Fall Wreath and Garland

Last year I got back on my kick of making decorations for all the holidays (which had totally gone to pot since moving again and not decorating for a single holiday yet this year... must get out halloween decorations.... ) We don't  really celebrate all the holidays because I just never seem to find the time for that. BUT decorating for them and adding fun bright temporary decorations to the house is totally something I can get behind. 

My fall section is severely lacking (as in I have NONE) so I finally came across this idea for a wreath and liked it enough to run with it with a bunch of changes. LIKE for one I am not going to knit a bunch of yarn into sheets and then felt them as the instructions said (I am all for crazy but what is Lion Brand smoking?!?) Instead I spent a ridiculous amount of time cutting out leaves from wool felt and then I washed them all to get the texture. Then I wrapped metal wire in yarn (see that is stupid crazy) and sewed the metal on to each individual leaf. Then I also made felt pinecones and berries... because it seemed reasonable (ahem) - there's more pictures below with progress shots

I also finally got around to making an acorn garland. I gathered the large acorns caps on the trip we took to Tennessee 3 years ago. I used Dad's drill press to put 2 holes in the top of each cap and then strung them on copper colored leather. It was a super fun project except that I really never want to felt tiny balls again... and I currently have a project in mind that would require me doing more of that.... 

Just so you know there are in fact a bazillion leaves on this wreath. And it definitely falls into the things I am so glad I made and never want to make again category!

Thanksgiving Weekend

The Friday after Thanksgiving we headed down to the 'happiest place on earth' -- Which just happens to be 2.5 hours from our front door. My Grandmother and visiting Uncle and Aunt instigated the craziness. And it was a crazy - just so you know the park is slightly busy after Thanksgiving. 

 Micah's favorite ride was probably the carousel... but only if Grandma rode with him

 Uber being crazy with Micah at the swiss family tree house

 The main reason for the trip was to see Disney all done up for Christmas - The castle was beautiful!

 The light parade was fun

 They did a fantastic job with the fireworks

 13 hours wore the boy out. He huddled down right before the fireworks and decided it was time to sleep! 

Well this is just my side of the trip... I haven't gotten a hold of all the additional photos taken... but going through mine was daunting enough!

Good Food, A Baby and A Gift

We had a yummy lunch today! Jessica and Uber made Cornish Hens and grapes. It was gorgeous before, 

and after. Uber's parents were here too and between all of us cooking we had WAY too much just the right amount of food. There are even leftovers for tomorrow. 

I bought myself some lovely fall flowers.

I kissed this baby's face. Lots. 

I looked at this beautiful quilt as often as possible.  

This is my as yet undecided what to call it room. I'm not done in here yet, but it's coming along. I want the area above the fireplace to be a rotating art display. First up is this quilt, a gift from Kelly. I love it. LOVE. 

See the light fixture that features it so well? I'd been looking at something similar on Pottery Barn. During one of my many, many trips to Lowe's, Jess spotted this on the clearance shelf, $15.23. That find saved me $143.77. Maybe I should put that toward a fireplace makeover. A serious fireplace makeover. 

I love how the light makes this quilt glow!

Thanks Kelly, I may have said this already but I love it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you are all having a wonderful day! Just wanted to show you the one fun decoration I was able to finish in time to use this fall....

 Please excuse the two holes in my wall. This is the part about my house being a work in progress and me going ahead and showing you. There was an intercom. There was a ventilation hood. They were beyond non functional and U.G.L.Y. The electrical thingys need help so until we get to that point in our reno, they remain open. 

 Back to my pretty garland. This is from a tutorial over at ParrishPlatz. I've wanted to make one for awhile and decided now was the time. Thanks for the idea and doing the cool leaf templates Jennifer! These were made with some wonderful 100% wool felt I bought when I was in Germany. I machine sewed my layers together.

 I think this one is my favorite.

Yes, it's still warm enough for the beach.