More Fall Decorating Ideas

I've been searching around the web and found some more fall decorating ideas. Thought I'd share with you and hope they inspire you.

Cute and easy ideas for a table centerpiece

If your summer annuals are now gone, just leave the dirt and add a premade twig or grapevine wreath, some berries and leaves and a pretty pumpkin. Also how about decorating your birdbath like this too?

A cute idea if you've got some old garden tools laying around. If you decorate with a bale of straw, how about adding some old tools into the decor.

A couple more tablescapes.

July 4th and other stuff

little patriotic cutie

I had a great 4th. Oldest DD brought the grandbaby (she’s just about 2 ½ now) up and we all went to the hometown parade, fairgrounds and that night the fireworks display. So glad it was a mild day, unlike last year—hot! We actually live in the country but 10 mins. either way are small towns that have festivities going on. The grand D played on those air blown jumping things until she was covered in sweat! She had a great time. When it was time, we went just outside the fairgrounds to watch the parade, we usually are farther up on the route and there are usually a ton of people, but not where we were. It came really close to us at the edge of the lawn. Grand D wasn’t too sure about being so close to noisy fire trucks and extremely large horses, but she did really well. Afterwards we found a place on the grass, spread our quilt and waited for the fireworks. When they started granddaughter was scared. She covered her eyes and kept saying she wanted to go home. Mommy and I tried to reassure her and get her to look, and finally I said we should cover her ears. Mom did and grand D slowly peeked thru her fingers to watch, but she kept her hand up to her face pretty much the whole time. Towards the end she started falling asleep! She actually fell asleep for awhile all the time the loud Booms! were going off! Who can figure out kids? Lol.











I finally broke down and bought some glass glitter. I’m not one to use much glitter, but I’ve been making some things that just seem to say “glitter me”. I bought a pound of clear to be able to sell a little in my etsy shop.

I also found a couple more clear glass containers to store arty supplies on my shelf. I got the pretty little lead crystal dish for $2 and the large canning jar for a buck more. The canning jar has some French words around the top which I think is so cool! I needed a large jar to keep the little bits of trim I have so I can see what’s there. I’m always forgetting I have some stashed here and there.


This little metal pan I found all rusty and I had the green spray paint so I now have a little tray to store all the little things that seem to accumulate on my desk. Now they won’t be knocked to the floor and lost in the corners. See I’m trying to stay organized.

A Senior Moment

That “expensive” year has already started. Does anyone with a senior or past senior in high school know what I’m talking about? lol. My middle child will be one next year and had her “Senior Portraits” taken yesterday. So up we were at 7 am for an 8 am appt. (which I wasn’t told about, as usual) in town (we are about 15 mins. from town). We actually arrived early and after looking at my swollen eyes and sleep marks still on my face, I asked my DD if this whole thing was really necessary. Of course my reply was the standard eyes rolled into the back of the head. We met the photographer (hereafter known as “photog” to save a couple typing strokes :-) and her assistant at a park I’d never explored, just only past through on a couple occasions. The photog explained what she had planned and off we went each of us carrying something, I’m carrying a bag of purple fake flowers that the photog assures me “look real” in pics. It was still just a little bit chilly but there were already walkers and dogs about the trails. It was a nice park, it had a bridge over a little rushing creek, lots of trees, and areas of flowers bed plantings. The photog asked if there were any questions and did we bring our check and then we proceeded down the path.

The night before I was shown the price brochure and was assured by DD in a loud voice that she had shown me this a long time ago (well I didn’t remember, but that’s not unusual). We settled on the lower price range photo package, which sure isn’t cheap in my book, with prices ranging from about $200 to $600 and of course you can add even more from the “ala carte” side!! I then said go talk to your Dad he’s got the checkbook! We aren’t the type of people who need hundreds of pics to send to relatives. We don’t have that many, and only figure the immediate family would care about having a photo anyway, i.e. grandparents, sister, etc. Anyone else would probably, go “yeah, ok, so we got another pic of some kid we barely know and throw it in a drawer, never to be seen again until their estate is cleaned out. We chose just a few photos and the option of one “pose” and figured it would be fairly easy when we got there.

We stopped at the bridge and she set up an impressive shoot with a very nice digital cannon camera (read: jealous) and the assistant (a petite fresh-out-of-high-school young woman) had these large reflectors to hold and different angles. I made jokes about arms of steele, yada yada. So…the photog got into clicking away asking for smiles, turn this way and that, chin up, ok, now climb over the top of bridge railing and don’t fall in the creek kind of poses. After what seemed like eternity, she said it was time to move to the next spot. Which surprised me and my DD and I looked at each other as we assumed it would be just the one pose. So off to an area of trees… the photog then set up again and wanting my DD to do the old tree hugging, lean against, be one with the tree poses. But before that, the photog took out some garden clippers and proceeded to cut down some hanging branches from the tree and throw them aside. Well, that surprised me, and I wondered if the parks department often wondered where all those cut branches come from, as I saw several laying all over the place. While my DD was doing her best not to twist her ankle and fall down around all the roots sticking out of the ground, I made a comment about her not doing the scene from the movie “Superstar” (with Molly Shannon of Saturday Night Live fame, if you know the movie, you know what scenes I’m talkin’ about, lol), and she opened her mouth in a “guffaw” and the photog laughed and said she just got a shot of her uvula. But I don’t think they knew what I was talking about. Can’t wait to see that one tho! Yeah, I do have a warped sense of humor. Then after it seemed like another hundred pics, she wanted my DD to move down the slope near the edge of the creek. By now I’m getting hungry, my legs and feet are tired from standing and I don’t know what time it is.


After moving my DD up and down the bank, forward and back from the edge, there were a couple of times when I giggled, when the photog kept saying “ok, another step back, ok just a little more”… I was picturing my DD falling into the creek, he he. I guess my DD had the same thought as she took a look behind her real quick, but didn’t move her hands or smile from the position the photog had asked her to do. What a little trooper! Then the photog asked the assistant to get the clippers and prune some more of the parks’ lush and beautiful foliage near the water’s edge. Obviously we couldn’t have any funky foliage in the background of these shots. When the assistant didn’t get it quite right, she climbed down from her little step ladder (she was pretty short) and did the job herself. By now I’m walking in little circles and lifting my legs as they feel like they’re getting varicose veins.

Another eternity of photos and asking me if my DD looks ok, anything else I want her to do, etc. Nope, and she says it time to move to the next. The photog says “now we get to use the flowers. We go even farther down the path away from car in the parking lot, which I longingly look back at. Climbing down another slope, they both start cutting more foliage then start placing the bouquets of flowers in amongst the blackberry vines. I don’t have the vision to see what they are planning, but soon find out, as they set my DD down on a piece of plastic behind a rock slightly bigger than a basketball. They have her sit what looks like “side saddle” with her arms folded across the rock. The photog heads back to her ladder and my DD catches my eye with a look that says, “I’m being contorted and in pain”. So after more body contortions and with more “head left, head right, tilt, chin up, etc.” commands, they take a little breather. During this time I started feeling sick, a little nauseated, and clammy (which had me a little worried as I’m not one to be sick), so I say I really have to excuse myself and go back to the car as I’m not feeling well. The photog said “you’re not going to pass out, the last one that said that passed out”. I assured her I was not, never had in my life. She then says they only have two shots left, they’ll be right there. I start to walk, what seemed like miles, back to the car. I get to the car and check the time, I’ve been standing for 2 ½ hours! Not to overlook my DD was doing everything but standing on her head all that time, too. Shortly, I saw my DD walking back and then a few minutes later the photog and assistant. I got out and we made small talk about sickness yada yada, I politely refused to come closer in case I was really getting the flu or something, gave her the check, made an appt to come view the shots later and left for home. Whatever was going on with me abated shortly after eating and laying down when we got home, go figure?

Well I have to say that whole thing was an “experience”, and actually the photog was very nice. I can hardly wait to do it again in three years when my son is a senior. Maybe he’ll drop out of school before then…over my dead body, lol. These pics here are self portraits my DD took awhile ago.