We're in full Halloween mode over here.  It's no surprise, really.  We all love Halloween, especially me since it's also my birthday. 

We've got our costume picked out, and I spent most of last week getting the house ready.  It's exciting to have a new house to decorate this year.









I'm loving the new fall scents at Bath and Body Works, so over the weekend I bought a couple of pumpkin scented candles (because they're on sale for $10 right now!).



Target never disappoints when it comes to Halloween decorations each year.  I picked up a few new items this year during my last shopping trip.


Speaking of Halloween, I ran in to Walmart the other day to grab some things and noticed a display of Halloween movies.  They had all of the old horror movies from years ago, digitally remastered and on Blu-Ray.  I love old scary movies, especially the 1943 Phantom of the Opera movie.  I remember renting it at the video store over and over and over as a kid.  I was totally obsessed with Phantom of the Opera, so it was no surprise that later I was totally stoked over Andrew Loyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera.  And even more stoked when Gerard Butler became the Phantom in the 2004 movie.   

Anyway, back to Walmart.  I immediately scooped up the 1943 Phantom movie, and I'll probably be back for more movies later.  Probably the Bride of Frankenstein or the original Halloween movie.
  

There's just something about an old movie.  So simple, yet great.  That doesn't mean I'm not going to probably watch Gerard Butler as the Phantom over the weekend though.  For obvious reasons. 

If you've followed my Instagram Stories lately, you've noticed that I stocked up on all things pumpkin during my last trip to Trader Joe's.  I love their seasonal items and now that I no longer live near a Trader Joe's, I have to stock up when I can. 

I used this brown butter sauce recipe with the pumpkin ravioli.  It was crazy good.  If you're a pumpkin lover, I recommend it.

Happy almost weekend!

I had been planning a gallery wall for our new house since before we had even found a house to buy.  I had in my head, plans for a wall in our house to be filled with different items, both sentimental and trendy.

So when we purchased our house, I knew that the massive wall in our living room would be "the wall."  Luckily, I'd been collecting items to add to our gallery wall for months.  Literally. 

The inspiration (via Pinterest):

Some will suggest you plan out your wall, specifically measuring each area.  I placed all of my pieces out on the floor and kind of "went with it."
I wanted to mix some trendy pieces with some that were special sentimentally.  I used mainly items I already had, altering them as needed, and added a few new items. 

 One of my favorite new pieces is this large flower painting from Hobby Lobby.





Some of my sentimental pieces were a doily that my great-grandmother made and some of Katherine's artwork.

My DIY items were done by taking scrapbook print paper and cutting it to fix a matte and frame.  I also used a painting of our dog, Callie, that was done by a former customer from my old job.

A lot of the extra pieces used were from Hobby Lobby, Target, or thrifted.

Jason's expression when he saw the finished project:
"That's a lot of stuff on the wall."


He's always so observant. 

I never really liked having objects or decorations above my kitchen cabinets.  I guess I thought it would look junky.  Over Christmas this year, we put Christmas decorations above the cabinets (see here), which I ended up loving.  When we took them down after the new year, I thought it looked empty up there.  I immediately researched on Pinterest (of course!) about decorating the tops of cabinets inexpensively and simply.

I found some things around the house and at thrift stores and started decorating. 



I'm not done with this project yet.  I'm still looking for interesting pieces to add.  Because we have vaulted ceilings, having things above the cabinets helps fill in some space. 

{This whole project cost less than $20.} On another subject, we are 30 weeks this week and our little Baby D finally has a name.  It only took about 28 weeks to decide.  Jason and I couldn't agree on a name that we both liked.  Even after downloading the baby name app on his phone, and going through all 1000+ popular baby names, we still couldn't decide.  Over Christmas, we made it official.  Baby D will be known as:  Katherine Paige.

Our neighbors don't have to wonder what baseball team we cheer for.  Somehow Jason's love of the Cardinals has taken over our yard. 

{Stepping stone by the front door.}

{A flag for the porch.}

{The wreath I made for the front door.}

{And finally, Norm the gnome.}

Obsess much?  I think so.  You should see our guest room.

I've been looking for a buffet style cabinet for our living room.  I needed a space to store my Christmas dishes; something that looks chic, but is also practical.  I found this buffet at Potentials.  It was the perfect size and style.

{Buffet before.}

After some paint and new drawer knobs, its absolutely perfect.  I think it turned out great.

{Buffet after.}

That's one more home decor project done!  On to the next.

As I previously mentioned here, I bought a rocking chair for our living room.  After re-staining the wood and re-covering the cushion, I'm ready to reveal the finished product.

{Chair before} {Staining the wood} {Finished chair}

I got to go home to Kennett for the first time since July this weekend.  I love going home this time of year.  The air is filled with the smell of cotton.  I didn't realize how much I missed seeing cotton fields everyday.  In college, my classmates in my textiles class had never even seen a cotton field.  I guess it was always something that I took for granted.

Saturday morning, my mom and I went shopping at the local shops in Kennett.  We visited the Byrd's Nest where I found a great piece to hang in my living room.  I always look for unique things to use in the living room because I'm still not finished decorating it. 

{Chic knobby hook rack from The Byrd's Nest.}

After having lunch at Paradise Donuts (another new favorite of mine), it was time for the next event of the weekend.

This weekend was our Pumpkin Hollow Reunion 2011.  Each year around this time, three former PH employees and myself get together to visit and partake in the festivities.  Saturday night we meet at Strawberry's in Holcomb and had dinner.  When it comes to barbecue, Strawberry's is a local favorite.  I always love getting to go there when I'm home.

We then went to the haunted attractions at Pumpkin Hollow where we visited "Bubba's Butcher Barn," the "Forest of Fright," and "Mad Skull Mine."  As usual we received the "RIP" treatment. 

It was nice to be in the company of old friends and to be out in the country.  I loved that at the end of the night, my shoes were filled with dirt.  I got to see the stars in the sky for the first time in months.

Because I didn't have time to get pumpkins while in Arkansas, I went to the Kirkwood Farmers Market when I got back into town. 


I'm officially ready for Halloween now that I have my pumpkins....and sugar cookies.

What a crazy week it has been.  We are all moved in at our new house.  I'm in creative overload.  As Carrie Bradshaw would say, I'm cheating on fashion with furniture.  My mind is constantly going, thinking about paint and home decor. 

{The house comes complete with a fish pond.}

{Before the move, Callie wanted to make sure we didn't leave her favorite toys behind.  So she put them all by the front door.}

{After closing on the house we all went to look at the new place.  This is Jason, Callie, and Sammie in the basement.}

I'm anxious to get the house set up the way I want it.  We've already started making small changes here and there and adding a new color of paint to the walls.  Several of our new neighbors have come by to say hello and welcome us to the neighborhood.   Our neighbor, Joe is constantly obsessed with our yard and its lack of water and maintenance.  While he may have the time to water and manicure his yard and sweep the sidewalks surrounding his house, we don't have the time or patience.  I guess we are not yard obsessed like Joe.

I'm exhausted.  We spent all weekend moving from our apartment to our new house.  We have everything in the house.  Its driving me nuts that everything is everywhere.  I'm going to pick out paint samples this week and I'm starting to explore the new area we live in. 

I've already met on of our neighbors, who nicely told me that we needed to water our grass.  My dad bought me a water hose but I have to figure out where to "plug it in."

I have so many ideas for the house that I get a little too anxious and can't sleep at night. 

I'll post some pictures soon....

I love finding cool things to put around the house or accessorize with.  I've been doing my usual Etsy shopping plus my brother just returned from Rwanda and brought me some really cool things.  Here are some of my new favorite finds for summer.

{Pillow from Potentials}

{Unique wall accessory from Potentials}  {My brother brought these back for me from Africa} {Ice cream bowls from Target.  They were in the $1 section!} {I love this new necklace I got on etsy!} {This is another etsy find.  This is my second purchase from this etsy shop.}