do you wanna come to pumpkin heaven??

If pumpkins are your thing, then just head on down to Fairhope…. We loaded up the two little ones today and headed to one of our farmer’s markets for punkins. Never would I have imagined all the different kinds of pumpkins they would have…. I could have loaded up the entire Tahoe had I had an unlimited pumpkin allowance. However, I was limited to the amount that I could buy, but I still took in ALL the pumpkin eye candy… Looking’s free right?? Here is a sampling of what they had. The cute kids weren’t for sale…. I MAY be talked into letting you borrow them for a small fee…. I would be paying YOU that fee ;)

Essie and Anne Pearce were all over the pumpkins. They were in pumpkin love….So was their mama.

                                                                 YEAH PUNKINS!

 

 

YEAH HAY!

Me with my munchkins…..It’s impossible to get my girls to both look at the camera at the same time…..

Our one poor pitiful attempt at a family self portrait…..

We rounded the side of the building, and THIS is what we found on the other side….This is where pumpkin heaven came into play… Look at all the colors and shapes!

Oh. My. Goodness. Look at the blue ones…. I thought I was gonna cry……

How precious is this stack?? The owner sprayed these with high gloss spray to preserve them…. I have a little trick up my sleeve for the ones I bought…..

 

Pumpkins, and gourds, and more pumpkins OH MY!

 

Andrew said this one was a Christmas pumpkin…..Reddish orange on one side and green on the other….

How pretty are these???

We came home with quite the stash….A few originals along with a few special beauties. I’ll show you guys after I’m done prettying up my place with them. It was a gorgeous day outside today….low 60’s. Andrew and I were kinda mad that we missed our long shirt opportunity today. It was supposed to be 68 degrees….Who knew?!?!?!

Have any of you guys seen pumpkins like this in your part of the world?? Any different colors or shapes than I’ve shown you here? I would LOVE to hear about your pumpkin finds and what you’re doing with them…..

Happy Saturday. Roll Tide, peace, and pumpkins!

From old and drab to new and fab... Repost

This is a repost of one of my favorite redos.... I have several that I will be sharing soon.... I have LOTS up my sleeve! I'm linking to Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday.

Friends, you are looking at my first ever upholstery project.... It was hard as a MOJO, but it was well worth all the sanding, painting, cutting, cussing, stretching, cussing, sewing, cussing, and stuffing (cussing). This chair belonged to my great aunt and uncle, and I believe it is either from the 50's or 60's. It had a Broyhill label on the bottom seat.. If anyone knows more history about my chair feel free to chime in. Jenny took it after the aunt and uncle died, and she used it for a few years until she passed it onto me a year ago.... It's been in storage just waiting for it's grand redo!!!! Here she is:

Look how droopy and sad she looks with her ratty upholstery, missing button. and dull wood....

I had to rip off all the old (and YUCKY) upholstery from the arms... That stuff was gross, and trust me. The Broyhill people didn't shy away from staple use. This part and sanding took a good 3 hours or so.

Next came my FAVORITE part... The painting..... What did I use??? Yep, that's spray paint... Rustoleum in Antique White....a little tip from my friend, Centsational Girl....

The original cushions were NASTY. I mean disgusting..... I took the cushions out in the back yard with a big garbage bag. They actually disintegrated into a pile of 100 million little disgusting nasty pieces. Since I didn't have the cushions to use for a pattern I dissected the original cushions to make a pattern.... That fabric was SO DIRTY and GROSS.... Have I mentioned it was nasty??? Anyway, I traced around the pattern pieces onto the backside of my new fabric.... After that came all the cussing and trial and error....Making those cushions was A LOT harder than I imagined.....

BUT it was SO WORTH IT!!! Look at her now!!!! Isn't she fabulous????

I will have to admit that I've been a bit full of myself over this chair.... Even LOGAN said it is amazing!!!!

Back view.....

Close up of the back cushion...
I thought it needed a little contrast, so I recovered this old pillow I had.....
Here it is now....... I LOVE this fabric....

I need to work on some things to hang around it.... This place in my living room is tricky... THAT'S a story on it's on for another post later... Here she is in her new place of honor in our living room.....

I have been reading decorating blogs for a while but have been scared to take the plunge. People, I am afraid NO longer..... Next up is our master bedroom.... The walls are a chocolate brown, and I've bought some yummy french blue and brown fabric to make roman blinds, new bedding, and to RECOVER a small rocker.... I'm also going to repaint the bathroom to match and PAINT my dresser.... Oh, there are fun days ahead........ Let me know what you think of this redo.

Birthday dress and a new sewing place

I can’t believe that my little Miss Anne Pearce will be 3 years old this Saturday. WHEN did that happen?? We’re taking her to see Toy Story and are having a little dinner for her….then next week???? We’re going to see our Jenny Poo (my sister) in Orlando!!! Little Miss Priss will get to see the real “Ninny Nouse” for her birthday. We have fall break, so we’re heading on down. I always make my girls something special to wear for their birthdays, so I made AP a new dress. She loves the cupcakes. She looks good enough to eat in it too…. I’ve had several rehab projects going at one time. Remind me not to try that again. I’ll tease you with some “befores” and will share the “afters” soon.

The birthday dress…. I used Sandi Henderson’s petal apron dress pattern, Robert Kaufman cupcakes and dots.

A birthday skirt for our Bella….. They’re birthdays are only 5 days apart.

Now for the befores…. A black bookshelf that my grandmother had built to store all her Harlequin romances about 30 years ago….

Dirty…..boring…… BORING.

Open backed shelves…..

And a BORING farmtable. This is where the new sewing space comes in! Can’t wait to show you what I’ve turned these beauties into!

Front porch fairhope style

This is my front porch. We live in a cottage close to downtown Fairhope. We totally lucked out finding this gem 2 blocks from downtown. We walk all over the place and love it here….

 I think I heard the hallelujah chorus cued when our weatherman announced that the heavy humidity is FINALLY leaving us Sunday. It was like manna from Heaven. I haven’t been able to sit out in my comfy rocker for months. Summers are killer in southern Alabama….In the next few months this is where I’ll be in my free time with a big ol’ glass of tea and a good book. This place is now a sanctuary for me, but before it was just a drab white blank canvas with a gray concrete floor.  It didn’t beckon to you, “Come join me…come sit a spell.” The use of color and different textures brought this space to life. This is now a happy spot and one of my favorite “rooms'” in this house.

 This front porch was such a fun project to do, and it cost around $200 total. I got the outdoor rugs and adorable green folding chairs at World Market for around $150….4 chairs and 3 rugs for $150. SCORE. The other things are items that I had laying around….in storage….in the attic…pieces I had stuck away and almost forgotten about. That red table used to be a dreary off white almost gray color. The little rocker was a $30 find at a flea market and was stained a dark green color. Someone told me it was called a nursing chair from a child’s nursery long long ago. I spray painted that rocker, half moon table, and one of those cheap accent $5 tables from the dollar store. It’s amazing how a can of spray paint can change the look of a piece immediately.

A cheap little table can be transformed into a fabulous pop of color as seen above. I used to be one of those people who was afraid to take on projects like this. What if I painted it, and it looked really cruddy???What if I ruined it?? Now, I realize that if I screw something up I can just repaint it. We don’t have to be afraid of furniture…Paint is not a scary monster. Look at some of the things around your house, stuck in corners, in your garage, or up in your attic. Look at your old things in a new light. Think about what they COULD be…What would a coat of paint do??? What about a different fabric on the seat?? What could this piece BE? Open up your eyes and really look at your things. You probably have a gem sitting right under your eyes…. a boring mirror, an empty antique frame, a lumpy frumpy chair,  a bench, a stool…start with anything…look at your end tables with a new light…that old chest in your guest room…that ugly brass lamp your Aunt Agnes gave you when you got married…All these things can be transformed into something new and wonderful. I know that all of us are feeling the financial crisis that is plaguing our country. We don’t have the money to go buy new furniture or expensive pieces of art, BUT we can afford a $3 can of spray paint, a roll of raffia ribbon for $2, or a little bit of sandpaper and elbow grease. We can use what we have and the simple things around us to transform our homes into the perfect place for us. Go look around your house and choose one thing you would like to change… I’m going to be doing several furniture projects over the next couple of months. I’ll show you the things I’ve learned and figured out… Together we can transform our spaces and make our old things new.

 

Is it wrong to love a button??

Lookie what I got in the mail today from Zelda's Buttons on Etsy. I love me a vintage button... The colors are so rich and the textures are fabulous. You just can't find buttons like this anymore.... I could look at buttons for hours.... I know... I'm a creepy button lover, but I admit I have a problem. That's a start right? Those red ones are DIVINE.... I have the perfect fabric that I want to use these with. My favorites though are the clear ones with tortoise edges. Aren't they precious?

This picture really doesn't do the button justice.... It was hard to get a shot of the little buggers... What I can see are all the scratches on my coffee table.... Guess that'll be a rehab post soon...

Speaking of rehabs, I went on a tear through all of the antique stores I could fit in the 3 hours my girlies were being entertained at pre-school. The desired target was a desk for one of my boys. I didn't find a desk, but I did SCORE on an amazing hutch in excellent condition. I am going to totally redo it with about 3 different shades of paint. I can't wait to show it to you guys. Right now said hutch is on lay away. Yes. Layaway. In the state of Alabama it's a law that you must be able to place desired antiques on layaway. Big lovey should be in her new home in the next month or so. I also scored on a farmhouse table in great shape for $100 dollars. That table will become my new sewing table, and my sewing table (desk) will be redone for son #2's bedroom. See, things always work out in the end. Didn't go looking for a table, but a table was the solution to my problem. It will also be getting a dandy paint job.

Jumping to children's fashion, I had a set that I owed my friend Ragan. We did a trade. She redid my clothing blog in exchange for this outfit for her daughter. THIS is what I started with this morning: ONE HOT MESS.


This is what I ended up with this afternoon. Look at little Rosie all grown up. My little model is only a size 3, and this is a size 7. It swallows her, but I still wanted to imagine what it would look like on Miss Precious. I still need to trim some threads and finish up the waistband, but I'm really happy with how it turned out. I didn't have a pattern for this size top, so I just made one myself.


I have missed blogging. I have to have somewhere to share my creative side. I have SO many projects and furniture redos that I have planned over the next several months that I want to share with you. I am also going to offer some tutorials to get some of you mamas sewing. My friend Steph and I were discussing last night how sewing is becoming a lost art. I'll bet more than half of my readers had clothes made by their mothers or grandmothers. I am going to show you all that you don't have to be scared of your sewing machines. I'm going to send you to the best pattern and fabric sources while I give you tips and tutorials along the way. You also don't have to be scared to tackle some decorating projects. I hope you will see as you watch me transform pieces that YOU CAN DO IT TOO!!! That's my goal for this blog: a place for us to come together and share ideas and inspirations. I'm no expert in any of these areas, but I am willing to share what I know with you. First project?? A bookcase/cabinet that I inherited from my grandmother. That will be tackled beginning this weekend, and I'll share pictures with you along the way. I know I've been a HORRIBLE blogger, but stay tuned. The best of Loulou is yet to come!

lovey, lovey

MIA: Renound Blogger Loulou has mysteriously disappeared!

I know I haven't been around in a while, but we've had a crazy summer.... So much has been going on, but I'm starting to get back to a new "normal". The big kids are back in school, and the girlies are in preschool 2 mornings a week.... AHHHHHHH! Gotta love some preschool!!! I have fallen off the diet and exercise wagon...I still am running but not really watching my diet. I've gained a pound and a half back. I know that doesn't sound like much, but sometimes it takes me 2 weeks to lose half a pound! As of Monday, I'm back on it seriously. I'm going to blog about my journey here as well as other things going on in my life. Monday I'm posting BEFORE pictures and all my measurements. I'm hoping if I'm accountable to you guys that I'll follow through and lose these last 12 pounds. We have a new rec center here in town with child care, so I'm going to start going 2-3 days a week in addition to my running 3 days a week. Hopefully that will help my metabolism get going..... Also gonna be counting those Weight Watchers points. It works. I may get tired of counting, but it works. I've worked so hard to lose these 13 pounds and start getting my body back in shape, and I'm not giving up now! My goal by my 40th birthday (July 28, 2010) is to be in the best shape of my life....Andrew and I are going on some fabulous get away, and I plan on rocking several bikinis!!!

I'm not sewing for others anymore....It started taking over my life. I will still do things here and there to make a little pocket change, but it'll be nowhere near the production I had going on before..... So, if anyone has stuck around this long, I'M BACK! Being accountable to others helps me, and I need you gals to stay on me!!!

love and hugs,
Loulou

Why I am the WORST blogger ever...

These little cookies keep me BUSY and on my toes all day long....They are such an exhausting joy. I also took the plunge a few weeks ago and finally got a monogramming machine.... I like being able to add to my outfits, but I'm not a maniac monogrammer by any means! I've been planning and working on my fall line, and it will be ready in a couple of weeks.... The fabrics are so delicious they make me want to roll around in them.

On the health front I'm still exercising and counting points... It's SLOWLY coming off.... I'm really running again, and it feels amazing. I'm almost at 3 miles! I would have never dreamed that this sickly body of mine was capable of doing that again. I thank God everytime I run, because it is a miracle.....It gives me a break and rejuvenates me....I am always a better mama when I get that time for me. I just wish it wasn't do doggone hot out..... I have to wait until at least 8 or so to go for my run....It'll be much more enjoyable in the fall.

I'll continue to give you peeks of the fall line as they're ready.....


Here's Miss Prissy Pants....She does this everytime she thinks something's funny. It's hilarious.


My Anne Pearcey Poo.....Miss Thang....Ignore the dirty rug...

The girlies having a little morning tv.....They still dig some Wonder Pets....

The Halloween outfit.... The top is reversible to a black and white polka dot with lime green monogram.... That way it can be worn LONG after Halloween.....

Whew! Where have I been??

I come to this blog everyday to check on my creative peeps, and I just realized that I haven't posted a thing in WEEKS on here....It's been crazy around here lately. Both my big boys are home from school, so the house is full....somedays I love it....somedays I want to go on an extended vacation ;)..... We took a last minute trip to the beach last weekend and had a great time...... I got to spend an entire afternoon on the beach by myself. By. Myself. No kids. No screaming. No "MOMMY"?????? It was fabulous. The girls loved it and had a fabulous time. I am still working out and watching what I eat.... I haven't weighed in about a week, but at that count my total weight loss was 9 pounds. Honestly, I would have thought I would have lost 20 pounds in these ALMOST TWO MONTHS, but it's coming off at a snail's pace..... I am running again thanks to a program from personalrunningtrainer.com. It has hokey music, but he keeps me on track. I'm starting week 4 tonight.... By the end of week 4 I will be running in 1 mile increments with a minute of walking in between. I am LOVING it........We started a new church here in Fairhope... We walked to church last Sunday, which is fabulous.... It's literally a block away. The girls LOVED the nursery and are starting summer preschool there on Monday (cue the hallelujah chorus here).....I've been doing some sewing for them and am going to take some orders for others next week. I'm not going to sew the entire time they're at preschool. I may just sit and stare at the walls some ;) Here are some random pictures from the last few weeks.....

Yesterday was the 2 year anniversary of the day I flew down to Guatemala to get Anne Pearce FOREVER!

Sassy Essie.... We should've named her Sassy.
Crazy Anne Pearce....We should've named her Crazy.

Anne Pearce and Hayden at the beach

Essie at the beach

Three new outfits.....