Cottage Beach House Down the Jersey Shore for Fall

Last post I showed you our front porch and entry. Now I wanted to show you the Cottage Beach House at the Jersey shore dressed up for fall..
At this house, I don't have a mantle to dress so I do the hutch.

I think my favorite thing is the vintage book stack in Autumn colors, especially because the top one says "The Islanders" in orange. These were just thrifted and set up today. I have been searching for pumpkin colored old books that were not too expensive for weeks.

Love. Amour.
And another very lucky thrift find. Today. This adorable seed can in pumpkin color!
I think the Gods walked with me today.

The gravy boat is an oldie but goodie, and she only shows her orange flower this time of year!

DIY Fall Porch and Door Decor, a Lantern and Garland

The porch decor for Autumn is simple, just a pumpkin in an urn and some pine cones and gourds in a favorite ceramic dish.

 The impatiens are still pretty so, they get to stay a bit longer, soon they will be replaced with mums... but not today.

I love my fairies so they are out till the weather gets nasty, around November 15th or so!

I wanted to make something a little different this year than the usual leaf wreath for the door. Don't get me wrong I love leaf wreaths and think they really look so pretty this time of year. I made a few myself, last year.
But I just wanted to change it up this year. So I made a few new things...

A Simple Fall Mantle

I wanted to post about a mantle decoration for Layla's linky party Tuesday Sept 27th.

I've done just a few small things to decorate for Fall around here. I have to admit I'm not real enthusiastic about it because, I hate to see the summer leave us. I know all too quickly that the leaves will all be changing on the trees and then falling off.
Leaving us with bare trees, and dark skies for months and months.
We just closed our pool, 2 days ago!
When I begin the Fall decorations before the leaves actually turn yellow and red, it is a little hard for me to ... ummmnn...get into it.
 I usually like to really wait until the trees are turning. Then there is actually a pretty glow to the sky. And I can really use the leaves that are falling. This picture below is from last year, in November. We are a long way from this yet, and I am not one to rush anything in my life.

 I like how the grass is still so green and pretty in this picture.

A thrifting adventure in Cape May and the Irish Fall Festival in Wildwood

I had a great weekend, How was yours? I hope you took it easy and enjoyed life a bit!
I found a really neat  rusty wire basket thrifting in Cape May. Only 5 bucks! I bought it home and have finally started my Fall decorating. Gotta love those dollar store pumpkins and ghourds.

I can never bring myself to do it until the actual start of Fall. I'm not one of those end of August Fall decorators. I actually enjoy the dog days of August and squeeze out the very last drop of summer here in  the Northeastern USA.

 I figure the rain, cold, snow, and wetness will be here to stay for more than long enough when it does arrive.

And a Fall garland I am working on from found acorns and twine..

Rescue an Old Chair with New Fabric

Today, a fabric that I carry in my fabric store on etsy was featured on a blog about decorating to make your home soft and restful. Shulman Art
The fabric is a waverly fabric called Millbrook stripe in the colorway Cadet blue.
I have used it in my own home down the shore, to cover a chair that was in dire need of being rescued.

I posted about it last year when I first began my blog.

I was inspired by a photo in a magazine and determined to make that chair look similar.

Picky and Pickier were at it Once Again

I have been very busy lately with lots of stuff and  with some painting my sister and I recently did, so I really kinda laid off the blogging for a few weeks. It's raining now so I am back.  I thought I would show you a little transformation my sis and I did, last weekend. We really had a lot of fun doing it, even though it was a lot of work. You may recognize some items here thrifted on our previous adventure !

Today, I can start with the "after"

A few years ago my sis sold her home in Pa. and bought one at the Jersey Shore and one in Florida, and retired. With them came the Hutch that they had for 30 some years.
The "Before'

Marilou ( my sis ... otherwise known as Pickier.. from the "Adventures of Picky and Pickier") desperately wanted to lighten and brighten,  and had purchased a lovely yellow table, with some white, some yellow chairs and all decked out in blue and yellow. But the hutch just wasn't to her liking anymore...so an idea was launched. She decided to paint it the color of the table. "NO, NO" screamed her grown children, as she presented this idea. "It's an antique," They protested.
Errmmmnnn no, it's maybe 35 years old kids.. not an antique. But they persisted she keep it as is, in honor of all the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners it presented and presided over. She caved.:(

But neccessity is the mother of invention!

The "Frenchification" of my Studio/Guestroom Phase1

One thing I really enjoy doing is changing things. There are a lot of things that need it, in my world ;)

So I  have finally found some time to begin the process of Frenchifying the room my son moved out of.
I like that term " Frenchify"... I picked it up from Debra over at Common Ground, who just yesterday had a Design Challenge, featuring the room I am currently working on.
 Design Challenge: Eileen's Guestroom/Studio

So the Frenchification began today with this old mirror, I gave it the first coat.

Preparing her for her "White Wedding" ( cue Billy Idol)... she has the prettiest details, and a bit of chippy, layered, vintage charm.

My Studio/ Guestroom redesign

I am participating in the Design Challenge at Debra's Common Ground

I have this great room to redecorate and move my office into that I want to also function as a guest room.
The way it looks now is bad.  typical boy. Don't come in my room and do anything mom!
I know it's messy, but this is the reality, now, but not forever.

I want the wall above to look like this sketch.

And this wall where he had the bed right on the floor.

To get a vintage bed post and old nite table... like in this sketch

All settled into College

Last weekend we moved my youngest daughter into college. I miss her.
 They gave us a late move in time so,
We only had an hour to get everything into the room and then attend a parent meeting. There were some tears involved when we said goodbye. But not from her, from the rest of us. She is really looking forward to this.
When we arrived this was the look.

 This is after we got everything inside.

We did our best to transform it in the short amount of time we had. Dad set up the TV, I set up the printer connections and the bed. Her sis helped us with everything, and her other sis stayed home and watched the baby dogs.
 She picked a red and white color scheme.

And then we had to leave because of set up activities for the students, and she had to finish the printer hook up and T.V. cable hook up, later . She did good. Wow they grow up too fast. Time moves too quickly.
 I know everyone says it, but it feels like yesterday she was this inquisitive, little squirt on the beach. Picking up big horseshoe crabs, larger than her head and peeking into them.

Then suddenly,
It's senior prom:

Enjoy your little angels they sprout wings way too fast.


Do you remember your college days? What did you like the most about them?

 Here's a pic of our new baby dog which she will surely miss.!

Have a great weekend!

a Pretty Rainbow

My cottage survived the storm very well. Thank you all for the emails and the prayers!
 I've been very busy lately putting things back in order, and cleaning up.
I thought it might be a good time to post a couple of nice rainbow pictures that I took in  North Wildwood.

It was a full arch and I don't have a wide angle lense so I had to take several separate shots!
Below is the other side of the arch.

And I just luv how the sea birds have a glow about them in this one:

Also been busy getting ready to move my youngest into a college dorm room tomorrow.  Making pillow covers and picking out bedding, and printing pictures for her new frames. We are trying to decorate with lots of pictures so she doesn't miss us all too much. I'll post pics of her dorm room  re -do, after we get it all set up.
She wanted to make a statement. Can you guess what color scheme she is going with?
The choices:

• black and white
• black, pink, and white
• red and white
• red and black

We've got everything ready now and packed in the car!
hasta la vista, baby