Reckless Bliss

-Snapshot of the Week-

2012-01-23T21:59:00.001-08:00

“We all struggle with our failure to communicate and our failure to reach beyond fear to love people.”

-Ms Mira Sorvino

(Photo credit Google Images)

My Mid-January Life

2012-01-17T18:40:00.001-08:00

I haven’t been doing too stellar of a job keeping up with blogging lately. Life seems to just get in the way at times. I have been keeping busy with various things however, none of which are altogether very exciting but what good is blogging if you can’t share your ho-hum life with people so I’m going to reveal my mid-January life to you readers out there and convince myself it’s worth while to give a read! Isn’t that kind of the whole gist of blogs anyways? Let’s find out!

I’ll start off with how most conversation commence, the weather. This shot is from my backyard taken earlier today.

The snow has been coming down in buckets and as much as I love the beauty in it, I do get nervous about people out on the roads.

It’s suppose to get to minus 20 tonight with wind chill.

So needless to say, it be cold ‘round here!

I’m currently in the midst of planning a baby shower for my (as the kids say) “BFF” and even though the gender of the baby will remain a mystery to the end we’ve agreed on a tea party theme. A lot of my time has been invested in browsing antique stores and thrift shops looking for vintage teacups and saucers or planning menus and invites. I’ll be sure to post more on that later as the plans grow more complete.

Since we’re on the subject of planning, I’m also trying to put together a memorable trip to Las Vegas. My fella and I have never been on a single vacation in seven and a half years so we decided it’s time! We’re hoping to go mid-March when it warms up a little. My big push for the bright lights is purely based on the fact that Ms Celine Dion is performing her show at Cesar’s Palace but lucky for me (and my fella), it’s a pretty inexpensive trip to take and offers plenty more to do for the non-Celine obsessed. If any have you have been and can offer advice on hotels or can’t-miss activities please do so!

I’ve really been soaking in the birdie visits to my backyard since the snowfall.

We usually always have bird food out but when it snows like this I make sure of it.

Those chickadees and sparrows need to keep their bellies plump.

I must admit I’m not the biggest fan of bird watching in my house. My devilish young Henri has grown an affinity for it as well. Don’t let his angelic white color fool you, he’s pure trouble. Lucky for the birds, he’s also an indoor cat.

He’s got plenty to keep him busy indoors though. Got to get out that pent up hunting aggression somehow…

So the birdies are safe from the wrath of Henri the Horrible for now.

Looming in the not too distant future is also my MIL’s birthday which means the task of finding the perfect gift and making a personalized card. I went with a cooking theme as you can plainly see; the woman loves her cooking.

Unfortunately, the inside completely alludes me as to what to write. One must be heartfelt, humorous, and poignant yet beware to not cross the territory line of offensive or lewd. Or maybe I put too much pressure on myself and a simple Happy Birthday would suffice?…. Naaaah, I’m pretty certain the words should rival Shakespeare and draw tears. Ideas anyone?

And with any good (and highly over-thought) card comes an equally important gift. She requested Faith Hill’s new perfume “True” which I of course ran out and got the next day (and by ran out I mean: crossed a border and went to five different stores to find.)

I also picked up this cutesy little gardening box for herbs from Michael’s. Don’t you hate it when you buy something as a gift then grow overly fond of it while it sits in wait to be given away? Should have bought two!

For Christmas my fella hit the nail on the head gift wise and got me this beauty. Every morning (and afternoon and night) this little gadget from Breville is hard at working chasing away my winter chills. It makes espresso, lattes, cappucinos, tea lattes, steams milk; I don’t think I’ve ever had so many hot beverages in such a short span of time. A big round of applause for my guy picking this out all on his own. (VERY unlike him and thus even more meaningful)

Whilst sipping my fancy beverages, I’ve also been reading as if I’m about to lose my eye sight, which makes for very little time to blog, do housework, bathe, etc. You know how it is :) I just polished off this book, The Story Of Beautiful Girl which I really enjoyed on a whole and would recommend. I also fell victim to some impulsive online shopping and picked up a few books I’ve been meaning to add to my collection:

They’re both really fun little books. The first is very nostalgic and a reminder of all the little things we’ve stopped doing in our society but shouldn’t have. The second is an up-beat, feel good, quick read full of positive messages to give your day a little boost. If I’m being honest, I bought it because I loved the cover but the inside had plenty to offer too.

So that pretty much sums up my mid-January of 2012. I’m eager to know what you’ve all been up to. Making resolutions and such, no doubt.

If you have the time to share then I’d love to read about it!

(Photos property of Reckless Bliss and credits to Pinterest and Google Images)

-Snapshot Of The Week-

2012-01-15T14:59:00.001-08:00

“Je veux faire pleurer les gens, même quand ils ne comprennent pas mes mots.”

(I want to make people cry even when they don't understand my words.)

-Ms Edith Piaf

(Photo credit Pinterest)

Pensées Parisiennes

2012-01-12T00:40:00.001-08:00

One guess where my mind is at right now…

(Photo credit Pinterest)

My Christmas Tree

2011-12-13T01:04:00.001-08:00

Christmas is in full swing at our house. The tree is always my favorite symbol of the season, I have hoards of cherished ornaments to show for it, and since this is our first Christmas in our first home I am extra giddy this year! I plan on sharing all my holiday decor in and around our house with you over the next couple weeks but I thought I would start by giving our tree the first introduction and show you some of my very favorite ornaments:

And that’s my tree!

How do you guys decorate your trees for the holidays? Do you have any traditions or ornaments that have a special meaning to you? Get in the spirit and share your festive stories!

(Photos property of Reckless Bliss)

Sugar, Oh, Honey, Honey!

2011-12-04T23:19:00.001-08:00

A very Merry Christmas seasons beginning to you all! I apologize for my lack of presence lately but I’ve been as busy as an elf trying to get my house ready for the holidays. Included on the to do list is my Christmas baking list. Every year at the start of December I sit down and browse what delicious treats I have the option to make for friends, family, neighbors etc. I haven’t perfected my list for this year quite yet but these are some of my considerations. Let me know what you think!:

This gingerbread house one is more of a, “I wish I could do that…” thought.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Sticks

Sugar Cookies

Marshmallow Hot Chocolate Stirrers

Thumbprint Cookies

Red Velvet Chocolate Balls

Gingerbread Cookies

Dipped Chocolate Balls with Candy Cane Hangers

Mmmm, so tasty! What are all your baking plans for these next festive few weeks? Feel free to share here on Reckless Bliss.

I hope you are all keeping warm and snuggly!

(Photo credits Pinterest)

-Snapshot Of The Week-

2011-11-27T03:52:00.000-08:00

“It's never too late - never too late to start over, never too late to be happy.”

-Ms Jane Fonda

(Picture credit Google Images)

Gobble! Gobble!

2011-11-24T16:44:00.001-08:00

A big hearty Happy Thanksgiving to all my lovely American readers!

Even though us Canadians celebrated our Thanksgiving in early October I am still enjoying all the holiday TV specials and envying the yummy meals you guys get to feast on this evening. In the spirit of Thanksgiving I decided today is a perfect day to express what I am thankful for as I’m sure most of you guys are doing at home as well. Family, friends, etc. is implied so I’m going to add a few other things I love to love!:

1. Free Printables

2. Beautiful Flowy Scarves

3. Apple Cider

4. Public Libraries

5. All Christmas, All The Time, Radio Stations

6. Things That Make Me Go, “Aww!”

7. Nostalgia

8. Owls

9. Things That Make You Feel Like A Lady

10. Warm Socks

11. Romance

12. Laughter!

Once again, a very Happy Thanksgiving to you all! (and good luck if you are braving tomorrow’s sales!)

(Picture credits Pinterest)

-Snapshot Of The Week-

2011-11-21T23:58:00.001-08:00

“Do the things you know, and you shall learn the truth you need to know.”

-Ms Louisa May Alcott

(Photo credit Google Images)

Pinning Party!

2011-11-18T00:24:00.001-08:00

Hello my lovely people, today has been a snowy, cozy, tea filled day and I thought I would add Pinterest-filled to that list by sharing some of the things I’ve pinning away at lately. Enjoy!

Hope you all have a beautiful weekend!

(Photo credit Pinterest)

-Snapshot Of The Week-

2011-11-13T23:19:00.001-08:00

“You don't need anybody to tell you who you are or what you are. You are what you are!”

-Ms Debbie Harry

*Photo credit Pinterest*

DIY Wall Art

2011-11-08T19:06:00.001-08:00

Happy Tuesday everyone, I hope you are all having a beautiful Autumn filled day. Today I wanted to share a little DIY project that’s been in the works for awhile now ‘round these parts. I have no problems starting fun projects but I’m really bad on that pesky following through part that’s so pivotal to the reveal of said project. Alas, this DIY was finally completed and I’m quite pleased with the outcome.

I was struggling to find the right piece for above my couch after months of looking and buying things only to return them later. I wasn’t satisfied with anything I found and was getting really sick of my plain empty wall so I decided to give up searching, roll up my sleeves and just make what I wanted.

To create this for your home it’s a few steps but they are so easy it’s well worth it. I did this entire project on the cheap too; in total it cost me about $40 start to finish. Here’s how it came together:

First thing I needed was supplies of course. We bought an MDF board from the local lumber store for $10.

We bought a rubber mat commonly used on the outside of your door for $10.

And we bought some spray in the colors we wanted to do our stencilled artwork in. We went with a chocolate brown and bright white but any color combo would work if you wanted to customize it to your home’s color palette.

After we measured out three boards to the size of the rubber mat we gave each one two coats of the brown spray paint as the base color.

It takes about 20 minutes for the spray paint to fully dry (or at least ours did, check your bottles at home) I suggest propping them up on scrap pieces of wood so the wet sides never come into contact with anything. Any time you see a piece of MDF laying flat we have it propped up to avoid mucking up the sides.

When it’s all dry it should look like this. Not very exciting, just your average piece of brown MDF.

We used our trash can layered with newspapers as the pedestal for spray painting the pattern which worked like a charm. The sides will need to be taped off to avoid being sprayed with the white paint.

Take care to not put the tape too far onto the MDF so it won’t interfere with the stencil.

Lay your mat flat and evenly on your MDF. The mat will stay put because it’s pretty hefty and meant to be non-slip so it does the work for you.

Spray an even layer of white paint on top of the mat and let it dry. Then repeat the process.

Take extra special care to get into all the teeny crevices and holes with the white paint to be sure they show up when the mat is lifted.

Let all the white paint dry completely before you touch the mat because if you need to add some of smudge it then you’re in trouble. These types of things never go back in the exact spots they started from.

The funnest part is the reveal! Peel the mat back slowly and put on your wow face.

Oh-la-la!

Repeat these steps as many times as you like depending on the number of pieces of artwork you want. We went with three but it can be done hundreds of times if you like….. and have the wall space.

You can leave it as is and have a really defined stencil look. We went the other way and sanded the pieces to have a rustic weathered look. This also really helps to blur the little imperfections bound to happen.

Here’s a closer look at what sanding it down looks. Be careful not to overdo it or you will start to lose the pattern which sort of defeats the whole purpose.

This is a shot of the completed MDF post sanding.

To seal the paint and give the boards a more finished look we topped them off a coat of clear finish Varathane in satin.

Doing this makes the boards look a bit more professional and it will also make them much easier to clean.

Now for the hanging process. Since this was just a piece of MDF we had to come up with our own way to hang the boards. We went with some scrap pieces of wood to give the boards some definition from the wall. The biggest piece got a hole cut into it for the little teeth hanger to go across. To attach the the pieces of wood we used wood glue and screws.

Here’s a close up of the pieces of wood we used. The little guy is for the bottom of the boards so it hangs evenly from the wall.

Pretty straight forward stuff once you’ve got your pieces cut. We attach the teeth hanger and added some cushioned wall protectors so it would sit softly against the wall.

The little pieces were screwed in and also got the cushion treatment

This is how the finished board looks with all the attachments.

And now for the best part, which is sitting back and enjoying the fruits of your labor!

You can get a sense of the definition from the wall that we attempted by using the small wooden pieces here which went well with our raised trim work below.

And there you have it my pretties. I hope you found this tutorial entertaining and useful. Please feel free to share your thoughts or DIY ideas you’ve used in your home too!

-Toodles!

(Photo credits property of Reckless Bliss

-Snapshot Of The Week-

2011-11-06T00:22:00.001-07:00

“I’m basically interested in identity, and I still find fascinating the question, "How do we identify ourselves, and how do we settle into other people’s expectations for our identity?”

-Ms Tilda Swinton

(Photo credit Google images)

Decorating For Our First Halloween

2011-11-01T04:12:00.001-07:00

Well, Halloween ‘11 is over and it’s time to start moving on to the next holiday but before that happens, I wanted to share with you our first Halloween as home owners! We’ve only ever lived in apartments and basement suites so there’s never been a point to decorating but it’s always been something that I wished I could partake in so this year I was pleased as punch that I could finally scratch my spooky decor-itch.

Budgets are always fairly tight around here but it’s amazing what sort of deals you can find if you look at the right places and times. My greatest tip to share is go out to the stores on Oct. 30th and you’re more than likely to find all the ghoulish decorations at least 50% off in a last ditch effort to clean house. Also, never under-estimate the value of a dollar store. It’s amazing how neat some of the stuff can be from those stores and you would never know where it came from. My feline friend shown above was purchased from such a store. We also strung some ghost shaped lights at the bottom to illuminate the scene.

This shot is a little blurry due to shivering hands and leaning backwards on a railing but you get the idea. Some classic ‘Beware’ tape and a skull door knocker were dawned on our front door. That knocker is deafeningly loud, it’s basically an instant headache; luckily only one trick-or-treater even bothered to use it rather than just knocking. Is it just me or does there seem to be a huge decline in the number of kids trick-or-treating nowadays compared to the nineties? I remember the streets filled with other kids when I was a youngster but we only got about 20 kids/teens total. Don’t kids like candy anymore?!

Our front basket got filled with some green webbing and baby pumpkins to give it a miniature haunted pumpkin patch look.

These creepy buggers look too real for my liking.

Once the strand of pumpkin lights going up the railing were lit this is how the haunted basket looked. Baby pumpkins are so dang cute!

I also had some fake rats hanging out and keeping an eye on things for me while I kept warm inside.

The strand of pumpkin lights really helped with the lighting because were trying to keep it dark enough to feel spooky but light enough to avoid lawsuits from injured kids parents. In the background here you can see our row of milk jug "jack-o-lanterns." I read about this little DIY project and it seemed like such a good alternative to buying a delicious pumpkin then having to toss it out afterward. Anytime I have to throw away food it makes me think of the old, “people are starving in Africa!” line you got when you didn’t eat your broccoli. Plus, it felt really earth friendly and better yet…FREE! My favorite. Keep reading for instructions on how I made these super simple DIY milk jug pumpkins.

This pumpkin however, is not made from a milk carton but he is still fake. It’s made of some sort of fiber glass material and with a few batteries it performs a multi-colored light show in the front and back (the back being bats flying around). He’s one of my fave decorations because I adopted him from my mom’s house so it feels like a nice symbol of when I was a youngster at Halloween.

Lastly, I picked up this sticky “Beware” blood looking decal the day before Halloween on sale for $1. It worked like a breeze and I could even store it in a freezer bag to make an appearance next year.

Milk Jug Pumpkin DIY:Making these guys are so easy peasy. We started saving all our milk jugs since around the end of July (if anyone’s interested, we used 7 jugs of milk between mid-July to Oct. but that’s only one milk drinker since my soy milk comes in smaller cartons). Make sure you give them a thorough rinse and store them somewhere dry. First thing I did was draw on whatever spook-tacular face came to mind with a sharpie. I wound up with a vampire, some jack-o-lanterns, a bat, a cat etc. Get creative and draw whatever you would otherwise carve. The one seen above is an incomplete tester jug I snapped a quick pic of for this tutorial.

Next, cut a small hole in the front of the jug where the label is. The smaller the better so more light stays inside the jug and can’t escape through the hole. As for lighting, you can go a couple different ways: we used those flame-less tea lights that are battery powered ($1.25 for two at the dollar store) or you could also use a string of battery powered Christmas lights if that’s something you already own.

When you’re finished just line your jugs up and flick on the lights. I got a lot of moms saying, “What a neat idea!” and a few older kids saying they, “liked my jugs”…. I prefer to think they’re talking about the milk cartons and nothing else.

Inside our house got the Halloween treatment too. Here’s a few quick pics of some of the decor:

I hope you all had a really fun and safe Halloween!

-xoxo

(Photo credit property of Reckless Bliss)

-Snapshot Of The Week-

2011-10-30T23:14:00.001-07:00

“My whole thing is quality of life. . . It must always be easy and low-maintenance and stress-free, and that means not trying to fit too much in. I don’t ever want to be in a hurry. I want to enjoy the moments."

-Ms Ginnifer Goodwin

(Photo credit Pinterest)

Chalkboard DIY

2011-10-27T00:04:00.000-07:00

Chalkboards are soooo popular nowadays they are a dime a dozen. I never actually planned on making one, for no real reason, other than it just didn’t make it to my gigantic “wish list” list. However, on an outing with my fella for something entirely unrelated at a lumber store, creativity sparked and I was helpless to its will.

Outside the store was a huge rack of mismatched cupboard doors marked down to as I call it, “Get it outta here!” prices. Crafting is best done when random sales are found and opportunities arise. I found this "40x"20 ivory cupboard door that had some brown discoloration on the panel. For $10 this baby was mine for the taking. I hadn’t come to any decision on what it would be used for but I knew I could put it to good use.

The cabinet back had four holes drilled in which I knew would make for easy hanging. Once I settled on where I wanted to hang it, I decided on making it into a chalkboard. I figured all this crazed chalkboard-making hype must not be wrong, right?

The door has great traditional lines which would actually look gorgeous in a kitchen with all its friends…. but hanging solo in my house will have to suffice. So, the project begins:

First thing's first, I needed supplies. Pretty simple stuff involved; two cans of spray paint and some tape. I already had the paint and white paint from this previous project and just needed to buy the chalkboard paint. I went with spray paint rather than a can of paint because spray paint doesn’t leave brush strokes.
P.S. Black chalkboard spray paint is oddly hard to find in Canada. The only place we could it track down was at Rona.

First step I did was spray paint the white around the outside of the frame. I didn’t tape it off for this step because it didn’t matter if paint got on the middle panel since it was going to be painted black later. Once you’re ready to paint the black then it’s time for taping. This process can be time consuming because you really have to make your lines straight and precise.

After the blue tape, I taped some newspapers around the frame to cover the rest of the white. Very simple and better than wasting a ton of tape.

My fella was on spray paint duty. He started with the edges to be sure it got a thorough coat and then filled in the middle.

It took two coats before it didn’t look splotchy but once it was completed and the tape came off I was impressed. Suddenly, I fully understood the chalkboard rage!

What a beaut!

The can of chalkboard spray painted suggested covering the entire board with chalk before using it.

Using a paper towel to wipe away the chalk you end up with a much more familiar looking board reminiscent of childhood school days.

To make the door hangable (ya, that’s not a word) I attached these mean looking metal teeth to the back which I also picked up from Rona for about $2.

Lastly I threw on some adhesive wall protectors and she’s ready to shine.

I settled on the hallway as its new home since I have an abnormally small amount of free wall space in my casa because of an abundance doors, windows, closets etc. so this was basically the only place it would actually fit. Makes my decision process easy!

And thus, ends the tale of how this lonely kitchen cupboard got a simple makeover into a fun and useful chalkboard all for about $15 smack-a-roos.

Thanks for reading guys and stay tuned for some more projects I am working on as well as a few updates on the progress of my overall home! Feel free to comment and/or share your own personal DIY projects.

(Photos property of Reckless Bliss. Reckless Bliss is not paid or compensated in any way to promote a specific brand or product.)

-Snapshot Of The Week-

2011-10-24T19:16:00.001-07:00

“At sixteen, I was a funny, skinny little thing, all eyelashes and legs. And then, suddenly people told me it was gorgeous. I thought they had gone mad."

-Ms Twiggy

(Photo credit Pinterest)

Color Inspiration: Black

2011-10-20T23:14:00.001-07:00

(Photo credit Google Images)

-Snapshot Of The Week-

2011-10-16T00:16:00.000-07:00

“All creatures must learn to coexist. That’s why the brown bear and the field mouse can share their lives in harmony. Or course, they can’t mate or the mice would explode.”

-Ms Betty White

(Photo credit Pinterest)

“Revenge” Hamptons House Tour

2011-10-14T03:12:00.000-07:00

This is a show my mom actually turned me onto watching after a bunch of pestering. She kept saying it was such a good show and I needed to watch it so I gave it a shot. We ll she was right but probably not for the reason she thinks (although it is an overall decent show plot wise too) If you’re anything like me then you are a total sucker for awesome sets in movies and on TV and Revenge does not disappoint. The show takes place in the Hamptons and there are some ridiculously beautiful homes in it. It’s always fun to tour these beauties so let’s take a peak around. First up is the Grayson mansion which is a sprawling classic shingle style Hamptons home:

Could you even imagine saying this was your home? It’s so over the top and gorgeous I could burst.

It’s funny because as soon as I saw the home I thought, “I LOVE THE TURRET!” and lucky for me, the evil she-devil character spends an awful lot of time out on it spying on her new young neighbor so I get plenty of time to gawk.

The foyer is as equally lovely as you might expect with trim panelled white walls and a beautiful staircase. the actual home they used to film the pilot in was featured in Wrightsville Beach Magazine so we can get an even better look at all the details.

The actual foyer in the home.

I added in a couple shots of them walking the staircase and hall just to give you a peak at some of the moulding details as well as that little back corner lounging area in the picture below.

This is the living room as shot in the pilot which subtlety took on a new look for the second episode. In the pilot we see darker brown couches in the living room but they change for the next episode when the filming is moved to a sound stage.

This gives you an awesome view of the real home from the kitchen point of view.

I actually really liked the light fixtures they used, normally I’m not huge on that hive type looking pendants but these ones really made the space feel chic.

When Victoria has ladies over we get a larger look at her living room. The couches have been moved out and a chair brought in for each lady. She of course sits in the fanciest and most powerful looking seat.

This is a great shot to see all the built-ins and wainscoting these homes are so famous for.

For the second episode the couches become these cream colored over-stuffed pieces. I think they go quite well with the decor and actually fit Victoria’s personality as a “snob” better then the more hip feeling brown sofas.

Another change as you can see is that the staircase is suddenly open to the living room now. I can’t say I care for this look as much as the original but you hardly even notice with everything else going on. The home also features all the other classics of Hampton style homes like the transom windows and french doors. It’s all about light and airy when it comes to these spaces.

While Victoria and her husband have an argument you get the quickest little look into their master bedroom but fortunately we get a much better look at it thanks to the good people at Wrightsville Beach Magazine:

And with a home this size you know you’re bound to see one giant over the top lavatory. The facilities don’t disappoint with plenty of white wood and marble to go around.

Now for a look into the main character’s home which neighbor’s the Grayson mansion:

This is a back shot of the home which in comparison is much much smaller but I would still be completely smitten living there.

The girl has an amazing water view with a gigantic wrap around porch to relax.

Oh, and she also has a pier to walk out on which you see her doing at night… and of course tear up a little out of pure jealously.

Here’s a few shots of the interior which was kept fairly light and girly for the most part with a country sort of look to it.

So that’s the main homes from the new show on ABC which I suggest tuning into if you have the time on Wednesday nights. What do you think? Are the homes your style or do you tend to like something totally different? Please let me hear your thoughts on it!

P.S.One of my favorite parts of the whole show was the message you first read before you see or know about anything. I think it’s a very astute message so I wanted to share it with you folks.

Have an awesome, fabulous, amazing and all around righteous weekend my pretties!

(Photo credit City TV, Wrightsville Beach House Magazine, and Google Images)

-Snapshot Of The Week-

2011-10-10T01:49:00.000-07:00

“There are two kinds of women, those who want power in the world and those who want power in bed.”

-Ms Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

(Photo credit Pinterest)

Decorating For Fall

2011-10-05T15:48:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone, hope you are all having a fabulous hump day! I wanted to finally post some pictures of the fall decorations in and around my house. It’s not really complete yet because I hold off on a lot of the Halloween related stuff since in Canada we have Thanksgiving first then Halloween a couple weeks after so everything is a work in progress. This first picture is of my fall wreath that took forever to find. There were soooo many options for fall wreathes but I wanted to be picky and not buy one until I found something that didn’t look super fake or over the top, I was holding out for “Mr. Right Wreath.” After looking at wreathes in all price ranges and zillions of stores I finally settled on this guy which I found at Wal-Mart for $15 smacka-roos. I thought it was subtle and brought out the red of my door really well. Man, was I happy to get something on that door too, I am not a patient lady when it comes to decorating for the season.

This is what it looks like as you walk up the steps to my house. The brown will all eventually turn black when my fella finds the time to make that happen. No idea when that will be....

I got this lantern at Ikea for $7 marked down from $15, which was a total score might I add. I find a use for it every season. This Christmas I intend on loading it up with holiday themed decor the same as how it’s packed with pumpkins and pinecones right now.

These are my pathetic plants. The apple basket on the stand isn’t doing too terribly but I’m such a terrible gardener I can’t seem to keep my pots of mums alive. If any of you have any advice on where I’m derailing here please leave it in the comments. Side note, they looked gorgeous the first day I brought them home (pre-plant massacre) when they were in full orange bloom.

Well that’s the outside of my house at the moment, now let’s take a look-see inside shall we?

This is my little display area to feed my decorating vice. I don’t have a fireplace mantle to guccy up so I (my fella did all the work) put up these floating shelves which I found at Canadian Tire.

The candle sticks are from Ikea, they come in packs of three at all different sizes but if you end up smashing one like moi, then you only get two… but on the bright side, three sticks wouldn’t have worked on the shelf so all is well.

I got the “FALL” pumpkin candle holders from Michael's a few years back on major sale. I’m guessing it was on major sale because all they had left was “FAL” but I bought them anyways hoping they might bring them back the next year. What I silly fool I was to think that ever happens. So now I just disperse them around the house separately so it isn’t quite as obvious. (One year I tried displaying them as “ALF” as if it were intentional but that just made people confused and raised many questions which I had no sensible answers for.) The little mason jar was just something I had sitting around so I filled it with some delicious candy corn and tied an orange ribbon around it. I also had some cute Autumn stickers so I attached one as a “label” for the jar.

This is one of the few Halloween themed decorations I have up right now but I thought they were too cute to wait. I got them at HomeSense for $10 but I bet they would be easy enough to make if you had the will power.

I haven’t gotten around to doing much crafty stuff of any sort so I was super excited to make this picture for my Fall display. It was pretty straight forward stuff. I used Fall themed scrapbook paper and some more of the stickers I had. I cut out the letters myself which took forever and then decided that they should have been bigger but I was not about to re-do it so here we are. Toss it all in a frame with a little glue here and there and this is what you get! The frame is from Ikea by the way, I believe it was about $15.

One thing I struggled with was the height of the second floating shelf because I knew I wanted there to be enough space to put candlesticks and picture frames on the shelf below but obviously the shelf needed to be at a height that made sense too. I ended up going about three feet above my bottom shelf and giving the little pumpkins a booster seat to sit on so they could be seen way up there. (It’s an empty couscous box. Shhh!)

Lastly, I added some beaded branch looking wire along the shelves and that’s how my faux mantle came to be. I’d say overall it turned out pretty decent for my premiere attempt at Fall decorating in our first home.

I have a lot more of that wirey beaded stuff you put around candles and what-not so I strung some of it up from my light fixture for a little extra Autumn flavor. So far not a single person has noticed it without me pointing it out…. but I know it’s there.

This is how the dining room is looking overall now. I plan on hanging some pictures or something on either side of the shelves but that’s a project for another day. I already have a few plans brewing so stay tuned!

Moving into the living room I have decked out the space available to me as best I could. Candy corn has made another famous appearance in a much larger form here. I got this cute pumpkin dish from Target for $5 and loaded it up with treats. (If you want in on a dirty secret: the back of the dish looks nothing like the front because I may have been periodically dipping into it.. but there’s no evidence to prove that!)

In the center of the unit I kept it pretty simple on top with a line of tea lights which makes the leaves glow all pretty and possibly puts me at a higher risk of burning down my first home. But hey, it’s all worth it in the name of decor and design.

At the end of the unit is my other sole Halloween decoration. It’s a big white pumpkin I also got from HomeSense for $10. Once Thanksgiving comes and goes this weekend I’ll finish with the Halloween decorations and put up some new stuff. Underneath the giant pumpkin is some baby glass pumpkins I’ve had for a few years now. I got them from Safeway for about $2 each on sale so I snagged the last four they had. They were labelled as “dip bowls” but I thought they were cute all on their own and this way I don’t have to scrub dried up onion dip out of them.

There’s a few other little touches here and there in the entertainment unit like these orange Ikea candles and the little flower pots. I tried not to overwhelm the house and I was also on a tight budget so I needed to stretch what I had as best I could.

This is the overall view of my Thanksgiving themed entertainment unit. Like I said, I plan on making it a little more spooky after this weekend of as I call it, ‘grateful gluttony’ is completed.

Lastly is my bookcase area in the corner of the living room. These bookcases have become a catch-all for the random books and magazines and what-not that fill everyday life so try to ignore the lack of organization in these next few pictures and focus on the decorating if you would be so kind. Also take note of the lonely glowing “A” that was forced to be separated from it’s lettered siblings. *Warning Immature Joke Alert* It’s A-hole is glowing tee-hee.

These are my cheapo fake fall flowers that for some reason my cats cannot stop eating. It’s like crack for them so I had to make sure they were in an unreachable place. I suppose felines love the taste of inferior painted styrofoam and plastic petals. I layered a few fake leaves inside the vase to help it look fuller as well.

Speaking of cheapo fake flowers, here’s some more for your viewing ~~dis~~pleasure. I don’t mind using them for decorating because I’m not rich enough (or care enough for that matter) to buy fresh blooms every few days so I give myself an A for effort even if they aren’t the most realistic. The cats aren’t interested in these ones so I think it must be the mini styrofoam balls on the other flowers that have them hooked. Who knows what goes on in their complicated tiny melons.

A side view of my bookcases gives you a better overall idea of the setup. Gotta love those fake leaf garlands.

I typically drape the garlands over whatever surface I see but one day I plan to invest in some good quality ones with pinecones and other fixins’ to make it look a little more full and purdy. That little brown pumpkin shaped trooper is my one and only “L” from the “FAL” fiasco. Every year I decide I’m going to just toss them in the garbage but I just can’t bring myself to pull the trigger.

I love these leafy little guys. I scored them on a post-season sale at Carlton Cards for something like $5. I think it’s landing the sales that make me like the things so much more. Like little trophies scattered throughout to remind me of good finds at super duper prices.

Well that about does it for my house at the moment. Stay tuned for some more decorating and other fun posts here. And please feel free to share with me some of your favorite decorations or those trusty tips for keeping pots of mums alive and well. Until next time my beauties!

(All photos property of Reckless Bliss. Any photos taken from this site should be linked back to the source)

-Snapshot Of The Week-

2011-10-02T23:25:00.001-07:00

“You have to go through the falling down in order to learn to walk. It helps to know that you can survive it. That's an education in itself.”

-Ms Carol Burnett

(Photo credit Google Images)

J’adore Joulies

2011-09-28T17:13:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone, hope you all having an awesome hump day. My week has been somewhat hectic but I wanted to take a minute and share with you all a really neat discovery I made while reading the current issue of the Food Network Magazine. These nifty little silver coffee beans you see above are called “Joulies” made by two young smart as whip chaps both named Dave. As soon as I read what these beauties did I knew I must have some for myself!

Some of you may already be familiar with these but I’ll explain it for the rest of y’all. What they do is first absorb the thermal energy in your hot beverage (you know that scorching heat when you take the first sip and burn your tongue and then everything tastes like rubber for a week? That thermal energy) and they hold onto it which cools the drink down quicker for faster (x3 faster to be exact) drinking goodness. BUT the fun doesn’t end there!

Once the Joulies have magically held onto your scorching thermal energy and made your drink an inviting temperature they then slowly disperse that same energy back into your drink to keep your beverage heated for longer (x2 as long to be exact once again). It’s like having a mini hot plate under your mug. I find this absolutely thrilling because I drink an almost lethal amount of hot beverages in a day and my biggest issue is that I miss my “perfect temperature window” then I’m stuck with cold tea, coffee, etc. because I have no microwave. That’s right you heard me correctly, no microwave. Madness I know! Let me be clear on one fact though, I have not yet tried Joulies so I can’t vouch for their effectiveness as of yet but I do intend on buying and giving them a try asap so I’ll be sure to do an update review of what I think of them in action.

Anyhow, I just thought this was the neatest thing ever so if you agree with me you can find more information about these silver dream beans at www.joulies.com. As far as I can tell they aren’t taking orders just yet but if you shoot them over your email address they will email you when they are ready to take orders. Huzzah!

(Photo credits to Joulies.com. Joulies has never heard of me and has not compensated me with anything in exchange for singing their praises, I just like to share…and sing)

-Snapshot Of The Week-

2011-09-25T02:35:00.001-07:00

“I've always had the perspective that roles come into my life when I need them most and sort of teach me lessons. The same can be true of films; films are released into society to aid in a lesson, inspire people, comfort people.”

-Ms Bryce Dallas Howard

*Photo credit Google images*

Reckless Bliss

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Gobble! Gobble!