Welcome Fall!

Looking forward to...

The cooler weather...
Sweaters and boots...
Hot apple cider...

Fall decorating... mums, pumpkins, apples, acorns, colorful leaves.
Fall cooking... soups, squash and pies.
and the activities... pumpkin and apple picking, fall festivals.


How about you - what's your favorite part of the season?

Summer Vacation Highlights

We took our vacation this year at the very end of the summer - too close to the start of the school year! A little hard for me to relax thinking about all that was going to go on when we returned.
So we went back to beautiful Camden, Maine. This time though it was a little different. They had a heat wave. We escape LI in the summer to cooler weather locations...but not this time. Believe it or not, 90's and humid the week we were there - very unusual for Maine. And because it is so unusual - there is no A/C in the house we rent. But there is a lake in the backyard, so that is where the kids spent a lot of time.

Fishing, kayaking, canoeing, and swimming....

On the way to Camden, our first destination was The Maine Diner. My son had seen them featured by Guy Fieri on Diners Drive-ins and Dives. We had to stop for some Lobster Pie and Crab Cakes. It was a pretty popular spot.

They had a beautiful flower garden on their property. Don't you love sunflowers?!

So our second night at the house we decided we were going to make some Stuffed Baked Lobster (you have to eat lots of lobster while in Maine!). This was so good! All but one child like lobster. I think it was the best meal we had there, well almost.

My husband and I did go out for a nice dinner alone one night to this great restaurant in town - Francines.

I had stuffed zucchini blossoms for the first time and of course more lobster. Wish I had taken the time to take a pic - it looked and tasted sooo good! Love this place!

So we did manage to visit Acadia Park while we were there and drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain. I also took some great pics of the kids on Sand Beach (a beautiful rocky beach in Acadia).

Mermaid toes...

We ended that day with dinner in Bar Harbor. Even Bella (our chocolate lab) had a great time. Maine is very dog friendly and many of the restaurants allow you to eat outside on the patio with your dog.

The Celladoor Winery was another great find for us on this trip. They had such a gorgeous view from the deck. The wine was pretty good too! They're having a Vinfest the first weekend in October - I wish we could be there!  If you're planning to go I'd love to hear about it.

Our last night in Maine we made a delicious dish - linguine with shrimp and clams. We all enjoyed this one.  It was sad to leave - but I was anxious to get back to LI and cool off!

Of course we were right back into the crazy schedule when we returned - a soccer tournament and team BBQ.  The day after that was Labor Day - the last day of summer vacation, so we spent the day unpacking and getting ready for the first day of school.  That night we had dinner on the beach - we had to wear sweatshirts - just the way I like it!

Goodbye Summer 2010 - it was a great one but it went too fast!

Fall Touches

The weather felt like fall yesterday on Long Island and it inspired me to do a little something to my kitchen table (which is a new redo I will share in a future post). I put down a burlap runner, pulled out my white ceramic pumpkins and cut the last of my Limelight hydrangeas.  Today I'll roast a chicken in the oven - love the smell and so tired of grilling! Do you love the fall as much as I do? Visit Melissa's Fall Fluffing Party at The Inspired Room for more ideas!

End of summer...

Just taking a blogging break to enjoy the last days of summer and get ready for the new school year to begin. Hope you all had a great summer!

Be back soon with beautiful pics from our trip to Maine. 
I will also be sharing with you the planning and creating of the decor for my brother's wedding. It's been so exciting to shop and discuss all of the ideas for a beautiful fall wedding with my sister-in-law (to-be). The supplies have started to arrive and I can't wait to begin arranging!

Mud Room

This is a repost from my husband's blog.  I don't think I've ever shared our mud room project here.

We had a major problem. Four school children with backpacks, lunch bags and coats all piled up by the back door. Add to this mess everyone else's shoes, flip flops, and my size elevens made that the disaster area. Oh yeah, at the first sign of snow it was the desperate search for hats, gloves and scarfs.

I had to do something, but the space was extremely limited. As you walk through our back door, there is a six foot wide pantry to your left. Then comes the laundry room where Dawn usually throws everything into and shuts the door before company arrives with explicit directions to NOT open this door. To the right is the garage door and then two side by side closets that were used by the previous owner as a broom closet and kitchen storage. Not much room, but this was our main entrance, being right off the driveway.

I saw this picture in a magazine that I really liked and thought it would solve our problem. It was a simple bench seat that would store shoes below and a shelf unit with hooks for coats and bags and storage above. Only problem, I had no space by the back door to put this. The two side by side closets became very inefficient after I had central air conditioning installed. The air ducts occupied much of those closets. I decided to lose both closets altogether and set back the wall which created an alcove that I would build a bench seat and have storage above for winter wear.

We were very pleased with the final product. I backed up the beadboard with 1/2" plywood so the hardware, Dawn found at Lowes, would be strong enough to handle the weight of the loaded backpacks. I found the four baskets AFTER I built the shelf - not too bright. The neat part is the finish - of course, not my idea. After the paint job, I would have been done - admiring my work with a beer in one hand while patting myself on the back with the other. Dawn stopped me on the way to the fridge. "Now, it needs to be antiqued." That's when you make something brand new, look old! I would have never thought of this. I always tried to keep old things looking new! Anyway, it doesn't matter what I think. Before I knew it I was rubbing sandpaper on my brand new paint job, then came the stain and then a couple of coats of varnish. I think she wanted me to put on three coats but had mercy.

Visit The Lettered Cottage for more Mud Room ideas!

Paris Dreams...

This is where she has them.

Pink Flokati Rug - a gift from Grandma purchased at Marshalls

Paris Dreams sign- I painted - more coming to my shop soon!

I think this has been the fastest room makeover we have done, ever. It took just 2 weeks and a lot of focus to just finish to the end. Although I have to be honest, I do still have one more pillow to finish and the one that you see on the bed is almost complete. Just a couple of more ruffles to make and sew. Boy are those time consuming!! I also want to embellish the plain white lampshade on the nightstand - maybe this weekend.

So let's start with some before shots:

BEFORE

We changed the color of the pink on the walls. It was a mauvey rose before. Now it's Pink Destiny by Valspar. The bed was a goldish brown before and we painted it black. I was hesitant about that but loving it now.

As you can see, the dressers (which were mine from my childhood) did not have any knobs. Just never got around to that after I had painted a scroll design and antiqued the fronts of the drawers.

The dressers are now painted in a semi-gloss white and I've spray painted the cast iron handles (which I used to carry in my shop) black.

The desk in my daughter's room was mostly just covered in clothes. She didn't like to sit there to do homework and prefers a comfy chair.

The new chair...

And the new corner...

I think this part was the most fun. We made the magnet board,

bulletin board

and chalkboard.

"Fait avec amour"

Made with love

More info on those to come in a future post.


The clipboard was purchase here at Pale Pink and Roses.

The nightstand was moved next to the bed and the tall dresser was placed here:

The mirror was a gift and used to be cream - we sprayed it white...much better.
The Eiffel tower jewelry holder is from TJ Maxx. They have tons of Paris themed products.

The bedding was pretty and romantic...

and now it's bold and dramatic!! She loves it! We found it online at Walmart.

 The accent table that was sitting in the basement is perfect here.

Damask Lamp - Target  
Paris cup - TJ Maxx
Hot Pink Frame - Christmas Tree Shops

Some of the details:

I painted this sign for my daughter a few years ago and even though it's not a perfect match, she chose to keep it over her bed.

A beautiful ballerina clock - a gift from grandma purchased at Lavender Fields in Port Jefferson.

This gorgeous painting is by my husband's grandmother. Wish I could paint like her!! Isn't she amazing?

We didn't touch my cloud paintings on the ceiling. Perfect for Paris day dreams.

These gauzy sheer curtain panels were my favorite deal of the room. $5 for each pair of curtains at IKEA! The pull backs were green hooks that we sprayed black. Perfect!

The rod is another steal at $4.99 from Christmas Tree Shops.  And the valance is made from 2 63" panels purchased from Marburn Curtains.

Storage boxes from TJ Maxx. Of course!!

The Degas prints were a gift from many years ago. Finally framed!

This glittery Paris ornament is a favorite find from a store in NYC.

This huge bolster was plain white canvas and just needed something. Aren't these ruffles cute?

Cute little storage over at the message center for push pins, magnets and chalk.

The trophy shelf. Letter T from Christmas Tree Shops and the shelf, you guessed it, TJ Maxx.

Sleeping under the Eiffel Tower! Also from the Christmas Tree Shops - would you believe only $9.99?

Here is a closeup of the new moulding my husband installed. Very simple, love it!

And here she is, looking very happy in her new room!!

Linking this post to:

And click here for Layla's party "A Few of My Favorite Room - Re-do's 2010"