Goodwill Hunting

Happy Columbus Day!

I am celebrating this holiday by relaxing and recovering from my busy weekend. I took part in a neighborhood yard sale and attacked my out-of-control oleanders. The transformation of our yard is going to be a slow project, I'm afraid, and I hope it will be ready for reveal by next summer (because you can't really do much planting in winter months, even in the desert).

Speaking of yard sales though... I have found some great items that are perfect for warming up a home for the colder months.

mmmm. Cozy.

Nothing like some blankets in a basket by the fireplace to embrace autumn.

This particular basket, made of sea grass, was for $1.50. I like it better than my wicker baskets because those tend to break off tiny pieces. Stores are always selling these baskets, and you can usually purchase them for a couple of dollars at the end of season sales.

I also grabbed this beauty from a thrift store...

First, let me share that some of the things I love about autumn are the colors! The warm browns, reds, oranges just remind me of warm nights, cuddling up next to the ones you love. This ceramic vase ($10) is a beautiful warm red and I love the "aged" look it has around the top. I love how it goes with my pillows and brick fireplace.

Note:

Until we are fully unpacked, I'm sure most of my photos will be close-ups. That vase would look pretty silly if I showed you a full picture, complete with our bare (and smoke stained) fireplace. Which, by the way, does anyone know how to remove???

Another recent find was this tea light holder.

I am not one for tea lights (what's the point?) so I knew it wasn't going to be used for that. I was going to spray it with some ORB (oil rubbed bronze), but the black was just too pretty and perfect for some Halloween fun.

I removed the 4 hooks around the rim, gave it a cleaning, and...

added a cute pumpkin on top. I know... tough project. I think it took me a total of 4.2 minutes (and $1). *sigh* How do I ever find the time?

Anyway, I think it is adorable and super easy to pull together. Savers and Goodwill are always selling these tea light holders. I usually see them in a brass finish, but a quick spray paint can have them looking new again. Pumpkins are about as "Halloweeny" as we get. With two small girly girls kids, hanging ghosts, spiders and cobwebs isn't such a great idea.

The candle in the background was $4 from Michaels. They're getting rid of their autumn stuff and I grabbed my favorite pumpkin scent.

I snipped off a leaf from the garland I used for this project and tied it to the candle using some jute. This is my small cluster of autumn that sits in our guest bath.