A Little of This & That… Renovating, Decorating, DIY Projects & Family
A Little of This & That… Renovating, Decorating, DIY Projects & Family

A Simple Fall Get-Together

Pumpkin Brunch, October, November, Orange, Breakfast, Party, Decoration, Decor

It’s the perfect time of year for a sweet fall outdoor celebration. It’s beginning to crisp up elsewhere in the States but here in San Diego the weather is still offering it’s sunny, cloud-less skies in the first week of November.

This pumpkin brunch by City Cradle Design is a cozy and simple way to celebrate autumn with friends. Mmmmmm. And I’m definitely inspired to purchase rattan floor cushions ASAP!

Pumpkin Brunch, October, November, Orange, Breakfast, Party, Decoration, Decor

The details are great – from the hanging cakes in the trees to the scooped out pumpkins filled with pancakes and handmade, heart-shaped toppers. And replacing the standard water bottle labels with lace (see above) is an idea I’d love to steal for a tea party or shower. Victoria offers all of the little DIY projects at her site.

Pumpkin Brunch, October, November, Orange, Breakfast, Party, Decoration, Decor

The paper flags in the trees would be a neat decoration to leave up from September through Christmas and sharing a meal out on the grass (again on those great cushions) sounds like a fun way to dine any time of the year (maybe even for Thanksgiving?).

Pumpkin Brunch, October, November, Orange, Breakfast, Party, Decoration, Decor

Ahhh sweet fall inspiration. Isn’t this the perfect way to spend a Sunday morning in November?

Where Do You Keep Your Forks?

This might be the OCD in me but before the big transfer of kitchen supplies from our old kitchen to our new kitchen, I’ve been drawing out little diagrams on how to fit and cajole our entire pantry, bins of baking supplies and cabinets of pots and pans into the new space.

Our current kitchen is teeny and up until recently I’ve been storing the rarely-used tools in the garage. Even so, our countertops now are often over crowded with every gadget that we actually do use on a regular basis, such as the blender, crock pot, toaster oven and coffee maker (those 1930’s cabinets are so shallow even storing a blender in them was out of the question).

And then of course there’s the magic ‘kitchen triangle’ that every kitchen planner recommends for creating a conducive cooking space – your most frequently used kitchen areas (aka the fridge, sink and stove) should fit the points of a triangle with as close to equal sides as possible.

Kitchen Organization, Kitchen Triangle

That’s an early rending (before we changed the counters a bit) above showing our new kitchen layout.

Maybe it’s because I’m over-the-moon excited to move into the new space (even though we have the backsplash to grout, the appliances to install, etc) but the anxiety of filling each and every cabinet and drawer with the right tool in the right location leaves me with this layout:

Kitchen organization, storing

One day we hope to add a pantry to the opposite wall (past the windows), but until then we’ll be skimming down our bags of flour, cans of soup and bottles of olive oil so that all can fit easily on two cabinet shelves and in two roll-out drawers.

And for island storage:

Kitchen Organization

So that’s the plan that I’m sitting on now. Meanwhile my dishwasher is working non-stop as I rewash every utensil and cup before it finds a home in it’s new location.

But I’m curious to know – do you have any more tips for me? Do you line your cabinets with contact paper or rubber mats? Do you swear by any sort of drawer inserts for organization? And where do you keep your forks in relation to everything else?

Halloween 2010 Round Up

Halloween has come and gone… it always amazes me how much prep can go into one day and then how quickly that day passes! But I suppose the fun of the anticipation, the decorating and the celebration is what makes this time of the year so special (Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years are just around the corner!)

Here’s a round up of Halloween in our home:

Halloween Mantel, Inspiration, Decor, Decoration

The mantel was plenty of fun to create, here’s the full post (including our day at the pumpkin patch). Most of the decor came from garage sale finds and a bit of diying.

We hosted our annual Halloween dinner party last night as well, the formal planned sit-down meal had transformed itself into a buffet-style potluck at the last minute but here was my set up for the seated version:

Halloween Tablescape, Dinner Party, Table, Decor, Decoration, Inspiration, Orange, Black, Brown, Modern, Diy, handmade

I kept the color scheme traditional with oranges and browns, mixing in the occasional white and green to add vibrant pops. Cheesecloth created spooky cobwebs draped over thrift store milk glass candle sticks and round vases full of colorful candy & candles. I borrowed HWTM‘s clever idea of creating wine glass labels out of Halloween rings to help guests differentiate their glass from their neighbors.

My go-to manzanita branches made for a bit of height and I added ‘dead’ floral stems to the ceramic vase (love the organic moss in the bottom). White cake plates were set up to hold family-style serving dishes but made for temporary mini pumpkin displays a top fabric remnant strips (didn’t bother to hem) to bring in pattern and color as a table runner. I love the casual, messy look of several different styles of fabrics draped together – and at just a few bucks for each remnant at the fabric store you can’t beat it!

Halloween Tablescape, Dinner Party, Table, Decor, Decoration, Inspiration, Orange, Black, Brown, Modern, Diy, handmade

Else where in the house picture frames received a bit of spooking, giant spiders were hung from window curtain rods and plastic skulls covered in black spray paint adorned countertops and shelves:

Halloween Inspiration, Decor, Decorating, Home, Living Room, Picture Frames, Frame, Shadow Cut Out, Black Cat

Costumes were great fun… everyone showed up in unique and spirited handmade getups. I attempted to incorporate Baby S into the theme and made him/her my little spider… quite the handmade costume but it was fun to create.

Pregnant Spider, Diy, Handmade, Pregnant costume, cat in the hat, mary poppins, partner costumes, april, mutant ninja turtles, bumble bee

From flowers and bumble bees to Mary Poppins and April (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!), everyone always comes up with a fun and creative idea.

And there’s our 2010 Halloween round up. Down will come the black and spooky decor today and up will go the rustic colors of Thanksgiving!

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