{Sorta} Spooky Black & White Halloween Fireplace

Hey there everyone!  It's a beautiful fall day here in the ATL.  My friends and I went to the Country Living Fair yesterday and had a great time.  That fair is so full of good stuff that it's hard to see it all in one day.  SO much inspiration!  We love it!

I fixed up my mantle a couple of weeks ago, but I'm just now getting around to sharing it with you.  It's simple and fun.

I use things from previous year, like the black feather wreath (which I LOVE! - got that at Kirkland's a couple of years ago), the skull (probably a Wal-Mart find), and the vase with black sticks. Every year I grab a few scraggly branches from our crape myrtles and give them a quick, black spray paint.

Easy, right?  The black candles used to be white and I sprayed them too.  I just use them again each year with those old candlesticks.  The little white pumpkins came from the dollar store and Wal-Mart, and I painted them white with some leftover spray paint after taping off the stems.  Easy.

A Brand New Look for the Blog!

Hi Everyone!

Just popping in to show off my new blog design!  I'm so excited - it's been in the works for a few weeks now and I'm so happy to share it with you!  Take a look around and let me know what you think~~  and check out Girl on Fire Design- Elle and I collaborated on the design and she put it all together :) Thanks, Elle!

Lots of gold and white with some black sprinkled in - Love!  And, I actually have other pages you can visit - I will be working on those in the days to come.

It sure has been fun posting projects and recipes here, but the most amazing thing that has come out of me starting a blog is definitely the people I have met.  I can't tell you how many cool women (and a few guys, too!) I have met since starting this little blog.  It has opened up a whole new world of folks to me, and I am so grateful for that!

So, thanks for reading Life at 818 and sharing this journey with me!

Fall Table Setting

I hope you're not tired of seeing my dining room!  Today I wanted to share my fall table setting with you~~  almost everything on the table is something I already had in my house.  I usually don't take the time to do a pretty table setting, so this makes me happy :) 

I just found the little birds and the feathers last weekend up in Braselton, GA, while thrift store shopping with my bestie.  The little birds have a burlap texture and are so adorable.

I'm Lovin Me Some Hometalk!

Hey everyone - it's been a very busy week around here!  My hubby spent this past weekend actually doing stuff in OUR house!  He's usually so busy working that it's hard to get projects done around here (unless I start nagging!).  He is upgrading the trim molding around the doors and windows, and the base boards in our master bedroom.. it's looking great so far and I can't wait to see it caulked and painted!  I'll be sure to share the progress here soon.

So do you ever go to the internet looking for inspiration for projects you want to do?  Yeah!  A lot of us do - we read blogs, search google, and pin stuff to Pinterest.. well I've recently discovered a really cool website called Hometalk.  Real people go to Hometalk and post their projects for everyone to see.  When you see one (or 100) you like you can "clip" it to one of your "boards."

If you have questions about a project you're thinking about or a problem with something in your house, you can post the question on Hometalk and people will HELP YOU.  It's awesome!  It's an entire community based on the Home.

I recently painted my old, ugly dining room table and I thought it would be fun to make a board  featuring other projects where people took cast-offs and made them beautiful and useful again!  You can click on the picture below to see all 18 projects:

Take a look at the fun projects I clipped to the board - I LOVE the gold and white chair! (I admit it - I have a thing for chairs).

Once you're there, go ahead and create a profile - it only take a couple of minutes and you're good to go, ready to start clipping awesome stuff!  If you like, you can follow me!  I'm just getting started so we can do it together :D

Hometalk is partnering with Explore Gwinnett to provide tickets to the Atlanta Country Living Fair this year!  (Oct 24-16) You can click here to read more about that and to enter for the chance to win them for you and a friend.

I'll be back later this week with a little fall stuff - aaaannnndddd I'm really excited.. I'm actually going to reveal a new look for the blog next week!!!  One hint... it's golden :)

Love ya!
Kelli

Country Living Fair {and a give-away!}

Ever since the very first year that Country Living Magazine hosted their CL Fair here in Georgia my best friends and I have attended.  They hold the Fair at Stone Mountain Park in a wooded area and it is absolutely the most fun thing to do - ever. {Below from left:  Joanne, Mary Kay, Me}

We usually meet somewhere for breakfast then head over to the Park.  We have the best time looking at all of the vendor booths - so many unique forms of art, jewelery, furniture, and of course antiques!

Last year our group of Atlanta area bloggers set up a time to meet with the folks from Hometalk.com and Country Living Magazine, and we got to meet Sarah Gray Miller - she was Editor-in-Chief of Country Living Magazine at that time!  She was super sweet!

By the way.. are you on Hometalk? Oh man, I LOVE Hometalk!  It is a great resource for decorating, renovation projects, and just about anything related to home.  And you can save the articles you like, kind of like Pinterest, but more detailed.  I'm a "Hometalker" - here's my home page..

Meeting up with other bloggers is always a good time for a photo op! Such a great group of women!

Brandi from Don't Disturb This Groove and me in front of the gynormous pumpkin display :)  I told you all how Brandi helped me with my fiddle leaf fig.. she's a gem.

This year Country Living Magazine has partnered with Explore Gwinnett, the Gwinnett County Tourism Board, to promote the Fair.  They are giving away free tickets!!  I am very happy to be able to participate and offer two weekend passes to one of my readers!  You should really check out their website - it's a great source for fun things to do in metro Atlanta~

Here's how to participate:

1.  Leave a comment here on the blog telling me why you want to attend the Country Living Fair.

2.  If you want another entry, hop over to Facebook and like my page - Life at 818!

The drawing will end at midnight on Sunday, Oct. 12.  I will put all your names in a hat and draw!  Simple!  I will notify the winner on Monday, October 13.  - DRAWING CLOSED.

Thank you, again, to Explore Gwinnett for sponsoring this super fun give-away!  Also, if you are coming from out of town to visit the Fair, you can find local hotel information here.

Hope to see YOU at the Country Living Fair at Stone Mountain Park!

UPDATE:  Congratulations, Ellen Krol!  You have won the two tickets to the CL Fair!  

Love,
Kelli

Just A Little Fiddle {Leaf Fig}

A few months ago I jumped on the fiddle leaf fig train and bought a small one for $10 over at Home Depot.  I have kept it in the dining room right in front of the window.  I was concerned about killing it (because basically i kill most plants) so I reached out and asked my Instagram peeps if they had any tips.

Brandi at Don't Disturb This Grove linked me up to a picture of her fiddle that she had shared on her Instagram - don't over water!  Look for the signs! She said "For my fiddle-leaf fig friends: See the droopy leaf on the left, that's when I know it's time for water. I wait for that signal and it's worked for me so far!" See her fiddle below - see the bent leaf on the left?