It’s funny how a project can take on a life of its own. We recently started a mini makeover in a guest bathroom. Everything was rocking right along until I pulled a muscle in my hip. Now everything, including cleaning up after Christmas, has come to a slow crawl.

After a few days on the couch, I was determined ( and bored out of my mind!) to get a few things done.

Things that I don’t have to bend over, twist, or lift to do.

The first of which is getting my Happy Planner decorated for February.

I always try to keep my planner ready a least a month or two in advance.

I haven’t put everything back together since I took down all of the Christmas decor.

So this was the perfect time to put out a few gifts that I received for Christmas.

I love my new cookie jar!

During Christmas this corner sports a cute platter.

The rest of the year I have it decorated with this ceiling tin.

It’s perfect for displaying family photos, invitations et.

After putting it out this year, it felt a little too cluttered.

Trading the ceiling tin for this cute platter was the answer!

I love how bright and clean it looks.

I’ve also been working on gathering a few things for my Valentine’s table.

A few Valentine’s Day crafts have kept me busy too.

I promise to share them with you soon!

One last thing, I was on my friend Stacey’s FaceBook site, Poofing the Pillows and Friends, and they were discussing what everyone was putting on their front door after Christmas.

I went blank. For the life of me I couldn’t remember what I put on my door after Christmas!

Then, I saw a FB post from our friends in Biloxi, MS on how they were decorating for Mardi Gras and it hit me.

I usually put out a Mardi Gras wreath!

Some days I seriously need a keeper….

That’s it for my cleaning up after Christmas post.

Hopefully, things will be getting back to normal soon.

Whatever that is.

Until next time….

The elves have been busy decorating here at the castle. Of course, they always start in the heart of the home, the kitchen. This years theme is simple, less fuss and not as over the top as in years past. It’s a black, white and red Christmas kitchen!

I don’t buy all new stuff from year to year, instead I like to mix and match a few new things with old things from years past. Don’t get me wrong. It’s tempting, however every time I consider it I hear my sweet Granny’s sarcastic voice saying “Well, aren’t we Miss Aster!” For those of you that are younger than dirt, that was her way of saying that we aren’t made of money. And even if we were, money doesn’t grow on trees! Thrifty was her middle name.

My House is in transition!  You know, when your between decorating seasons, but ready to gear up for another one? Thankfully, Halloween is put away and fall is down to a bare minimum. I’m totally gearing up to get my Christmas on!

The fall front porch is staying until the last possible minute to decorate for Christmas. I love the decorative cabbage, the pansies and the sweet faces of the violas!

This is the story about the week that was. I certainly hope that it’s over anyway! I hate to complain because all of our issues, for the most part, were first world problems.

Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t all bad. I did have quite a few pick me ups to get me over the less than fun parts for sure!

Yesterday was definitely a Monday. I had two things to do, just two. Make a quick trip to Lowe’s to get paint to finish up a child’s table and chairs. And plant some plants I purchased on Saturday. Neither of those happened. Instead, my gas cook top blew up. Which leads me to the tale of two dust ruffles. Have I confused you yet?

If my BFF Roxanne had been with me, it would definitely been another of our Lucy and Ethel adventures. Unfortunately, this one is all on me!

It’s raining here. Again. Or should I say still. Today was the day to decorate my Halloween front porch, however since it’s so wet I thought my time would be better spent in the craft room. No, I’m not building an arc, although I should probably consider it. Today I’m painting a Broom Parking sign.

I had this crazy idea that all of the witches here at the castle might need a designated spot to park their brooms.  Who wants to be constantly be tripping over that mess, right?

A few weeks ago, I shared my Halloween Table with you.  I’m always on the look out for fun, inexpensive ways to present my place cards. This year, I found what I think are some really fun and easy Halloween Place cards.

They light up and are super easy to make! Oh, and did I mention that it’s also Ten on the 10th? If you are new here, that’s where Ten fun bloggers share fun ideas, under $10.00 on the 10th of the month!

After a fun filled weekend in Oklahoma, I came home with a bug. Needless to say, It’s been a bad week here at the castle.

The only thing I’ve gotten done is the beginnings of getting the partio spruced up for fall! In all fairness, I started a lot of projects, but none are finished.

It’s officially fall. Finally! I’ve been waiting awhile for it. Here at the castle, we start off with a small amount of fall decor, swing into October with an overload of Halloween, and finally settle in for  a more traditional fall decor for Thanksgiving. Since it’s almost October, I guess it’s time to rip off the band-aid and start the Halloween extravaganza. I’m starting with a simple Halloween Mantle.

Over the years, I’ve gone from a heavily decorated mantle to a more simple understated one. I’ve come to believe that you don’t have to spend a fortune or put everything in the Halloween closet on the mantle!  This philosophy could be because I’ve grown lazy in my old age and don’t want to dust. Nah! I’m going with the simple and understated theory .

The Queens, my 7 besties, get together and it’s a free for all. Lots of laughing, lots of sharing and lots of talking. Sometimes, one thing leads to another and one of us is compelled to share about something totally unrelated to the current subject. Which is so confusing. We have decided that when this happens we are required to shout “Random” before we introduce that subject. Today I’m shouting Random, because I’m sharing Random fall decor!

I shared my fall front porch with you last week. I had originally wanted some white mums for the front porch. However, I couldn’t find them anywhere! Until today.

Happy September y’all! I hope that you had a fun Labor Day weekend. We had a fun weekend, however you know I fit in a little time to decorate for early fall in the dining room.

Well, lets be honest. I found time to sprinkle a little early fall here and there all over the castle! Even though it’s hot here in Texas, September definitely signals fall leaves, pumpkins, mums and hopefully cooler temperatures.

If you’ve followed along with me recently, you know I’m really holding myself back on pulling out the fall pumpkins. However, next week is September. Which for me means busting out the fall decor. So today I want to show you how easy setting an early fall table is.

But before the sharing begins, I want to tell you a quick story. One of the best things about blogging is “meeting” new friends. I’ve truly made some of the best of friends, even if I’ve never met them in person.  I love reading their post, comments and the great ideas that I receive from them. One of those peeps for me is Rita at Panoply.

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I have been obsessed with pumpkins of late. I don’t want to put them out yet, I just want to buy them. You know, so I’ll be ready when I do want to put them out. Then, I had a thought. What if I shared  pumpkins with you? Specifically, how to get the great pumpkin?

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing how to make some fun and interesting pumpkins with you. Today, I’m sharing how to paint a pumpkin. I’ve got a lot of pictures, so grab a drink, sit back and enjoy!

I’m not sure if you know it or not, but I started this blog to promote my furniture restore business four years ago. Over time the blog has morphed into more of a life style blog. However, there are still days /weeks where I’m swamped with furniture makeovers. That’s this week. Today I’m sharing a trash to treasure vanity makeover.

A friend texted me asking if I  had seen this vanity in the trash down the street. Nope, I had not. So I hopped into the car and went to do a little dumpster diving. This is what I found!

I’ve got a magic table before and after to share with you today! 

Why is it a magic table? Because if you pull on it’s legs, it changes sizes.  It took me forever to figure it out. I even called my neighbor who gave it to me to ask how it worked. I kind of felt like I need to take an advanced math class to figure it  out!

I have had love affair with art my entire life. I love making art, looking at art and I love finding new artists that inspire me. This past week I found my new favorite artist at the grocery store! I know it sounds crazy but it’s the truth.

My new favorite artist is Roxanne Spradlin. Many of you may know and love her work, however she’s new to me.

Today I want to share a different kind of tissue holder with you. Since I’ve been hiding inside due to the heat, I’ve been on Pinterest. Imagine that! If I’m not on Pinterest I’m stalking my favorite bloggers checking out their latest posts.

This is the standard tissue holder here at the Castle. Not that inspiring, is it?

Have you been to the blog Redhead Can Decorate? Julie has the cutest house. This week she shared how to make a 5 minute tissue holder. I was hooked! I had to try and make one for myself.

There is nothing quite like setting a pretty table. Pretty napkin rings. Fun Dishes. Colorful glasses and white plates. Beautiful flowers.

Yes, please. I’ll take all of those.  However, pretty napkin rings and napkins may be my favorite part of the table setting.

Happy 4th of July everyone! Well, actually it’s the 3rd, but around these parts everyone celebrates the 4th on the 3rd. Confusing much? I agree! I had a few people ask how to make a patriotic banner like the one I shared last week.

So I decided to share how to make one, just in case you want a quick inside project to beat the heat!

Hey all, it’s FRIYAY! I hope that you are surviving this heat. Maybe a fun vacation? Or floating in a pool with a refreshing beverage.  Speaking of beverages, grab your favorite. Find a cool spot and check out my Friday favorites.

My first Friday favorite is this super fun summer read. It’s release date is July 17. I laughed. I cried. Sometimes I did both at the same time. Pre-order yours now here.

This is the week I lost my mojo. What? Even golfers get the yips. Or is that baseball players? Years ago tennis player Andy Roddick lost his. I know this because I saw the commercials of Andy missing the ball and bumping through life.

What exactly is Mojo? Wikipedia defines it as a magic charm. If I ever had a “magic charm”, I’ve certainly lost mine! Don’t get me wrong, I got a lot done this week. Just not that many things that I would call sharing worthy. Ever had one of those weeks? All I can say was the week started off well and then took a different direction.

I’m not getting anything done here at the castle! I’ve got about a thousand irons in the fire. All in different stages of completion.

Last weeks cold kept me down for the count, however I’m feeling better and hoping to put out all of the little fires this week.

My sweet niece is now the mother of three little boys. All 5 and under! Once she knew she was pregnant with her third boy, she started rearranging and decorating the boys rooms. Her 2 year old was about to get a little/big boy room!

The first order of business was to find furniture.  Her 2 year old’s crib turns into a full size bed, so she planed on moving the crib into the new room .   We found this diamond in the rough on Craig’s List. It was super sturdy.  Pretty? Not so much!

I hope that you all had a wonderful Easter! Normally, the day after Easter has me putting away the bunnies and starting to work in my garden. However, the weather isn’t co-perating. It’s cold! So, today I’m going to share just a few things with you that I do have going on.