Macrame Hangers

Hello!

Happy Fall!

We have raced right through summer, and I didn't even post!

I seem to do that...take summers off.

I don't know why I do it, I always love

going back through my posts and checking out

the changes that we've made through our house. 

Inside and Outside.

Speaking of which, yesterday marked our 6 year anniversary!

Oh my goodness!

I think I need to do another before and after post of 

all the changes we have made to our home...

SIX YEARS!

This time it's been so long, that when I opened my blog today

I realized that my blog roll is gone!!!! and that top bar of links

is missing too...not sure what that is about, but I will be 

linking my favorites back up gradually....it takes me a little time.

Anyways, today is a quick tour or the

ever so slight, fall decorations I put through the main

living space. 

 Next post I will show our Witch's Cottage.

,

When I was in Winners I found these fun napkins, I was hoping for 

a table cloth or throw pillow covers, but these will do!

I layer them over a larger tablecloth to add to their impact,

and who doesn't like some good layering!

The navy and brass are perfect with the dark wood table.

In the kitchen we were finding that we were closing the blinds to give our

neighbors below us a little more privacy.  In turn, shutting

the sunshine out too!  

So, I've come up with a solution for the time being...

a low placed cafe curtain.
It seems like we are still looking down on them in
this picture, but I was standing on the island trying to get a
nice picture of the window, I don't usually do that ;)
But, I never seem to close the blinds
anymore.  Lots of light can shine in now.
There was a succulent that sat in the sun on
that window sill, but I couldn't see it anymore so
  I 'You Tubed' a how to video
and made a few little mini macrame hangers.
So easy and slightly addictive :)

I hung a little hook with an anchor in the ceiling so it wouldn't crash down
on anyone, I always hate messing with ceiling gyproc,
it's not as easy to repair.

This succulent wasn't getting enough light so
it was stretched right out, reaching.
I cut off the top half and shoved it into
the soil...we'll see if it survives.

And I made another hanger for the dining room.
(addictive)

Macrame hangers can be made from jute,
yarn, or strips of fabric of any kind.
Keep in mind the strips need to be about 1.5 times the length
of your finished product.  My windows are longer and I
wanted them to hang a little lower
 so I used a LOT of jute.

Happy Crafting!

Slipcovered Patio Set

With our youngest graduating in a week(!!!)

we have been getting the house all shiny and ready

for our families to come and enjoy our celebration.

A very exciting event in our lives!

Today when I was cleaning the patio and washing the slip covers

 I realized how Uhhhgg- lee 

the cushions underneath were.   

  What a difference the covers have made to our patio....

compared to the before picture below...

I made these cushion covers from painters drop cloth 

as well as the pillow covers.

I stencilled the pattern on top with fabric paint. 

Not expensive, and exactly the look I am going for.

I purchased this planter last year at Winners\Home Sense,

I had no idea what I was going to plant in it, but I knew

it would work well with this refreshed patio.

This is my first year growing succulents....

I LOVE THEM! 

I am really hoping that they will overwinter for me.

Hope you enjoyed seeing the transformation.

Xeriscaping Our Front Garden

I have been plotting and planning for the last two years.  Our

front yard was about 75%  grass.  In this city, there is a NO pesticide 

NO herbicide by-law.  The past few summers have also had some serious

watering restrictions.  I felt really crappy about trying to keep a green

lawn knowing it was such a waste of a valuable resource. So we

just gave up on our grass in the front.  Weedy, yellow grass, it looked very

neglected. I'm sure our neighbours loved that!
  I've been studying the gardens around us and

 what is doing well in our extreme weather conditions.
We wanted low maintenance, xeriscaped buffet for the birds and

 bugs.  In time we would like it to look slightly overgrown, and a little

bit wild, creating a warm welcoming entrance to our home.  

Just for the heck of it...

here are some old pictures of the front yard.

This was a ton of work!  Extremely labour intensive, but worth every sore

muscle and every broken nail ;).
 We started the project in March.

 The weather was amazing, and the plants I wanted were

 in stock at the local nurseries.

We removed the grass with a rented sod cutter.  As soon as the sod was lifted

out and the blank slate was exposed, I knew we made the right choice.

The ground underneath was terrible.  Rocks and clay.  No wonder the grass

couldn't handle the heat!

We moved some boulders around to open up the top portion of the garden

and created some random tiers to help with the slope. 

Living in a higher elevation, I knew I wanted it to work with our surroundings.

Working towards a natural mountain trail look,  

boulders were the obvious choice.

Deep, wide holes were dug, adding a lot of wood chips and compost to each hole,

 creating an organically rich enviroment for my new babies to thrive in.

 I am hoping over time it will all fill in and fade out the path edges. 

We planted variegated dogwood, fragrant sumac, potentilla, ninebark, mugo pine,

junipers, and one more Austrian pine.  I am on the look out for some variegated irises

or woodland bulbs to plant along the path edges.

Once everything was planted and thoroughly soaked, the drip line was installed.

This will be a wonderful water saver. Water being delivered right
to the roots.  No evaporation or waste on the road or drive way.
 Then, thick landscape fabric was laid
 below the rocks and the gravel pathway,

  reducing the amount of weeding.

However, I left the area under the wood

chips free of the landscape fabric so I can enrich that soil annually,

 and possibly add some more plantings if I

get the urge. ..ha....if I get the urge :)?!?

  

 We were able to re-use the solar lights along the path. I nestled
them in amongst the rocks and wood chips. The copper
works beautifully with everything.

Creating a pathway 

 seemed to work well in breaking up the length of the front garden and it

also connects the basement entrance pathway to the front door.

View from our front door...

And there you have it...hope you enjoyed seeing our changes.

Thanks for stopping by!

Link Parties 

Thoughts from Alice-Sundays at Home

DIY Vintage Chic-Friday's Five Features

The Cottage Market-Morning Cup of Joe

Have a daily cup of Mrs.Olson-share your cup

Christmas Dining

Welcome!

I can't believe how fast the clock is ticking.
Phew.

Gradually, I am checking off the items on my to-do list.

Decorating is pretty much done and

now I am just adjusting and tweaking here and there. 

Come see what I've done in our

dining room and kitchen.

We painted the dining room, kitchen and living room last 

New Years and I am really happy with the subtle difference 

it's made...this is the new color below...

and this is the old wall color below.

The old wall color almost looks peachy in this 

 Halloween picture.

It's always fun to look back at old choices,

I think that is why I am always so compelled to 

document our changes.

All the little lamps on top of cupboards and shelves

are set on timers.  I love when they click on and off through

out the day.  This little lamp really brightens up the dining

nook through the winter months.

The baskets, hidden by the stockings,

on the bottom shelf are filled

with cookbooks and recipe cards.  

I love decorating above the cupboards in the kitchen.

All that lovely space to display collections, I can't let it go to waste!

This year I purchased large, plastic, mercury glass-looking 

ornaments at Wal-Mart.  They are the perfect size to use with

my red ornaments from a few years ago. 

I set the table for fun,

we use it daily so it wont stay like this for long.

Every corner of our main floor gets full use.

It's not too big and not too small.
Efficient.

Normally I am not a big fan of red, but this 

year it is working for me.  I have

been adding a bit more then usual.

In this picture you can see just how 'cottage-y' our home
really is.  There is no great expanse of space, but I
can put all the leaves in the table and really
stretch it out if we need to...or
we can squish, in true cottage style ;)

So glad you stopped by!

Hope you are enjoying the season!

I am joining

From My Front Porch To Yours

Cozy Little House

Coastal Charm

A Stroll Thru Life