Breaking the rules . . .

I have been purging for months, am not even close to being finished and have made a vow to not add to my "stuff" until I am done purging.

But, if I can't get an item out of my head, I usually give in and break my own rules.

I saw these striped table runners a few months ago and couldn't forget them so last week I headed to the shop to buy one.

At the last minute, I thought about how Steve tends to spill red wine on everything I put on the table and sometimes candles melt onto a runner, so I left the striped runners in the shop and went home to make my own version.

Quickly painted stripes transform a remnant of drop cloth into a runner that looks nice on the table, but I will not be upset if wine and wax drop onto it.

In my purging, I came across a bunch of wooden bead necklaces and bracelets that are no longer worn, but I just didn't want to toss them out.

So, the beads have been restrung and I am probably going into bead overkill in my vignettes, but I don't care.

I like the colors in this cloth bead necklace my sister bought me in Prague a few years ago.

The centerpiece on the dining room table is perked up with beads from 3 different bracelets -

red, black and gold wooden beads work beautifully with a bag of gourds I bought at the grocery store.

What I didn't mention when I showed great restraint in not buying the table runners was this metal basket that refused to be left at the shop.

Actually, it was a "think about it" purchase and I waited a whole week before heading back to the shop .

Right now, it's holding hydrangeas, but I can't wait to see it filled with Christmas ornaments in December.

I really didn't need the metal basket, but sometimes rules need to be broken.