Dinner Party: Serving Wine...Only Wine.

I've never did the ~holiday tablescape~ thing before.  To be completely honest...I do sort of think it's a tad crazy to set up a fancy table setting just for pictures on the internet. Maybe some people really have people over after they set this all up and enjoy an elegantly styled dinner and drink fancy sounding drinks. They maybe even use those cute paper straws--and maybe they don't get soggy.

Today, I officially join the other bloggers in the crazy club--errr imaginary guest table.  My mother-in-law was cleaning out her basement and gifted me some old white tableware. Plus, I had an entire day off to myself this week. Adam worked and Ben went to the sitter. I caught up on laundry, gave Scout a bath, watched reality tv (90 Day Fiance anyone?), and then had a little extra time to spare.
Sooo there I was, setting the table for non-existent dinner guests with no fancy dinner cooking in the oven--and no plans for cocktails out of chic straws that evening.

I don't have anything to serve. Except sweet potato puffs, and wine. I always have wine.

But check out this lovely fall view of Bishop Creek.

Maybe take it all in while you enjoy a glass of Bishop Creek Wine? See what I did there?

Let's talk a minute about the blanket scarf. Every blogger in blog land seems to have one of these blanket scarves in their fall tablescape. They also seem to be wearing them all over fashion blogland. My blanket scarf is so soft, snuggly, and I love the print. But to be honest, I have not worn it more than 5 minutes. It's HOTTER THAN HECK. I mean this thing is H-O-T. I immediately have a sweat mustache about 90 seconds after it's draped over my shoulders. It does better as a little blankie on the couch, or draped over this table to be honest.

Have you ever set up your dining table with no dinner plans? 
Does your blanket scarf do more good on the couch or the table than on you?

P.S. In some of the photos above, you can see a sneaky peek of my new chevron jute rug. See more of it here. I'm loving it!

Dining Room Changes: Chevron Jute Rug

Hey guys! Have you noticed anything different around here? We have a new logo and a blog design thanks to my dear friend Brett. Take a look around, tell me if you see something off. We still have a few more tweaks to do, but I'm loving the new look.
I'm so excited about changes taking place in my dining room too. I found a great set of vintage school chairs earlier this summer (for a serious steal) that of course will get a makeover. We've also added a makeshift coffee station-- which is a whole post for another day. Today I'm sharing our beautiful new dining room rug. Natural Area Rugs sent us a great rug to review, and it gives our dining room a whole new look.

Rugs can either make or break your space. I had a large wool rug below our table before this, but the shape wasn't right, and the colors weren't holding up to the foot traffic. The base color was cream. What was I thinking putting a light color under my table?

The Benaras rug from Natural Area Rugs still has the creamy neutral color I like, but the dark color zig-zagged into the chevron pattern into it gives it warmth and a slight modern touch. I love the the natural look, without the beachy feel I see in most Jute rugs.

This rug is chunky, but not too chunky. And it doesn't seem to even shed that much after the first vacuum. 

Feels good on my tootsies too. It's jute, so it's not going to feel like cashmere under your toes, but it's not rough either. It's perfect for the dining room, we won't exactly be playing on the floor with Ben here. 

The prices are right at NaturalAreaRugs.com, free shipping, and a great selection of sizes and styles. I had a hard time narrowing it down to the perfect rug. I'll probably be ordering more once our basement is finished.

Benaras Jute Rug

Oh an you should probably follow Natural Area Rugs on Instagram they have FABULOUS 24 hour giveaways all the time. My friend Hollie even won one a few weeks ago! (bonus, they post cute doggie photos too!)

I was provided with a rug for review from Natural Area Rugs. All opinions are my own.

New Chairs: Adding Schoolhouse Flair in the Dining

Can I just say I am still jumping up and down over this find? Or should I say steal? This was such a good deal.

One of the many benefits of spending most of my day in the recliner nursing this hungry kid is having plenty of time to scroll through furniture for sale on the internet. Adam would say this isn't a positive, but a negative--as I've also been spending loads of time scrolling Pinterest. Which means more projects for him.

Back to the chairs for sale.
They were old. But not crappy old chairs. The good kind of old chairs. Old chairs saved from a school demolition. They were probably used in the library.

They'd need a little cleaning up and maybe refinished one day. They were sturdy, heavy, solid wood chairs.  They were cute.  There were 8 of them. They were cheap.  I'm talking less than 4 bucks a chair. Really. 

I wanted to replace the chairs we had at the dining room table for awhile now.  They were crappy craigslist chairs that never had a chance to be redone.  I just threw some slipcovers over them and called it good enough.

old slipcovered chairs

But the metal chairs I really wanted were a small fortune for 8 of them.  So I had to wait for the right deal to come along. My waiting paid off!

Have you gotten any good deals lately?

A Dining Room Centerpiece...from a Barn?

My dining room table has a new center of attention....

It's a really an old chicken feeder. Doesn't really scream dining room table at first glance...by the looks of the next photo, right?

Well, I added a little greenery and a table runner..

I love how long this is. Since our dining room table it longer than most, most of the runners and centerpieces I find don't do the trick, but both of these worked perfect!

I added the same greenery to the top of my dumpster dive wine rack!

And plus a set of "twinkle lights" on a timer which I got on super duper clearance after Christmas...and voila!

It adds a nice twinkle light in the evening when we are relaxing!

I love it. It can easily be switched out to flame-less candles, or as a succulent planter! It would look cute in the early Spring with my golden buns! I even thought about it going on our fireplace mantle in the winter filled with evergreen snips or pinecones... 

I did some pin-searching and found there are a TON of other people doing the same thing with chicken feeders on pinterest. 

See more about our DIY Farmhouse Dining Room Table and the DIY Farmhouse Bench and updates on the dining room here!
Centerpiece is a flea market find.
Greenery Garland is from Hobby Lobby
Teal Table Runner is from HomeGoods.
Check out the pottery barn look alike wine rack above the China cabinet that was found in the dumpster!


Do you have anything that originally in a barn in your house?
What else can I do with my new chicken feeder!?

Plan for Plates

When your husband says to you every week:

• "Start hanging stuff on the wall!" 
• "What kind of junk are you bringing home now?"
• "You are trying to make this house look like #&$*%@& Pottery Barn!"

It CAN get annoying. Especially when you are just trying to do what he asked demanded you in the first place. To start hanging stuff on the wall!

I think he's tired of staring at blank walls. But I'm kind of picky about putting holes in the walls at this house. He was too...but now he's over it!

Well I'm working on it. I finally made a decision about what I wanted to do with this odd shaped teeny portion of a wall that we just had to have to hold the second story up and all...

On the living room side of the weird wall I stuck a big old vase with sticks in it. Done. Love it.

But the kitchen side was a different story all together.
Does it have to be something kitchen-y?
What kind of decor can I put on this tiny little space that I won't hate?
Can I find something that I can DIY or makeover so it doesn't cost a fortune?

In comes plates....

They looked so cute at the thrift store. But what would I even do with them? Then I had a little pin-spiration!

These were each less than a buck each. I plan to do a little collector wall hanging! I want to incorporate these colors, but many more. I'm on the lookout for some with teal, green, red....maybe even some plum toned purple plates if I can track a few down.

My inspiration:

 Kelly @ View Along the Way

Love what Kelly did with her plate wall. I like the way it wraps around the side. Which is what I plan to do! I think Kelly shows us that you can make any design with the plates you want. Fit it to your own home. Love that.


I like this mix of old and new styles...

HomeEdit

This collection wall from CasaSugar is interesting because the plates slightly overlap in some spots sort of like Kelly's. It's different and makes it more of one piece rather than several plates in a collection.

CasaSugar

Do you have trouble committing & nailing things to the wall? 
Any tips for a non-picture hanger committer? Do you have any collections on your wall?


p.s. please go to the original source before you pin any of these and pin from there! Thanks!

Dumpster Diving: Trash to Treasure

I knew this friend of mine was a good pal already. But when she told me she had a present for me....and it was in her trunk...and it came from a dumpster....because it just "Looked like something you would like!" I just knew she was a keeper!

Someone was remodeling a building in my sweet friend Lora's neighborhood. She snooped in the dumpster and she her fiancee rummaged through and salvaged a few items. Lucky for me, one of them reminded her of me.

And so in her trunk it went, then into mine!

This may look like trash to some...

 But a little soap and water, plenty of lysol, with a wipe of of Old English to add some moisture back into the wood, it had a new home.

Sure, it's not pristine, and it's weird shaped. It probably was just used to store tools or something. But I really dig the shape and color for some reason. Plus, it kind of reminded me of a rougher version of the Garrity Modular Cubby from good old Pottery Barn:

Maybe the PB Cubby's ugly step cousin?

My bunny of gold fit in nicely in one of the cubby holes...but Easter was over, so it was time for this little rabbit to get boxed up until next year.

Don't get upset with his replacement. I think you will approve. I replaced the bun with booze.

Although I really love my $25 estate sale china cabinet. It's not as tall as I would like. Someday I plan to replace her with the perfect estate sale find. Or if I can talk Adam into it,  a DIY build. 

This new salvaged wine cubby brings a little height to the cabinet, and doubles as storage.

I added old books from sales and thrift stores, a little chalkboard frame, and the wine. Needs more wine I think. Never enough wine.

In the top corner I added my collection of driftwood I picked up on the beach at Gulf Shores this year. I decided on driftwood instead of seashells this beach vacation! Something different.

This mint pitcher was my Great Aunt Katie's. The little blue jar was in a mystery box of stuff from an estate auction.

I think the weathered look on the side is my favorite part! The piece also looked good turned the other side for a different look. I may try that for a change sometime.

I'm still deciding if I should add something on the very top. Or will that make it look cluttered? Maybe 3 potted succulents?

Would you add something on top or will it look to cluttered?
Are you a dumpster diver?
Anyone else find something you just LOVE in someone else's trash?

Decking the Halls! (for 4 bucks) Yep.

Have you had enough Holiday home tours yet in blogger-land? I hope not. Don’t worry mine is short and sweet. With a treat at the end.
I was in bed sick alllll weekend long so I didn't get to finish taking all of my photos. 
So this will be more like the nickel tour today!

Hurry in...it's snowing!

Here is a better shot of our front door wreath. I rescued it from an estate sale in a big box of wreaths and garland for 50 cents. Watch and see how far this box of greenery takes us this Christmas..

I took off all the ugly bows and ribbons, spritzed the wreath with some gold spray paint for some pizzaz. Then I hot glued some ornaments from the dollar store, and smack a big sparkly gold "N" on it to finish it off. I love it.

When you come in the front door you will immediately see another rescued wreath from the same estate sale box-o-greenery.

 This one got spritzed of white spray paint and real pinecones hot glued on there. I needed a little something else, so I made some rosettes out of scraps of lace. I like this one so much I think I will use it for my front door wreath after Christmas.

DIY wreath.

After you walk in the entry you see our beautiful tree. She is new this year. Last year we had a real tree. Which we LOVED. We would have gotten another real tree this year....

But this one came unexpected to us in July. My Aunt and my parents got it for me at a moving sale, get this...for: $3.

That is not a typo. $3, 10-foot tree. Pre-lit. With the stand and everything. We are lucky ducks. It fits the spot next to our fireplace perfect.

And next, our mantel.

I used garland from the same estate sale box as the wreaths. Luckily this was still in the original packaging.  I didn't need to rip anything off.
I took it outside and gave this a spritz of white to match the snowy look on our tree. It took about 5 minutes of random spritzing.

The white doesn't show up in the photos as much as in person...

The Noel sign was a craft night project. I just cut the boxes and stenciled right onto the burlap. The hard part was stringing the twine through the burlap. The trick was tweezers!

you don't see our dirty fireplace doors...amiright?

Our dining room is festive too.

On top of my china cabinet sits my lantern collection. They are now surrounded by few mini trees. Also from…you guessed it, the box of estate sale greenery. They too got some white spray paint spritzes to freshen them up and match the other greenery in the house.

The believe banner was made at craft night too. So easy!

These trees will hold our holiday cards as we get them through the next few weeks. It's an easy way to display them. I didn't even put hooks in them, just perched them in the tree branches.

Thank you for visiting!

Linking up today for the Dare to DIY: Deck the Halls....with NewlyWoodwards, Primitive and Proper, Decor and the Dog, and Maybe Matilda.

If you haven't entered our giveaway from  PorterDesignCo to with a set of 3 vintage postcard ornaments enter below! Today is the last day! More info in this post.

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