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Open House at the Rockin’ F Ranchito

October 2, 2013

Karen Coldspring, Country living, Country Style, Decorating, family, home decorating, mantle, Nature, new home, Texas, wreath , , , , , Leave a comment

Map of Texas highlighting San Jacinto County

Map of Texas highlighting San Jacinto County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Do you remember my Social Planner, Tanis? She and her husband Larry retired to Coldspring, Texas and have spent the last year selling their two homes- a lake house and their city home, clearing land, planning a new home, and finally building and moving in to their dream home. They really did find a slice of heaven when they found the 22 acres that they are quickly turning into their family gathering spot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This past weekend they held an open house. Friends and family were invited up to visit and enjoy their world. The Social Planner went all out.

rockin f

 

You know it is going to be a place in the country when you have to have signs  because the GPS might not work.

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The house was in full fall decorating mode,

rockin f front porch

 

I love the front porch.  I wish I could bottle the view,

Texas Wreath

 

The Social Planner’s niece made this awesome wreath.  Love it.

 

fall door

 

 

The barn red front door looks perfect.

pebble fountain

 

Beside the front door there is this great fountain.  It is so peaceful and the etched rocks remind the person sitting on the porch why the couple chose this spot.

 

fall mums

 

I love the fall mums.

There was a hay ride, the covered porch was loaded with ice chests, places to sit and eat and things for the kiddos to do.

hay ride

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lola

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on hay ride

 

hay ride on property

The Social Planner has three grandkids already and another on the way. She also has a nephew with three kids and when all of them are over the place is hopping. It is great to see a place that is so full of laughter and love.

Out at the back of the property the guys hunt doves, do target practice and just hang out.

dove hunting

The Social Planner got lots of loot at her open house. I am so happy for both of them. They have a beautiful home and open hearts.

 

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The frame above and the chalkboard below are in their awesome laundry room.  The Social Planner found the two windows on the side of the road.  They are as found, except for a couple of coats of poly.   One day the house will be empty enough for me to take pictures of the room.  This weekend it was full of purses, phones charging, dogs, and toys.

 

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The Social Planner and her childhood friend working in the kitchen.  This kitchen fed a ton of people.

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Enjoy the photos from their beautiful home and friends who visited for the weekend.  I hope the photos reflect their style, the love their friends feel for them, and family.

IMG_3679   IMG_3681 IMG_3686 IMG_3690 IMG_3693 IMG_3694 IMG_3697   rockin f ranchito      as good as it gets mantle

Semi- Homemade Pumpkin

September 19, 2013

Karen burlap, Country Style, Decorating, DIY, Fall decorating, Thrifting, Thrifty Art , , Leave a comment

I learned something years a ago from my dad. Everything in retail is potentially up for negotiation. May dad will go tool shopping at Sears, and he will ask…”Is this your best price?” When the answer is yes, that is our best price, he asks about floor models, then he asks to speak to the manager. Rarely does he pay the listed price. On anything. I am not as brave as he is, but occasionally I do ask.
Recently I was in Kirklands. It was a 5 day sale and they had some really cute things on sale. I spotted a big wall pumpkin. Regular price was $24.99 but it was on sale for $16.00. I loved the size and the shape but I wasn’t so crazy about the bow.
Here it is online:
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When I saw one that had the bow torn loose I worked up my courage and took fit to the register. I asked the nice lady at the register if I could take the torn one at a reduced price. Guess what? Instead of $16.00, she sold it to me for $10.00.

I brought home the pumpkin then got busy.

A new burlap bow, and a cheap fall floral pick later I ended up with a super cute wall decoration. Doesn’t it look cute? I had Hubby hang the window under our covered front walk because it is going to serve as a seasonal backdrop for decorating.

This is a great semi-homemade quick project. I guess Dad knew what he was doing!

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Decorating the Mudroom Bench for Fall

September 4, 2013

Karen Fall decorating, family 1 Comment

I really like fall.

  • I like the cooler weather- we live in south east Texas which is sometimes like walking on the face of the sun and other times like being in the Amazon jungle- depending on the humidity.
  • I seem to naturally gravitate toward warmer colors. My homes have always had a touch of red in them- even when country blue and mauve were all the rage. ( Who, beside me, out there is old enough to have had a duck with welcome friends painted on it? )
  • I work in education and I really like my job so it makes me happy to know that a new school year is starting. This year is especially exciting because I am opening a new school.
  • Fall means that family will be gathering, bonfires, smores, Thanksgiving, and cool evenings at the lake house.  Yay.

Oh, and I love fall decorating. Probably for the reasons above.

This year I am trying to use a lot of what I have collected along with some new things.  I am using a lot of orange, teal and antique white.  I am having fun getting everything out and deciding what will make the cut.  Do you do this?  Do you have to have everything out in one place before you know what you will use or is it just me?

I have the mudroom bench safely in place and the first thing that will be decorated will be this area.  The orange round pillows usually sit on my brown burlap chairs in the family room, but they wanted to join in the orange and green party this year.

Mudroom Bench Decorated for fall

The wreath has been around a few years.  It has held up amazingly well hanging out in the attic and even survived the move.

Pumpkin wreath

I purchased two croton plants from Home Depot- They were 3 for $9.00 so I really bought three and gave one to a friend.

I found the clay pots at the 99 Cent Only store to cover the black plastic pot along with a clear drip pan for each.  I am going to plant them in large pots for outside but for now they look great.

Hubby hung two matching windows (out of my stash of windows) on either side of the mudroom bench and I moved two plant stands in to go under the windows.  The two stands are not the same height so I stacked books under one of the pots to make the plants about the same height.

Old window for fall

I love that our new home has really tall ceilings.  There is plenty of room on top of the mudroom bench for me to decorate.   I have a feeling that this is going to be a favorite decorating spot.  On top of the bench I things collected around the house along like a wooden Coke crate, a cheesy Pumpkins sign, old snuff jars.  a big lantern and some faux and ceramic pumpkins .  I am sure that some things will be added and subtracted as the season gets rolling but I like having a space at the front door to decorate.

fall decorating