Month: February 2014

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Rented Our Home

Happy Wednesday, Ladies! I’m so excited to share that we finally rented our home.
 Right before I stopped blogging, we had just put in a brand new deck, and unfortunately, I never really shared any photos of the final transformation.  I created this cozy, private sitting area. We really enjoyed the outdoor fireplace last fall….cozy, cozy, cozy! Oh, and did I mention comfortable?
The other side of the deck was for eating and taking in the beautiful sunsets. I’m sharing these for the people who emailed me wanting to see the deck photos. 😉
I loved having a large clock above the fireplace. It was like having a bit of the indoors outside.
A mantle whether it is inside or out should be decorated, don’t you think? 😉
At night we would light this candle.
Ok, now onto our rental news….we put the house up for rent at the end of December. I did not stage the house and we had very little bites. I decided it was time to spruce up the house with a few staging items to see if it would make the house more warm and inviting. Well, it did the trick. We now have it rented.
I did not bring in any furniture in, only accessories.
 I hung towels in the bathroom and added topiaries and nice hand soap.
 I used burlap ribbon and tied it around the towels.
 In the pantry, I added these cute little plants and placed a big cake platter on one of the shelves.
I made up this cute arrangement and placed it down in the theater. It is filled with popcorn, kettle corn, red vines, and root beer.  I will leave it for the renters as a little “welcome” gift! 😉
When anyone comes to the front door, it should be pretty and welcoming. So I got out my cleaning product of choice – Pledge Furniture Polish With Orange Oil, and I sprayed it onto the exterior wood right next to the front door. You can see how dull the wood looked prior to spraying the oil on. I rubbed the oil in really good over the wood with a small towel and it soaked right into the wood and revitalized it. Ba-BAM!
BEFORE
 AND AFTER
I even sprayed the front door….so much better! Love that product! 
I placed a wax warmer in the kitchen with a wonderful scent and it made the house smell heavenly. All these “little” things add up and just make the house look and feel more like, well, home! This is how it looked before staging, just cold and uninviting.
 These are all the items I brought over to stage with.
 So, if any of you are in the process of trying to rent your home and have already moved out, leave a few items behind and just accessorize. It really makes the house feel more inviting.
If I could have a “D R E A M *  J O B” it would be to stage peoples homes. I love to accessorize, it would be a dream come true, maybe one day! 🙂 Thanks for visiting! XO, Liz
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Linking up with:
Treasure Hunt Thursday
Anything Blue Friday
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Jazz Up That Kitchen

Hi Ladies, today I would like to share a few ideas from my kitchen to yours. In our home, the kitchen is the heart of the home, it’s the most popular place to congregate. A place to cook, eat, and share a story, or two!
 Why not make the kitchen a cozy, comfortable atmosphere, right? I’m not afraid to use “faux” items such as faux fruit, bread, or greenery. This allows me to switch things out as I may.
 I like to group decor items.  Save those corks ladies, you can use them in your kitchen vignettes like you see here. Just place your corks into a glass cloche, or any glass container and it makes a cute centerpiece.
 I like to vary things at different heights.  Pedestals are an easy way to place items up a little higher than others.
I love big glass jars, I always change the items out seasonally. Sometimes I have apples, sometimes, I have pumpkins (for fall) and seashells/sand for summer. 
 At Hobby Lobby they have lots of glass jars filled with veggies, I love these as they add a pop of color in the kitchen.
In this glass jar I added green grass with lemons and beneath it I placed a pear twig wreath.
Here are a few more glass containers filled with veggies.
I like to add candles for ambiance…it adds the cozy factor.
I lover moss balls and placed these on the dining room table in a big round basket.
I found this pretty container at Real Deals and placed a bean mix inside because I liked the different variations in color.
 In another glass container I used rice and pasta and placed some tall greenery right in the middle.
Don’t you love accessorizing your kitchen? I sure do! The possibilities are endless….
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Tuscan Wall Shelf Vignette

Hello Ladies, today I would like to share a wall shelf display. 
 In the living room, I hung a grouping of three metal Fleur-de-lis on the wall.  The look by itself just wasn’t doing it for me. Hmm, what to do? So, I ran to Hobby Lobby and found a black metal wall shelf, Tuscan in style, and thought it would be perfect to go under my wall arrangement.
I added a rustic green pot and placed some greenery in it, and then placed some yarn balls in amongst the greenery.
I think the wall shelf adds a bit of warmth to the whole arrangement.
I like the brown coming through on the black shelf and the distressing on it.
One a table in the living room, I added a touch of Spring by adding a big brown bunny.
I played with the arrangement by adding greenery, and greenery with grapes, but decided I liked it without the grapes.
On another table, I added a giant garden ball and placed it on a bed of greenery in a big Tuscan pot.
I like the wispy greenery, it adds a lightness and delicateness to the to display. 
I sure love accessorizing our home, it’s so much fun! 🙂
Thanks for visiting! XO, Liz
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Rustic Tuscan Style Shelving ~ Using Fence Posts

Hi there, today I would like to share a creative, yet VERY simple and inexpensive way to create shelving in your home.
In the above picture, you will notice the woodwork on the wall, my idea was aimed to find something similar in color for my shelf idea.
I ran to Home Depot and found two pre-stained Fence Posts, only $11.00 each. I kept them just they way they were, because I love a rustic look! If you want to make this shelf, but want a different finish, just get the plain wood and stain it to your liking.
I like seeing the knots and imperfections in the wood…that’s what gives it character. 🙂
I didn’t know what to do with this wall, so the fence posts filled it in well. I ran to Hobby Lobby to get wall brackets because I saw them on sale last week for 50% off.  I screwed the fence posts in side by side to give me the width I was looking for to be able to accessorize with different items. 
My wall brackets, only $3.99 each at HL.
I sat two Tuscan jugs side by side and added some greenery.
Now although the colors aren’t a perfect match (the wood trim and shelving) it’s close enough.
A simple shelf can fill a large wall space nicely, and for $30.00 and some change, not bad! 
This greenery is also from Hobby Lobby, $11.99 original price, now 50% off.
I originally got two larger brackets that were too big, so what did I do with them? I used one of them to accessorize with in the photo above. Why not, right? It looks Tuscan, so I used it! 😉
The metal and wood wall embellishment is also from HL, now 50% off.
I did this very look in my living room, because the house did not come with a mantle, so I replicated it on this wall.

I’ll show you the whole room soon, one more wall to fill. HA!
Thanks for stopping by! XO, Liz
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Linking Up With:
Inspire Me Tuesday
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Grace At Home Party
Tablescape Thursday

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Getting Creative With Green And Yellow

How many of you bring items home after a shopping trip and then can’t decide which way you prefer it on the table? Well, that pretty much describes me, just call me Mrs. Indecisive! 😉
Today, I got two French Garden Balls at Hobby Lobby and also purchased the two green pots.  We won’t talk price, because if you know me, they’re CHEAP! 😉 I also got the two candle holders there, but heck, do I ever use them for candles? NO!! 
I got the Rooster and yellow candle holder there  for 50% off, yippie!  I wait for things I like to go on sale, patience is the name of the game. I never pay full price for anything.
I even got the greenery 50% off, too!
I play with different variations and heights until I get things just the way I like it. 
Sometimes I keep things simple and other times I get carried away! 
I got this moss ball at HL for $6.99 and plopped it in a bowl.
The candle holders add a little touch of Tuscan Style and the pots have a spring feel to them.
Green is my favorite color….
I got the items below from Real Deals.
Can I just say how much I love moss balls. Moss balls are such awesome space fillers. You can use them in containers, on top of candle holders, next to items, in baskets….LOVE THEM!!
 I hope my indecisiveness has given you some ideas. Have fun when you accessorize, I do, even if it takes me all day! LOL! 😉
Thanks for stopping by! ~Liz
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Linking up with:
 Wow Us Wednesday
The Inspiration Exchange Link Party
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Wall Vignette

Hi there! It’s time to share a simple wall vignette. I had a blank wall that was driving me nuts, hmm, what to do I asked myself?

Hmm….think, think, think! I know, a Tuscan Style, Rooster-themed wall vignette to go on the wall in between the kitchen and dining room, so that’s what I did! 😉

I love Roosters and found these two pictures at Hobby Lobby for 50% off, so I snagged them just as fast as I could.
I found the wall shelf at Ross for $19.99. It looked Tuscan Style to me, so I grabbed it fast! I don’t see these often at Ross. 😉

I adore these warm colors, and Roosters are so darn cute! 

The candle sconces are from Pier 1 Imports.

The Boxwood garden balls are from Tuesday Morning, $3.99 each. I thought it would be fun to place the Garden Balls on the sconces instead of candles.

I placed two Roosters and some greenery on the shelf.
And….whala, a cute little vignette!
I later decided to add this bowl of garden balls from Real Deals.
I love it when a plan comes together, don’t you?  A once lonely blank wall turned cozy. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by~ Liz
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Elements Of A Tuscan Dining Room

The elements that make up our Tuscan Style Dining room are warm earthy colors, pottery, iron looking wall art, heaving metal sconces, greenery, and faux fruit.
Wispy greenery looks more natural and makes for an elegant arrangement.
Adding greenery, or a simple garden ball adds a softness to otherwise heavy looking pieces.
I especially love to add a lot of faux fruit as we get closer to spring.
Artichokes are so pretty, add them to any bowl with a sprig of greenery and grapes, it pops!
I like to layer things. Place a bowl on top of a woven tray, it adds depth and texture.
Place an artichoke, or two, below any display…it gives the display a bit more visual interest. 
I use candle sconces to display garden balls, it’s different and I like to be different! 😉
I like to group items together to make pretty table vignettes.
Below: I took a shelf from Hobby Lobby, placed an urn with greenery on top, and set a simple moss ball beside it.
If you have a glass candle holder, fill it with a few moss balls, instead of a candle.
Once again, I added grapes to fill in…they are great space fillers! 😉
Lastly, I added two lanterns on either side of my hutch, and placed some battery operated LED candles inside. These candles are awesome…they are on timers and go on every night at 5 and go off at 9pm, which adds a lovely ambiance to the room each and every night.
The elements that make up your room are the very things that give it character, so have fun grouping items, accessorizing, and thinking out of the box.

XO, Liz
Linking up with: 
Be Inspired Party
Treasure Hunt Thursday
Grace At Home Party
Anything Blue Friday

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Makeshift Mantle

Our living room came with a fireplace, but no mantle. Why do builders do this? It truly makes the fireplace look cold and un-inviting! So, I came up with a way to make a mantle and very inexpensively.
I ran to Home Depot and picked up two 4×4’s, pre-treated with a rustic look and feel to them. I had Home Depot cut the pieces of wood to 64 inches in length. 
 I went and found two brackets I liked, some wall screws and anchors that could carry 100 pounds.
I placed the two pieces of wood side by side, screwed them into the brackets, and it makes the perfect mantle to display items. It feels much more cozy and intimate in the living room now, just the look I was going for.
So, for $40.00….a mantle to enjoy!