{autumn inspired decorating}

Well hello there:)

How are you doing on this Sunday evening!?!?

I don't know about you but I thought a lot about 9.11 today and it really made even think to myself just how precious life is and that we can't waste one day not appreciating it.

Sometimes we get caught up in the day to day grind....

and life can get pretty stressful.

but just stop and think about how stressful that day was when it happened 10 years ago.

think about all that the families who have lost someone go through.

No matter what is going on in life........the important to remember is that we have one.

Thanks for letting me share a feeling:)

If you came to dinner or spent any amount of time with me ...

you'd know....I like to share feelings:)

I say to my friends...come on let's share a feeling.

I say it at work....ok....let's say one nice feeling about the person sitting to your right.

Yes...some people...ok many people...think i'm nuts.

But I don't care....I don't think people today share their feelings enough.

So go ahead....share a feeling with me today:)

Ok...fine...enough about feelings.

This weekend my husband was out of town for the whole weekend on a golf trip.

Do you sense a bit of giddiness in my tone!?!?

Well you're right! I LOVE it when my husband leaves for a little bit!

Don't get me wrong...I adore him...

but just as much as I adore him...I adore my time alone!

This weekend while he was away....

I nurtured my creative spirit:)

I spent the weekend creating Simple Daisy happiness and

I redecorated ...including painting the walls...of our dining room!

He'll be surprised:)

And even more surprised to know he'll be laying hardwood floors in the weeks to come:)

Of course...I had to pour myself a nice glass of vino before I got to the task at hand.
Painting walls and drinking wine can be very interesting:)

Anywho...I've just been wanting a cozier feeling in the dining room....a relaxed, comfortable feeling.

So I switched everything up...
bought new curtains, a curtain rod {that's too small}, a new light fixture, a simple jute rug, plates {need chargers}, napkins....and painted the walls!
Now I just need pillows for the backs of the chairs!!
Maybe i'll find some next weekend at the Country Living fair! So excited to go:)

I love...love...love it! It's so cozy in there now! And the chalkboard wall....well i've wanted to do that since we bought the home 6 or so years ago!! I finally did it...and I couldn't be happier:)I have chalkboard walls everywhere else in my home....so why not in the dining room:)
 

Now I can write happy little reminders to myself....whenever I feel like it!

It's kind of hard to tell in photographs just how happy and cozy it looks now! But trust me....it looks pretty nice:) Hope my husband likes it! He'll be home later this evening:)

And I just freehand painted this little sign....C'est la vie!! Such is life! How true is that:)

Ah well......such is life! Fits for just about any situation!

So there you have it....a little autumn inspired cozy decorating inspiration:)

Simple and happy!

And it will be even more happy when I finish.....

Have a lovely, happy, inspired and creative week:)

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."  Robert Frost

{Spring Mantel}

Hello! How are you on this Sunday morning!?!?!?


Me...well I am getting really tired of winter and all the SNOW~
I am just really dreaming of spring!!


After I took down all my Christmas decorations I thought I would at least bring a bit of spring happiness to my fireplace mantel!!
It's ok to be super beachy in the middle of January, right!?!?!?!

I want to get some of those faux blooming branches but I didn't feel like leaving the house...so I just used whatever I already had on hand!!

Turned out pretty cute, I think:)

I wish I could take better photos but our living room is a VERY dark room...it's one of those 1970's sunken living rooms with no windows:(

But it is a pretty cozy room in the winter! Someday I would like to add skylight windows to brighten it up .... for now i'll just appreciate it as it is!

I'll probably change the mantel up just as soon as I go out and about but for now...I like it:) And I didn't have to buy a single thing! Love that!
And well....you know how I feel about all things turquoise!! I think the mantle kind of reflects the outfit I wore out the other evening...heehee:)

Oh and I thought I would keep you up to date on Simple Daisy happenings!!!
I have been working on new designs....still trying to get the soldering just perfect...but stay tuned for some soldered designs!!!

And thank you for giving me such wonderful suggestions the other day!!!
I have sprinkled in some stone choices! I am still undecided about Citrine....and I do have pearls but forgot to add them into this photo! Anywho...I think these choices give you just a bit of variety...in case....gasp....you don't like blue!!! But I think the choice still clearly reflect my style!!

Do you like the choices!?!?!?!!? 

And don't forget the chain lengths are also customizable. Basically...it's almost like a build your very own happy necklace:):):)

And as I was tinkering the other day....I just for the fun of it looked up the meanings of the stones I chose and I L.O.V.E. the meanings!! I think I should include them in my descriptions! I found the stone meanings here.....Kind of fun even if you don't really believe in that kind of stuff:)

I hope you have a fantastic Sunday!!! I will be working on Simple Daisy all day and I have some fun Valentine's Day crafts i'll be working on:):):) What will you be up to today!?!?!!?!?

"Happiness is not in our circumstance but in ourselves. It is not something we see, like a rainbow, or feel, like the heat of a fire. Happiness is something we are." John Sheerin

{coastal christmas}

Well hello!!
Glad you all liked my goofiness in the snow:):)
Your comments always make me smile!!! Thanks for taking the time to leave little pieces happiness:)
And you know: when life gives you lemons.....you've got to make lemonaide!
Or in my case...when life gives me grapes....I make wine:):)
Of course....in typical Indiana fashion right after that snow it's been in the upper 60's and GORGEOUS all week.
Which is much better then the snow! But it was fun to goof around in it!! I really do appreciate the first snow!

Which puts me in the mood for our annual winter break vacay.
this time it's Puerto Vallarta.

{ps...the photo's from Key West last Christmas}
So if you have any have to check out recommendations....please send um my way!

Mimosas and sandcastles on the beach Christmas morning for me!

But even though i'll be gone for Christmas....we always have a big holiday shindig and since it's only a couple of weeks away I thought I better get busy transforming our home into a Christmas wonderland!

Who cares if Thanksgiving hasn't even happened yet!

I am nowhere near done....let's just say....flour and salt will be in my future!!!
Stay tuned!!!

Oh and stay tuned for a lovely give-away on the day after turkey day!!!

Sometimes you can make the simplest of certerpieces out of things you already have!! This one came from everything I had on hand!! Yippee...
I really did tell myself...no turquoise this year!
I love those natural white & green christmas themes i've seen on the shabby blogs.
But I just can't do it!
I LOVE turquoise and I love glitter!! And really Christmas is one of the few times of the year when I can get away with the glitter!
So why not, right!?!?! 

Are you an early Christmas decorator or do you wait until Thanksgiving!?!?! I say...do what makes you happy...but maybe wait until after Halloween:)

Have a super happy weekend!

Follow your heart, but be quiet for a while first. Ask questions, then feel the answer. Learn to trust your heart. ~ Unknown

{Autumn Inspiration}

Hello there & Happy Saturday to you!
Hope you are enjoying the long weekend:)


I know I am! I woke up early so that I could enjoy a full day of happy crafting before I head off to a tailgate party:)
Sometimes it's just so nice to stay home and get crafty!

First up....
if you happen to have any sheet metal or galvanized metal lying around.......you could make a happy little magnetic starfish!
We have that stuff lying around since my husband uses it for his work but you could buy it at Lowes or Menards!

All you have to do is:
draw out a starfish
cut it out with metal scissors {I think that's what they're called}pound it to give it some texture
paint it
drill holes in it
use twine to hang it!
Easy...peasy!
And cute I think:) :) yes....no!?!!??


I also worked on autumnfying my home!
Since you know I love all things aqua blue and turquoise...I thought it might be ok to keep it around for my autumn decorating. Sort of a beachy autumn style!

Plus I didn't want to make new pillows just yet for the dining room.....since they are blue I thought I would just add a little more blue with the orange!

Oh and I got the candle holders from various thrift stores and just painted them!
I love how they turned out:):)


Well you know i've been making those crates.....
so I figured i'd build one this morning to use on my dining room table.
I think I am getting obsessed with building things.......thank goodness my gramps taught me how to use power tools:)


I love it! I think the blue and orange looks super happy:)
What do you think???
I might have wanted to do more cream instead of aqua.....but then I thought it would be good to just use what I had!

A very beachy autumn:):):)

I also spruced up the fireplace mantle......

wine bottles and twinkle lights.....how could you go wrong!?!?!?

and of course just after I snapped these photos I decided to have my first indoor fire of the season. It is pretty chilly here

today:(

Darn....would have been a much cuter photo. Owell!

Hope you have a super creative long weekend!!!!

Everyday is a winding road
I get a little bit closer
Everyday is a faded sign
I get a little bit closer to feeling fine
~Sheryl Crow

{Laundry Room}

Well Hello and Happy Sunday blogger friends:)
What a weekend it's been!
Ran 6 miles yesterday {knees are a little sore today}, mowed and worked in the lawn and planted some flowers!!! yeah!
While I was doing that the hubby was laying tile in our laundry room.
We have just begun on that room and I am stuck in what I exactly want. Maybe you can help!

I am torn between upper cabinets versus shelves above the washer and dryer.
Look how cute shelves are~

I think that's where my heart really is....but I am concerned about the storage...
Oh....our laundry room is also a half bath that many people use when we have summer parties! So it has to be cute and clean:)

No my laundry room isn't turquoise!! ha!!
But I do like the photo:)

This one's a little country for me but super cute nonetheless:)

and for the upper cabinets~

Still cute...but there's just something about the shelves that I love!
Or if I were really lucky and had a laundry room full of windows.....
ps....that rug is similar to the Dash & Albert rug I recently purchased! And I did purchase it for the laundry room.

So what do you think upper cabinets or shelves?!?!?!?!?

Now here's what else I am thinking......
I want to make a counter top that goes over the washer and dryer.
I was thinking of making it with river rocks....to look like this...

I know that's a floor and not a counter top...but you get the idea:)

Here's the sink....


But I am going to take the door off and sew cute curtains out of this.....

so I can hide the cat box in there:)
right now...it's right out in the open!
Who wants to see a catbox in the tinkle town/laundry room!?!?!?!

and then I am going to make a mirror similar to this!!

You got it a jute rope mirror!!!
This one is $250.00! I think I can make one that's just as cute for a fraction of the price:)

And there's a couple other little things i've done......like a green chalkboard wall next to the toilet....so you can write while you're tinkling!!! haha!!!!! Can't wait to see what friends write the next time we have a party!!

Well....what do you think about the plans so far?!??!

Hope you weekend was splendid! Tomorrow it's back to work....but only for 7 more weeks then it's summer break. YEAH:)

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” Epicurus

{The Craft Room}

Hello and Happy Wednesday to you:)
Glad you all liked my table scape from the other day's post!
Now....
guess what?!?!?
I finished organizing and re-doing my craft room!!!! Yeah! I am very happy with how it turned out. I only hope I can keep it so organized. Remember how it looked before?!?!?!
I already had almost everything I used.....It's amazing what a little can of spray paint can do:)
Oh and a change in the wall color....lighter, brighter and more airy feeling!!!!

I put the desk in the center of the room....so that opened up the space for a lot more storage options!

I still want my husband to get me a stainless steel top for my desk....but I am sure i'll have to wait awhile for that:)

I purchased a black open-back frame from Hobby Lobby and painted it aqua and fitted it with a painted peg board!!! Simple:)

I still need it hung on the wall....but you get the point!

I had old black frames laying around....painted them aqua and put some photos I took at the beach in them:)
Had the shelves....they were dark brown....painted them and scuffed them up!!!

and the striped magnet board...I made! Take artist canvas, paint stripes on it and slip and piece of galvanized steel in the back! Waaala .... you have yourself a beachy little magnetic board:)


See the glass candle holders on the top shelf?!?! I painted a stripe of chalkboard paint on those too!! They say....Live you life:) They make me happy!

I also painted those wooden shapes....like I did for the fireplace re-do.....and put them on my baskets!

I still have to hang up the frames I bought on this wall.....
Maybe this weekend:)
and you already know about the vintage frames I collect!!! I love them!!!!
I took my old file cabinet and painted with .......you got it......chalkboard paint:)
I love it!!! I am terrible at organizing...so maybe all the happy thoughts on the file cabinet will inspire me to be more organized:)
So there you have it!!!!
I still want to sew some curtains for the closet....I didn't show you that...but trust me....it's organized:)
Other than that.....I think it turned out GREAT!!! It truly makes me happy to be in there now!

What do you think!?!?!

"Life is like a blanket too short. You pull it up and your toes rebel, you yank it down and shivers meander about your shoulder; but cheerful folks manage to draw their knees up and pass a very comfortable night." ~Marion Howard