Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Does this wreath make my butt look big?

I'm trying to decorate my house for the fall. I thought I had tons and tons of fall decorations. But, I don't. For some reason having painted our previous house in fall colors (reds, golds, pumpkin) it always looked great in the fall, then spring would come and I'd be saying, "Who picked these colors? For crying out loud where are the pastels?!" Well, now we have the pastels and I'm thinking, "Didn't my house used to look great in the fall with all those decorations I had? Where are the decorations?"

Okay, this is where I need your help. Since we are still all Dave Ramsey intense and not spending money on anything we don't NEED or WANT, I can't justify running out and buying cute little autumn plates to put in this plate rack, even though that is a HUGE temptation. I took down the white plates I had up and was desperately looking for something and this is what I came up with.

A fake wreath with fake berries. I know, the whole fake thing, but honestly I'm always drawn to this stuff. It's an addiction, I need treatment.
Look, another fake wreath on the door. Is this too many fake floral wreath things in one space? Do these wreaths make my butt look fat? What do you think?
How about a couple photos in there? I have an awesome friend coming to my house next weekend to take photos of our family and I will buy new frames to put some of them in, so maybe a few different sized photo frames in fall colors???? Lose the wreath? No photos? Beg Mom to buy me cute plates? Let's move on to the opposite wall.
Here's my hutch, or at least the bottom half of it. We had to store the top piece in our basement because we don't have a wall large enough without an opening to have the entire hutch upstairs. But, I don't miss it because it's nice to use as a buffet or a gigantic retrospective in fake stuff extraordinaire. Actually, the big pumpkins are the real deal, my compost pile produced them this year. After I was done bedecking the hutch I stood back and wondered what other crap could I pile on there?
Here's some ribbon. PILE IT ON APRIL! Let's get GAUDY!! Where's the GLITTER?!!
Okay, I couldn't take it all. I simplified a bit. How's this? Which do you like better? The full glitz or the tame yet fake fruit display or for heaven's sake just leave it alone!
A small note about the candle sticks. These were my mother-in-laws which were her mother's which were her aunts. So, restating these were Clay's mother's mother's aunt's candlesticks. I think they are some sort of sought after glass collector's thing. I love them and try to use them all the time.
Well, what do you think? Keep it? Try something else? Don't go into the decorating business? Stay away from Hobby Lobby? Do you care?

35 comments:

larkswing said...

As a fellow victim of the all humorous and very right Dave Ramsey epidemic, and as one who cannot go shopping either b/c of being said victim - I understand your plight! I have been trying to rework my own poor fall decor.

So all that said, I probably can't help you since I am a decorative incompetant (is that a word?) - But I am first to comment I do believe - hehe. I know there are many talented ladies who will help give you great suggestions!

Good Day!

Rhea said...

Wait a second, back this fall decor train back to the station...did you say your compost pile produced big pumpkins?! How the heck does that just happen?!!

Sharon said...

Cute!

Where were you last year when I was getting rid of all my decorations? I even had some adorable Warren Kimble Halloween plates. ;)

Anonymous said...

I think it looks very festive. I'm good at painting, but I stink at decorating and so I don't even try. But what you have done looks great. I have some old candle stick too!

Anonymous said...

Oh gosh. Now I feel like a real loser. I'm all about Dave Ramsey too, and saving money, even write about it on my blog, but I must confess...I bought a $3.00 piece of fallish garland yesterday at Wal-mart and............a candle. It's not an expensive Yankee Candle, just a cheapie, but still.

I feel better getting that off my chest.

I think what you've done looks nice. What about putting your white plates back up and gathering a bunch of twigs and branches and leafs from the woods and sticking them in the plate rack thingie like they are growing out of it in a random and natural way? I'm only half kidding. Do you have a glue gun? That solves a lot of problems.

Marilyn said...

Go outside and get some real stuff...it's all free...acorns, pinecones, leaves, bare branches, etc. DO NOT go back to Hobby Lobby under any circumstances!!

Anonymous said...

The plate thingie: I kinda like it with just the wreath, but I like the commenter's idea of putting the twigs in with the plates too.

The Buffet: I like the one with all the stuff on it minus the ribbon. Bring on those pumpkins!

lindastamps

Jean Martha said...

Last year you stole corn stalks from Raul to decorate. More thievery please. Also, lose the wreath on the plate shelf.

xoxo

Karen Deborah said...

We have amethod for paying off debt even faster than Dave Ramsey, and not as painful.
i think yor decorating loks great. I like the idea of using real branches etc,.. the pumkins look cute. not bad at all. you have very creative kids, how abot picking up some plates from the dollar store and letting them paint them?

Neasa said...

I think it looks wonderful in the last pic! I found your blog through your oh so funny sister's blog and I'm looking forward to reading yours. Please pop over to my blog and say Hi. Neasa in Ireland.

Anonymous said...

Hutch looks great. And I collect glassware, so I lurve the candle sticks. Leave the wreath on the plate rack, remove the pics, bring the white plates back out and decorate them fallish. But then, I'm partial to glassware. Did I mention I collect glassware? :)Margie

Anonymous said...

Your hutch needs something with height. I would go out and look for interesting branches. With or without leaves. Look in the ditches for the dogwood type stuff that has red bark and is smooth and lovely looking in arrangements. Anything with interesting bark or colored leaves. Lay them behind your arrangements and going up the wall.

My compost pile grew vine crops, tomato plants, irises and DAHLIAS THAT BLOOMED. In the shade!! Hello??? The dahlias I planted in the proper sunny, watered places didn't bloom. But the composted ones- on the shady, not watered compost pile- they put out lovely pink flowers! Go figure.

MamaHen said...

I like the picture frames and the wreath. Also, I like the idea of using pine cones, acorns, leaves, ect. Get you a pretty fall bowl and fill it up with these things. Also, the hutch would look good with some height on it. But if I walked your door I would think "Oh, she decorated for fall." I wouldn't think it was bad at all.

Carla said...

I like the first pic of your hutch. Put back the pumpkins but forget the ribbon. I may be biased, I hate ribbon. I like the pics and the wreath, but I think the white plates with the wreath would look nice too. I am partial to fake wreaths too.

My compost pile produced some pumpkins too. So did my flower beds where I was too lazy to pick up the rotted pumpkins after Halloween. :op

Jenni said...

I like the way you had the buffet at first. The candlesticks look better on the buffet, IMHO. The pictures in the plate rack could be perfect, but I think you need to lose the wreath. Actually the wreath is cute, just put it somewhere else.

If you want some free decorations that are not fake, look outside. The seed pods of velvet leaf (which you can see before dried here: http://tinyurl.com/create.php), Illinois bundleweed, and others look nice. Staghorn sumac adds some nice rusty red color. Coral berries are nice too. The giant sticker balls of (I think) teasel can be stuck together into balls and set alongside hedge apples and other interesting natural objects. Burr oak acorn caps are really cool, too.

Dodson Family said...

I like the pictures and the wreath together but not the wreath by itself. Maybe try the pictures and some garland.

I love the hutch in the last pic. Just enough, but not too much


Now I'm off to put my bat signal on the roof...too much ya think? :)

Far Side of Fifty said...

I am an unbalanced person, put the candlesticks off to one side or the other together! They are beautiful. I would take the pumpkins out of that thing (wire basket), and then make a lovely grouping of the pumpkins, some gourds, and some berries and leaves. I like the wreath with the pictures! Sometimes the most unexpected things grow in a compost pile!:)

Anonymous said...

Well everyone has differing opinions don't they. That tells me it doesn't matter, untimately you are the one who has to like the way it looks. Change it weekly if you want!

Kathy b, in a house without fall decor at the moment, it is still like 90 degrees here! I'm not in a fall mood.

Rhea said...

I forgot to add, yes, the wreath makes your butt look big. hehe

Rhea said...

Oh my gosh, I just read through your comments, and people actually gave you advice, helpful or not, I don't know. I'm impressed.

I just do my snarky comment thing and live in my own little world. :o)

Do I amuse you?

Anonymous said...

I liked the pumpkin one best but what do I know? I don't even decorate for Christmas!!!!

Rhea said...

I think I carry on entire conversation all my myself. Am I freaking you out or just freaking myself out?

Wait, don't answer...because then I'd have to acknowledge there are other people in my world...

Pamelotta said...

There's only one thing that I didn't like. It's the blue runner on your hutch/buffet thingy. I think you should look around your house or maybe a garage sale for a fall colored runner and stick it under all that natural stuff that everyone suggested.

My walls are all fall colors so I'm all the sudden completely decorated for fall!

Unknown said...

I like the wreath but not where you now have it. Put up the new pictures and hang the wreath somewhere else? And I loved the hutch in the first picture, it looked pretty. Of course, my fall decorations are more, umm, natural? You know, the leaves and such that people bring in with them after playing outside. My floor is very, very festive!

Anonymous said...

And just think, Christmas is just around the corner!

Go rhea!

And your butt only looks big with the ribbon.

Leilani Schuck Weatherington said...

I liked the basket of big pumpkins. I'd put it back. I love things that come from the compost heap. One year my compost heap produced a wonderful butternut squash that made better pumpkin pie than the pumpkin did.

jill said...

I like the hutch with the compost pumpkins in the middle, no ribbon! And the wreath on the plate rack, no pictures. Your house looks great. Keep the cornucopia, too.

Becky Meyers said...

i like it, it looks pretty...nice and "fall-y" too bad texas doesn't get a fall. just summer, summer, summer all year long. it was 90 yesterday and supposed to get at least that high today! i want cold weather!!!! stupid texas! (btw, thats my new motto)! miss ya tons april!!!

Cave-Woman said...

All the stuff minus the ribbon, looks great on the hutch.

The wreath with the pictures is pretty---but I think it is a bit large and doesn't quite balance out the photos.

All in all---so pretty.
I wish my compost pile was growing pumpkins.

Tina Marie the Willow Witch said...

Where is the photo of the Wreath around your Butt?? How can I answer that question with out a photo??? I am sure Rechelle will come over and take the photo if you cant manage it yourself...

Woolysheep said...

I am no decorator but I gotta say kill the wreath on the plate rack. If you do love the wreath at least center the center of the wreath on the rack. Hanging off the rack is uncomfortably asymmetric. Nix the photos on the rack. Are the white plates plain? You might consider putting the white plates back and securing some kind of dried leaves (or fakes), just a single one each, to the center of each plate with a little stick gum or double tape (if that won't damage the dishes)

Lose the ribbon on the buffet. The fake berries are pretty. If the fake part bothers you, gather some pine cones if there are any around. Love the pumpkins and the iron with the crystal.

There you go, two cents from someone with a living room decorated in Early Rummage Sale, and seated in a chair she picked out of a trash pile this morning.

Anonymous said...

I love the ribbon, and the pumpkins, and all the righteous mess on the hutch...but im gaudy like that, its my moms fault. The wreath looks rather bare by itself, but with the pictures, it looks much better. Remember though, im gaudy...

Melody said...

I think it looks great! Good job!

And great going about the listening to Dave Ramsey thing. Dave Ramsey is who I want to be when I grow up!

Anonymous said...

Where's the cicada shell? Why not just feature that on the buffet?

Lori Waggoner said...

Kansas makes your butt look big. Period.

Now, on to some sound decorating advice: leave the hutch the way you had it in the first picture. Definitely the best, most balanced. The wreath without the pictures looks puny on that expansive wall...keep the pictures.

That's my final answer.