Every Girl Link-Up || Halloween Decor

It's time for another installment of the Every Girl Link-Up with Astleigh and me! Last month, we all posted about our fall decor and autumn touches. Today, we are tweaking that fall decor and sharing our homes decorated for Halloween!

Now as a disclaimer, Halloween is not my favorite holiday, so I don't like to spend much time and money on it. I am really picky about finding decor that isn't scary or grotesque-- think happy Jack-O-Lanterns and smiley ghosts-- so I have a hard time finding pieces that I like in the stores. But if I pick up one new thing every year, I'll eventually have a collection of cute Halloween items :)

You need to see Astleigh's Halloween decor! She has impeccable decorating taste!

 

Don't mind my half empty candy jar. My husband LOVES M&Ms, and no sooner had he eaten the majority of them, the fall-colored ones were sold out at my store. ;)

I made this Halloween bunting two years ago, and it's my favorite piece. Notice the cutesie ghost? I would decorate my whole house with him.

This part of the mantel is pretty much the same as it was for my fall decor-- light-up grapevine pumpkin, a divine "Apple Tree Picnic" candle, giant homegrown pumpkin, etc. The pretty print was made by HC Designs, and I will email you the free printable if you link up with me today!

Link up your post and leave your email in the comments if you would like one!

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."-- Anne of Green Gables. The print I found here (it's also by HC Designs).

I have thought about decorating the walls with black-construction-paper bats, but ever since having bats as housemates, I can't do it! I know I would mistake them as real. My fear of bats is way too intense right now to play around with that :) I thought these straws from TJ Maxx were a better, milder idea.

Lastly, I just picked up this glittery "Trick or Treat" sign from Dollar Tree. It's on our front door. I thought it was really cute for only $1!

If you have a post to share, grab our graphic below, and link up!

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Every Girl Link-Up || Home DIY

I so look forward to Astleigh's and my Every Girl Link-Up Thursdays! They challenge me to create something pretty, something worth sharing with all of you! Last week, I saw that our link-up "Home DIY" was coming up, so Steve and I quickly brainstormed a project to accomplish. We are ALL about DIY in this house. It's all that works with our budget. Plus, we love putting the work in and feeling that sense of pride when it's done!

Steve found this little sewing table a few weeks ago on the street. It was pretty scratched on the top, it was missing a knob, and part of the mechanisms needed to hold a sewing machine are missing. We decided that it would make the perfect little table for the entryway of our house! We haven't done a thing to decorate our hallway and staircase there, and I thought it was time to add a piece of furniture and some decor to the space.

Here is the pretty little table before we touched it.

Steve sanded it down enough to take the sheen off and rough up the surface a little bit. Someday he may fit a board into the space left by the missing sewing machine so that we could have it open.

 

We had leftover white paint from our fireplace, and the table took two coats.

 

And here it is in its new spot!

We found aged bronze knobs and a cabinet pull at Lowe's to replace the previous hardware. (Square knobs are here. Pull is here.)

I added a pumpkin from our garden, an apple-scented candle, and a little glass pumpkin for a seasonal touch. My goal is to not let it become cluttered :)

The little white table is so perfect for our entryway! Steve has another dumpster furniture find that I'll have to share in the coming weeks :)

If you've got a Home-DIY post to share today, grab our graphic below and link up!

And remember that October 8th, Astleigh and I will be sharing our Halloween Touches around our homes. Join us!

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Every Girl Link-Up || Fall Decor

 September has arrived, and we are transitioning to fall at our house. I am never ready to let go of summer, but decorating for fall has gotten me excited about the upcoming season. This week in Pennsylvania, our temps are in the mid-eighties (the highest they've been all summer), and I am soaking in the warmth. Before I know it, we'll be pulling out the jeans and flannels, baking all things with pumpkin flavor, and cuddling up under blankets, and that doesn't sound too bad either ;)

Today's installment of Astleigh's and my Every Girl Link-Up is FALL DECOR. As per usual, I decorated our mantel, my favorite decorating space that is the only surface my boys still can't reach in our house :)  The colors that I focused on are a bright apple red and a soft orange. And I am pretty fascinated with pumpkins right now, so they're my main theme.

 

The adorable wooden-twig pumpkin with a string of lights is from Michael's. I just bought it on Sunday after Astleigh tempted me with a photo of hers on Instagram. It looks so beautiful lit up in the dark!

The three real pumpkins you'll see in these photos are from our garden! There are five total pumpkins that have grown this year, and the photos don't really show how big they are! All five are the same tall and skinny shape. They composted from the pumpkin that I grew last year, and I'm guessing they each weigh around 20 pounds!

 

The "Well, Hello Beautiful Glorious Fall" print was found here. I thought the little gold, glittery leaf was perfect!

The red leaf bunting is from Michael's, and it pops on our newly white fireplace. The leaves look so realistic to me, which I love.

 

I bought a few bags of fall M&Ms to fill an apothecary jar. The two red candles are Glade's limited edition "Apple Tree Picnic" that I picked up at Walmart the other night.

I've had the "Fall is Fabulous" pumpkin print for a couple of years, and I found it here.

Funny story. . . we cut these black-eyed susans from our yard yesterday morning and brought them inside. I thought I heard a fly buzz out of them, but I didn't think much of it. Later, I found THREE bees on our bay window, angrily trying to get back outside. They must have been asleep on the black-eyed susans! It took me a long time to get them out of our house without getting stung, and I've learned my lesson to check wildflowers before bringing them inside! What ended up working? Fly-swatters dipped in honey and then thrown out the window once the bee attached. ;)

We finally got our butcher paper roll back up after painting our walls a couple of months ago. The writing is based on Psalm 107:37: "They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest."

 Do you have a fall decor post to share? Grab our graphic and link up below! I can't wait to see how your homes are decorated for the season!

Our next link-up will be September 24th, and we'll post about anything related to Home DIY projects! Click here to see the rest of the year's topics.

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Every Girl Link-Up || Steals & Deals

Hope this week is going swimmingly for you! Today, Astleigh and I are linking up to share some of the steals we've found recently, and current deals that are in stores.

When I first think of steals, deals, and unexpected finds--I envision a good thrift store adventure. Steve and his brothers have really invited me into the world of finding hidden treasures at Goodwill. As a mom, I don't tend to have a lot of time to peruse the clothes and toys, but my very favorite sections are books and dishes.

I stopped by Goodwill yesterday, and came home with these goodies for only $12.

Steve and I have been wanting a Dave Ramsey book for a long time, but I kept telling him, "I think we can find one at Goodwill!" And now we did :)  Astleigh mentioned "Beautiful Ruins" in our link-up about summer books, so I will save it on my shelf for a rainy day or vacation. Joyce Meyer's "Confident Woman Devotional" looks wonderful, and I love 365 day devos because if you miss a day, you always know where to pick it up again. "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World" was one that I had on my booklist a few years ago, but I never bought it. Popular books always make it to Goodwill, eventually ;)

We love finding children's books for the boys. I scored a "Cars: Look and Find" book for Nolan and Ephraim. . .

. . . and also a pristine hardcover copy of one of our faves, "SkippyJon Jones in the Doghouse". Our paperback version is pretty beat up--and has a page ripped out!

I'm always on the lookout for Masons for our collection, and I found two pretty, clear ones. The one on the right is a "Wide Mouth" Mason, which is harder to find, so I snatched it up.

Lastly, they had this "Lemongrass" Fiesta canister marked at only $.99! It's being sold for $18 on Fiesta's website (and they call it a "utility jam jar"). I have a collection of Fiestaware, and I knew this one would match a bowl I had at home. Have any of you been to the Fiesta factory store in West Virginia? I don't think it's far from us, and I would LOVE to go!

The Goodwills in our area are having a huge Back-to-School sale on Saturday. I just started following our local Goodwill Facebook page so that I can see what the "color of the week" is for sales.

As for other sales I've found that are going on right now, CanvasPeople has a birthday sale with canvases for only $8.09 (plus shipping)! Use the link here. (It should be good til the 17th.)

We have two wedding-photo canvases that we bought on major sale from CanvasPeople, and they're a great quality. I've been wanting to get a cute canvas of each boy: I think now is the time!

Also, Target has some good sales going on right now. I think we're going to pick up this 8-Cube Organizer for our living room and all of the toys. It's 20% off this week, and there is free shipping on everything. With my Target REDcard, I'll get an additional 5% off. Can't beat that REDcard :)

Last but not least--my FAVORITE deal: 

JCPenney.

I have saved SO much money with these $10 off $10 coupons! I get one fairly regularly, and I make sure I use it before it expires. I find cute kids' clothes in the $10 range so that I get them basically free. We have gotten so many sweet little Carter's outfits this way. My mom and mother-in-law know I love these coupons, so sometimes they save theirs for me if they're not going to use them. Our JCPenney is tiny, but the coupons work online as well, and you can sometimes get the items shipped to the store for free.

If you've got a "Steals and Deals" post to link up with us, we can't wait to read it! Grab the graphic and link up below :)

<a href="http://www.hillcollection.blogspot.com/" title="Hill Collection"><img src="http://i752.photobucket.com/albums/xx161/amrh1/EveryGirlLink-UpGraphicmedium_zps1bfaa38a.jpg" alt="Hill Collection" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

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Every Girl Link-Up || 4th of July Decor

 

Welcome to another installment of the "Every Girl Link-Up!" Today, I'm really excited to share with you a few ways that we decorated our home for the 4th of July! I haven't done much with red, white, and blue touches in the past, but this year seems like the perfect time to start the tradition because of Nolan. He is a little sponge and soaks up every little special thing we do. I have a feeling he will talk about July 4th for weeks to come. It's always fun to spruce up our mantel for different seasons and holidays, so why not America's big summer birthday? :)

 

It's not a holiday in our house without some colorful bunting over the fireplace. I was at JoAnn's looking for patriotic fabric when my eyes fixated on this stars-and-stripes burlap. It was beautiful and rustic, and I knew it was meant to come home with me. All I did was cut out the bunting shape, fold the top over some jute twine, and attach it with a few staples. If you look closely at this photo, you can see the red crayon that was recently introduced to the bricks by a certain three-year-old. ;) (By the way, we're thinking of painting our fireplace white--thoughts or advice?)

Steve and I have been indulging in Dove dark chocolates lately, and the shiny red wrappers were right in line with our color scheme. I picked up some flags from Lowe's for a little over a dollar each. The white milk glass sits on our mantel year-round, and it goes with everything!

I found two gorgeous vintage blue Masons to add to my collection. They were waiting for me at a flea market, and are dated July 14, 1908. They work perfectly as candy jars (or vases)!

The two "Shining Sea" prints in the frames are from PagingSupermom.com. The blue backgrounds look pretty on our newly-painted gray walls. I like having the tune of "America the Beautiful" pop into my head when I see them.

A fresh bouquet of white baby's breath really made everything come together for the look that I wanted.

For the dining room, I found a classic white and blue striped tablecloth at TJ Maxx. The blue crate with white stars was an impulse buy from Walmart, and I love it!

My mom generously brought over some sugar cookies that she baked and iced. They're almost too pretty to eat!

Join Astleigh and me in sharing your 4th of July decor! Grab our button and link up below. I always get inspired with new ideas from these link-ups, and I can't wait to get a peek into your homes!

In two weeks, we are sharing our favorite mocktail or cocktail recipes, so mark it on your calendars :)

<a href="http://www.hillcollection.blogspot.com/" title="Hill Collection"><img src="http://i752.photobucket.com/albums/xx161/amrh1/EveryGirlLink-UpGraphicmedium_zps1bfaa38a.jpg" alt="Hill Collection" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

An InLinkz Link-up