We woke up to snow Sunday morning, I really don't like snow.

 Luckily, I stayed inside where it was warm and cleaned and straightened from the party Saturday night.

 While the hubby shoveled the drive way.

Thanks for sticking around to read this blog, I should have some home decorating and crafty posts coming in the next few weeks!

Random November 16, 2010

 Yesterday I finally couldn't take it any longer and lit a fire in the upstairs fireplace. It really wasn't that cold outside, I think it was 50, but it was raining and we were expecting a wind storm. Okay and I had a new Christmas magazine =) and a big mug of chai tea!

 A few years ago my Mom-in-law and Dad-in-law sent us these pine cones for the fireplace that are coated with something that makes the fire all different shades of blues, greens and purples. I absolutely love to use them, both inside and outside when we use our fire pit.

 This is my new favorite salad... baby greens, roasted chicken breast (cubed), almonds, sliced apples, Gorgonzola cheese, topped with olive oil, red wine vinegar, sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Yummy good, sometimes I stuff it into a pita too!

 We had quite the wind storm last night!

 I really thought with all the noisy branches hitting the house, roof and windows that there would be more downed branches.

 The nice thing is that all these branches will get used in my Christmas decorating =)

 While I was out photographing all the branches and piling them up, I noticed even more mushrooms.

 These are so tiny and cute.

 See?

 Of course, I still love these ones. I know my friend Jessica has these growing in her yard too.

 The front one almost looks like a button mushroom.

Kind of a boring post I know. I just haven't been feeling very creative so far this week. I've kind of had a tummy bug for a couple days. So I have just been hanging out reading Christmas magazines, a book about composting (I plan are starting in the spring) and studying up on chickens.

picture from heatherbullard.typepad.com

picture from heatherbullard.typepad.com

We have decided our house will be going up for sale January 15, 2011! So be prepared for some final home improvement posts, and a few days of silence while I am busy packing up things in boxes ;)

Have a pleasant day,

Welcome Fall and the spiders.

I am still waiting for the hubby to put up the GORGEOUS mirror I bought the other day at Home Depot! Martha Stewart has a new line that just came in! Stunning! The whole line! Anyway, I decided to show you my banner project anyway... finally played with my Cricut, it has been a while. Haven't finished organizing my craft studio so I had to bring it upstairs to the kitchen table! Haha!

I had some burlap I bought months ago, I cut some triangles. I bought the cool doily leaves at Dollar Tree the last time I was there, the time I spent $50.00! HA! I know... who does that?!

I placed my letters that I cut with my decorative paper and my Cricut on the doily leaves and added the glittery fall leaves that I also bought at the Dollar Tree on the same visit. I then added some buttons*grin*.

I had some coppery glittery Ric-rack so I hot glued that to the top then layered all the pieces back onto the triangle and glued them down,

I also cut an owl using my Cricut. I then topped it all off with a red button!

This is my fall mantle minus the mirror. I decided to go with just fall for now and will add a little bit of Halloween next month and Thanksgiving in November.

Picture that gorgeous black mirror up on the mantle. Now you may be wondering why I don't just prop it up there to take the picture? Well, let me explain. Umm, it is 1 inch too big, but I fell in love with it, and knew that if I brought it home the hubby could make it work. See the two little brick shelves above the mantle, well they leave an opening between them of 32 inches, the mirror is 33 inches. So the hubby is going to hang it from the ceiling for me so it will be in front of the two little shelves, which I hate by the way!

I am loving the banner! I think I need to make a couple extras for some people I know! Here are a few close ups! Enjoy!

Close up of the left side.

The close up of the right side.

September always means spiders here in Bellingham, at least at my house! Can you see him? From what I understand they are mating this time of year. They are everywhere outside.

Can you see him now? My camera was being difficult and would not focus on the spider for some reason, so he just looks like a blurry blob!
So we had a change of plans! I am not going to Vashon Island, but I am going to IKEA and Shipwreck Beads on Monday! Cannot wait! First stop will be Starbucks! Now I guess I better work on getting that kitchen painted! For some reason all I want to do is search the web for cottage ideas ;)
Have a GREAT holiday weekend!

The truck is loaded and my bag is almost packed!

Today the hubby and I finished one of the projects on my list for the back yard. He mixed up some concrete and I set seashells and beach glass into it. I was inspired by one of the Relay for Life garden tour homes last year.
It turned out fabulous! I will take a better picture when it dries!

We picked up the truck rental this morning, a 10 footer!
We loaded it in a couple hours! Woohoo! All this is going to Genna's new house! Most of it is hers anyway! Hehe!
My bag is almost packed! We will be gone for over 2 weeks! While I am there I will get the chance to see my dad, stepmom, nieces and nephews, my sister and my son! I will post some pics of her new house when I get there. It is a LONG drive... but so worth it!

Drying Lavender

I have two different kinds of Lavender growing in my backyard, I am not sure what kind they each are but they smell heavenly!
When we stayed at a bed and breakfast in Victoria a few years ago, the hostess served us Lavender Scones. They were scrumptious. They had just a hint of lavender in every bite! One of the blogs I read she used dried lavender as a garnish on a Lemon Bundt Cake, it looked so pretty with the yellow of the lemon and the lavender colored "sprinkles". I had chocolate lavender ice cream a few weeks ago from here that was oh so good.
So today I decided to dry my own lavender to use for cooking. I cut the two different kinds of lavender.
I made them into bundles with a rubber band wrapped around the bottom of each.
I found a paperclip...
I pulled it apart, and attached it to my 2 bundles.
Then I hung it in a cool dark place. It is going to stay there for a week. I will keep you posted on how it is going and what I decide to make ;)

I am continuing the yard work, so guess I better get out there, we are expecting rain over the weekend.

Have a fabulous day!