wallpaper download

anyway, it was a good day. grady managed to sit still long enough while eating for me to get a non-blurry picture of him, AND, at the end of the day, he made $5. (and i didnt have to listen to any complaining! worth. every. penny.)

oh my! so sorry for that lame post title.
i just couldn't resist!
(i pretty much love all 80's music, as i suspect anyone growing up in the 70's and 80's can relate!)
if you remember from this post, i purchased the stockholm sconces from restoration hardware for the front of my house.


i ordered them in january, but they didn't arrive until a few weeks ago. in the meantime, i had these $5 beauties hanging as place holders: (what light wouldn't look huge next to these??)


when they (finally) arrived, they were in a HUGE box. of course, i had looked over the measurements when i originally ordered them, and so i knew they were "on the large side", but i still was NOT prepared for how large they really were!
we took them out of the box, and i had my husband hold them up against the front of the house while i walked across the street to get an idea of the scale.
we both started laughing.
...and joking that maybe we should have built a castle to house these behemoth light fixtures!

oh! but i really loved them anyway! i mean,  really, REALLY loved them---the unique shape, the weathered zinc finish, and the fact that they are a little large. i always like to say "go big or go home!" hanging these light fixtures would definitely be going BIG!
i went back and forth for the last several weeks, and i swear that i changed my mind every day about whether to keep them or sell them. i finally decided to keep them.

here is a picture of my two daughters, standing on the front porch with one of the lights.


here are some of the factors that helped me to ultimately decide to keep and install the lights:

1. yes. they are BIG. but because my house sits a good 6' above the elevation of the sidewalk, and since there is a large retaining wall in front, they don't look as large as they might on a house with a flat yard.

2. i had already purchased the semi flush mount RH light (also in weathered zinc), and i knew that if i bought another light fixture, the finishes would not match. not a huge deal, but i really like the soft black/uneven finish of the "weathered zinc".


3. we currently do not have any landscaping, so right now, the ONLY thing to look at is these lights. i figured that once some trees, bushes, and other architectural elements (like shutters and window boxes) were added, there would be a lot to "soften" the house.

4. i figured that if i sold these lights, i would be able to get about what i paid for them ($159 plus shipping), but i also knew that every other exterior light that i really liked was double or triple the price of these. that would mean more money than i wanted to spend. a lot more. plus, there are about 457 other projects in the house that need some attention!

here they are, getting installed:


 and here they are, in all their large glory!
 quite honestly, when they first went up, i was thinking they were too big, and that i was going to take them down. but after a minute, i got used to them,  and now i love them!

**my husband and i are still "debating" about whether they are too big. he thinks they are, and i say they are FINE.
what do you think? i promise i wont get upset if a majority of you think they are too big, and i need to get some smaller lights...i am just curious to know your opinions!
please leave a comment!
too big?
or just fine?
(thanks in advance!)

dutch industrial side table
$595
(currently on special for $475)

renate gray end table
$260

i am having a really hard time telling these two tables apart!

happy shopping!

I think I visualize pretty well but I have to admit that it was still very helpful to see the board.  I loved seeing it!  I think even more than me, it helped my husband see what we were focusing upon/leaning toward.  I would say that seeing an actual idea board is reassuring, if that makes sense.  Makes me feel more secure about everything we discussed."

interested in working together to create a more beautiful and functional room?
i am now taking clients for august!
email me at autumnclemons@yahoo.com to set up a consultation!

i hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!
the fourth of july is my second favorite holiday (right behind thanksgiving and christmas---a tie)
our week was filled with good food, swimming, friends, lacrosse games, plenty of sunshine and fireworks. it was pretty darn amazing.

anyway, last week, my husband was nestled into the couch, on his iphone and announced-- "hey---did you know that your butter beer recipe won the "best simple butterbeer recipe" according to the the orlando informer blog?"



uh. no...
i did NOT know that.
but YAY for me!


two summers ago, i wrote a post for design dazzle on a fun summer activity for kids. i chose the theme of "wizard for a day"--inspired, of course, by harry potter.
we had recently returned from a trip to universal studios, and had tasted the butterbeer there, and i tried my best to recreate an easy recipe for it. most of the recipes that i came across required cooking, and since i wanted this to be an easy summer activity that my 3 kids could easily help me with.

you can see the recipe, as posted on my blog here, and grab the images to make your own t-shirts here.