A Collection of Thanksgiving Vignettes

I have a nice little treat for you all today. I'm showcasing some very talented blog friends as we each share a Thanksgiving vignette. 

For the most part, we used what we had on hand to create simple, inexpensive vignettes that can easily be recreated. Hope you find lots of inspiration here.

For my vignette, I just grabbed a few pretties from around the house, plopped them on a wooden tray in the middle of the dining room table and that was it! So easy!

You might be able to tell from these pics that I have a slight pumpkin addiction. ;) 

Right now, that velvet cream colored one is my favorite, but don't tell the others. 

I think I paid less than $2 for this "Count Your Blessings" plaque a few years ago. 

And that's it! I bet if you look around your house, you'll find many things that could be used to create something similar. I love having trays on hand to display favorite seasonal items. 

Be sure to go visit these other talented bloggers for more inspiration:

Barb At Bella Vista

 Kim at Exquisitely Unremarkable

 Kathy at Kathy's Cottage

 Stacey at Poofing the Pillows

Enjoy!

~Lisa 

This and That

Hello there! Hope everyone is having a great week!

I got a lot of questions/emails about this mug when I posted it here and on IG, so I thought I'd post another pic with more info...

It's from Target and was only $3.99. They have them in white and navy. I've heard a lot of Target stores are putting these on clearance now, so if you want one, I suggest you act quickly. :) 

Here's a close up...

Speaking of good deals, I picked up these gift bags at Dollar Tree the other day...

They are large in size, 13x18", are printed on both sides, and could be used for a variety of things. 

I made this cute decoration last year out of a gift bag from Target's dollar spot...

I just cut off the front and framed it for a quick and easy "chalkboard" print.

And no, I'm not decorating for Christmas quite yet. This pic is from last year. :)


Oh y'all...this pic below is my happy place. A collection of good books, a little pilfered Halloween candy, a cable knit pillow and a soft, cozy pom pom throw. That's the perfect Fall afternoon in my book. :)

One more thing...I have to share this pretty pic with y'all. We had some truly wicked weather over Halloween weekend, then the next day, this double rainbow appeared right in my backyard...

Love when that happens!

Y'all have a great week!

~Lisa 

Waking Up The House

Do y'all have a morning routine? I've probably talked about mine before. I love the idea of "waking up the house" by opening blinds, turning on lamps, making coffee, etc. It's just a nice way to start the day. 

I thought I'd take you along with me as I wake up my house today...

The first thing I do is make my bed. Every. Single. Day. 

And no, I don't normally have a tray on my bed like that. Lol! Some of my friends were holding a special hashtag party on Instagram, so I styled it a little more than normal before I posted. :) 

Right about now, Holly hears me stirring around, so she runs to my bedroom, weaves between my legs, and INSISTS I pick her up. She then proceeds to immediately turn over on her back (so I'm cradling her like a baby) and she stuffs her head into my warm neck. Lol! She does this for a few minutes and please note that NOTHING else gets done until she gets her fill of morning snuggles. :)

Sweet baby girl. 

Next, I make my way into the kitchen and start turning on all the lamps...

Ironically, I had to turn the lamps back OFF in order for these pics to come out right, but you get the picture. :) 

Now for the living room lamps...

And finally, I make my way into the dining room to turn on one last lamp...

Holly follows me around as I open the blinds in the kitchen...

And living room...

Then finally, I make my way back to the kitchen to fix my first cup of coffee for the day.

FYI...my beloved Keurig started acting up recently. The screen would just go blank at random times, preventing me from using it. I've had it less than a year, so I called customer service this morning and they're sending me an entire new brewer, just like the one I have, for FREE! Now, THAT'S good customer service! 

Oh, and of course I have to feed Holly breakfast too...

Speaking of breakfast, I wanted to share a little info with y'all. Lots of my friends my age (45) are low in iron. Did you know just one cup of Frosted Mini Wheats cereal contains 90% of your daily iron requirement? Just thought I'd put this out there. Several of my friends started eating it for breakfast every day and within a couple of weeks, their iron levels were back to normal. Okay, that's my PSA for the day. :)

I hope y'all enjoyed tagging along with me on my "wake up my house tour" today! Enjoy your week!

~Lisa

Cozy Mystery Book Recommendations

The other day I mentioned I added 8 new books to my Kindle. That got me thinking it was time for another round of cozy mystery book recommendations. :)

In a nutshell, a "cozy mystery" usually takes place in a quaint little town with everyday characters. You can usually see these characters as your friends and neighbors. There's always a mystery going on, but it's not too scary and usually free of gore. A lot of them deal with daily life as a stay at home mom, running car pools, etc. and several include great recipes.

Some of you may remember THIS post I did back in 2013 where I talked about some of my favorites.

Since then, I've discovered a few new cozy mystery authors so I thought I'd list them here, along with the older ones, so they would all be in the same place. 

I'll state the author's name, followed by the name of the book series. If you click on the author's name, it'll take you to their page on the FANTASTIC FICTION website where it'll show you the books in the series (in order) with a brief description of each, along with another link to purchase them on Amazon. 

Okay, here are the new ones that weren't mentioned in my last post:

GAYLE TRENT ~ Myrtle Crumb Mysteries 

KATE BORDEN ~ Peggy Jean Turner Mysteries

LEIGHANN DOBBS ~ Lexy Baker Bakery Mystery

SUSAN SANTANGELO ~ Carol and Jim Andrews Baby Boomers

KATHI DALEY ~ Zoe Donovan Mysteries

And of course, I want to mention another favorite written by a fellow blogger and friend...

DIANA KOSMOSKI ~ The Mystery of Lucy and the Dark Woods

I really enjoyed her book. It was definitely a page turner for me. I remember not even putting it down while cooking dinner one night. I had my Kindle right next to the stove as I simmered my spaghetti sauce! Just click on her name and it'll take you to her Etsy shop where you can purchase her book. 

Here are some that were previously mentioned:

LEANN SWEENEY ~ Cats in Trouble and Yellow Rose Mysteries

SAMMI CARTER ~ Candy Shop Mystery

ANNE GEORGE ~ Southern Sisters Mysteries (a personal favorite)

JO DERESKE ~ Miss Zukas Mysteries

LIVIA J WASHBURN ~ Fresh Baked Mysteries

KAREN MACINERNEY ~ Gray Whale Inn Mystery

KRISTA DAVIS ~ Domestic Diva Mysteries

JILL CHURCHILL ~ Jane Jeffry Mysteries

LESLIE MEIER ~ Lucy Stone Mysteries

JOANNE FLUKE ~ Hannah Swensen Mysteries

A lot of these are cheaper if bought in sets on Amazon. I needed the next three books in a series and individually they were $2.99, but I got a boxed set of all three for my Kindle for only $4.99. 

One more thing...there's a great website that has lots of cozy book info. Here's the link:

Cozy-Mystery.com

Feel free to list your favorite books in the comments below. That way, we can all get more recommendations. :)

~Lisa 

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins

I'm back today to share a few more changes. I added a little "Thanksgiving" to the kitchen with this little plate. I gotta say, it's a lot more fun to do dishes with seasonal decor and a cute soap dispenser. :) 

I swapped out our wedding photo for this Happy Thanksgiving sign in the foyer.

Y'all probably remember this from years past. It's just a Thanksgiving greeting card framed with some Fall scrapbook paper behind it...

Love this paper! Just think of all the cute cards you see out there. So many would make a cute decoration simply by framing it in a dollar store frame. It would even make a cute hostess gift if you're travelling to visit family for the holidays. 

I had to take a pic of this. The other day, we were getting ready to carve pumpkins while drinking pumpkin spice coffee and whipping up a batch of pumpkin bread. I guess we were really getting into the season!

As for the pumpkin bread...well, it was delicious!

I cleaned the house this morning, ran a load of wash, and ran some errands, so now it's time to relax. :) I just fixed my second cup of coffee and downloaded 8 new books to my Kindle, so I'll be curling up with a good book and my kitty by my side for the rest of the afternoon. Hope y'all have a great day!

Remember you can follow along with my daily happenings on Instagram @texasdecor

~Lisa 

Dining Room Changes

Well, it's not even Halloween yet and I've already gotten out a few Thanksgiving decorations. My house is a mix of Fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving. I think it's seasonally confused. :)

I only made a few changes. I'll share some today and save the rest for a post later this week. 

On Thanksgiving Day, this buffet will be filled with all kinds of pies, cookies, and candies but for now it's home to a few pumpkins and a turkey platter. 

I was happy to see my "Gather Here With Grateful Hearts" sign again.

Had to move my soup tureen to make room for all those pumpkins on the buffet. 

And now for a very fancy addition to the living room...

Hee hee! Holly bugged me until I got her beloved teepee out again. She stayed in there all day long. Such a silly kitty. Hope y'all enjoy your week!

~Lisa 

Around The House

Okay, so y'all know I mostly refrained from getting out any "Halloween" decor this year. Now that my boys are older, I don't feel like I have to get out all the little ghosts and goblins. :)

But the closer it gets, I couldn't resist adding in just a few favorites...

Y'all probably remember this little witch window cling I just slapped on a plate. So easy to remove after the holidays. 

So, little Holly Joaquin turned THREE a couple of weeks ago! I just snapped this pic of her this morning. Napping, as usual. :)

Speaking of kitties, these are my mom's twins, Trixie and Cecil. They've grown so much! 

Okay...WARNING...the pic below is NOT real. My son texted this to me while he was in school. They are making a movie and were playing around with scary makeup...

Gross, right? He's a little too good at this stuff. ;) After I picked him up, we went to Whataburger. The girl in the drive thru gave us some weird looks. Ha!

Y'all have a good weekend!

~Lisa