Plastic Pumpkins Go Glam

I realize that painting plastic pumpkins is not a new and exciting idea 

but this turned out pretty cute 

and took about 5 minutes so I thought I would share.

We had an event at church and I wanted some Fall-ish decor

 but I wanted something a little different and fun.

And very inexpensive.

I bought plastic pumpkins for a dollar. 

(I saw them at the thrift store today for a quarter 

so you could really create these for a bargain.)

 I used my favorite gold spray paint to change their look from plastic orange to classy gold. 
It is amazing what gold spray paint can do!

 Then I drilled a hole in the bottom the same size as a bamboo garden stake I already had. 
Make it a snug fit.
 I pushed the pumpkins on to the stake and used a little bit of black tape to wrap around the stake right under the pumpkin so it would not slide down. I used a 1/2 inch wide strip so it blends in with the bamboo markings. 

Then I went to Lowe's near the house and bought all the clearance mums they had!
I paid a dollar per mum so this was a pretty big look for not much money. 
Everyone kept talking about how fun they were and because they were so inexpensive we put them everywhere and then I sent them home with the volunteers at the end of the event!

Everyone had a big smile on their face!

September? Really?

I cannot believe it is September.

I am not about to post about Pumpkin Spice anything so you can relax.

It is still very, very warm in the Deep South

 so I do not bid farewell to Summer on Labor Day.

I go kicking and screaming into cold weather.

But I like September in the South.

A lot.

It's still warm enough to keep me happy but the humidity slacks off a bit

 and everyone in the entire Southeast has better hair days!

Steel Magnolias. There are some really good hair quotes in this movie :)

It is also the month of our birthdays!

All of us. Three in one month. 

(Which means we have to buy our car tags in Georgia. On your birthday. Really?)

It is the title of a fabulous Fall read by British author Rosamunde Pilcher. 

My mom got me hooked on her books and we like to reread September every couple of years.

New cover. I've had mine for years and it doesn't look like that.

September means Mums!!

I absolutely love mums!! 

I could buy zillions and put them everywhere. 

We can't start buying pumpkins this early

 (they won't survive the heat or critters) but mums are a go!!

I love the pink-y coral ones!

And I love, love the purple ones, too!!

Eddie Ross 

And what about the bright yellow ones in these incredible champagne buckets?

 Seriously tho - dead plants would look good in those urns!!

But white flowers are my absolute favorite

(white is my favorite color for anything and everything actually!)

I like everything in this picture and again with the silver champagne bucket.

And our ferns are still going strong around here

 so I like this combo with white mums and asparagus ferns.

Here's a big purple mum on our porch.

I ask Mollie for big mums for my birthday every year!

September means football!! Big deal in the South.

Friday nights are for High School football

(look at that sky last week!)

and Saturday is for college ball. 

We are a house divided and Mollie has friends playing at schools all over the South 

so sometimes we just cheer for the player!!

Years ago we had to cheer for a GT Yellow Jacket (I went to UGA), he graduated and went pro but now we are back to cheering for GT again. Go Josh!

It makes Saturday games a lot of fun!

September is the best kind of month!

from my iphone 10 20 2016

1. We had a Sole Hope Shoe Cutting Party at church last week after our  Missions Lunch.

This is one of the easiest and truly helpful projects I have ever helped with. 

You cut shoes pieces out of old blue jeans.

 Mail them to Sole Hope, they ship to Uganda and teach people there how to make shoes thus employing people and the shoes are given to children who are in danger of disease, being crippled, amputation or worse due to jiggers.

#zerojiggers.

You order a kit with all you need but blue jeans 

and it's great as a home party or with a large group. 

Watch the videos of children with jiggers.

 Really. Do it. 

And the quote by Asher Collie at the beginning of the video about who the problem belongs to is one of the best!!)

Then have a Shoe Cutting Party. 

And all ages can help.

 Look at Frank cranking out the denim shoe parts.

 If a retired doctor of mathematics can do it, so can you :)

A very kind person donated their coin jar(s) to Edu-Pack to help with Hurricane Matthew Relief efforts in Haiti.

 However, it needed to be rolled. The WCYouth Group spent hours rolling it. 

And we haven't finished. We are at $1500.00

That's a big coin jar!!

2. I spend a lot of time in this gym from October until March Madness. 

I don't know a thing about basketball. I played tennis.

Thankfully I have a great team of basketball loving volunteers. 

And they are all 2 feet taller than I am :)

 3.  I went river rafting on the Nantahala. 

We used Nantahala Outdoor Center for our group and it was a fantastic experience.
Beautiful day on the river.
 Do it. 
It's good for the soul. 
Take your kids. #nocellservice

Someone did have what they call an OOBE.

Out of Boat Experience. 

It ended well - so no worries!

#oholivia

4. The purple mums Mollie gave me for my birthday in September are still going strong!

5.  Mollie turned 25!! 

#howdidthathappen

6. Compassion Experience.

I went to a Compassion Experience program in Roswell a few weeks ago.

Well done!

You experience life in an emerging nation through the eyes of a child. I learned a lot.

  If you get a chance to go to one - do it. 

And take your kids. It's interactive and you use ipods so there's that!!

7. I have had some great thrifting luck lately!

I love it when you find a pair!

(I have a new favorite mustard yellow spray paint!!)

This lamp!!! 

Bamboo shelf in perfect condition. $20.00 

#loaditup

Vintage bamboo swivel chairs.

Going white.

8. I made this one pan lemon rosemary chicken dish from Southern Living. 

Seriously good. And easy. And one pan!!

#winnerwinnerchickendinner

And this is my picture - not the professional SL one. 

It's really that gorgeous!!

9. I want to live in a house that is situated just like this.

But someplace warm.

10. I'm all in on flamingos. 

11. Mollie and our friend, Handel, from Haiti. We had dinner a few days after Hurricane Matthew ravaged the end of the island. His family and friends are okay.

There are lots of ways to help if you are able.

12. We have had a few cool nights in Atlanta and the firepit has been in use.

 It goes well with red wine ;)

Well, if you are still with me I promise to "empty" my cell phone more often. 

This was a long one!

I was invited to link up at White Spray Paint Blog.

Check it out and that's a blog name I can relate to!

From My iphone....

... 10/10/15.

1. Last Sunday my youth kiddos from church met before 6 a.m. on a very wet and chilly morning to drive to a soup kitchen and serve breakfast to 

our hungry and homeless neighbors. 

Ugh, kids these days!

2. One of the young ladies who graduated last year went off to 

College of Charleston on a scholarship. 

She sent me this beautiful picture on my birthday that she took of downtown 

with her phone.

This was just a few days before Joaquin rolled into town.

3. A little birthday collage from Instagram to celebrate Mollie's birthday.

She turned 24!!! Whaaaat?

4. The Birthday Girl requested oysters popped on the grill. SLURP!! YUM!

Fun fact: we bring the delicious hot sauce in the pic above allllll the way from Honduras!!

5. Fact: I live in the metro Atlanta area. 

That means you spend half your life sitting still in traffic - no matter where you are.

 At some point - you sit. 

Not so bad when this is the view. 

It's for sale. It's huge. 

That would be a lifetime of One Room Challenges!!

6. Met my girl for Mexican and Margs yesterday and found this cute little bamboo shelf for practically nothin'. 

You'll be seeing it again.

#motherdaughterorc

7. Check this IG post to find out why there are chairs on my porch dining table.

But isn't that evening light magical??

8. I have been invited to serve on a team of designers for a 

Junior League Holiday House. 

Yikes!! I'm not an interior designer - they dress nicely. I wear paint clothes. Out in public.

 A lot.

More important though- this is the hallway in "our" model home.

 I am standing just inside the front door looking down the hall to the kitchen.

It's pure awesomeness!!

9. Do you remember this fun shower and the bride-to-be? 

Last weekend was the beautiful wedding and fun, fun reception. 

 Father- Daughter dance.

Mollie and the Bride (our beautiful cousin) had already ditched the heels by now.

10. And I'm not usually one for selfies or mirror shots but this is what has been piled on top of my head or pulled back for the last 2 years.

 And it will be gone in a couple of weeks.

 I have reached my goal and 

I am donating to Children With Hair Loss.

Their minimum is 8 inches but they love to get longer hair. 

I would try for another inch or two but my hair seems to have reached it's limit.

So I'm looking for a great hairdresser with a knack for cute short hair haircuts. 

I haven't needed one in years now ( sounds crazy, huh?)  

I prefer to get my haircut in Virginia ( my mom's hairdresser is the bomb) but the haircut and a visit to VA are not coinciding.

#shorthairdontcare

From My iphone...

... randomness.

If you follow along on Instagram then you may have seen one or two of these. 

Maybe not. 

Instagram moves pretty quickly.

 I always find missed posts when I check on my favorites.

1. I found two brass pineapples  while thrifting a couple of weeks ago.

 I've looked for ages and nada. 

Then 2 in one day and none since!!

They were practically black but look at them now!!

2. Mollie collected letters and put this together above her bed. 

She's adding travel photos to her gallery wall and her blanket from Honduras is at the end of her bed. 

We always have a bad case of wanderlust, see here.

3. I am painting this humongous orange-y bed for a client. It fills the entire room.

It has steps to climb in and out of it. Big, I'm telling you.

4. If I were still a "room mom" I would be all over these.  I love their cute ideas.

So stinking cute!!!

5. I am going to give these a try. 

Hopefully today.

#glutenfree

6. If I were going to drive 2 hours to have lunch then this place would be my first pick!!

It's in Birmingham - not that far - so maybe someday!!

Check out the website.

It makes me want to hop on a plane to France.

( OK, I always want to hop on a plane to France, but this place looks amazing!!)

7. I saved this picture and told my husband that it is my dream bench and if you ever see one... 

In my mind you can never have too much bamboo. It's practically a neutral. 

I love it. 

There's a decorating mantra out there that says every room needs a touch of black

Mine is that every room needs a touch of bamboo.

 Well, check out #8 and see what happened on Tuesday!!!

8. I walked in to a thrift store and this was sitting there in perfect condition for under $25.00 

Not the same but fabulous anyway and that price??? 

I'm not sure where it's going but I grabbed it and crammed it in my car like a boss!!

I usually like to know I have a home/place for something

 but in this case I will edit, rearrange, sleep on it, whatever.

9. Love this IG account for great GF ideas. 

( I am not compensated by Udi's but we have tried every GF item we can find and we love their products. This feed has great tips.)

These look delicious and would be great for entertaining.

They also remind me that exactly this time last year  we were headed to France.

We ate radishes there because they taste better in France than anywhere else.

"French - style" with butter and coarse salt.

10.  Mollie went to her first football game as an alumna and said it felt pretty  darn good to sit in the Faculty/Staff section. :)