{ Getting Started!! }

I hope everyone had a wonderful week by adjusting to day lights savings. My internal clock kicked in and didn't want to lose my extra hour of sleep. To me, that's a lot to take away. My husband still laughs at me when there's 2 minutes before I have to get up and I will take advantage of every second of those 2 minutes.

Last Sunday, {heaven forbid my lack of sleep}; my Dad and Suzanne came over to help me paint our guest bedroom down stairs. {Same color as our master bedroom.} It was fun to learn how to paint the 'right way'. Some talent my Father neglected to pass genetically to me, along with his patience. I swear the man can do it all.

After painting, I was explaining my decorating ideas to my Dad and my thoughts of hiring help to paint the majority what's left of the house. Why not paint it myself? I have high vaulted ceilings and I'm a poor painter. I might be a fantastic cook; however, I am woman enough to admit when I suck incredibly at something.

Getting to the main point, my Dad offered that he would paint for me! I would pay for his time {a fraction of what a profesional painter would charge}and labor. What a deal!

I'm still looking for colors, fortunately, I have found some favorites. In the time being, I do have some colors I would like to do for a certain spot in the house. I have selected colors from {Pottery Barn.} 

I LOVE all the color palettes in this fan deck!

While looking at different colors and such, I began looking at the {Pottery Barn Catalog}and found some chic chandeliers.

Amanda's Note of Honesty: {I'll probably end up purchasing them, I do love them that much!}

Camilla 6-Arm Chandelier.

Perfect for our dining area.

And yes, I did say chandeliers...meaning...yes, buying 2 chandeliers.

Wine Bottle Chandelier.

I know, I know, pretty dang sweet.

Cal and I are planning putting a bar area in our basement.

This under a mahogany card table, cocktails and good friends, can't get any better than that.

Not to mention I love wine!

Let me know what you think!

{ Photo Credit. }

{ Lyndhurst Timber. }

Cal and I just finished two out of thirteen rooms in our home in a week! That's huge progress for us non-painters. It's been a enjoy making our home our own. We blared a local radio station and went to work on our new lyndhurst timber walls in our master bedroom. A few days before we painted our study, the color we pick was the Eddie Bauer, pine needle.

When we purchased our home a year ago as of tomorrow, we were fortunate enough to walk into a blank canvas. However, for the half of the time we've lived here, the plain-matte carpenters paint is starting to annoy me. All I see is cheap whitewash around me. The worst of it is, it gets dirty quickly and extremely hard to clean.

My goal is every pay period I will buy one to two gallons of paint and to finish a room. So far it's been going well!

 

Some fun painting. 

 

Meggie's new nickname.

 

And me... the painter.

{ Tips from Ina. }

For those who know me well, know that I'm a big fan of Ina Garten. I am profoundly impressed by her sophistication in cooking, recipes, entertaining and of course, her decor tips.


It must be fate: When I was looking on YouTube for painting tips in kitchens and I stumbled upon Ina's interview with { House Beautiful. } If you are like me, trying to re-vamp your kitchen, this advice from Ina is a must see!

 

{ Long overdue family photos. }

 

Grandma Naomi got to seek in too.

 

 

Photo Credit: G Smith Images

{ The Bliss of Fall. }

Fall is finally here! Majority of all of you know it's my [up most] favorite time of year. The coloring of the trees, leaves scattered in yards, apple orchards -- homemade apple crisp, turtlenecks with funky scarves and not to mention J.Crew's fall line of suede ballet flats. I couldn't be any happier!

This is my first fall away from my parents. I love the freedom and sharing a home with my new husband but,  I do miss waking up on the weekends finding my Mom in the kitchen making a hearty breakfast while cleaning up the house as I struggled to get ready for work. Or one of my favorite regular memories, Sunday afternoons as my Mom makes a mouth-watering roast, my brother Marty upstairs taking apart 'god-knows-what' and myself, doing homework in the living room while looking out the front windows watching autumn push oranges, reds and yellows back and forth throughout our street. I miss my old view and thankfully, I am starting to get use to our new canvas. Our home is not complete and that might be a part of the dilemma. Cal and I are always doing home improvements, adding our own delicate touches and soon we will be able to paint! I still need to meet with an interior designer to help us gather ideas how to paint our combined kitchen-living space. And yes, I know most of you older folks are thinking -- 'Geez! Those dang hardships of homeowners in their twenties!’

Unfortunately, this fall season has been rainy and snowy, however, still delightfully wonderful to me.This upcoming Sunday morning we are going to an apple orchard and enjoying what's left our recently so called 'fall' this year.

Here are some photos of my outside fall decorating and please forgive the snow!

Our scarecrow lady in our entryway.

Decorations from Bachman's minus the scarecrows. Thanks Aunt Nancy and Uncle Don!

Our other scarecrow. Cannot wait to carve pumpkins soon!