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FOUND | Antique Copper Treasures

Monday, October 30


Raise your hand if you're into the copper accent trend? Me.
I could kick myself for letting my mom get rid of her copper pan collection about 5 years ago.

But...that just means I get to go out and hunt for copper treasures and this weekend I did just that. I found some antique varieties while "pickin'" with Rachel from Rachel Elizabeth Creates. We met for lunch and then she took me to her favorite spot for the day.

The verdict is out on whether or not I will polish these up. I don't intend on using these for anything but decor purposes but I prefer the copper shine through just a little bit more than their current state. What would you do? I've read conflicting views about whether or not polishing effects the value of antique copper pieces. Anyone have any feedback or insight you'd like to share?

Here are a couple of other copper treasures I'm currently crushing on:
Copper Tea Kettle
Old Dutch Solid Copper Tea Kettle
Copper Whisk
Restored Vintage Copper Cookware - super out of my price range but stunning!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are enjoying this Hallow's Eve!!

xoxo,
Jess

KEEPiNG iT REAL
So I showed up 30 minutes early when meeting up with Rachel...completely by accident.
I was apparently super excited to have some girl time but it was pretty laughable considering this is only the 2nd time I've met Rachel. Ha! Her mom came along too this time and was such a treat to spend time with.

Oh...and I may or may not have a mirror Rachel found that I will be delivering some time soon since there was no way she could fit it in the car on their two hour drive home with kids in tow AND we may or may not have come up with this intentional plan to avoid any unnecessary conversations about "spending" with her hubby. Ha!!  (she lives close to where we just moved from...and I moved to where she grew up and where her family is from). So crazy, right?

MAKE iT | Easy Fall Wreath DIY

Friday, October 27


I have absolutely LOVED using autumn leaves to decorate my home this year. I've cut dead branches from maple trees to fill an oversized olive jar and I've gathered fallen leaves from around my neighborhood to add some Fall charm to my home. (see Fall Home Tour)

Today, I thought I'd share the simple Fall wreath I made. I love how it turned out and figured if you are looking for an easy DIY project this weekend...well then look no further.  tutorial below





SUPPLIES NEEDED:
1 - grapevine wreath - found this one on Amazon but I'm sure you could find one for a lot less at
                                 JoAnn's, Michael's or Hobby Lobby - use your 40% or 50% off coupon! *wink*
1 -  armful of fall leaves in various sizes and colors - I collected mine from around the neighborhood
1 - faux bundle of wispy wheat - here's what I used
1 - hot glue gun
1 - pair of scissors (to trim the wispy wheat)

INSTRUCTIONS
Heat up your glue gun. Lay your grapevine wreath on a flat surface and start laying your fall leaves in random patterns around the wreath to figure out your spacing before you start gluing. Once you have a pretty good idea of how you want the leaves arranged, add a small dab of hot glue to the back of each leaf and secure to wreath. Once all of the leaves are in place, trim your wispy wheat with a pair of scissors and tuck the stems into the wreath, in between the leaves. No need for hot gluing these if you push them down deep enough. The grapevines will hold them in place. 

Design tips: 
(1) Be sure to allow some of the leaves to lay on the inner and outer sides of the wreath so it gives your finished wreath more dimension.  

(2) Stand your wreath up after you've got most of the leaves glued on. This will provide you with a better view of what it will look like when it's actually hanging and will help with placement of the remaining leaves. 

(3) When gathering leaves, don't shy away from the "imperfect" ones. The rips, holes, curls and discoloration adds to the authenticity of your fall wreath. 




Loving how this looks on our front door.
I crave simplicity and this was so perfect for me this year.

Hope you love it too and will try it out!!

xoxo,
Jess

KEEPiNG iT REAL
This wreath is so easy to make Ella made one for her bedroom door. In fact, we made hers first. *wink*

Looking forward to spending the day with a sweet friend and her mom on Saturday.
She's taking me around to all of her favorite "hunt + gather" spots. I'll be sharing bits and pieces of the day on Instagram stories. Follow along!!

HALLOWEEN | Spiders + Spirits Halloween Dessert Table

Wednesday, October 25


Remember this Spiders + Spirits themed Halloween party I styled and shared for Tuesday Morning a few years ago? 

Well I got to thinking about the fact that I've never shared all of the photos here on the blog and since it's still one of my very favorite themes for a Halloween party...well...it's just time the details were no longer kept under wraps..."mummy" wraps in this case since it's a Halloween party.  *wink*

Besides, I wanted to make sure you had access to the FREE "Spiders + Spirits" sign and matching food labels in order to make hosting your own party easy peasy lemon squeezy.

And let me just say, I'm not even a drinker and yet these Pumpkin Bourbon Milkshakes slay me. ("slay" is the current trendy term used to imply you are impressed or amused by something - my kids keep me on point folks)

Links to the FREE "Spiders + Spirits" sign and food labels along with the recipes for the milkshakes and pumpkin bars are all at the bottom of the post!!  














Did you love all of the details?
Sure hope you're feeling inspired to host your own Spiders + Spirits themed party?
Or at least try out the spooktacular recipes for some added Halloween fun! *wink*

xoxo my sweet friends!!
Jessica

LINKS I KNOW YOU'LL WANT:

KEEPiNG iT REAL
Aside from wanting to provide you with the free printables from this party, the main reason I decided to post this on my blog is because the links to the original post on the Tuesday Morning site don't work anymore and although I was able to finally find it, who wants to have to do all of that digging around every time you want to see it again? *hand raised*

SHARE | Phantom Pumpkin 2017

Monday, October 23


Ella and I skipped town this past weekend so she could attend her bestie's "birthday weekend sleepover"! I even checked Ella out of school early on Friday afternoon so we could surprise Elise by being at her school when she got out of school. It was so fun! And she was soooo surprised.


Well...knowing I would be back home for a couple of days, I took the opportunity to make sure I continued the Phantom Pumpkin tradition I started so many years ago...even if it meant I'd be all by myself for the door-bell ditching. I spent Saturday afternoon with Ema and my mom creating the treats...."Mummy Oreos" and festive Halloween Hershey Kisses!

If you haven't already been "spooked" or done some spooking of your own...(or "booed" as some people call it), I wanted to share the FREE Phantom Pumpkin printables with you. You've got this whole week and weekend to have some family fun and spread some Halloween cheer! *wink*

PS - I've already changed two of the Hershey Kiss labels you see in the photo above. My mom said the "EEK" and "BOO" labels were too hard to read. I agreed her so I revised them and updated the printables for you already.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE PRINTABLES USING THE LINKS BELOW
FREE Phantom Pumpkin Printable
FREE Halloween Hershey Kisses Labels
and here's the craft punch you'll need for the Hershey's Kiss labels  <--- affiliate link

Enjoy my sweet friends...
Jess

KEEPiNG iT REAL
Ella, J and I did some spooking of our own in the new neighborhood prior to this weekend...AFTER we were surprised by some other fun neighbors who "booed" us. Hope they didn't mind that we stuck with our "Phantom Pumpkin" tradition instead of using the "booed" paper they left behind. *coveringeyes*

PS - J and I have been doing Whole30 for the past 23 days together. We've turned it into a friendly competition and I keep telling him I'm going to crush him. The first time we did it together (back in 2013),  I beat him by 1 pound...he lost 10 and I lost 11. BAM!! I'll keep you posted when we weigh in on the 31st...Halloween Day!! *wink*

HOME DECOR | Fall Home Tour 2017

Friday, October 20




Hello friends!! I'll be skipping town to head to my mom's and get Ella to her BFF's bday party this weekend but before I do I wanted to share some Fall inspiration with you.

This is the current state of my home and definitely one of my favorites as far as Fall decorating is concerned. I've kept things super simple this year by snipping some dead/broken branches from a few maple trees around the neighborhood as well as filling a bowl with some beautiful dried leaves I collected for a few days on my walks with Hamilton. I even scattered them randomly on some furniture, placed a couple of pumpkins here and there and I'm done. And I couldn't be happier.


Oh wait! This delicious Pumpkin Spice candle was a must with it's gorgeous coppery container and amazing aroma. (Thanks TJ Maxx)


I'm finalizing my Hot Cocoa Bar for this year...(look closely and you can see a peek of it in the background). And I love this new copper side table I picked up from Target. It adds the perfect touch of whimsy.






Since I had yet to share much of our new home, I sure hope you enjoyed these pictures and feel a little bit inspired. I'm still slowly...like at a snail's pace...pulling things together. Happy weekend everyone! And HAPPY FALL!!

xoxo,
Jess

KEEPiNG iT REAL
The yankee candle burning in the photo above is one of my very favorite candles of all time. I burn it year-round even though it's a "holiday" scent called Gingerbread Maple.  In fact, I firmly believe it helped sell our previous home because I would light the candle and turn on 3 different wax warmers with the Gingerbread Maple tarts wax melts before each showing and I got so many compliments on how wonderful the home smelled every time. (even from the inspector and appraiser too! In fact, I even ended up giving the appraiser one of my wax tarts because she loved it so much). Ha!!

INSTA SNAPSHOTS | Summer Collapsed into Fall

Tuesday, October 10



If you don't follow me on Instagram you've been missing out on lots of pictures of how the new house is coming along.

And I get it...some of you just don't want to add one more app or social media commitment to your life! I completely understand.

Hence...my decision to start sharing periodic "Insta Snapshots" of my Instagram feed so I can keep you in the loop with things you may be missing out on.

I'll simply post a square image containing 9 different photos I've posted on IG recently and do a little breakdown below of each pic. Simple, right?

Top to bottom, left to right
1. Ella's room - wallpaper by Anewall - WOW! We love it.
2. Love me some Magnolia Journal
3. "Gratitude...when what you have is enough" - instant download sign in my shoppe
4. View of our dining table looking into the living room
5. View of my hutch
6. "And All At Once Summer Collapsed Into Fall" - instant download sign in my shoppe
7. Guest Bedroom (using a World Market runner on bed - see it on my table in pic #9)
8. Same sign as #6 but with white background
9. Dining table - pretty runner from World Market (also used on guest bed - see #7)


That was easy...and now I feel like you are caught up a little bit.
I've been decorating for Fall using leaves and branches I've collected from around the neighborhood and I'm loving it. Keeping things simple you guys. My life. My decor. My schedule.

It feels awesome.

xoxo,
Jess

KEEPiNG iT REAL
Finally starting to feel normal again after having bronchitis since right after Hurricane Irma blew threw. It feels nice to feel normal, doesn't it?
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