Whatcha think??

Ok, here goes. I found things to put on the shelf. It occurred to me that maybe a collection of some sort would look good on there and then I thought of my teapots. I don't have many, but I think I like them there. I think it's the first time I've ever been happy with what I have on there. It looks full and not crowded (in my opinion if that means anything!). Is it overdone? Look weird with teapots on there?

I had a slight hint of creativity come over me and I took a small mason jar and put those glass bead things in it and a satin ribbon around the top. Then I took some flowers and leaves out of the pumpkin arrangement and popped them in there. It adds a little fall flair to the shelf. I like it! The other little mason jar is some of my beach glass. 

Here's a close-up of just the shelf.

The frame and shelf there were gifts when we got married. I really like them, but they needed something. They were a light oak color which I'm not crazy about so I painted them black. I like it! I keep looking around the house to see what else I can paint and I have a few things in mind, but I'm gonna take it slow so the hubby doesn't get too scared! ;) The four frames are things I'd like to paint black, but I'm not sure he would agree! The pictures are really pretty shots he took when we were studying in Argentina.

Here's a shot of the whole wall together. I'm likin' it!

Fall Decorations and A Severe Lack of Creativity

I've always wanted my house to be a welcoming and "homey" place for my family. I dream of being super resourceful and making great decorations and solutions in my home with little to no money. The sad truth is that I'm not good at it! I've been checking out some really cool blogs lately (theinspiredroom.net and shabbynest.blogspot.com are 2 of my favorites). I've been inspired to at least try to come up with some new ideas. 

Here's my extremely lame attempt at decorating for fall. Please bear in mind that we are on a missionary's budget so there is seriously no money for buying absolutely anything!

I wanted to find some sticks in the yard for placing around the hurricane that you'll see in another picture and came back with this totally cool branch (oops! a bit too big for the dining room table!) So, my trusty little pea-sized brain got to working and here's what it came up with:

I hung it over the (hand-me-down ugly) sofa next to the (hand-me-down ugly dorm room looking) lamp. My thought is to find some cute thin ribbon and hang a few small pictures of our family on it. Like a "naturely" (like that new word?!) family tree. Seriously, tell me if it's totally lame! I'm new at this and don't want to begin creating horrid excuses for decorations if I can be stopped now!!

Here's that hurricane. I'm totally in love with it. I got it last year after the season was over on a super clearance. I payed something like $3 for it. It's glass with mosaic type glass tiles on it. I put it on the dining room table and you can see the sticks that needed to be trimmed from the family tree branch I threw around it. It seriously needs help and I've got no ideas!

Here's a pretty little pumpkin pot with fall flowers and leaves that someone gave me last year. (Oh and please don't miss those super sweet boys in the photo!) I put it on the (hand-me-down 70's scratched up) side table next to the (wejustgotmarriedliveinadarkapartmentneedsomecheaplighting) lamp. 

And thus ends my fall decoration repertoire! 

This next one is a real conundrum. We have this really neat shelf between the living room and the front porch. I really like it, but in the 5 years we've lived here I haven't known what to do with it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!