Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors

Uncategorized

Cones Own

November 21, 2011
Friday afternoon, Greta and I took a quick trip to Ikea just because.  I promised myself I would stick to the As-Is section and see how many deals I could score.  The answer is a lot.  But then I also splurged on this $30 bowl:

I have been wanting it for awhile and I could never bring myself to spend the $30.  And then Friday, I just went for it.  I plan on using it as our fruit bowl year round, but the bright red color makes it extra perfect for this time of year--even as a centerpiece!

Saturday, while we were getting our photos taken, we were surrounded by these big, glorious pine cones:

We didn't have an extra bag or box to take them home with us, but I just couldn't forget about them.  I really loved the idea of filling my new red bowl with mounds of pine cones.  Chris suggested just buying pine cones.  "Yeah, but these ones are big!  And free!"  Not to mention, I get a tremendous amount of satisfaction out of doing things myself.  Another 24 hours goes by.

It's Sunday and we have had a few things go wrong already.  Greta throwing up all over the living room--any tips on getting THAT smell out of shag carpet and an armchair?? Also we forgot to get ornament hooks on Saturday so we have to postpone decorating the tree.  Wah Wah.  To try to keep spirits up, bags in hand, we went for a little drive to pick pine cones.  I was so happy.  It took no time to gather enough cones to fill 2 grocery bags.  They were covered in sap, but we had read that you could bake them for 30 minutes at 200 degrees and it would de-sap them.  When we got home, I put the bags on the counter and I noticed tons of little black spiders crawling all over in the bags!

I panicked.  I couldn't move.  Chris was preparing dinner and instructing me to get the bags outside.  Ahhh!  I had to touch those bags!   I grabbed them, opened the front door and threw them on the porch and slammed the door in record time.

This morning, I really wasn't ready to face those spiders but I desperately wanted my pine cones.  I quickly dumped out the grocery bags on the front porch and sprayed them with spider killer.

An hour later, I wanted to go admire/day dream about my pine cones (am I pathetic or what?) and I noticed a few little dead spiders on the concrete and one pretty big dead spider:

The verdict is still out whether or not I can get enough courage to bake these to de-sap them and make them into a fabulous centerpiece.  I worry I will always think of spiders when I see them.  Buying pine cones is sounding pretty good right now.

filed under: 
— Hide Comments
+ ShowComments
What do you think?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Grabbing pine cones from a tree sounds so easy - I never thought about spiders! As for the smell, what about Nature's Miracle? I use it religiously for pet odours and stains, which are definitely worse than human!

  2. you are hilar and adorable! i loved your fam pic post too, such a cute girl you have... wait till you have more than 1 kid to make look at the camera at the same time! ..and girlfriend... don't bake those pine cones that you just sprayed bug killer on! (bug killer= a carcinogen) that stuff would go into the air and you'd probably die. ok, or shorten your life. get those yummy smelling ones at the craft store! -jess ps, i always love your header pic, those are the Exact colors of my living room.. crazy... wait no, i have red too. mostly grey, black, white, cream, red, yellow, and tiny bit of purple. i'm making it sound nuts but it's not. anyway your header makes me smile... oh and i Love the red bowl thing. good splurge! i'm so glad ikea is 2 hrs from me and i can never go. i'd be constantly disappointed with all the things i wanted but didn't have ;)

  3. that bowl!!!!!!!!! soooo awesome!!!!! Ry and I already have plans on hitting up Ikea when we're in Charlotte!!! I am so excited just to walk those aisles and smell that good Ikea goodness!!!

    Oh my gosh, you're KILLING me with that spider picture. That is a BABY! I was cleaning out my closet a few days ago and the BIGGEST Florida super-size spider ran out and I screaaaaamed so loud! hahaha

  4. You could buy the yummy pinecones that smell like cinnamon, I saw then at JoAnn Fabrics and Stop and Shop this weekend!

What We're

Loving

Right Now

What We're

Loving

Right Now

Looking for our favorite things? A place to shop our home room by room, or just catch up on what Julia's wearing / loving right now? Browse the CLJ shop
Shop All

Love Stories

Love Where You Live

In an industry that often feels designed to make you discontent, we want this to be place you come for inspiration, ideas, and encouragement to make the space you're already in feel like home.
Read All Posts
let's break this thing up

BROWSE BY CATEGORY

01

Portfolio

Befores, afters, mood boards, plans, failures, wins. We’ve done a lot of projects, and they’re all here.
read more
02

Projects

We have a long-standing relationship with DIY, and love rolling our sleeves up and making it happen.
read more
03

Design

Even when you don’t want to rip down a wall, you can make that space in your home better. Right now.
read more
hello world!

looking for inspiration?

Beautifully wrapped traditional presents stacked in a doorway
Gift Guides!

Holiday Gift Guides for Everyone in Your Life {2024}

Whether you're shopping for your main guy, your clutch coworker, your favorite homebody, or the little ones in your life, I've got you covered. This is your one-stop shop for holiday gifts, from affordable stocking stuffers to high-end luxury items. Our can't-miss gift guides help take the stress out of holiday shopping, so you can […]
Chris Cooks Candied Ham Skewers
Chris Cooks

Candied Ham Skewers - Your New Favorite Holiday Appetizer

As a home cook, this is my favorite time of year: the time leading up to Thanksgiving and Christmas. But this year, I want to focus on low-effort, high-impact dishes. Something that can serve a crowd but is not too hard to make. And these spicy candied ham bites are just the ticket. Shop The […]
Lifestyle

Your Fall Home Maintenance Checklist

This post is sponsored by Neighborly, Your Hub for Home Services The beginning of the year we're always thinking "spring cleaning." But in fall, I like to cover our bases on home maintenance before we have guests or face colder weather. I usually like to split the tasks between things we tackle ourselves and things we […]
The Marcum family dressed as characters from the classic edition of Clue: The Game.
Entertaining

Our Halloween Family Costumes 2024: I'll Give You One Clue

It was Professor Plum, with the knife, in the Conservatory. Happy Halloween from Clue characters: 1986 edition! Shop Costume Inspiration Over the years, we've dressed as everything from dolls and monsters to Peter Pan, E.T. characters, and The Wizard of Oz. But in the last several years, one of our kids has usually chosen our costumes. If you look back, you […]
Learn With Us
Want to do what we do? Get the tools, mentorship, and training to be a Good Influencer professionally.
Learn More
Looking for Something?

SEARCH THE BLOG

We've been doing this since 2009 and we've posted a whopping 24145+ blog posts and counting. You might need a little help searching, huh?

Can We Send You Our Love Letter?

Another way for us to stay in touch! Joining our weekly newsletter gives you access to exclusive content, never-before-seen photos, your questions answered, and our favorite DIYs. Sign up below!

hello world!
Follow Along on Instagram
Welcome to our online community where we've posted home, DIY, style, renovations, and family since '09. Renovating our #cljmoderncottage in Idaho and headed for new adventures in Raleigh, NC. #cljfam #cljtransformations
© 2024 Chris Loves Julia, LLC
PRIVACY POLICYTERMS & CONDITIONSAFFILIATE DISCLAIMERSITE CREDITCOMMUNITY GUIDELINES