Fall Patio Update In Progress

 

Hello everyone! Its been a crazy week around here at our house. With the days getting shorter I am rushed for time in the evening to work on my projects, and to top it off I am preparing for a fall garage sale. ssheeeww!

 

Its been a busy week but I wanted to give you a sneak peek at our patio update. I like to change the look of the outside of the house with the season, similar to how I update the inside seasonally, so the walk out patio is getting a seasonal makeover, along with our yard.

 

In our spare time we have also dethatched, aerated, reseeded the lawn, etc. I tell ya, I'm exhausted, but whenever I have some time to pull it all together I will show it off, and in the mean time here is a sneak peek! :)  

 

 

 

Oh yeah, I {LOVE} the colors and pattern......check out all those warm fall colors!

...and who can resist the mums?! These gorgeous pink/purple ones steal the show with their bright POP of color.

 

 

 

 

 

Have you ever started a project thinking it was just a routine project only to be totally amazed once you got it started. I amazed myself on this project and can't wait to share the final patio post with you!

So there it is! Just a little tease while I'm working on pulling it all together! This weekend I am focusing on organizing and getting ready for the garage sale and hope to have my Halloween projects wrapped up too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

There will be a lot more on the way from me in the next few days so stayed tuned and get ready, as I'm sure I will be on a posting rampage once its all done! LOL :)

 

 

Have a wonderful Friday (TGIF!)

 

Jennifer

Beautiful Crab Apple Filled Vase

Hello everyone! Fall is certainly in the air here in the Kansas City area! Temperatures have dropped into the high 70s during the day and low 50s to 40s at night. The air is a little crisper and we've had some overcast/cloudy days with light rain recently so I can't help but get in the mood for fall!

As you know by my posts I am a thrifty chick, meaning I like to maximize my $ by incorporating low cost or free decor. Luckily Fall provides us with a bounty of gorgeous flowers, produce, and things like hedge apples, pine cones, and acorns that are free for us to enjoy.

The other night when I was at a friend's house for sorority meeting, I notice she had a crab apple tree in her front yard, and it was GORGEOUS! Very healthy and in full bloom, so I asked her if she would mind if I took a few cuttings. Of course she did not mind so I happily cut several small branches and brought them home to incorporate into my fall decor.

....And here is the result. A beautiful crab apple filled vase just waiting to adorn my fall mantle! I was so happy with how this turned out and the centerpiece has lasted for several days now.

Because the crab apples covered the entire stem I knew part of the berries were going to be submerged in water so I chose to put it in a glass vase to allow all of the berries and foliage to show thru.

Here is a little sneak peek of my fall mantle in progress. It is no where near complete but I wanted to show you the vase of crab apples AND while we're at it, my bittersweet plate.

You know how I love fall berries, including bittersweet, so its no surprise that I have a bittersweet plate. I found it at an antique mall roughly 10 years ago and I had to have it! It is the one piece that I make sure to bring out year after year.

So here is my FREE crab apple vase. What do you think? Do you like incorporating fresh greenery into your seasonal decor? If so, what is your favorite greenery?

Jennifer 

Linking up to wow us wednesdays here

Dragon Fly-Up Close And Personal

A while back when we were outside doing yard work, we got a visitor from a very bold dragon fly, and I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity to snag some great pictures of our little friend as he was resting on/or trying to eat one of our plants.



There he is landing on the tip of the plant. Isn't it amazing how big he is and yet he is able to balance on the tip of the plant????

 

 

 Well hello there!  He's getting a little up close and personal now.

I swear he let me take pictures of him for about 3 minutes without moving. He just hovered and stared me down.  LOL

 

 

 I think I have a stalker.........

 

 

 These two pictures give you an idea of the size he is. He is tiny compared to my plants but he is fairly large compared to other flying insects.









Here is another picture of him on the very TIP of this plant. Can you find him in this picture???
<<<<<<<<<<<<<See him??????

I was very lucky to have had so much time to take pictures of him. What a beautiful site it was to watch this dragon fly! I love working out in the yard and being around nature so I highly enjoy times like this when the creatures allow you to observe them in their natural state.

 

After a few more shots he flew away and went on to do what dragon flies do. Bye-bye little dragon fly! :)

 

 

I hope you enjoyed these pics as much as I did! I have never really seen a dragon fly this closely before so it was exciting to watch this little guy and I hope he comes back next summer and brings the rest of his dragon fly friends.

 

 

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

Jennifer