Pillows

I love the look of lots of pillows!  Pillows on the bed, pillows on the couch, pillows on the patio.  I don't think one can have too many pillows.

Pillsbury Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken Tostadas

Some of my favorite recipes are those that save time on days when it seems I have more to do than humanly possible. That's why I love recipes that use the slow cooker/crock pot. You throw everything into the slow cooker in the morning and dinner is ready when you get home. I just received this one from Pillsbury today and it sounds yummy (click on the link for recipe). I'm definitely going to give it a try!

Pillsbury Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken Tostadas

Decorating With Inspiration

Decorating begins with an inspiration.  Choose something that you love.  Something that sets off an emotion that you want to emulate in a room.  Whether it’s fabric, a color swatch, artwork, a piece of furniture, a rug, or something else that inspires you, it is the jumping off point from which decorating comes together and creates an atmosphere. 

Calico Corners - Fanfare Collection

 

Once you have the inspiration, make a list of things that you like about it.  It could be the color, the style, the shape, the texture; just write down what you are attracted to about the piece.  This will help you determine what you want the room to look like.  The color can certainly help you determine paint choices and the style will help you in selecting furniture and accessories.  

Consider bringing like items into the room.  Say for example the inspiration piece has detailing with a certain shape, like circles or a crisscross pattern.  You may be able to find the same pattern detailed on a lamp or a rug.  

That also brings to mind themes.  I’ve seen many pictures of themed rooms and there is a fine line between just enough and way too much of a theme.  I can use my own kitchen as an example. It is my only themed room. I collect roosters.  I have a rooster lamp, a rooster clock, rooster towels, rooster bar stools, rooster pictures, and yes, even a rooster rug!  Some would say this is too much of one thing (my son-in-law once told me I had exceeded the rooster per square inch quotient).  Okay, maybe my rooster kitchen has crossed the fine line, but the roosters aren’t visible unless you go into the kitchen, so I’m not changing it anytime soon.  Anyway, the point is to be careful when putting together a themed room and try to avoid crossing the fine line. 

I hope this has given you some ideas on finding your inspiration to start decorating!

Hot for Fall!

photo from photo from
Barretts Flower and Garden

I am hot for fall! Ok, I’m hot because this summer has been scorching hot and dry, but I’m also hot for fall because it’s one of my favorite seasons for decorating! I love the fall colors and all the mums and pumpkins that are so vivid. I can’t wait for the end of September so I can get busy decorating inside and out.

photo from epct.org

I use lots of pumpkins on the porch and in the flower bed (if you don’t carve them for Halloween, they are good from the end of September thru Thanksgiving). They look great sitting in the sweet potato vine (kind of like a pumpkin patch) and the colors work great together. With some mums and pansies added to the mix it makes a beautiful setting!

Fall is also a good time to update the wreath on the front door. I like to use a grapevine wreath with artificial mums, foliage, and coordinating ribbon to keep the fall theme going.

My front door

For my indoor decorating, I switch all of my spring/summer flower arrangements to the fall colored arrangements and I scatter pumpkins around the house, tucked in with some of my plants. I like to add baskets of fresh mums indoors, also.

Just writing about fall has me excited like a kid waiting for Christmas! I can’t wait to start putting out the fall decor!

New to Blogging

This is my first blog for Southern Comfort and Style! I look forward to sharing my passion for decorating, cooking, gardening, and life…. and meeting new friends along the way who share similar passions.


I'm new to blogland both as a reader and a blogger. I recently did a Google search for decorating blogs and was delighted to find many that I really enjoy! In reading blogs, one of the first things I like to do is read about the author to know more about them and their interests. The second thing is to look at pictures they’ve posted on their blogs. I’m a visual kinda gal, so I love the pictures! Before and after pictures, pictures of great finds, pictures of their favorite things. You name it, I love the pictures! So, I want to share pictures of a few of my favorite things and hope you will enjoy them too!

Some of my gardening...

I love this arrangement by Laura Dowling!

I want this granite in my kitchen! 
photo from HGTV Bang for Your Buck

Here's a peek at our new patio!