Saturday, August 31, 2013

Pests!

We have had a pest control problem!


 I've been a little un-nerved this spring and summer by some unwelcome visitors in the garden room.  I'd caught a couple of tree lizards hanging out on the wall. I assumed they snuck in the sliding door but it turns out they could come and go through the dog door. They really didn't need to go out because they had a daily supply of dog food and water.
I was able to get this picture of one them sunning on the dog door,
now called the lizard door. 


This is the bigger one and he's about 8 or 9 inches long. 
We keep the door from the garden room to the kitchen open most of the time and twice we found my lizard friend in the house. 
Once he was on the stairs and once he was in the pantry. 





He found a mate, and together they added one more. I evicted them a couple of times before Bill promised to fix the dog door. When we saw four on the wall one day a few weeks ago, Rebekah and I went lizard hunting. We had a hilarious time chasing them up and down the wall. It was a little creepy but we found that grabbing them with a shop towel made it a little less creepy. 

 Exotic Tree Lizard



We set them free so they can live happily ever after under the deck.
They should find plenty to eat and they will be safe from the cat!

He is beautiful !
We locked the lizards out and 


Bill installed the new dog door.


Hopefully they will respect the new boundaries and not take advantage of our hospitality.

-

Hopefully...
Katie 





Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Don't Skip Apples For Fall Decor


 

I am already seeing some pumpkins out on the internet. 
I don't know about you, but I would be heartily sick of all that orange by the time Halloween rolls around.   


             
Don't skip apples! 
They aren't just for eating, although I read that eating an apple will perk up the body more than a cup of coffee.



I am going to try it next time I'm in the midst of an afternoon slump.



I love apples for decorating! They give a subtle nod to fall without all the orange and they tide me over until it's time to break out the scarecrows.
I've sprinkled a mix of real and faux around the house.


I think I found this ceramic apple at Hobby Lobby. 
They have bags of cute fake ones in the floral department. 



 I found the end of an apple crate at the antique mall by my school. It was only $12.00 and I love it. 
Franciscan apple dishes are available in almost every antique store. The pattern has been around since the 1940s. 



I will search out seasonal stuff when surfing eBay or if I am  shopping at an antique mall. 
It always gives me something to look for. 



 

September used to be the season for apples in the markets and grocery stores. Maybe that is why it is such a popular decorating motif for so many classrooms. 
Remember when school used to start in September?
I'm on my second week of school already. 




I found the pretty crackle finish apple at Cracker Barrel. 
It is a great place to find seasonal decor. 


Last year I made fabric apples out of calico. 
You can read about it here. 


I'd almost forgotten about them until I was looking through old photos from last September.



The greenware bowl came from my mother-in-law. 



 The little painting is one of my favorite apple things. 
I bought it off of eBay and was surprised because it was much smaller than I thought it would be. 
I have no idea how someone can paint something so small. It's only about 2x3 inches. 
 I love it. 



Rebekah painted this one for me a few years ago. 
It was very tolerant of her considering she and her friends thought I was another level of crazy with all my seasonal decorating. 



Who knew I was just prepping for blogging? 


I am a little impatient for fall to get here. 
I'm ready for cooler temperatures but I'll
be holding off on any crafting or decorating.


I've been Pinning fall images and a Halloween magazine 
is on my reading list for Labor Day weekend. 



Just because I am not actually decorating doesn't mean I'm not thinking about it. 
;)

Don't like apples?
How about the sunflower?



Either way,
 I hope you enjoy the change of seasons as much as I do.
Katie 

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Laundry Room Clean Up



It's been a while since I have spent any time spiffing up the laundry room.
I am thrilled to be off every Monday and every other Wednesday. 
I told you about my brush with retirement in this post. 
Thankfully something didn't feel right about it. 
Teaching part time is the best of both worlds.
Having a day or two to create and maintain our home is such a gift!

  

 Monday will be our new laundry day.
When both of us were working full time we were in a rush to get it all done and put away in case anyone else stopped by to borrow the washer.  It has been a juggling act and invariably I wasn't able to keep it tidy. 
I brightened up the edge of the shelves with some left over paint.
They were really worn looking after 20 years.  



I still love the Hobby Lobby shelf brackets I installed last summer. 
They add a lot of cute for only $32.00. 
That original post gets Google hits on a regular basis.  





 We still hope to get cabinets but at this point there doesn't seem to be a need now that we are almost empty nesters.
It's not like I have to have a sorting system or anything at this point.




 I updated the window treatment last fall. 
This little window has been easy to do over the years.
I just re-use the wooden board that has been here since we moved in. 


I have stapled any number of pieces of fabric to this board to create different looks.



  I sewed some left over jute webbing to a 4 x 5 foot drop cloth. I folded it in half and pressed it. That way the valance is self lined to make sure it isn't too sheer.  



I didn't even have to staple this one to the board. It is just draped across and tucked in between the board and the wall. I did use a thumb tack or two to create the folds on the side.




I got my shutters at a garage sale. I originally needed them to cover up our foggy double paned windows. We've since gotten that fixed but I still love their chipped charm.







The laundry has to look good because it is right off of the kitchen.




I've used this antique iron as a door stop for years.



It came from my grandparent's house. I'm not sure why they kept it except that they never threw much away. :)



Bill has put a board behind the dryer to keep it out far enough so that the dryer hose doesn't get kinked. I have a tendency to push the dryer back too far.



I can't pull the washer out any further because of the window sill. The unevenness drives me nuts but I would rather have that than a fire from dryer lint not being able to get out of the hose.


I love having a cute place to do laundry and I love having the time to keep it straightened up. 
So blessed! 



Katie  
Funky Junk Interiors  
Monday Funday Link Party 
The Charm of Home   
Savvy Southern Style  
A Stroll Through Life  
French Country Cottage