Fall Inspiration... Is it too early??

  I'm itching for Fall.  Partially its because I am so eager to see the leaves change all throughout the Tennessee mountains.  I've heard how beautiful it can be and I can hardly wait to sit on my back deck with a cup of hot cider and a slice of pumpkin pie.

The other reason is because I have been obsessed with pinning new Fall decorating ideas... specifically Halloween ideas.  I know that my excitement is because I finally have a house to decorate.  Caleb may have to reign me in...

Here are a few of the amazing ideas I have been drooling over:

Sweet Something Designs

Candace Stringham Photography

Delish

Feeling Some Love

Hostess With the Mostess

And finally......

Martha Stewart

I love those fanged pumpkins!!

Are you eager for Fall?  What are you looking forward to the most?

Officially a Southern Blogger!

Check it out!  I guess I am officially a Southern Blogger!  If you also are a Southern Blogger and want to link up, visit Rebecca's blog Let Them Eat Cake to find out how and grab one of these awesome buttons for your sidebar like I did!!!

This weekend has overall been fairly uneventful... except for my husband eating chicken feet at the Chinese restaurant last night.  I'll spare you the pictures (for now :)  The highlights include getting plenty of sleep and making a trip to Costco later this afternoon.

Check back this week for my next room reveal and the results of my spray painting party!

The One Where I Went to IKEA (and had a panic attack).

I have been obsessed with making a trip to IKEA ever since I found out that we were buying a house and up until last weekend I had never been.  Somehow... miracle of miracles... I talked Caleb into making the trip to Atlanta with me to pick out some things for our new home.  This was after I lectured him extensively that there was to be no complaining and no raining on my parade!

When we finally made it down there and the building came into sight I was grinning from ear-to-ear like an idiot!  I felt like I had made it.  Like I was at the Taj Mahal of affordable home decor.  Like no one could bring me down off of the high of the endorphins and adrenaline that the bright blue building and yellow lettering was pumping into my brain.

So we parked our car.  We went inside.  It was packed.  The only thing that I can think to compare it to was a day after Thanksgiving sale.  People were running into each other and there were wall-to-wall shopping carts. I ended up having a minor panic attack in the lighting section and Caleb had to lead me to a less crowded aisle!  Ha!  So... needless to say there are no pictures of me inside the store!  

I did end up finding some really great things to use to decorate our home and I can't wait to point them out in my next room reveal post.  By the time I left I was again grinning crazily and Caleb (Debbie Downer) had to remind me that I had even had the panic attack in the fist place.  I'm already thinking about my next trip!

We skipped the Swedish meatballs at IKEA and went to The Varsity instead.  You've probably seen this on TV if you watch the Food Network, like, ever.  

Can you say chili cheese slaw dog?

Fab.

Sometimes the simple things are the best things.

Craft Quicky: Fabric Covered Canvas

Framed fabric seems to be a pretty popular decorating staple right now.  My friend Lauren over at LA Stitch recently posted about how she used framed fabric to decorate her new apartment and I loved how it looked! 

I have never framed fabric, but something that I have done several time in the past that is pretty similar is covering a piece of canvas with a piece of fabric that I wanted to incorporate into the room.  I'm not a seamstress by any means so this is a way to use fabric and easily incorporate color and interest into a room.  Its also really inexpensive!

In the guest bedroom that I recent finished I wanted something cheap and easy that would have a big impact and take up a big chunk of wall space.  I didn't have a picture frame, but I did have a large canvas that I had started a project on and never finished (imagine that...).

You only need a few supplies:

A canvas

Piece of fabric

Scissors

Hot glue gun 

** I also recommend ironing the fabric well so that no wrinkles show.

After ironing your fabric, place the canvas face down on the material.  Its easiest to do this on the floor, but my little kitten wouldn't let me get any work done.

Put hot glue along the back part of the canvas where the canvas is stapled to the wood frame.  I staple gun also work really well for this project and enables you to stretch the material tighter.  I don't have one so hot glue worked just fine.

Be sure that the fabric is pressed into the hot glue securely so that it stays in place.  Also be sure to stretch the fabric tight so that the look is clean on the front of the canvas.  The corners are a little more difficult to maneuver, but make sure that the fabric doesn't bulk in these areas.

The last step is to hang the fabric on the wall to enjoy!  Done!

Easy.  Cheap.  Big Impact!

Quick and Easy Recipe: Rhubarb Topping

I LOVE rhubarb!  My grandmother makes the most amazing rhubarb pie and I think I could eat it every day which is interesting because when cooked down it resembles green snot.  Appetizing, I know, but I wanted to give you fair warning so that its appearance won't deter you from trying this delectable fruit... or vegetable depending on where at in the world you are.  In the United States rhubarb is considered a fruit, but in other countries is often considered a vegetable (just a bit of rhubarb trivia!) :)

Anyway, I'm always trying to think of new ways to eat rhubarb so today I am going to show you how to make a rhubarb topping.  The topping is pretty versatile and really could be considered a type of compote.  I have eaten it on waffles, ice cream, by itself and even on toast.  Mmmm!

This is rhubarb.  It looks like celery, right?  If you take a bite of it raw you will find that it is very sour and its pretty tough.

To make the topping you are going to cut it up similar to how you would clean and cut celery.  When you buy it in the store you will find that some rhubarb is very red and some only has a little bit of red.  I'm not an expert, but I typically go for pieces that have more red on them because one time I read that the red pieces are a little more sweet, but I'm not sure if this is true.

Next, throw them in a saucepan and add 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar.  I used about five medium stalks of rhubarb and 3/4 cup of sugar was plenty for me.  Cook it over medium low heat.  Stir occasionally.

If you are feeling really fancy you can cut up some strawberries to throw in the mix!

Don't be alarmed when the rhubarb starts to break down and look slimy/stringy.

While the rhubarb is cooking... it will take about 15 minutes or so... you can prepare what you will be eating with your rhubarb.  We ate ours over waffles last Sunday and it was AMAZING!  I was feeling lazy so I used a mix.  This one is pretty good.

You know the rhubarb is done when it looks like this.  Mmmmm!!!  Delicious!

It will taste tart even with the sugar and is perfect over a savory waffle.

Sometimes the simple things are the best things!

Guest Bedroom Reveal!

I've been working really hard at making our new home and refreshing and relaxing space.  This has been a challenge because I have a limited budget.  I have been scouring Pinterest and home decor magazines like crazy to find inspiration, and the more I pin the more I realize that I am drawn to cool colors like blue and gray and I tend to lean toward rooms that are on the monochromatic side.  

I decided to go with blue, white, and gray for the guest room and wanted to steer away from a look that was too trendy and I would grow tired of as soon as the next best thing came along.  I love the look of blue and white pottery and when I saw the bed spread at Home Goods I knew that I wanted some blue and white pottery pieces in the room as an accent.  

So without further ado, here is my newly redecorated guest bedroom!

I think for the full affect you need to see the before and after:

No surprise that they chose to pain this room yellow...

Most of the items that I chose to use in the room I found for a very inexpensive price, were given to me, or I pulled from another room.  The table below belonged to my father, the picture frame is from Home Goods and was on sale for $4.00, and the white cloth is a tea towel from The Dollar Tree.  The lamp is new from T.J. Maxx.

This picture is slightly blurry... sorry... This dresser belonged to my parents and I will eventually dress up with some new handles.  The tea light holders came from a local shop and were $2.00 a piece.  I already owned the vase and the flowers and tea towel are both from Dollar Tree.

I absolutely love this rug!  Initially I didn't think it was going to work in this room when I picked up along with the bedspread from Home Goods, but I think they are perfect together.  I like how all the different patterns add interest.

Cinderella likes it too!

Micah, my SIL, made me this cross stitch as a Christmas present the year that Caleb and I got married.  I love it in this room.

My mother collected Fire King for years and when she downsized I inherited part of her collection.  I never would have thought to put dishes in my bedroom, but I kinda like it!  

One more time... the before and after...

I think this room came a long way from its yellow fairy sticker colored walls.

It just needed a little TLC.

Ahhhh!  Much better!

Linking up with Sarah from Thrifty Decor Chick!

The One Where I Saw Rock City... And Some Other Stuff.

 See Rock City.  It's written everywhere.  On birdhouses, the side of barns, and billboards on I-65 starting way back in Nashville.  "How could you live in Chattanooga and not see Rock City," I thought?  So last week when Micah, my SIL was visiting we decided to check out the more touristy side of Chattanooga.  We went to Rock City.

We walked through Fat Man's Squeeze... which would indeed be quite the feat for a fat man.

We saw the magnificent waterfall which I am pretty sure is man made.

And we saw the gnomes.  Odd.

Now at least we can say we saw Rock City I suppose.  As hokey as it was I'm glad that we went.  It was a beautiful drive up the mountain.

My Mama, her fiance Tom, and Caleb's parents also joined us for the weekend and Saturday we made the trip up to Point Park which is located on the same mountain as Rock City.  Unlike Rock City, there is nothing man made about this park... except the cannon's that the soldiers drug up the side of the mountain and are now on display in the park.  So beautiful.

Its not all been fun and games around here though.  We've been working in the yard to tame our shrubs and de-jungle the backyard and I am still trying to get everything set up just how I like it.  I also started my new job this week.

And I shouldn't forget to mention that we adopted this little baby.  Don't let the cute face fool you.  She is a little devil.  Splinter is gradually adjusting.

Several people have asked to see pictures of the inside of our house.  Here is a little peek pre-furniture.  Sorry for the horrible lighting... the wall color is grey.  I plan on showing some before and after room reveals this weekend!