IT'S TIME FOR FALL DECOR

Good Morning TLB friends,

Welcome back to TLB and our "fresh new look!" I couldn't have done 

this without the help of my savy daughter!

Today's blog has been a long time coming! The past year has been like a blur as I look back, and I've missed hearing from all of you! So here I am 

back in the "saddle again!" 

Yes, this is our finished home......well kind of finished! We are still contemplating adding a Nantucket stacked stone on the bottom of our porch posts, and black shutters.

We hired a landscaper to offer suggestions on how we could enhance the   

front landscaping package that the builder provided. I believe in using what is included with the build, and enhancing it by adding some of our own favorites. He suggested a Holley hedge in the back row, and Ixora's with bright orange flowers in the second row. The forefront plants are a perennial plant called "Blue My Mind." Ron and I both admired them in other yards we had seen and we just love the pop of blue against the dark mulch. (which we had the landscaper add)

 

The close-up below is the front left side of the driveway. Our landscaper planted three Gardenia bushes among the palms that were provided in the builder package. Ron and I are both fans of these gorgeous blooms with their beautiful scent, and they are more beautiful with the Blue My Mind ground cover in front of the white Gardenia blooms.

The photo below is the left side of the porch landscaping.The Beauclaire planters in front of the porch posts are from Ballard Designs. We had a bare spot in front of the porch posts and these planters came to mind! I've always LOVED them! They're classic shield crest is timeless and they'll look great decorated for Christmas too!

I added some touches of Fall with my "go to pumpkin" that I painted 

for theTexas house, and decided it looked great at the Florida house too!

 

Below is just a snipet of my Fall porch decor. It's still a work in progress....

Last year I purchased this planter from https://www.studio-m.com/

I am not sure if it is still available this year or not.

Lots of hours of planning. Some of the building went well, some we are still contending with, but all in all "it's beginning to look like the "forever" home we had imagined!"

I hope I've inspired you a bit to start dusting off those Fall decorations and have some fun!

        Have a wonderful week!

                               Kathleen

  ***Sorry that my images appear a bit blurry, I'm working on fixing this.
 

DREAMY NEW KITCHEN

Welcome TLB Friends.......

It's been a journey that continues to unfold as we finally settle into our new home. As many of you know or have experienced yourselves, the building process, can at times, be quite stressful. I can honestly say that this build (our 7th) has presented the most challenges. But with only one room left to be completed on our 60 day warranty list, the end is near.

Stop over for a tour of our dreamy new kitchen......

WOW STAIRCASE INSTALLED

Hello Tuesday friends!

It's time for another house update. After receiving the news that our closing date will now be in July, we were a bit deflated. This means we not only had to extend our apartment lease, we also had to change the pool installation dates, and the delivery of our household storage goods from NJ. On a positive note.....because, let's face it, this is not a life threatening event......we're kind of thinking it will be like "Christmas in July!" 

NEW HOME PROGRESS

Good Morning TLB friends.....it's nice to be back!

It was nice to take a break from the daily trips to the house. We flew to Arizona this past weekend taking time out to celebrate our 39th Anniversary! When we returned we were pleasantly surprised......

DAUGHTER'S ENTRYWAY OPEN NOOK

Good Morning Monday friends!

I hope you all had a terrific weekend. Hubby and I are flying back to Texas today after being at the Florida house for a few days. It was so nice to have a relaxing trip with no agenda and no projects to do!

Speaking of projects.....last week my Texas calendar become inundated with appointments for the next 4 weeks. The appointments include;  electric placement, whole house selections both inside and out, and pool quotes, which thankfully hubby will attend.

As I sit on this airplane putting this all into words a sudden flush of angst came over me.....my husband's voice was saying, "this is your budget, I know you can do it!" Oh the pressure!!

The home in Texas will be our 7th new build, with our last being ten years ago in Central Valley, NY. Since then homes have changed in many ways; formal living rooms seem to be obsolete, and family areas have expanded immensely to include the family room, and kitchens flowing together for more comfortable living. 

One fun and very useful little area I am seeing is something my daughter built into her entrance way from her garage to her home. It's a terrific way to stay organized. There are areas for hanging things and storage space on shelves and rattan baskets.She selected a few dragonfly hooks (she love's dragonflies) secured on a beadboard paneled backing. 

It's a great space saving design that I call the Entryway Open Nook. 


***Lucy just had to sit on the bench for my photo shoot!

Selecting fun hardware gives the nook area a more unique feel. It would be great fun for each child to be able to chose their own hook...really personalizing the space.

What do you think of this little nook for organizing in your home?

     Wishing you a wonderful Monday!

  Kathleen