Spooky!

So I've been looking at Pinterest for months in excitement.  I came up with a million and one ways that I wanted to decorate the outside of our house for Halloween.  I had grand dreams of skeletons, spider webs, pumpkins that looked like they were eating a man's leg... you know.

So I went outside one Thursday evening with all my supplies and realized that it was harder than I thought.  Most of my ideas required a ladder.  I don't go on ladders.  Ever.  I did put out some spider web {which I will probably regret when I have to pull it out of the bushes}, a strand of orange lantern lights, and I planted some mums.

Yes, there is one random skeleton lounging in the bush.

 Please ignore the fact that I have a forest of weeds growing between my bushes... oh, and also apparently poison ivy as now I have a rip roaring case all down my legs.  Needless to say, I've given up on Halloween perfection and am quite happy with the result even though it isn't Martha Stewart picture perfect.

After all, this is just a practice run on outdoor decor.  The real deal comes at Christmastime right?

Do you do any decorating outside for Fall/Halloween?  

Linking up with:

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!

Decorating Dollar Tree Style: Bright and Cheery.

Motivation.  I seem to have very little lately.  Well, that isn't entirely true.  I'm motivated to read countless blogs, drink hot tea snuggled in a blanket with the window cracked and the chilly Spring breeze wafting through the apartment.  I'm motivated to cook, plan our vacation, and decorate.  Basically, I have not been motivated to work.  This time of year is always difficult.  Its the time of year when snow and chill is replaced by flowers and sun and a desire to be outside.

Whats the solution?  I have no idea, but making an effort to make the most of my personal time seems to do the trick.  Taking an extra half hour to read another chapter of my book, going for an after-work walk, getting a new haircut, and Italian sodas made at home all get the job done.

But tonight a trip to the Dollar Tree and some new, bright, and cheery decorations to replace the Easter place setting seemed like the best idea.

Now, I can sing the praises of the Dollar Tree all I want, but there are times when "the Dollar Tree sweep" can be more difficult than others.  Like when the place is packed wall-to-wall with shoppers, the line at checkout stretches for miles, or times like tonight... the dreaded limbo that occurs when a store is switching their stock from one season to another (Easter to summer)... the picking were SLIM. 

But I smelled a challenge.  I walked through that store three times before finally seeing these lemons.  Inspiration! 

From there it was a cinch.  Queue the tea towels, add the bright dishes, a clear vase, some cute placemats, and voila!  I added the Dollar Tree flowers from my last sweep, some books from our shelf, and my prized chalk cat from a local shop.

I can hardly wait to eat Saturday breakfast off these new dishes, drink a hot cup of coffee, and read a good book at the counter.

I know you're wondering about this cat.  You either love him or you hate him.  I love him.  Caleb hates him.  I think he has character.

All it took was a few inspirational lemons!

If anyone is looking for a good read I would suggest Bloom by the amazing Kelle Hampton.  I just finished my copy.  I laughed, I cried, I felt inspired.  Loved it!  I have an extra copy if anyone is interested!

Sometimes the simple things are the best things!

Spring Decor: Dollar Tree Style.

I love to decorate.  I love to decorate, but I hate spending tons of money for decorations that I only put out once a year.  Recently I have started a love affair with the Dollar Tree.  Its shameful really.  I start in the seasonal aisle and I pick up anything and everything that I think would make a cute decoration.  Then I scour the other aisle's looking for things that you wouldn't traditionally consider a decoration, but that I think could work.

Here's the beauty:  EVERYTHING is a dollar (or sometimes less!).  Here's the downfall: even things that are a dollar start to add up... Picture me at this point in the trip: I realize I have 63 items in my cart, hence defeating the purpose of going to the Dollar Tree to spend less money.   Queue my mad dash back through all of the aisle's, systematically putting everything back that I don't really need.  :)  Happens every time!  

Once you make it home the fun really begins!

And look!  I got tons of stuff and only spent $15.00!  All it takes is a little creativity and thinking outside the box and you have an awesome centerpiece for a table... or in my case, countertop.  

Some of my best finds were the moss covered stones, the chocolate bunny, and flower pot.  I usually don't buy fake flowers, but I've found that if you use them right they can actually add a nice touch.  If you think outside to box and get creative you can come up with some really great stuff!

This is my favorite spot to decorate.  We don't have a mantel or a table so this is definitely the best spot.  

Add a few Dollar Tree placemats... your Dollar Tree knick knacks and such... and there you go!  I love using my cake stand and Mason jars.  And adding a couple candlesticks always dresses things up.  I was really excited about how this turned out!

Have you done any decorating lately?  Whats your "go to" place to find decor?

Sometimes the simple things are the best things.