DIY Monogrammed Door Mat

Well, The Cottage went and did it, she finally decided to get her own page on Facebook. This way y'all can have priceless insights into my decorating psyche. I think it will also give us a chance to interact a bit more. Wanna become a "fan" (ha...that term cracks me up)? Click the Facebook

box on my sidebar...or...below.

Now to the good stuff. Have you ever seen and admired those cute and classy monogrammed door mats at the fancy places like Williams Sonoma or Pottery Barn? And then have you proceeded to let out an audible shreik as you read the prices?

Pottery Barn - $59.00

Williams Sonoma - $69.00

Well, I decided to take a stab at making my own monogrammed door mat. How hard can it be, right?

Step One

I took a plain door mat that I already had (it was originally from Ikea, but you should be able to find them easily and inexpensively at other stores).

Step Two

I taped off the where I wanted lines to go around the edges of the mat with brown packing tape (it's what I had):

Step Three

This is where if your printer's working you print a large letter in a font you like. If it's not (blast!) you take a stab at drawing one yourself. Then cut it out with an xacto knife.

Step Four

I taped the letter down in the middle, and then covered the remaining exposed areas with tape. CAUTION: Be sure to put lots of tape on the back side of the flimsy areas of the letter (I didn't use enough so my edges were a little fuzzy...my one fatal mistake...oh well).

Step Five

I pulled out some black spray paint from my stash and sprayed away. I did a total of four coats because I wanted really full and durable coverage.

And VOILA!

My own monogrammed door mat. Cost? Freeeeeeeeee. (Although, if you don't already have everything you need like I did, you should be able to do this for under $20).

Etsy Love - My New Friend "Cozy"

May I mention for the quadrillianth time that I'm originally from Utah? While I love many things about my mountain home, one thing I DO NOT miss (even for 5 seconds...or 2) is 9 months of grey, dark, cold, snowy, icy weather every year. I never appreciated Fall that much before I moved to Oklahoma because A) It was ridiculously short, and B) It was akin to a funeral march for my dearly departed (and way too short) Summer.

I've actually grown to like Autumn since I moved to Okie land. It's long, it's gentle (most of the time), and it gives you a chance to savor the change to crisp weather, bold colored leaves, and to relish in the opportunity to embrace "cozy". Fall is my new friend and her name is "Cozy".

Let me elaborate with the help of my lovely assistant, Etsy.

"Cozy" loves it when I curl up in a comfy throw:

Etsy - WrapAround

Etsy - Gem43

And sip something warm from a lovely mug that makes me smile:

Etsy - Bellahope

Etsy - Retrogalusa

Etsy - Brookish

(I have to buy the Pride & Prejudice mug shown above. What is it about Mr. Darcy? He's really kind of a jerk, but my-oh-my he makes me giddy as a schoolgirl...can I get an amen? And while I'm on a tangent here...if you haven't watched the A&E version of Pride & Prejudice with Colin Firth...go out and rent it now! Sigh...)

And nothing makes "Cozy" happier than a yummy scented candle:

Etsy - Blisscandles

Etsy - LilacAve

And when I'm ready to step outside into the gently brisk air, I can adorn myself in warm toned jewelry and fuzzy scarves:

Etsy - BotanicalBird

Etsy - Roundabout

Etsy - Lorilooms

Etsy - Bluebirdsandblossoms

Ahhh, "Cozy", I'm glad we were able to meet.

Have a great weekend everyone!

The Great Pumpkin

I hope you all had a great weekend. I entertained our guests all weekend, and we had the best time. I was honestly a little (a LOT) panicked the night before they arrived because there was so much that was imperfect with my house. You know how you notice all the little things like strange spots on the carpet or smudges on doors when people are coming over? Yep...I was hyperventilating just a tad the night before, but we had an amazing time...imperfections and all.

Well, it's finally Fall in Oklahoma (55 degrees = Fall here), and I am dying to decorate some pumpkins in an amazingly cool way to adore my front porch. I've had an entire computer file dedicated to pumpkins the past two years...and I've yet to tackle one of these projects myself. Hey...I've been a busy gal.

If you're itching for a great pumpkin (get it..."great pumpkin" ha!) decorating project, here's some inspiration.

P.S. I believe all of the photos are Martha Stewart, but the first two pics were saved in my pre-blogging days...you know, back when I was innocently saving pretty pictures for my own use? So I'm not sure where I found them...so sorry!

Help a Girl Out

Have you ever visited Karla's Blog "It's the Little Things that Make a House of Home"? It's chock(?)...chalk(?) full of great ideas...on a BUDGET (and she's really nice and inspiring too).

Well Ms. Karla just redid her master bedroom on it's gawgeous people. The kicker?...she mostly used items she already had! You can check out the makeover here, and here, and here.




Karla bravely entered a contest on Apartment Therapy, and needs as many "thumbs up" as possible to win. Now, I know y'all have a lot of thumbs out there, so if you're so inclined it would be fab if you would head on over to Apartment Therapy and give her a big thumbs up. You do have to register first (if you're not already registered) but that process takes about 2 minutes.

Thanks, and have a great day!

Adding Cottage Character to Your Home's Exterior

I have a thing for noticing and analyzing houses as I drive through neighborhoods. I'm constantly craning my head and thinking "Oooh, that's a cute one." or "Hmm, that house would look great with some shutters and some 'lipstick' on the front door." It's a wonder I'm not constantly crashing into garbage cans by the side of the road.

So imagine my glee when I watched a house in my neighborhood be transformed from a typical suburban tract home that was fine and nice but lacking personality, kind of like this (I don't have an actual before photo - and PLEASE don't be offended if your home looks like this...most of ours do.):

"Quasi Before"

To this charming cottage:

Isn't it cute?! The owners replaced the garage door (Love it! Major style bang for their buck!), added new outdoor light fixtures (I want the same ones for my house - see close up photo below), added a low wrought iron fence, and a lush garden in the front yard.


I like to think of this as proof that any home can bloom where it's planted and become the best version of itself with a little TLC and creativity....well, and money :).