Saturday Shopping with Friends

Welcome to Saturday Shopping at this Small House

Once a month I go shopping with some of my blogger buddies because it’s always more fun when you shop with a friend!

Perfect for shopping with friends, this pink pumpkin features embroidered flowers and a gold stem on a wooden surface.

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Thinking About Fall

I can’t believe it’s already August 1st. It seems like the summer just started. I’m not ready to decorate for fall; however, I’ve been looking as the fall and even Christmas decor is already out in the stores. I added cranberry to my living room this summer, and I intend to carry that theme through to the end of the year.

I’m going to pull my Persian rug out of storage as it is cranberry and blue. While mine is old, if you want the same look, you can create it with this rug or this rug.
I already have some tapestry pillow covers in stock, very much like this one. This lumbar pillow is in my cart for a new touch this fall.
Adding to my faux flower collection this fall will include some berry branches.
I don’t overly decorate for fall outside of adding some warmer, cozy colors, but these cute boucle pumpkins have captured my heart.

A banner with the text "Shopping With Friends: So Much Better Than Alone" above five polaroid-style photos of smiling women labeled Anna, Lynn, Diane, Cindy, and Tora captures the joy of shopping with friends.

What My Friends Are Loving

Blue decorative line with symmetrical floral elements and a simple house cradled by two hands in the center, evoking a sense of care—perfect for your next Home Post.

Diane

South House Designs

This is that awkward time when I am desperately clinging to summer—albeit a HOT one—but longing for slowing down a bit and treating myself to some cozy crafting. My favorites this year include:

Needle felting. If you’re new to this, these three pumpkins are adorable for beginners, and then advance to these mushrooms, a squirrel, wild turkey and even Christmas greenery.
Needle felting can also be used to “paint” a picture like this fall foliage, or a mountain scene with grazing sheep, or my favorite sleeping fox.
Macrame continues strong, if you haven’t jumped on the bandwagon, these hanging leaves are a great starting point, and these daisy fobs are so cute and make great gifts, these macrame maple leaves, and even this hanging bat.

A woman with glasses and wavy, shoulder-length blonde hair smiles softly, perhaps recalling a joyful day shopping with friends. She is wearing a white shirt and a gray jacket. The blurred green background suggests an outdoor setting.

Lora

Lora Bloomquist

Flower pressing is a wonderful way to preserve the beauty of summer. A blogger friend saidTHIS microwave flower press is the greatest. Instant gratification vs. waiting for flowers to dry the old fashioned way in a book. Mine just came in the mail, & I’m bringing it this weekend to a friend’s cabin to craft with my college buddies; I’m so excited to learn this new skill:) I also got THIS blotting paper to go with it. Will be doing a blog post on it soon!
If you haven’t heard of the latest brilliant mosquito hack, be ready to have your mind blown! All you do is get a 5 gallon bucket (HERE is a set of 5 black ones), fill it 3/4 with regular water. Throw in a handful of green foliage/weeds and a couple of small sticks. Then the magic—put in 1/2 a mosquito dunk (find them HERE). That’s it! As the green foliage starts rotting in the water, the mosquitos are drawn to it. They sit on the stick and lay their eggs in the water. When the larvae hatch, they all die. We can see THOUSANDS of larvae in each of our buckets, all dying. It has been a life changer for our yard! We can be outside until it’s dark without being bitten by a single mosquito. Mr. Fix-it was skeptical, but he’s a believer now! After a couple of weeks (or when the buckets start to smell), switch the mixture up again. Place the buckets close to your social/garden areas, but not too close. Seriously…amazing.
The end of summer is a great time to take advantage of summer sales on garden merchandise. I have loved our Vego Raised Bed Gardens so much that we are installing another in the veggie garden. This one is a higher version, but they come in all shapes and sizes. Find Vego Raised Bed Gardens HERE; your next year’s garden will thank you!
When the garden is overflowing, I’m happy I got THIS handy veggie cutter. It is the easiest way to chop everything up for homemade salsa or a veggie salad. It comes with a whole variety of slicers, graters, and choppers, and everything lands in the container. Definitely a great accessory to add to your kitchen!