This Lil' Birdie is Obsessed: Bayou Salvage

Christmas is just around the corner, but I just now am starting on my Christmas shopping list.  I can't help procrastinating; I simply cannot stop thinking about linen dresses for spring wedding showers!

Like these beauties all from Etsy!

{source}

{source}

{source}

Can you tell that I am loving absolutely everything from Bayou Salvage's Etsy shop?  I think I might need to re-make my Christmas list because I don't know how much longer I can live without her lovely linen everything!  Take a look yourself and just see if you don't fall in love with something!

P.s. Bayou Salvage has no idea who I am; I just truly love her items and will be purchasing soon :)

This Lil' Birdie is Decorating for Christmas

It was pretty well established last year that Christmas is my favorite favorite holiday!

And this year I'm even more excited to be able to decorate my own house! No more apartments for me -- time to bring out the BIG tree!

FH and I put the tree up the Sunday before Thanksgiving (to give me ample time to enjoy it).  We have the perfect little nook beside the fireplace, and isn't Sweet Sister's tree skirt fabulous?!  {P.s. That painting behind the tree?  FH's great-grandmother painted that.  So special. }

FH's parents were nice enough to give us his ornaments for my tree this year.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Seriously old-school technology.

His JanJan & Granddaddy went to Alaska earlier this year and brought back this guy.  **SHHH.... I broke this one.  Twice.  Thank God for superglue!***

Merry Christmas, Dudes!  Why, yes, we did grow up in the '90s!  How ever did you know??

Dear Santa-bell, your beard reminds me of fluorescent light bulbs and marshmallow twists. Sincerely, a energy-saving sweet fanatic.

Speaking of "Belles", even Puppy gets an ornament...

Or two!  What can I say?  She's well-loved!

Pinterest has fed my Christmas obsession, and I have a whole list of projects for this year. But the first thing I need to do is decorate outside this weekend.  Starting with getting rid of the dead mums that have been hanging out on the front porch since September.  Wish me luck.

This Lil' Birdie Had an Uneventful Sunday

This happened today....

{Oatmeal Crispies from The Pioneer Woman}

And this is happening as I type...

{Chicken Spaghetti from The Pioneer Woman}

Can you tell what I've been cooking out of lately??

{The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond}

Oh, let me tell you this is one of my favorite cookbooks!  Sure, a lot of her recipes are online, but seriously, the cookbook is worth buying for the photography alone... I think I bought this the VERY DAY it came out... and FH seems to like it, so it's definitely a keeper!

This Lil' Birdie is Prepping for Fall

8 yards of burlap fabric, some brown ribbon, mums, and fake pumpkins.  It's official... Fall is here!

{Source Unknown but here's where I found it}

I found this picture in the many many hours I spend on Pinterest, and I have to say, my handcrafted version of this will be on our door as soon as FH decides where the nail needs to go (which will probably be around Christmas).

{Again with the not knowing the source... Pinterest!}

And then, of course, there's this...  While I'm not the biggest Halloween fan (I don't mind some decoration but nothing scary), this is adorable!  Who would've thought?  Buttons on a pumpkin!

{Found on Pinterest but originally from here}

But these are so cute, too!  Good thing I bought 3 faux-pumpkins!  But can I just say, not having a Hobby Lobby nearby is cutting into my creativity -- the nearest one is about an hour away!

Fall means the glorious return of cooler weather and sweaters and boots and comfy and cozy...

{Source}

And I wish my fall wardrobe looked remotely this fabulous.

Goal for Fall:  look effortlessly chic.  Need:  all new clothes.

Like this...

{Source}

And this...

{Source}

Fall means it's finally time for shopping.  And crafts.  And hot chocolate.  And fall festivals and Halloween costumes. And all things wonderful!  Oh, how I love Fall!

Happy Fall, y'all!

P.s. If you're not on Pinterest yet, you really should be!  I can get lost for hours on this site with absolutely no remorse!

This Lil' Birdie Goes Shopping: Leather Chairs

I have my heart set on finding fashionable leather chairs for our living room. FH has his heart set on recliners. Me, not so much, but since he's been so sweet about letting me pick practically everything (aka: everything), I figured recliners couldn't hurt.

Then I saw this...

And I realized something. Recliners can hurt. And that one right there hurts my heart.

But surely somewhere there has to be a pretty leather recliner that looks more like a club chair? That's a good compromise, right?

Enter Pottery Barn and their gorgeous manhattan collection...

Oh, be still, my beating heart! I seriously lust after this furniture. Our closest Pottery Barn is an hour away, and if I had the time, I would go & just visit this recliner.

But alas, I have no time nor do I have the spare cash to fork over $2000 per recliner (we need two).

And so the hunt begins.

This one isn't so bad. And it's a La-Z-Boy which should make FH happy, but it seems a little too "fluffy" in the seat region (which is essentially like telling a chair it has a big butt).

This one could be a possibility in a darker leather, but the arms are too modern & boxy. I need an arm I can comfortably sit on. This is not that arm.

I'm starting to really like this one. At first I kept thinking maybe it was a little bit too "man cave-esque" to go in our living room but it just looks so comfortable. I can see myself curled up watching whatever Swamp show FH has chosen for our nightly entertainment. Mmmm... Cozy.

I have a feeling this one will be a budget-buster, too, since it's from Thomasville, but a good recliner will last for years & should be a well thought-out purchase.

This is what I will continue to tell myself as I spent way too many hours agonizing over this decision. I can justify anything.

This Lil' Birdie Sews: Onesie Dresses

We've talked about this before.  I'm not the best seamstress ever.  I can sew straight lines and I can imagine very cute things in my head; but rarely do those two combine with fabric to make cute things.  My Houndstooth GameDay top was the first exception.  And it gave me the confidence to make this...

A tiny little onesie dress for a sweet customer who has become a dear friend.  I cannot wait to meet Miss Ella Reagan and see her in her new dress.  Personally, I think it's stinkin' adorable, and I might be just a *little* bit biased.

What do you think?  Have my sewing skills improved as much as I think they have?

P.s. A big THANK YOU to BananaBearBoutique for the tutorial!

This Lil' Birdie Sews: Gameday Top

During one of the MANY MANY MANY hours I spend on Pinterest, I came across this adorable tutorial from Sweet Verbena.  While I'm not exactly an expert seamstress (nothing with curves, please!), I figured this would be one project I might could easily tackle.

I didn't have any type of "knit" like she recommends, but I didn't have some good basic cotton in a black and white houndstooth print, so I decided to make a little Game Day top since we're officially in football season now (Roll Tide, everyone!).  And since it's amazingly hot in Alabama until oh, about October, I volunteered to make one for my future sister-in-law too!  This one started out as hers, but I accidentally cut it a little too short (it sits just below my waistband, and sweet future s-i-l is a good 4-6 inches taller than me!). 

I had to do a little more finish work than in the tutorial so that the edges wouldn't fray, but I think it turned out pretty cute!

I'll be sure to post a picture when I actually get to wear it!