Happy Monday!  As you can tell from the late posting of this blog post that my Monday has been a bit hectic and has thrown me off schedule.  I’ve gotten things back on track now and wanted to share scenes from my weekend…a weekend that included a trip to ADAC, some shopping and a fun new adventures as well.

 

 

Friday started off with a trip to ADAC (Atlanta Decorative Arts Center) to hear designer and blogger Brian Patrick Flynn.  Brian shared photos of his work and talked about his learnings as a self-taught interior designer.  Brian is super talented and I think everyone in attendance learned something from his words of wisdom.

 

After the presentation at ADAC, my friend Tina and I stopped for lunch and then did a little shopping.  We popped into Marshalls and then headed to HomeGoods.   If you haven’t been to HomeGoods in a few weeks, now is the time to go. They are really stocking their stores for the holidays and the shelves were loaded.  I was really impressed with the lighting they currently have and was wowed by the selection of upholstered parson chairs.  Just look at all the beautiful options.

On Saturday the hubby and I ventured out to IKEA.  (I’m always telling people not to go to Ikea on the weekend because it is a mad house so why I did is a mystery)! 

Anytime I go to IKEA I walk away with lots of design inspiration for quick and easy DIY projects.  The store is filled with inexpensive pieces that can easily take on a new life.

I love the idea of using a simple vase as a cloche.  I’m gonna up-style mine and add a cute little glass knob on top to give it the real look of a cloche.

This round metal tray was on $4.99 and I imagined all the beautiful colors it could be painted in and used as a magnet board in an office.  Or, how about a fun tray for your bar area?  They also carry a smaller size that could easily be used as fun coasters.  I walked around the store and jotted down lots of ideas and snapped lots of photos and then my heart skipped a bead……

Christmas at Ikea is in full swing, and if you don’t already know, I love gift wrap and packaging!!!!   I spent a good 20 minutes walking around looking at all the paper and boxes and bags.  Ikea is really playing up a red, white and silver theme this year and have some fab gift wrap at super fab prices (most rolls under $4.00)!

 I loved the silver and white gift bags!

 

And, these mini bags with numbers are such a cute way to create advent/countdown to the day gifts.

 

These ribbed metal containers were adorable.  They can in several sizes and in red and white.  I love the look with these mini Christmas trees (also for sale).

 

 

On Sunday we decided to head out for a new adventure.  Being from Washington State I grew up around apple orchards but never really took the opportunity to pick them myself.  Since the weather on Sunday was so nice, we decided to drive to Ellijay, Georgia, about 1 1/2 hours from Atlanta and go apple picking. 

We enjoyed some beautiful scenery on the way and finally arrived at the Red Apple Barn.  How cute is this little barn?

The outside of the barn was a showcase of pumpkins.  They even had a pumpkin patch if you wanted to pick your own.

 

 

We took a tractor ride out to the orchards.

The orchards were vast and included so many different varieties of apples. 

 While there were lots of apples still on the trees, there were just as many on the ground!

 

I made my sweetie climb to the top of a tree to get me some apples.

We picked  1/2 a peck of different varieties, mostly red skinned.

Once we made our way down the orchards we stopped by this beautiful flower garden that was on the property.

 

From there we headed home but had to made a pit stop at this cute little antique store along the road.

 

 

 

There was lots of fabulous junk inside and out.

 

All in all my weekend was great.  I’m all about trying new things lately and can now add “picking apples” to my NEW ADVENTURES LIST for 2012.

 I hope you weekend was a good one too!

 

See you back here tomorrow!