My Non-Traditional Fall Dining Room

As you can tell by my last post, when it comes to decorating for Fall, I'm not big into the "traditional". 

It's not that I don't LOVE traditional fall decorating, I just have this "thing" about orange.  It reminds me too much of Auburn (ROLL TIDE ROLL).  So, if I can get by without using orange, I try.

These days, it's not really too much of a problem.  There are fall-themed products out there that are every color of the rainbow.  PLUS, if you can't find something in the color you need, you can always paint it or make it!

I normally try to decorate my front porch to the hilt, but this year, a certain spastic puppy has attempted to single-handedly (or pawedly) destroy every thing we put out there, so I think most of our decor will be restricted to the inside.  Luckily, I have my new and improved dining room to work with!  I have been killing myself trying to get the dining room finished for Kelly's Korner 'Show Us Your Life' today, but I ran out of time yesterday (I just linked my old dining room post), so I was able to take my time and get some extra things done this morning.  From the pictures, the shelves do look a little "crowded", but they don't look that way in person, besides, once Fall is over, half of the stuff will be coming out.

I hope you enjoy!

I am planning on doing a tutorial on how I make my banners soon!

These are the cutest, easiest little pumpkins made of scrapbook paper. I found them on a blog last week.  They literally take minutes to make!

It wouldn't be "ME" without a little weird, would it?

I hope you enjoyed my fall-decorated dining room!  If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them!

My first ever Mantle Party!

The Nester, over at The Nesting Place (you know, the blog that started my obsession with blogs) is hosting a Fall Mantle Decorating Party!

I am so excited because this year I actually have a mantle to decorate!  I've stared at that big open hole and that big ol' television long enough.  Now I have something pretty to look at!

I not thrilled with how the top of the mantle looks right now.  Trying to decorate around that big ol' television is tough!  I am hoping I can get some ideas through Nester's party.

 

One thing I do love, though, is the "FALL" swag!  It was so much fun to make (and cheap, too).  I've bought the scrapbook paper to make one for Jameson's room and the Dining room, too.

So, anyway, here is my first attempt at decorating my mantle.  I hope you like it!

The jars are filled with these super-cute scrapbook paper pumpkins that I made.  I found the instructions on a blog last week.  They are so simple to make!  They literally take about 5 minutes.  I will do a post on them soon! 

 The pine cones are part of a collection from Jameson.  Ever since we first moved in this house, every time he finds a pine cone, he brings them in to give to me.  It's his own special gift and there is one specific place he wants me to put them.  I hope he won't be upset I've moved them for a few weeks.

So there is my first ever fall mantle.  I hope you enjoyed the pictures!  Now head on over to the Nester's party and see how REAL decorators do their thing!

I am also linking to Hooked on Houses -Show Us How You Decorate!
And Chick on A Shoestring-Flaunt It Friday!

***I just had to change the spelling of "Mantel" to "Mantle".....According to most spellings, both are correct, but spelling it MANTEL was just bothering me...lol!***

OMG! OMG You Guys!

My super fantastic, wonderful "Legally Blonde" weekend is officially over, and I am so sad.  This is the first weekend that Marty and I've had alone in about three years, so it was waaaay overdue.  We had an even better time than I could have even imagined!  

First, we stopped at Marty's favorite burger place to eat some lunch.

This would be a bacon, EGG, and cheese burger!

My yummy french dip!

Our beautiful, historic hotel.

Here is our room about 2 minutes after we checked in.  Notice what is on television.

**Note to self: don't plan romantic weekend with hubby during Alabama football season**

After watching the first half of the game, we decided to take a walk around the area and enjoy the beautiful day.

***Anybody reading this who is familiar with Birmingham knows that this isn't the best neighborhood in Birmingham, so I know y'all are probably going to laugh at our little stroll.  But, the people we did encounter were really nice (except for the gorked-out drunk/high woman sitting on a park bench) and the scenery was really gorgeous!***

This is the Birmingham Public Library.  It was directly across the street from our hotel.  I just loved the architecture.

This is the Jefferson County Courthouse.  It was HUGE!  Why does a courthouse need to be so big?  Anyway, the building was beautiful.

Gorgeous fountain in Linn Park

A continuation of the first fountain.  The water ran all the way down the park, towards the street and ended in a pool at the end.

Hottie hubby taking in the sites.

More of the fountains

The Birmingham Museum of Art.  We had free tickets to go, but when we got there, it looked deserted, so we decided to watch the game instead to go for a walk instead.

Mosaic art next to the BMA

Why Hello Mr. Squirrel!

Hubby standing on the street corner.  Maybe not the best place to be in this part of the city.  HAHA

More views of the fountains walking back up

Beautiful flowers

SEE!  I really was there!

After our walk, we decided to enjoy dessert in the hotel's restaurant

.

Marty's

Mine....obviously I had already taken a bite...haha!

Marty swiped the camera.

My response:

Gorgeous flowers that were part of a spectacular wedding at the hotel this weekend.

We made it to the arena!  It was raining, so we were just goofing off in the car.

(Doesn't Marty look fantastic in the pink?)

Surprisingly, there wasn't as much "Pink" as I expected.  I mean, come on people, we are talking ELLE WOODS here!
 
We weren't allowed to bring cameras into the arena, so this is the only picture I was able to get with my phone.  I wished I could have taken my good camera with me and taken great pictures!

Our seats were so much better than we expected.  We basically had most of the row to ourselves and nobody sat behind us, either.  Getting in-and-out was a breeze.  We were able to park right in the front and just walk right in.  There are no words to describe how incredible the musical was!  The sets were much smaller than the actual Broadway production, but everything else was exactly the same...the clothes, the songs, the script, everything (with exception of the actors, of course).  I think I had a huge smile on my face from the very first "Oh My God" until the last "Legally Blonde"!  If I wouldn't have annoyed the person right in front of me so much, or embarrassed Marty so much, I probably would have stood up and sang the entire play along with the actors!  HAHA!  I am so glad I got to experience this!

Marty even said once we got back in the car "It was a lot better than I thought it would be!"

It was everything I could do to keep myself from buying tickets for today's show, too!

Once the show let out, we were STARVING!  It had been about 10 hours since our last full meal.  Unfortunately, not much is open at that time of night in downtown, so we ended up at the "Awful Waffle" (Waffle House).  We spent many a night at the Waffle House when the kids/Chelsea were/was in the hospital, so it was like an old faithful friend.  We did, however see some interesting people there:

Oh how I wish this picture showed her fishnet stockings better!

It was the girl dressed in the black's birthday.  The were on their way to "da club" to celebrate.

And NO, there isn't a back to either one of those tops.....


We survived our meal and headed back to the hotel.  There was a wedding there right before we left, and when we returned, the reception was just winding down.  It was pretty obvious there was an open bar at the reception.  One of the bridesmaids, apparently very drunk, grabbed me as I walked back in and kept telling me how much she loved my "bling".  Marty and I laughed SO hard when she finally let go of me!

We asked the lady working the desk at the hotel to take this picture when we got back.  The was the best of the two.... : /

We were able to sleep in until almost 9:00 the next morning!  We never, ever, ever get to sleep that late!  It was fantastic!  We ate our complimentary breakfast buffet and then started our journey back to reality.

I had a fantastic time, but was so happy to be back home with my wonderful little family!  I just hope it's not three years before we can do it again!