A DAY AT HOME

What a day!
Up before seven and straight to work.
Not to Victoria's Secret...I was off today.
It was a BIG TIME cleaning day.

Scrubbed the floors with Murphy Oil Soap
then applied Liquid Gold, all on my
hands and knees
of course.

Rearranged furniture.

Brought things up from the basement
to freshen up my look.
I've been in the mood to do some major redecorating
but don't have the time or the funds
with holiday coming on.

Next best thing...rearrange!
Notice the door in the background.
If you look close you can see the blue painter's
tape on the chair below.

I had an inspiration and we had
chalk board paint in the basement.

Now all I need is a cutesy saying to write on it.
But I'm just too darn tired now,
I'm crawling into bed.

ONE FALL DAY

The neighborhood is all ablaze with
Fall colors!

Many trees are already bare
while others are just starting to turn.

The Virginia Creeper is
on fire with red
on the back fences.

Our porch here at
Buttermilk Cottage
is dressed for the season

as are many of our neighbors.

One of my favorites is this graveyard scene
one street over.

Yesterday Susan and I drove over the mountain
into North Carolina.
It was a perfect day for leaf peeping.

The weather was marvelous!
We took our time
stopping here and there for
a few pictures.

This NC Welcome Center
was a delight.

You have to make time to get out
and enjoy the colors of Fall.
It always seems like you blink your eye
and they're gone.

Once over the mountain our destination
was the Tobacco Barn Antiques in Ashville.
We had heard so much about this place
but had never experienced it for
ourselves...

now that we have, well lets just say,
WE'LL BE BACK!

It was so much fun browsing through the
countless treasures.
It was almost overwhelming.

We ended our trip at a sweet little
French restaurant in downtown Ashville
that had been recommended
by a good friend.

Without a doubt the owner and chef
loves what he does.
He made a point to visit every table

What a wonderful day!

MACK'S FIVE AND DIME...GOING STRONG

A few weeks ago my sister and I took a trip to Hilton Head.
One morning we drove over to
Savannah and spent the day.
We couldn't visit Savannah and not have a meal at
Lady and Sons.

While we were waiting for out appointed time to eat,
we had time to browse the shops nearby and ran
across this gem.
Mack's Five and Dime.

As soon as I walked in
I felt like I had walked back in time.

Do you recall the scene in Breakfast At Tiffany's
at the Five and Dime?

It immediately came to my mind
as I walked the isles and fingered the
variety of goods...

...right down to the Halloween masks
on the center table.

My sister spied these goblets on a window shelf.
When we were growing up my Mom had a set
just like these.
They were our special glasses.

I found embroidered handkerchiefs.

hair nets

and everything in between.

Back on the street
I noticed other signs of a bygone time.
I saw an old Kress down the way housing, no doubt,
a Baby Gap or Gift shop.
This great old Silvers building now an upscale
furniture store.

It got me thinking...
when I was growing up we had Five & Dime just down from
where my Mom did her grocery shopping.
I spent many a day browsing there and wishing I had more
money in my pocket.

I think it was a Woolworth.

As a young woman working in downtown
Birmingham Alabama,
I remember there was a
Newberry Five and Dime.
My co-workers and I would
sometimes go down to the lunch counter
and have a bite to eat.
Seems like ages ago.

Ben Franklin is the only
Five and Dime big chain I can think of
that still going strong...
or is it???

I think they
have changed with the times.

TOOTSIE ROLL POPS

Oh how I love Tootsie Pops!

The Halloween candy is out
and I just can't resist !

My favorite, with out a doubt, Cherry.

Banana and Green Apple...
not so much.

The great art print is by an artist named
Mary Hughes

OLD WOOL SWEATERS...NEW FELTED WREATHS

Talk about refurbishing!

Last winter I read several blog posts about turning
old wool sweaters into
new felted wreaths.

I jotted the idea down in my
inspiration notebook and
was determined to give it a try
this year.

All you need is a washer and dryer
(It works better if you have a top loader).

Some old wool sweaters you don't mind shrinking.
I hit the Goodwill and Salvation Army shops
at the beginning of summer
and picked up several.

Scissors, wire and some time.

Wash your sweaters in hot water
and then dry them.
The more times you run them through
the denser they will become.
That's a good thing.

When they are all done, they look like
baby sweaters, very cute.
Cut them up in squares, I did mine
in approximately two inch squares.
Then you are ready to string them on your wire.

Alternate your colors and create
any pattern you like.

This is a close up of a green one I did

and this is my red and blue one.

It was a fun project and I'm glad I did it.
They are great wreaths for the Winter
months when Christmas is all
packed away.
Happy Felting!

I will be linking with some super parties:
Savvy Southern Style's
Wow Us Wednesday

My Romantic Home's
Show and Tell Friday