Heirlooms trump everything!

I have said it time and again....family heirlooms trump EVERYTHING!!! So when my uncle dropped off a china cabinet this week that had been my great-grandmother's, everything was rearranged to make room for it!

It's not "my style."(very traditional) It's not "my wood." (oak) It's not "my finish." (white-wash/pickled kinda look)

But it was my great-grandmother's and that is all that matters.

I even have a picture to prove it!

This is my maternal grandmother, great-grandfather and great-grandmother gathered at a holiday dinner in the early 80s....the china cabinet is in the background and the dishes on the table are my great-grandmother's china I recently acquired.

I vaguely remember this piece in my great grandparent's dining room when I was a child. They lived in a charming little post-war neighborhood in Dallas and during my childhood it was the family gathering spot for holiday's and special occasions.

While I was looking through my family photos for a picture of the cabinet, I also found this awesome holiday photo of my mother's entire family taken in 1948 at their home in Houston.

My mother is the sullen looking teenager in the red gingham shirt, my uncle to her left. The woman to the far left in the picture, in white, is my great aunt Judy. She inherited this china cabinet after my great-grandmother (woman far right) passed in 1986...and now it has come to me!

On the table are my grandmother's dishes I also acquired recently!

These pictures are pure treasure!

Sooooo...now I have a china cabinet that is not my style, not my wood and not my finish.

I'm not sure what I will do with the finish...if anything. Right now I am just going to let it sit and mull it over. This is one of those pieces I will not touch until I have a very firm game plan in place. I know it needs a few small repairs but the beveled mirrors were replace in 1986...seriously, I found the receipt in the cabinet....$15 for two beveled mirrors. I just spent $130 to replace two mirrors that broke when my living room wall mirror fell off the wall!

I do know I would like to replace the wood shelves with glass...maybe add some interior lighting....and I couldn't wait to remove the metallic red paper inside the cabinet!

Had I picked this piece up at an auction, I would have immediately slathered it in paint.

Not that I am opposed to making changes to family heirlooms. Sometimes you have to make changes to a piece so it will serve your family for many more decades. But when you are dealing with family heirlooms you should proceed with respect and caution!

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It's the little things!

Cheap and/or free are always my favorite way to add a little seasonal warmth to my home!

I shop sales, clearances, auctions, yard sales...it is always fun to find inexpensive little "treasures" I can use to decorate a space or add a touch of warmth or whimsy.

Last Friday I actually did something I really hate. I shopped "retail stores." I was specifically looking for cotton stems or cotton wreaths. Evidently decorating with cotton is all the rage this fall and I wanted some...but evidently that is another "fad" that hasn't hit our area because after hitting every home decor store in the area I came home empty handed.

My neighbor Tammy dropped by this week...she had visited her daughter in south Arkansas and brought home some REAL cotton stems from their farm.

Tammy to the rescue!!!! I couldn't believe she had a pile of cotton stems in her garage just sitting there for the "pickin!"

LOVE! I literally just snipped off the root ends and stuck them in a little vase. I probably should find a bigger vase, but I love how these REAL cotton stems fill this space!

Last year I feature some awesome little "coffins." Sounds morbid I know, but as I explained, they are actually the lids to antique sewing machines...and I absolutely love them! I used a couple for storing photo albums but I had one that was just sitting in the den.

My other neighbors, Kenny and Maryann, have these really cool trees in their backyard...they kind of look like Aspens and the bark is "whiter" than normal tree bark. I have no idea what they are but I used the branches in my little seasonal box I shared here. I decided to cut a few more of their branches and use those in this little coffin in front of the fireplace.

So simple!

Outdoors...an old galvanized bucket dressed for the season! Just drop a potted mum in it (no need to get your hands dirty!)....or if you don't want to spend the money on a mum, fill it with berry stems, pine cones and pine branches! Again, super simple!

My point? Adding seasonal touches to our home decor doesn't have to cost much, if anything. Just look to nature (and your neighbors!) We do it in the spring and summer when we bring in cut flowers. Fall gives us just as many ways to bring nature into our homes!

Green "horse apples," red berry bush stems, pine tree branches, tree limbs with colorful fall leaves...all ways to bring nature into your space. You can stick them in wood bowls or galvanized buckets or cheap vases or old wooden boxes.

Some of the prettiest seasonal decorations are free!

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It's finally FALL!!!!

...which explains why I have been MIA for a few weeks. Fall. Time for our "traditional" trip out west.

A week in the mountains NEVER disappoints. As I posted last year it is a trip we look forward to for a number of reasons...trees, fishing, train rides (two this time!), down time, inspiration!

And this year I FINALLY landed my "trophy brown!"

This was taken on the Colorado River with our guide, Adam, from Cutthroat Anglers out of Silverthorne, Colorado. This is our third year with him and we always have a great day on the river!!! Even if you aren't a die-hard fisherperson, the scenery is worth the trip!

Seriously girls, if you don't fly fish, learn. We take a guided trip in a boat every year, but we normally wade fish. I walk out into the middle of the river and the only thing I can see or hear are the bald eagles and the rushing water. No demanding kids, no barking dogs, no ringing phones.

Don't get me wrong...I love talking to and spending time with my kids. I love talking on the phone. I love my dog (but I don't let her bark!) But a few hours standing in the middle of a river can recharge my over worked brain!

The downside to the trip was the return. First, the jeans and boots went back in the closet...not nearly as cool here as it was there. Second, I came home to a broken refrigerator! I guess it could have been worse. I could have come home to a freezer full of rotted food. Fortunately my daughter caught it before everything thawed and managed to salvage the freezer foods. The stuff in the refrigerator was ruined.

One of the upsides to being an empty nester...you can survive for several weeks with a small temporary fridge until the one you really want comes in!

Truth is, I'm kind of digging the "spacious" look of a small fridge....lol! Seriously, who needs anything more than a few quarts of ice cream and ice in the freezer!

Before we left I managed to get most of my fall decor up. I do this so I can come home and enjoy the season!

Again, not much (if anything) has changed this year but I thought I would try out the new camera we bought before vacation to see if I could get better photographs. So while most of this might seem familiar (just "search" fall on this site...tons of inexpensive inspiration!), I'm hoping the pictures have improved a smidge from years past!

I have a young friend who mentioned recently that she was going decorate for Christmas because she didn't have any fall decor. I get it...when you are young with a growing family, it is tough to shell out a lot of money for seasonal decorations. But again, adding a few little things every year during the major blow out sales most stores have on seasonal decor this time of the year isn't a super stretch. And garage sales and estate sales are always great ways to build your seasonal stash if you can bring yourself to buy pumpkins and garland in June!

This is a new little sign I made out of a piece of old wood...printed off the lettering on my computer, traced it onto the wood and then handpainted it. Distressed and sealed! Super easy and inexpensive little touch!

I love these little lanterns. Super simple to decorate and change up for the different holiday seasons. Here I shared several ways to inexpensively and easily decorate for the fall season!

Inexpensive candle wreaths "repurposed." Think outside the box!

Another hand painted sign and a wreath I picked up from a garage sale for pennies!

Ugly ceramic pumpkins updated with a little spray paint scattered about. Its the little touches here and there that really warm up a space!

This is a cute little box can easily changed out for each holiday...I shared that here. Super simple, super inexpensive, super versatile!

I'm stock-piling in the garage for a garage sale in a few weeks, but once that gets cleared out it will be "back to work" on a few projects I have waiting in the wings.

This is my favorite time of the year! The weather is amazing and the trees are glorious! Enjoy!