Fall Leaves Felt Bunting

  

Yesterday, I looked out my window and noticed the tall ornamental grass in the back yard is starting to ripen into plumes.

It's still summer hot here, but this is a lovely sign that autumn is just around the corner!

  Fall is by far my favorite season here in Boise. The name Boise comes from the French word for woods. When French trappers first traveled through the desert and saw the green trees along the river, legend has it that they shouted, "Les bois, les bois!" The woods, the woods! 

Any day now, les bois will begin a spectacular show of fall leaves like these from last year.  

 These saturated fall colors and soft fuzzy warm felt go together like peas in a pod, don't you think? Last year I came across this photo on Pinterest of fall leaves made from felt.

Lil Fish Studios

I tracked the source down to Lisa of Lil Fish Studios who made these leaves for coasters out of handmade felted wool from sweaters and coats. Lisa also makes and sells adorable handmade felted acorns in her Lil Fish Studios Shop. When you visit Lisa's blog, be sure to also click on her Flickr tab to see her gorgeous photography. What a treat!

I was inspired by Lisa's leaves to buy some felt squares at the craft store and spend a few fall evenings in front of the TV last year embroidering this simple fall bunting. I sewed the top edges to some twine and hung the leaves from my hutch. I love the way the bright autumn colors stand out against the black hutch. 

Pinterest

If you're starting to feel like fall, too, hop on over to my Fall and Thanksgiving Pinterest Board for tons more autumnal pinspiration.

Thanks for coming, and have a great day!

I'm partying over at these great parties this week!

Rooted in Thyme
Common Ground
My Repurposed Life  
The Charm of Home
Craftberry Bush 

 

 

Kitchen and Dining Room Remodel

I'm getting a new kitchen! 

Except for the purchase of new appliances earlier this year, I've lived with the same kitchen for almost twenty-five years. I've had the same lay-out, cupboards, floors, counters, sink, and appliances for  twenty-five years. The only thing we had to replace in all that time was the faucet about ten years ago, and I repainted my cupboards myself about two years ago. 

Notice I said had to replace. I sure wanted to replace and update all those things, but as long as everything worked, wanting new ones wasn't enough of a reason for us to spend the money or waste the resources. There were always better things on which to spend our limited income, like the bills, car repairs, family vacations, and college educations. (I bet it's the same way for 

a lot of you, too.)

Now our daughters have graduated from college and moved out on their own, and we've managed to finally save enough money to fix up our old kitchen. I've been researching and reading and pinning and measuring and shopping and planning, and I'm so excited to get started that I could practically burst! 

Of course I have to share it all with you!

 This is my dining room.

 You can see the kitchen and the dishwasher there just beyond this built-in china cabinet, and the family room is beyond the kitchen down a hallway.

 If you step through the dining room door to the kitchen, this is that wall with the dishwasher in front of you. 

The sink and window is to your right. (I think I need a wide angle lens because my kitchen is so small.)

This is the wall to your left.

 And if you turn back around towards the dining room, this is the wall behind that china cabinet. This wall is coming out to open the kitchen to the dining room.

Witt Construction via houzz

 This is my inspiration photo I found on houzz by Witt Construction. Our kitchen will be open like this to our dining room, which is open to our living room. I'll have the open concept floor plan that I love! 

We absolutely could not part with the beautiful 103 year-old built in china hutch that's original to this house, though, so we're having it moved to the back wall of the kitchen above the dishwasher where it will still be seen from the dining room and now hold our everyday dishes.

Country Living

  Like in this inspiration photo from Country Living.

 Before on the left, with our inspiration on the right.

 Before on the left, with our inspiration on the right. We're hoping to have wood counters and a bead board back splash like this, too. Both of these finishes could have been found in our 1910 cottage the year it was built.

   

 Future floor plan with the wall removed.

We'd love to hear what you think about our plans so far, and we'd especially love to hear any advice you have for us about remodeling our kitchen as we get started. We meet with our contractor tonight to sign our building contract, and then I guess we start packing up our kitchen. Of course, I'll take you with us as we progress through our remodel.

I'm so excited!

 But first I better finish today's project which is repainting our guestroom. It's off to the store for more trim paint. 

I hope you have a great day!

I'm sharing my new kitchen plans with these great parties!

Coastal Charm

Mod Vintage Life

Elizabeth & Co.

Our Home Away From Home

Savvy Southern Style 

Stone Gable 

From My Front Porch to Yours 

The Vintage Farmhouse

Common Ground  

Shabby Art Boutique

A Stylish Interior 

DIY Showoff

Friday Finds

Hi all! I hope everyone's been enjoying their week.

I'm always running to catch up after a Monday holiday, are you? I spent most of my week doing research for a big home improvement project we have coming up here at my house. It's the biggest and best thing since my sprinklers were installed!

I'll give you a hint: it involves tearing out a wall. Yikes! And let's just say, I won't be using my kitchen for weeks. More yikes! 

I'm so excited!

More about that next week, though, because today is all about Friday Finds.

Decorating Ideas Made Easy

 Jennifer at Decorating Ideas Made Easy shares a tutorial for turning an old milk crate into a fabulous ottoman. 

Chipping With Charm

At Chipping With Charm Laurel made a turntable spice rack out of an old spool. 

The Blissful Bee

 This gold chevron pattern lampshade was created by Amy at Blissful Bee.

We Call It Junkin'

 Dawn at We Call It Junkin' shared this photo of a chalkboard displayed at one of her favorite thrift stores. Love it!

At Home With Jemma

 Jemma from At Home With Jemma took a walk and was inspired to make this primitive natural FALL display. I must make one for my fantle.

I Wash You Dry

I love making hearty Sunday brunch when the weather cools off. These Maple French Toast Muffins shared by Shawn at I Wash You Dry will be perfect. Hop over and check out what else Shawn has up her sleeve for these muffins, and be prepared to swoon. 

I hope you enjoyed my Friday Finds this week!

Have a wonderful weekend and a 

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Fiesta Party Dip and Hot Air Balloons

Saturday morning we were awakened at my house by the sound of hot air balloons floating over our home.

 I grabbed my camera and rushed out to the backyard, looking up just in time to snap this shot. We couldn't believe how low the balloons were flying over the North End after taking off downtown in the park. It felt like we could reach right out and touch them, and they were so beautiful!

These folks were calling out, "Good morning!" to everyone below and planning to land right in the middle our little intersection. At the last moment they called down to their ground crew that there were too many power lines and rose up and away into the sky again. 

That was our excitement for the morning, and Boise State's first football game of the new season was our excitement for the evening. Four of my family members (including me) are loyal BSU Alumni, and we never miss a game.

Fiesta Party Dip is a seven layer dip that's a big hit all year 'round at our house, but especially during football games when the whole family gathers on the huge sectional in front of the TV in our family room.

So I made some Fiesta Dip after the balloons flew off, and let it chill in the fridge until game time. Since I had my camera out already, I remembered to take a photo and thought I'd share the recipe.

I just spread the layers right onto a big stainless steel serving tray, sprinkle the rest of the ingredients evenly over the top, and serve it with tortilla chips. I use the whole can of beans instead of one cup (can't waste it!), and I squeeze most of the seeds out of the tomatoes before I chop them. This colorful festive dip is perfect for informal gatherings like barbecues and pot lucks and makes enough for a big crowd of hungry football fans. I hope you give it a try.

There were no leftovers at my house!

  

Thanks for coming by to see what's going on at my house. I hope you have a wonderful week! 

I'm sharing my recipe this week with these fun parties!

DIY Showoff
Cozy Little House
Elizabeth & Co. 
 The 36th Avenue
The Charm of Home