisticated.  Luckily the walls have not set a deadline for the decision so I can waffle my little heart out.  

I found a huge platter at my favorite antique shop, Mockingbird Manor, and put it up on the mantel.  

Currently it is hung too high, but it is covering up some old nail holes that need to be repaired.  

Future plans are to move it down and get a brass or bronze museum light to hang above it.  

Trader Joe's eucalyptus is $3.99 a bunch and lasts for a long time.  

I love the organic look and it stays pretty even once it starts to wilt.

I'll sign off with a puppy pic: fosters Walter & Willa who were both recently adopted :)

You Were Always Jealous of that Lamp: Part I

Merry Merry! While I don't have a leg lamp I do want to show off some Christmas decor in an effort to ignite feelings of envy.  That's what the season is all about.  

Let's start with the entryway. Free was the goal for the planter- tree clippings from Lowe's and magnolia branches I snipped off a tree in the backyard.  It looks unruly and messy but still contained- in other words: it's perfect.   

The door trimmings are all from Target, the garland and "Merry Christmas" are new but the wreath I've had for a long time.  I wanted a mix of metallic with the natural greenery and the stars make our historic plaque pop.

The front door has been painted Benjamin Moore's Wrought Iron since the last time you've seen it and I'm so happy with the color.  It looks so nice with the dark storm door and plaque.  

Now moving inside...

Mini boxwood wreath on the gazelle hook.

Snowflake ornaments on a metallic branch and wise men on the entry table.  

 Do you want to come into the living room? Sure you do!  

Last year when I was taking down Christmas decorations I threw my fake white tree out to make sure it would never be used again- it had turned yellow but I still kept using it,  grimacing a little more each time I put it up. This year I wanted a simple natural tree with nothing but white lights.  

I got a little tabletop tree from Lowe's because it was just easy.  I knew right where I could put him and didn't have to strap it to my car or move furniture around.  

He's flat out cute and looks so sweet glowing at night.    

Moving over to the console...we upgraded our media console and 

TV over the summer and they fit the scale of the room so much better.  

The TV will be mounted eventually but the walls need to be painted first.  

This vase and white branches always live here, but got dressed up for Christmas with white lights and metallic snowflakes. 

Underneath I framed some wrapping paper and strung lights and an ornament garland.

White and green was the theme for the mantel. 

Live garland from Trader Joe's layered in with seasonal decor I use year after year. 

Apparently I was really into putting white lights into containers this year...

two on the console and this lantern by the mantel.

Come back next week for "You Were Always Jealous of that Lamp: Part II" where we'll take a gander at the dining room and kitchen.  How's that for a cliffhanger?  

**This post was not sponsored by any of the brands mentioned**

We're Trashy

Ou nightly walk is a highly anticipated activity for the girls, they start getting excited well in advance and by the time we're ready to leash up they're doing mad laps around the house.

But when they really flip out is on the evening walk the day before bulky trash pick-up.  We always anticipate that these walks will take at least 50% longer because there's SO much to do.  Noses are to the ground and there is work to be done.  Piles of stuff formerly relegated to attics and basements are suddenly sitting on the curb and it just blows their minds.  I usually walk along and marvel and how much junk there is in the world.

Well last night was different, we passed the usual heaps of grubby clutter but we also happened upon this...

It's a Bernhardt leather chair and it was sitting out on the curb a few streets over from us.  We took the dogs home then went back to get it, when we brought it in they were in disbelief that they actually got to have something in their house from the trash piles.  Enthusiastic sniffing ensued and after they were done I tackled it with my Dyson, some white vinegar, and some febreze.  

Honestly it's not exactly surprising it was someone's trash-- it has a big slit in the arm that the pillow is covering and the leather is in bad shape in some spots, but it's nothing a few strategic textiles can't take care of.   

We are planning to get a leather chair for the living room as we're definitely in need of more seating, but it just hasn't been a priority yet.  While I'm not in favor of filling our house with junk while we wait for the real deals I can make an exception for a comfortable, nice-ish leather chair that we got for minimal effort and zero dollars. 

  

The wingback structure and nailhead trim probably aren't things I'd gravitate towards if I had my pick, but it's fun to see something outside my normal taste in the house.  Lots of fun.  

I told Shep she should get in a more flattering position for these photos and she told me to quit being such a stage mom. 

The layout of the living room is a bit awkward for furniture placement because although it's a generous sized room it has a lot of doors and entries-- the front entry, french doors out to the backyard, an opening to the dining room, and an opening to the hallway.

Our long term furniture plans are a big U-shaped sectional that will wrap around one side of the room with a chair/ottoman or chaise to go in front of the mantle.  I like the sectional we have now, but the fact that it's armless doesn't make it the most comfortable for lounging and it's really not big enough for us plus 2 dogs. 

Birdie alone can take up a good chunk of sectional real estate.   

While our curbside find won't be in it for the long haul, in the words of Cousin Eddie, "it's a good quality item" at least for now.