It's all about the details...

Fall in a box...
Literally. Maybe.
All of our fall stuff is now packed away.

And now it's Nic's turn. He will be 5 next Friday and we are having a Vintage Cowboy party for him.
I've spent all day creating his decorations. I am trying really hard to use what I have and not spend any more on the decor. So far, so good.

And thank gosh we live in a new {and growing} subdivision... we have tons of scrap wood and stuff all over the place.

And really... when it's about Nic's party... it's all about the details.

I am committed to this theme, as you can see.
I've made banners, signs, labels, etc.

I figured I would get all of this done now and then next Thursday and Friday, I will get the grocery shopping squared away and the cupcakes figured out.

I have a feeling the next few days are going to go by so quickly. As have the last five years.

Sniffle. Sniffle.

Fall's Almost Up {and Leaf Banner}

I didn't get as much done this weekend as I had planned, but I decided not to sweat it.
I still have time!

I did, however, visit the husband's garage for a supply shop.
Seriously... there is a ton of useful stuff to reuse or repurpose. I love it. He hates it. He claims I don't ever put anything back. Hmph.

I found some wire... for the purpose of this post, I am going to call it landscaping wire.
The landscapers brought it over when they were going to stake my trees. It's the wire that is used to attach the stakes. It's easily bendable. I thought it would make a great banner.

It was an ugly silver color... okay, not exactly ugly, but just not the look I was going for. So I wrapped it in a cream colored yarn. Then I attached some leaves I found at Hobby Lobby. They are made of crepe paper; I love the colors. Their stems are made of wire, too... So it was super easy to attach them and then adjust everything.

The wire, we had on hand. The yarn we had on hand. The leaves cost $4.99 at Hobby Lobby. Cheap, but cute. ;) Gotta love those kind of projects.

Here is a glimpse of Fall at our house:

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Linking to:

Craft O Maniac

I'm Ready [a sneak peek]

I know that Fall doesn't officially start for another month.
I get that.

But I am so ready and so excited.

Here's a sneak peek of what I worked on this weekend...

The wreath I made on Sunday - took no time at all (compared to my spring wreath).

I already had the actual hay wreath ($3.99 from the Hobster). I bought the shiny ribbon at Michael's ($3.00 x3) and the leaves and balls (both $0.99) there too. The leaf ribbon I bought from the dollar store for - you guessed it - $1.00! Used my weapon of choice - my glue gun. And that's about all she wrote.

I love it.

Below... just a few pumpkins I pulled out. Sitting on a tray I got on clearance from Michael's.



You know, I used to love Michael's so...

But Hobby Lobby has SPOILED me with their darn good prices. I betcha they would have had sales going on for fall/autumn stuff. It's too bad they are closed on Sunday's though. My guy works on Sunday's and it's much easier sneaking things into the house when he's at work.

Linking to: Polly want a Crafter?
Linking to: Craft O Maniac

Creep

First of all - Happy Sunday!

Even though the weekend is almost over - there is a little something to be excited about!

Nic is FINALLY starting school tomorrow.

I really need to get him a haircut.

And a back-pack.

OK- enough about that... Feelin' a little stressed about my to-do list today.

Let's chat about something more creepy.

As in my purple lantana.

It's creeping onto the sidewalk.

And I have one creeping into my neighbors yard.

As much as I love summer - and was looking forward to it all Spring-long,

I think I am just about ready for cooler weather now.

There is so much I want to do in the front yard (i.e. replace said creepers) -

but it's way too hot to do it now.

The husband and I want to add more plants/flowers

to help make the yard look fuller and more colorful.

This is our "newer" red push tree.

It needs to be pruned.

Is that the right word?!

All those little "branches" at the bottom of the tree need to be taken out.

I am conflicted.

One person told me to gently cut them off.

One person told me to tear them off, so that they won't grow back.

What do I do?!

Mushroom soup, anyone?!

This is our second mushroom of the season, people.

They freak me out.

I love mushrooms - but the kind you buy at the supermarket.

Not the kind that sneak-up and freak me out.

Such an odd shape, too.

moving on....

My Ash tree is growin' and growin'.

Bet you don't even recognize her.

In January, she was a twig (using the term loosely) with zero leaves.

Now, she's filling out and growing up.

Soon she will want to wear mascara and face powder.

Oh wait, that's Isabel.

moving on...

The husband and I had to drop some trash off at one of the large containers the construction workers use (a blessing when living in a new community and have trash to get rid of). After we dumped our stuff in, we saw two pallets laying next to the container. I've been looking for pallets for awhile. And I didn't want to steal them from behind a store or anything (I don't look good in stripes). But since these were laying next to the garbage, I figured they were fair game.

I made Marcos get them and put them in the back of the truck.

I have plans for these babies.

Plan 1: A sign for my kitchen.

Plan 2: A sign for my porch (for Halloween)

Of course, I think Mr. HOA guy was driving around this morning and lingered his creepy stare a little too long. I am sure we will get a note about these being visible to the WORLD.

I had Alex move them into the garage.

Well, off to get started on my to-do list - which includes coupon cutting, grocery shopping, hair-cutting, and back-pack shopping. Fun.

P.S. The pictures are lonnnnng and skinnnnny. I can't find the charger for my camera and the battery is kaput. So I am using my new KODAK Touch video camera - which also takes pictures. Just not as nicely as my Panasonic.

I guess I should add "find camera charger" to my to-do list.

/sigh

A woman's work is never done, is it?

It's only official once the wreath comes out

Thanks to the invention of 3M and my new oil-rubbed bronze hooks, I am now ready to celebrate fall.

I know... it still looks a little plain. But, we are trying.

Here is Mr. Hottie Scare-Crow up close and personal.

And finally, we got around to putting 2 chairs on the front porch.

They are not the forever chairs, but they will do for now.

The evenings are cooling off [some] and it's been so nice to sit out and watch the kids play at the park across the street.

Happy Fall, ya'll!

EDITED TO ADD: We had a crazy storm just about all day yesterday; rain, thunder, lightening, wind - you name it!  At one point, our front porch chairs were blown into the yard. I opened the door to get them, and Nic said "Mom, you need to take down the Halloween Christmas thing so it doesn't blow away."

Halloween Christmas thing?

Oh. My fall wreath!

Chuckle Chuckle.

God I love that kid.