Has A Place

Here it is, after looking at these pictures I sigh. This time of year is exhausting. Not only do I decorate alot but the parties, gift giving, cooking, baking and I don't even have children yet!  But I love it, I wouldn't change it, I may change my mind when I have to put it all away again.

As a first year blogger I have to say we as Americans have some talent!  It's not easy taking things and making them beautiful or making a house into a home. And I have seen many many homes and I'm happy that others feel the same way as I do walking into their front doors...

Let the tour begin...

Front Porch:

First of all, I want to thank you all for the BEST comments EVER! It really makes my day to think that others like me "work" Because, of course, decorating is my art!
So I thought I do a little post about some dollar store things I used around my house so far this year. I really find some great stuff...

First: Outside I was looking for the classic wreath with the red bow. I love the idea of real ones but with the wind in my area I didn't want to spend a ton or waste real tree branches.


So I found these 18 inch wreaths and bows for $1 each. Can't go wrong there! If they blow off, so what. However, they turned out so good that I bought some fishing line secured the bows as well as the wreath to the inside of my house.



Also, I wanted a fancy wreath for the new dining room. And I have seen this project a few times, so I decided to try it out!  And I love that too.



I used 5 packages of bulbs and 2 packages of ribbon!  $7 bucks!

I am sharing this post over at Project Queen's $10 dollar or less PARTY!

Have a great day!

Well hello, I hope your weekend was great. Mine went quite well. Just finishing up the dining room makeover. A few little things to be done then I will reveal it!

But.. I have an awesome project for everyone. My mom helped on this one again, I really do admire her creativity. We compliment each other quite well when it comes to decorating.

So, I know you have all seen these, they are called Teardrop Swags:




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Do you see where my mind is going?  How it works. What if you flipped it over, what does it look like?  A tree right.

Ok, here's the back store. I told you about these great urn vases I got from Lowe's back when I showed you my front porch makeover.  I have been looking for "trees" to fill those for winter, after the mums kicked the bucket.

I've looked every where, I mean all over the place. I didn't want to spend a ton because they are going outside and half of everything out there ends up behind my neighbors house, I have crazy wind issues. :) Anyway, I was in Ac Moore a couple nights ago looking for trees. I didn't see any. But my mom spotted these:

And then she flipped it upside down and fluffed it up a bit. I was like yes that's what I was looking for. AND they were 8.99, 8.99 people. Compared to skimpy trees at like $30 and up. One problem, how is it going to stand up? Because the ends look like this:

Savvy Southern Style



 I took these in the evening, so the sun was shining right onto the porch. I think it makes for a great photo, even though there are shadows everywhere.
 The hay bales are from Michael's and the lantern from Kirkland's. :)
 My summer flowers, hanging baskets, did so well up here this year that I cant just get rid of them yet. Hence the big purple bushes in the top of this picture. :) I also hung a candle chandelier
I also added the concrete planters on either side of the doorway. I got these at Lowe's for about $17 each. Let me tell you I can even lift them, solid concrete. They will be staying there for a while :)

Lets all remember the before: