Wow - can anyone else believe we are already thru September??? It feels like it was just New Years! Well I guess time flies when you are having fun or just too busy to notice! Here is my recap of what happened at the blog this month and my favorites from around the web!

September Happenings
For starters - this month was our four year anniversary.  It has been one heck of a ride - but I love that I have gotten to spend it with my best friend!

 

And even better news!  We are finally out of "the situation" and have sold our home!!  No more paying a mortgage and rent!  Whoohoo!

DIY and Crafty Goodness
Ah - you guys know how much I love a good can of spray paint.  So spray painting silk leaves to make an awesome fall wreath was pretty much the highlight of my month!  Thanks again to all the folks who featured it! 

Thrifty Revamps
I was blessed to find a set of six of these frames - it was a deja vu thrifting miracle!  I spray painted them ORB and turned them into a botanical print set.  All for just $6!

Decorating Around the House
Now that we have sold the house, I have gotten back all my good "staging" furniture!  I showed you guys my new dining area - it makes this place feel like it is really home now!

Inspiration Ideas 
I started us out this month with how fall makes me feel cozy and some pictures of what is cozy for me in decorating.  Hands down - you guys loved this shot from Sarah's House.  Check out the rest of the post for some other great cozy feeling rooms!

home design

I also shared some ideas for organized entries.  The number one idea that most people wanted to steal for their entry was this one. 

eclectic entry design

Tips and Tricks 
I am ever so slightly obsessed with skeleton keys right now.  So I shared with you guys four great ideas on how to us skeleton keys in your home.  I still love this collection of door photos with skeleton keys that Julie @ Less Than Perfect Life of Bliss did.

From All Around the Web
Loved these super spooky skull plates done by Carol @ The Answer is Chocolate.  Amazing use of Mod Podge and Silver Leaf! 

Photo via The Answer is Chocolate

How about this mailbox redo by Cara @ Live the Home Life?  So adorable!

Photo via Live the Home Life

Next up - how about this beautiful Ballard print knockoff by Sherry @ No Minimalist Here?  Fantastically beautiful. 

Photo via No Minimalist Here

Or this Laundry Print by Maryann @ Domestically Speaking.  You have to check this out - she shows you how to print on burlap!  Amazing!

Photo via Domestically Speaking

Finally I loved these great drapes by Amanda @ The Hand Me Down House.  She hand painted stencils on sheets!  Brilliant!  I want to do this for our master!

Photo via The Hand Me Down House

Well, that's it for this month!  I think September was fantastic but October should be good too - can't wait to show you guys some of the projects in my head!  I have a router project (lil woodworking), some more fall touches around our home, and a super spooky and blingy Halloween Wreath!  (It glitters - you guys are going to love it!!) 

What was your favorite post of the month??  Yours or another blogger's - it doesn't matter - share it in the comments or feel free to post it on my Facebook page.  I know we would all love to see it!

I know I have shown you guys tons of pics of my little sewing/craft station. See below.

 

You have all oohed and ahhed - and no one has mentioned the fact that I am missing a chair!  (Thank you very much for that as I was expected a snarky comment at any time!) 

So I have been on the hunt for a great deal on a chair.  Ready to see what I found? No boring black mesh task chairs here! 

Fantastic groovy feel to this one.  All you need is a fuzzy white kitty and this is one swivel away from Dr. Evil! 

Modern Office Chair from Walmart.com - $89.00

Love the fuzzy seat on this one!  Very fun and whimsical!

Janne Swivel Chair from Ikea.com - $39.99

The mesh backing on this chair is great and it is available in several colors.

Mesh Task Chair from Target.com - $79.99

This one feels so industrial but somewhat country with the tractor seat.  Love it!

Computer Task Chair from Walmart.com - $28.54

Love the available colors and the modern feel of this one.  Classic!

Jules Swivel Chair from Ikea.com - $39.99

Burgundy could be the new black!  This chair is sophisticated and classy!

Mesh Executive Office Chair from Walmart.com - $78.64

This would be perfect if you have a higher task table like a drafting table or an island. 

Rutgers Chair from Ikea.com - $59.99

Love the bright green of this one.  It is so bright and playful.

Designer Task Chair from Walmart.com - $85.88

So there  you go.  Eight great office chairs.  Which one is your favorite?  Do you have a good chair for your craft/sewing area?  Anything you love that I should look into?  Lemme know!

First of all - let me say thanks to all who entered the giveaway! I feel less like a weirdo for needing complete darkness to sleep! :) Glad there are other like me out there!

But let's get to the good part - the winner!! And this time, random.org picked number 24 which just happened to be Tammy from Not Just Paper and Glue.  Tammy wanted to get the light filtering shades like the ones pictured below - great choice!

If you don't know Tammy - you should! She is an amazing blogger and thanks to her I now know the difference between Mod Podge and Gel Medium.  Hop over, learn something new and make sure to tell her congrats!!

Thanks for all the well wishes and congrats on the sale of our home! It is a relief to have that part of it done and over with, but now we have the stressful job of figuring out where the rest of our "stuff" goes!  We did a good job this weekend of moving quite a bit of our excess at a yard sale.  My total for the day was $294!  Between me and my two other friends (we did a multi-family sale - which I highly recommend) we did almost $600 total.

Now we have to figure out where we are going to put everything that we decided not to sell!  See - we left our home "staged" with most of our good furniture and some odds and ends that we either didn't have space for yet in TN. At first, we had really nothing here in TN - which was fine since we were in a one bedroom apartment. However, we moved this spring into a bigger 3 bedroom, 2 bath home and got some free furniture when we moved.

One of the things we got free was this dinette set that I spray painted and reupholstered.

Now it was fine for us as a temporary solution - but man was I excited to get my "real" dining set here.  Ready to see the only somewhat "oaky" things that I actually love??

I am so glad to have it back!!  The styles of the hutch and the table don't completely match but I think they complement each other nicely.  (Side note: Our chandi does hang lower than what is pictured.  I didn't realize until I was actually writing this post that the hubby hadn't removed the zip tie he put on it to keep it from hitting the movers on the head when they were trucking stuff through!)

I am very excited that they fit the space well!  The hutch is an antique that was given to me by my grandmother. I love it - all the glass work is original to the piece and the detailing and moulding are just beautiful!  I will have to try to get a better pic of it some time for you without the dining set in front but I was a wee bit lazy today.  (Still sore from the yard sale!)

The dining set is from Ashley Furniture (Cross Island if you are curious).  I don't have too much of a tablescape going on here - but I do have my Heirloom White pitcher stuffed with some seasonal florals and my two little leaf plates out.  I will have to work on doing a real holiday tablescape here soon.  (As soon as I find what box that stuff is in!)

So there you go!  I am still deep into unpacking at the moment - boxes and boxes of stuff everywhere.  But I thought I would share with you how the home is coming together and really becoming "mine" now!  Do you feel like there are certain things that make your home "yours"?  What are they?  I want to know! 

Linking this post to

Metamorphis Monday with Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch
Tabletop Tuesday with Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life
Anything Related with Bridgette and Rebekah @ All Thingz Related
Make it Yours Day with Carolyn @ My Backyard Eden 
Tablescape Thursday with Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch

It's official!  We have finally sold our home!  (Happy dance!!)  It has never felt so good to say "We are no longer home owners!"

For those of you new to the blog, we have been living in what I have termed "the situation".  We both lost jobs, had to move a state away to keep jobs and have been balancing mortgage and rent for a year and a half!  But no more!!

We closed on the house yesterday!  I have been dying to tell you guys but due to the public nature of the internet - didn't want to say anything until I knew it was closed!  So this may explain one of my sudden absences for a week (those of you who follow in twitter may remember all my - "posting from Starbucks" tweets) and why I am having a massive yard sale. 

My yard sale starts in about 45 minutes so I have to run - but I wanted to share the good news with you guys! 

Whoohoo!!  (I am so excited I could burst!!)

So last week I shared with you guys some inspirational pictures of organized entryways and what I think are the key components of an organized entry.
1.  A place to store the little things (hats, mittens, etc.)
2.  A place for shoes
3.  A place to sit down and take off those shoes
4.  A place to hang coats and umbrellas
5.  A trash can for junk mail and a place to put every thing else
6.  A mirror (hey your entryway is also an exitway - you need to look good when your leaving the house)
7.  A place to leave messages or reminders

So today - I am going to give some great example of these items so you can keep your entry organized and the clutter to a minimum!


I love these cute storage options from Ikea - either the larger one or two smaller ones for just $4.99.

Malla Storage Boxes from Ikea - $4.99

How about a basic mirror in black?  Classic, sleek, and perfect for a small space.

Room Essentials Black Mirror from Target - $14.99

Every time I see the shoe cabinets in the Ikea catalog I just really love the idea of them.  Beautiful cabinets that you can use the top like a console table and then tilt out cubbies underneath to throw shoes in!  Great idea.

Hemens Shoe Cabinet from Ikea - $99.99

How about this storage bench option?  You could could also store shoes and other necessary items in baskets underneath!

River Ridge Storage Bench from Target - $49.99

This rack of hooks is perfect for hanging coats, hats and umbrellas.

Leksvik Rack with Hooks from Ikea - $9.99

I really like this message center - white board, cork board, a place for pictures and a couple hooks!  A great multipurpose item for your entry.

Jot Memo Center from Target - $49.99

You need to have a trash can to throw junk mail and other stuff that you don't want making it any farther through your home that your door!  This one looks good and gets the job done.

Wicker Wastebasket from Walmart - $14.54

Finally how about this classic mission style console table.  Perfect place to set keys and with space for more storage underneath.

 48" wide Console Table from Home Decorators Outlet - $95

What is your most essential item to keeping your entry organized?  Or do you have a favorite from above?  I wanna know! 

P.S. Don't forget to hop over and enter my giveaway for a Custom Redi Fit Window Shade!

Giveaway is now closed!  Thanks for entering!  Winner will be announced tomorrow AM. 

Can I be honest with you guys?  I can't sleep in on the weekends.  Why?  Because I am one of those people that is up with the sun or any kind of light.  If I want to sleep in, I have to wear a big dark blackout mask.  It is not attractive at all!  And even when it is supposed to be dark outside, our bedroom window always seems to have either the moon or our neighbors back porch light shining in to it.  Here is the sorry state of that window.  The blinds are old and dingy.  And no matter how tight I pull the cord it still lets TONS of light through. I have wanted blackout shades for a long time ... sigh. 

So when the gracious folks at Redi Shade offered to let me test out one of there new Simple Fit shades it almost sounded a little too good to be true.  They touted a shade with a custom fit that you could install in seconds with no tools or traditional brackets.  They even included a link to this YouTube video that showed the shade being installed in less than 30 seconds.





So I accepted their offer and ordered one of their black-out cellulose shades in cream.  The photo in the room below sold me on it. I was already dreaming of blissful sleep ....

Photo via RediShade

I got my shade about 12 days after I ordered it.  Not bad for a custom order.  It took me about 5 minutes to uninstall my current blinds.  After giving the whole area a good dusting, I checked out the instructions. Pretty simple, if you watched the video.  And honestly, I did it so quickly that I even forgot to take pictures while I was doing it.  I think it really did take just seconds!  And man does it look a lot better.  Check it out!

I love it!  So much better than our old blinds.  And the darkness is just pure bliss!  Our bedroom is staying so much cooler now that we installed it as well - which I know is saving us money in the long run. 

I also love that it has no cords to get tangled up or in!  Perfect for this house full of felines.  You just gently pull down on it to raise or lower the shade.

But here's the best part, Redi Shade is also offering to give another custom shade for free to one of my readers!  The value of each shade is between $99 and $253, depending upon the size and type.  You can customize this to match your room and your needs - no matter if you love the light or just want to bask in the darkness like me! The only caveat is that this giveaway is open to US Residents only.  Sorry guys, they only ship in the US right now.

So what do you have to do to win your own custom shade?  Hop over and look at all the Simple Fit options and tell me which one you would choose and what room would you put it in!  That is it!

You can get an extra entry for
- becoming a follower
- joining my Facebook page (just click the like button)
- blogging about this giveaway
- or tweeting about this giveaway

That is 5 ways you can enter to win!  Make sure you enter an additional comment for each of your extra entries and leave a link to your blog or twitter so I can see your shout out!  The giveaway will stay open until next Monday (9/27) and will close at 9 pm CST.  I will announce the winner on Tuesday morning. 

Good luck!  Meanwhile I will be sleeping soundly!  :)