Decorating the buffet area in the dining room has been on my to-do list for almost a year. I added the photo ledge earlier this year and have been staring at a half finished wall every since.

I'd been trying to figure out something to do to replace the big ol' flower prints that we had on the wall but whatever I used had to big about the same size so it could cover the fuse box that the builder so kindly left on the super visible wall. I planned to re-use the frames but none of my plans seemed to work out. Well, really they would've worked out fine but I just didn't feel like I was saving any money by re-using them. So I set out to find some mirrors to use. I thought I lucked out at Ross one day but there was a sizing issue. Finally, on a trip to Portland I got to visit a HomeGoods. Yes, it took driving over three hours to get there (Hello...Western Washington? We NEED a HomeGoods!!) but it was worth it. I found these two beauties for only $30 each. And no sales tax to boot! Thank you Oregon!

After buying the mirrors I knew I had to step it up with the decorating of the buffet. It was looking pretty pathetic but I never really knew what I wanted to put there. On one of my random shopping excursions to Ross I found these apothecary jars.

I was super excited because I'd been wanting to pick-up a couple jars for awhile now but just never found any at the right price. These ended up being around $20 for both! I found so clearance filler at Target to put in them and a little sign from our new Hobby Lobby (Woohoo!) and the rest of the stuff I just gathered up from around the house. Here's the final result...

I'm liking the way it looks so far. The mirrors are really nice and I feel like they help send some daylight into the entryway area. I want to grab a plant to switcheroo with something on the buffet. I just feel like it could use a splash of something lively. What do you think?

Jar of Thanks

Now that Thanksgiving is right around the corner I've been trying to think of ways to that Loren and I could document some of things we're thankful for. But, something low maintenance. And somewhat private, posting things I'm thankful for on Facebook everyday isn't my style. Finally, I settled on using a jar. I found this little baby at Goodwill:

Cute, huh? And only $2.99! Woohoo! I brought it home, cleaned it up, and tried to decided how I wanted to decorate it. I didn't want it to be too jazzy so I dug around in my drawers full of crafty crap and found some stickers and paper.

I know it's not very exciting but I decided to put some stickers on the jar and then add color with the paper filling. I lined the stickers up on the side of the jar to say "Give Thanks" and cut up some construction paper with scalloped scissors.

Yes, I picked construction paper in Thanksgiving colors. I think it'll look pretty as our jar gets full as the month goes on. It already looks nice with just a few days worth of thanks inside.

That's our jar of thanks - Loren and I are each adding a thing we're thankful for everyday until Thanksgiving, then we'll read all the notes of thanks together. And we can write whatever we want from something super meaningful to being thankful for a delicious bacon cheeseburger. I can't wait to read them all! It's going to torture me waiting all month! What about you? Are you doing anything to document your thanks this season? Share your plans in the comments below.

Pinterest Challenge!

You might've read over on Bower Power or Young House Love that the second Pinterest Challenge is here! I was really excited to participate and had really good ideas about Pinterest projects I wanted to complete...then I ran into a few mishaps. I ran out of spray paint, went on a shopping trip and forgot to go to Michael's, and then the big one - waited until the absolute last minute. Whoopsie! So, I found one of my "pins" that I could complete with materials I already had at home. Here it is:

Source: eighteen25.blogspot.com via Kristen @ LoveK on Pinterest

Simple - a print put into a frame that you can use a whiteboard marker on to write on. I used Powerpoint to make the print needed to put in the frame. Actually, I asked hubby for some help cause I get frustrated with Powerpoint. He's a lovely helper. I just printed the file onto a piece of white cardstock I had on had and that was pretty much it.


I had purchased this frame on clearance at JoAnn's awhile back so now was it's time to shine. Just pop in the print and all done! For now I hung it up in a corner of the master bedroom. We walk by it everyday but I'm not sure it's a permanent home.



I think it turned out pretty darn cute! And if you can't read the message I put "I heart you because you gut my pumpkin." It's not a dirty thing, Loren helped me out on Halloween by getting all the guts out of my pumpkin so all I had to do was carve it. He sure knows how to make a gal swoon. :) Anyone else complete a project for the Pinterest Challenge? Share them in the comments below!