Storage boxes on the cheap

Everytime I see a cute storage box, basket, or whatever, I feel like I want to buy it. I think that I may have a mild case of OCD with organizing things and making it decorative at the same time. The tv stand in our spare room as an open space that I just haven't been able to use efficiently. I had some frames and other decor in there for a while, but I felt like it was wasted space. I don't feel like spending money from my budget to buy some sort of baskets, etc. right now so for now this is what I have...

I have 2 identical boxes from drugstore.come orders as well as a plethora of fabric scraps. I took some chocolate brown fabric and covered one of the boxes. Looks pretty good for what it is and for supplies I already had on hand.

I haven't been able to figure out what to do with the stack of luggage beside my dresser yet. The suitcase already has two other pieces in it so there's no more room for stuffing anything else in there. In any case, the fabric covered cardboard box is doing the trick with holding yarns and other miscellaneous stuff. Maybe I should add a handle or some kind of hardware to them so they don't look so dark. Decisions, decisions...

Signs of Fall

It's no secret that I love fall. Looooove fall. The smells, the tastes, the sights...I love everything about fall. I was so excited to get out my little collection of fall decorations this weekend. It's a small collection, but Peter will probably agree that it grows every year!

First up are these little plates in a rack from Kirklands that I bought just this past weekend. I had been eyeing them up for a while and when I found them on sale this weekend and had a 20% off coupon to use...well I just couldn't pass it up for $6.84. Each plate has a bible verse on it. I love the way it looks - it definitely fills the vertical space better than the square frame I had there before.

I made the wreath on my door a few years ago and loved it then. Now I'm not sure why, but I don't love it as much. I still like the colors and flowers, but I think I need to go the whole way around the grapevine, or spruce it up, or something. We'll see.

My big china hutch received a fall makeover as well. It was all small things like adding my fall tea set, and some pumpkins.

Last year we were at Cracker Barrel sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas at my parents' house. I saw the fall teapot and sugar/creamer set and just loved it! At 80% off, it was a bargain. Peter agreed to buy it for me as part of my Christmas presents. Yay! I was so happy to pull it out this year for fall. :)

The little hutch didn't change very much. I added a few little pumpkins and a "Give Thanks" decoration that I got at Kirklands last year.

Our buffet has some new additions from this year. Peter and I bought a wine rack a few weeks ago from Target for $9. It only holds 6 bottles, but we really like it. It matches the room well. I also moved our cork collection to a little basket near the wine rack.

I made some fall hurricanes with supplies from the dollar tree. I've seen all over blogland people making these so I had to give it a try. The first one I saw was at www.granvillehouse.blogspot.com. I loved the way mine turned out. On one of the hurricanes, I added a bit of raffia and a leaf bookmark that I received from a recent bridal shower that I attended. Super cute!

That about does it for this years fall decorations. :)

More fall fun!

Today was another fun-filled Saturday. It started with our monthly trip to Ikea. (I really have a hard time not going when they give me $20 to spend for free!) My aunt Paula came to visit this weekend so she and Peter checked out the display rooms in Ikea while I hunted around for what was on my list. After that, we stopped at Panera for some lunch. I used to not like Panera very much (except for breakfast) since they mostly served sandwiches. Now that they have salads on the menu, it's great! Their salads are fabulous! And they change for each season. Yum!

After lunch we headed to Simmons Farm to go apple picking. Peter and I have made a tradition to go apple picking once a year and we have always gone to Simmons. It's a huge operation, much more than just apple picking, and it definitely gets you in the mood for Fall!

It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon. Luckily, I had sunglasses in the car!

Peter wanted to pick the first apple. He did...but then he dropped it on the ground. You can kind of see in this picture the beginning of disappointment spreading across his face haha.

He quickly recovered from the trauma of dropping the first apple and had no hesitations about picking (and chomping into!) the next apple.

Paula and Peter are both enjoying apple picking:

We stumbled across this dying (already dead??) tree. We thought of the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree and decided to take a picture near it.

We bought the big bag to fill with apples. It doesn't look like that big of a bag in this picture, but it held a lot of apples!

We usually head a few rows away from where everyone else is. Most people just get out of the car and start picking right away. That's ok, but it doesn't take long for the trees near the entrance/pay station to not have many apples to pick. We head to empty rows and the trees are stocked!

Peter took this picture of me from the next row. I really like the blues and greens of the picture. So pretty - especially with the fluffy white clouds in the sky.

Looks delicious, doesn't it? :)

We found a nest in one of the trees. No birds though!

There were 5 varieties in season to pick from today. Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Rome, Jonagold, and Empire. All quite yummy! The red apples are so much easier to see in the trees than the green ones!

Paula had never gone apple picking before. I hadn't either until I was married, but now it's a fun fall tradition. :)

Clusters of yummy apples:

All done! It didn't take very long to fill our bag - only about an hour.

Like I said, it was sunny!

But so nice to be out in the sunshine getting some fresh air!

After picking apples, we went to the little store area and bought apple cider and fresh corn. I love the little shop area, but it's always so busy! They always have great food to buy there though. I usually have a hard time not buying something!

We stopped by Starbucks for a frappucino (Chai Cream with 2 pumps of Pumpkin Spice = YUM) and then headed home. We ended up making one last stop at Kirklands. The ones near my house and Paula's have closed so we couldn't pass up the opportunity. :P I ended up getting a the small plate set for my living room nook. I'll have to take a picture of them tomorrow. They look great!

I put a turkey breast in my crock pot before heading out in the morning and just had to pop it in the oven, fix up some sides and we had a delicious little turkey dinner. I figured it was early enough that we would be wanting it again by Thanksgiving. :)

After dinner my aunt Paula helped me with some alterations on pants and a dress and now it's definitely time for some shut eye.

Ikea, Panera, Apple picking, Starbucks, Kirklands, turkey dinner, and sewing. Sounds like a perfect Saturday to me! :)