fall-ing a little behind..

It seems like every store I go in has Christmas music playing, Santa is at the mall, and I'm already feeling behind on my Holiday shopping.  Still, it's not even Thanksgiving yet!  And to make matters worse, I haven't even shared my autumn mantle-- what type of home blogger am I?  All the bloggers I read have their homes halfway (if not completely) decorated full-Martha for Christmas... and I am doing good to show you a few puny pics of our mantle for Fall.

I love fall colors, and used some leftovers from our recent Craft Night to make a new wreath for November.  I used felt and burlap to make a few different types of flowers.

I mixed that in with a few fabric pumpkins from years past, and a leafy garland I picked up at a yard sale.  It's a simple mantle, without many new additions but it'll do for this year.

So even though I've been slacking on posting project as of late...hopefully I can redeem myself over the next few posts with some Christmas crafts and one of my bigger projects that I am still not done with -- but am as close to finished as I will be until after the hustle and bustle of the Holidays.

you've been framed

I'm a bit behind on sharing some of the updates around our nest.  We tackled a few projects back to back, and I'm just now uploading the pictures and posting the results.  One of the rooms I was dying to attack was our guest bathroom.  It was just really blah and didn't have much going on.  We don't really have the budget or time to make any huge changes, so a fresh coat of paint and some small upgrades will have to do.

I've seen this all over the blogosphere, and I knew our builder basic bathroom could use the facelift that framing our giant blah mirror could provide.

It's just glued to the wall, and really seemed dated to me.  Nothing was particularly wrong with the setup, but I felt it was an area that we could have some fun with.

I picked up some moulding from Home Depot and had it cut close to the size I needed.  I just had to miter the corners, and thankfully the Man took over the sawing.  He's got a bit more upper arm strength than my wimpy self.. it took him about 1/8th of the time per cut than it was taking me.

After we cut everything, I had to figure out how to assemble it all.  It was a pretty trying process (which is why there are no pictures!)  I was a little frustrated and didn't have a good system in place.  After a series of staple gunning, wood gluing and general rigging, the frame was ready to be caulked and painted.

I did a first coat of white trim paint, but the finish wasn't as smooth as I wanted.  I sanded everything down, and then followed up with a few coats of gloss white spraypaint.

I love this stuff!  It coats so evenly and looks awesome!

I let it cure for a while (about 3 days) before attempting to hang the mirror.

I used one of my favorite tools -- command picture hooks-- to mount the frame onto the mirror.  They are so easy to use and don't damage any of the surfaces you stick them to. So far, they've been holding just fine and it's been about two months.

I think it made quite a change, and I really like how the white frame lightens up that corner of the tiny bathroom.

For a side by side comparison:

The frame makes a big difference.  A few other small changes, like the new outlet the Man installed, and a towel holder which was a $1 yard sale find. The hand towel I found on clearance at Target.. I love those little red clearance stickers. It makes me so happy!

We still have a few other changes to make, but for now--

this facelift makes me smile every time I pass our mini-bath.

Have you made any mini-updates lately?

retro-fit

One of the biggest challenges I run into, due to my sentimentality, is finding a way to fit a few family heirlooms into our mish-mosh style at the nest.  I would say our style is pretty casual, contemporary with a heavy dose of traditional.  This sounds ideal for incorporating ikea pieces with a few carefully chosen antiques.. but some family heirlooms I've recieved are a bit more on the quirky or dated side.

A recent acquisition is a lamp which has been in limbo for a few years.  My Sweet Grandma had the matching set in her "formal" living room.  Mother Dear made them for her during a ceramics phase.  When they were initially offered to me, I was hesitant. This lamp is a beast.  It's a huge piece, and we don't have the space.  Plus, burnt orange, avacado green, brown and gold don't exactly "go" with what I had at my (then) apartment.. so I declined.  The Dad took them, and recently offered them to me again. 

Although I was torn, I put them both for sale at my yard sale a few months back.  One found a new home, the other ended up in my "project pile."  I finally realized that I couldn't bear to get rid of it.  There was something about it I liked....

..but that color scheme had to go.

So I did what every newbie to DIY would do.  I spraypainted it white.

Gloss white to be exact.  And I love it.  It's modern, but reminds me of Sweet Grandma at the same time.

Now to find a shade that'll fit (the lamp, our decor, and my tight budget)...