Porches and Petals

This was my first ever attempt at making apple pie from scratch, and it came out great!   We have planted three apple trees in our backyard this past year, so hopefully we're going to have many apples for many years to come.  I was happy to find a good apple pie recipe! I baked the Apple pie in this ceramic pie Pan and it came out great, as well.  My table cloth is handmade with fabric that I bought from a fabric store when we were still living in California.  The little peach tea pot is something that was a gift with flowers many years ago. The little coffee sign was a Dollar Tree purchase, and the grape vase was a thrift store item.

I made this damask tablecloth for this small bistro table in our kitchen from some clearance remnant fabric that I found at Walmart for around a dollar or so. It ended up being the perfect size to make a small table cloth for this tiny table.    I added a few of these beautiful dishes that we found from a thrift store several years ago. I just love the beautiful design, they are so romantic and shabby chic. The napkins I made from some remnant fabric that I've had for years and it was the perfect amount to make four napkins.  I think the shade of pink is a beautiful dusty, mauve pink and I love it.  The napkin rings are from a set that I also thrifted, as is the teapot and the vases.

I decided that I wanted a screen for the fireplace so I started looking around online and saw that they had a pretty option around a $100. I was considering buying it when I remembered that I had this plastic fan that I bought from the thrift store for just a few dollars.  I had been planning on painting it with a rose gold spray paint and putting on a wall somewhere. It occurred to me that I could work very well as a decorative fireplace screen I am not going to be using my fireplace for a real fire so it doesn't matter that this item is plastic. I think it works very well and helps to cover what I consider an unsightly fireplace, especially when I want to use this area for taking pictures in front of.

This little, red polka dot shoe shaped ring holder as another item that I found at the 99 Cent Only store.  For a while I was collecting all kinds of cute items like this but now I'm trying to cut back on a lot more of the knick-knack items that I have in my house. At the marble table that this is sitting on is a Goodwill purchase. I believe it is only around $10. 

I'm not even sure where this tiny silver flower pot came from, but I presume it's something that I bought from a thrift store many years ago.  What you're looking at is my mantle in my dressing Room. I'm still figuring out just how I want to reject rate it now that it has been painted. The tall vase to the right is another item that was thrift it a few years back. I have a collection of things in the same iridescent and pastel look.

I found this Hello Kitty piggy bank at Walmart several years ago and it was around $10 when I purchased it. I've noticed that Walmart has had cute piggy banks in the past, and I also have one that is a pink perfume bottle that's my favorite. The little pink piggy bank was a 99 Cent Only store purchase back when I was still living in California. 

I have a few new additions to my Christmas décor in my living Room this year. I found this mantel decoration at Goodwill for $6.99, and I found the candles to put in it the same day so they match perfectly. The Santa has to be where the most amazing finds my mother pointed I while we were shopping in Bliss Thrift store. We could not believe when it had a $20 tag attached to it. I had been thinking last year that I would like a Santa that was more life sized but I knew it wasn't practical.  I did not really have any real plans on buying one until I saw this and that it was such a great deal . The Santa does not move or anything like that, and he is lightweight and easy to carry myself,  now I just need to figure out where to store him until next year. The beautiful red and gold tablecloth is another item I picked up for less than one dollar at Bliss Thrift Store.  I think it is perfect for Christmas! The Santa is another Bliss find from earlier this y...