Fall Decorations 2011

Here are my fall decorations...just a few touches to remind me that even though it's 88 degrees outside...it really is mid-October :)

Welcome to my fall house!


New wreath (yay 60% off sales at Joanns!)

Same as last year, Autumn Leaves candles and fall foliage


Sorry for the dark picture - fall foliage in the wall vases with mini-corn husk thingies...


Breakfast nook centerpiece


Kitchen sink decor - fall foliage and gourds

Guest bedroom: Progress

Well, the parents arrive in about 1.5 hours. I wasn't able to get all the guest room items taken care off, but it's definitely a HUGE improvement.

The biggest frustration (thus far!) was the painting. I used some paint (Silver Drop) that I bought back in February. I ran out and went to Home Depot to get some more...when I brought it home, even though the labels were identical, the colors were very off...turns out they mixed it incorrectly back in February. What followed was four different trips to Home Depot and me speaking with two different managers to convince them it was their mistake and they should give me another gallon of the Silver Drop to compensate for the incorrect one...I did manage to convince them, but I lost a lot of "get the room ready" time in the process and had already spent almost 7 hours painting...in the wrong color. So the parents will enjoy 3.5 whiteish (not Silver Drop) walls. At some point, I'll repaint with the 2 gallons of Silver Drop I now own.

I did order a white sofa slipcover from Bed, Bath, and Beyond, but wasn't happy with the quality or color of it, so it's getting returned...at some point I'll get a sleeper sofa in here that actually matches, but for now, the sturdy Lazyboy works well.

Guest bedroom - Progress



Close-up of the frames...yay scrapbook paper



Absolutely thrilled with the lamps and counter stools!



All ready for Mom and Dad!

A couple of things - those pillows from my other post run about $40-50 a pillow! No way am I paying that much...so I plan to create a few of my own (or hawk the CB2 website until they go on sale :)). Also, my mom and I will tackle the curtains (I have the curtains and the paint, just wasn't able to get to them) this week, so I'll post pictures of those.

Whew. I'm beat :)

Running Brain

I surprised myself today...I forgot how weird my running brain thoughts are...

I was running here today:

Seabrook Trails

I love these trails. It was my first running spot when I moved to Texas and I've pounded a lot of miles out on those trails. But I digress...Running Brain.

So as I am running along this afternoon, I head into a more densely wooded area and was saddened to see the state of the woods due to the severe drought here...the trees actually looked thirsty.

Here are the thoughts that Running Brain was outputting:

"Hmm, the human body is made mostly of water"...
"What if the trees smell me as I am running through them"...
"Would a root shoot up from the ground and stab my leg like a straw?"...
"Wait, it would just get blood and that's salty and counterproductive to quenching thirst"...

LOUD NOISE IN THE BUSHES

"Oh no! Now the rabbits are after me!"

Yes, scary, I know. I managed to control any thoughts on thirst-crazed rabbits chasing after me...and Running Brain settled, until I saw the usual alligator warning sign and started planning for how I would wrestle the alligator that was probably about to jump out of the bushes at me (how it would manage to jump, I don't know...I don't seem to have a lot of control over Running Brain).

Hey, at least it makes the miles go by fast :)...maybe Running Brain is just glad to active again...