A Free Home For Your Tush

My husband and I love this little restaurant in downtown Madison that we swear has the best Italian food this side of Italy.  (Not actually sure which "side" of Italy Wisconsin is on but whatever!)  We tell everyone about it...now including you!  If you live in Madison or are ever anywhere near Madison you must check out Papavero for lunch or dinner.  Both menus are fabulous!

Yum.  I am hungry!  But there is a reason for my telling you this.  See Sunday night we we walking by on our way to the restaurant next door (only because Papavero is closed on Sundays) and we saw this...

"FREE IKEA CHAIRS!  Authentic!  Handmade!"  Cracked me up.  And of course these...

Yes, that is me taking the chairs for a tush test drive.  Not bad, not bad at all.  And y'all know how much I like free!  $25 a piece new, but free to me makes me very happy.

The chairs were in pretty good shape.  A little wiggly and in need of tightening up...no biggie.  And since we are often short on chairs when we have people over for dinner we snatched two right up.  And I'm sure you already guessed that I took the red ones.  I'm not one to pass up color!

So not only do you now know about a fabulous spot to eat but next time you come to our house for dinner your tush will have a home on our Favorite Restaurant Collection / Ikea Stefan chairs.  Happy sitting!      

Capturing Fall

Fall is in full swing in Madison, Wisconsin.  The kiddos are back in school, leaves are beginning to change colors and the weather could not be nicer.  It is truly lovely!

And when it comes to decorating I just love the colors that Fall brings.  The warm cozy oranges, greens and reds are such a welcome change from the cooler tones of Summer.  They make me want to drink tea, read a book and take in the cool fresh air.  

So I thought what better way to capture that feeling then to well...capture that feeling.  This so simple decor idea started when I spotted large glass jars at Target for $5.99 a piece.  I grabbed 4 and felt OK with spending the $23.96 because I knew exactly how I could use these babies for Fall, Halloween and Christmas decor.  WOW!  Three ideas in one!  

The first idea came together perfectly...

Leaves collected from the garden put together with simple candles, lining the front steps.

The perfect way to capture Fall!

Now I have to note that I like these even better without the jar lids on but our neighborhood has been taken over by Box-elder Bugs and so I'm hoping the lids will help keep them out, but they are sneaky little suckers so we shall see. 

And as I mentioned I have 2 more ways to use these jars so watch out...they will be back.  But nothing better then re-using especially for seasonal decor.  I think the key is to buy neutral items that can be dressed up along the way - a theme that you will see repeating itself through out the holidays because their is nothing worse (and less frugal) then spending a bunch of money on decor that you pack up and put away for 11 months out of the year!