Springy

Spring Greetings! Since I didn't have time to do a Welcome Spring post last week {or was it the week before last I've honestly lost track} I figured I'd snap a few photos yesterday of our Spring/ Easter decor around the house. Since I'm a little strapped for time again this morning I'll let the pictures do the talking...

Have a beautiful Spring day!



linking up to Dear Lillie's Easter Link Party

yellow

The best part of a warm, rainy February morning? 

Testing out new rain boots. 

I've go an obsession with yellow lately. 

Maybe I'm itching for spring more than I thought...

good enough ♥

Hellooooooooo!!! Hope everyone enjoyed a beautiful holiday weekend. Ours got off to an unexpected rocky start but quickly recovered. I don't know what it was about the past few days but we've really started to slow down around here and just be really thankful for what's right in front of us. We didn't work on big projects or plan new ones. We just "maintained" and enjoyed the beauty that spring brought us. We played outside, hosted a little cookout for the neighbors, went swimming, took a little day trip to giant antique center and an outlet mall. It has honestly felt like a mini vacation. I think we'll be behaving like this more often. What we have is good enough- it's actually better than good it's great and I'm so thankful. I've been on this self imposed house tweaking treadmill long enough and I'm just ready to enjoy. We're looking forward to our side yard fence going in this weekend (we've been on the wait list for 6 weeks!) so we can be outside even more in the coming months. 

I snapped a few photos at dusk last night of our sun room. It's so pretty that time of day. The shabby pink peonies (my absolute favorite!) were one of the many welcome surprises to pop in the yard in the past couple of weeks. 

and for good measure a photo of sweet Lucy. the official Memorial Day 2011 Corn Hole Champ!

I hope you found a little slice of peace and happiness this past weekend too. ♥

a birthday flower pot tutorial

Lucy's grandma is having a birthday this weekend so we thought we'd make her something special. We grabbed a flower pot from the store and a pretty new succulent from the Indianapolis Museum of Art's green house. 

 next grab a few supplies

 i used liquid stitch to tack the bakers string around {it doesn't need to be completely super secured, you'll take care of that later with the mod podge step}

 i cut my bunting flags using 1'' strips of fabric

and then tacked them on with the liquid stitch

 then tape off your pot under the lip and brush on the mod podge

i went around 3 times with the brush

 next i stamped "happy birthday" on a little pennant flag 

and folded it over and attached it to a skewer using more liquid stitch

ta-da! 

I think grandma will love it! You could really use it for any reason to celebrate and change out the flags to say "Spring!" or "Happy Easter" or "Happy Mothers Day" you get the idea. 

linking up to: the shabby chic cottage, my uncommon slice of suburbia, christina's adventures, french country cottage, common ground, my romantic home, the shabby nest, decor to adore, tatertots and jello,  designer garden, i heart nap time 

april flowers

There is no stopping the Spring flower invasion in our yard. I can't say I'm surprised there are beautiful flowers popping up everywhere I just didn't expect quite so many. This being our first Spring in this house I wasn't sure what we would see growing and it's been fun to watch. We also laid down grass seed about two weeks ago in a huge area that had just been way over-landscaped. I was a little worried because it didn't seem like the seed was taking but after a solid rain the other day it just grew and spread like wildfire and thats so exciting! 

I cut a ton of flowers to shoot photos for the shop and after I was done I put a bunch in the powder room down stairs. We have to keep the door closed or one of the cats will chew on them but it's kind of nice because when you open the door to go in it's like the smell of Spring and Easter smack you right in the face in the most delightful way!

Happy Spring Thursday!

spring fresh

Bam! It's here, it almost snuck by me thats how much I've been paying attention lately. If it weren't for some random ad on the radio yesterday I wouldn't have even realized Spring was officially here. Nick and I were in the jungle aka our yard working all weekend. We took advantage of every nap the baby took and that extra DLS hour of light at the end of every day. We must have hauled away 30+ bags of leaves brush and debris from raking out our beds alone it was insane people. I'm pumped though, so ready for fresh cut grass and farmers markets. 

Hope you all have a wonderful week ahead.

tanks and thanks!

Yesterday I made my first spring wardrobe purchase. I fell in love with this tank in the Dear Lillie etsy shop. Now I just need the matching temperatures and I'm set. This is the quote behind the silhouette.

L.M. Montgomery, "There is such a place as fairyland - but only children can find the way to it. And they do not know that it is fairyland until they have grown so old that they forget the way. One bitter day, when they seek it and cannot find it, they realize what they have lost; and that is the tragedy of life. On that day the gates of Eden are shut behind them and the age of gold is over. Henceforth they must dwell in the common light of common day. Only a few, who remain children at heart, can ever find that fair, lost path again; and blessed are they above mortals. They, and only they, can bring us tidings from that dear country where we once sojourned and from which we must evermore be exiles. The world calls them its singers and poets and artists and story-tellers; but they are just people who have never forgotten the way to fairyland." 

 I also wanted to thank ModernWivelyhood for featuring my bathroom stripe makeover yesterday! That was so sweet and I really appreciate all of the blogland love from you lovely ladies!

 

out with the dusty in with the rusty!

Last week on my antiquing adventure we came across a beautiful buffet. I had it in the back of my mind for a few days randomly. On Friday night we went looking for a coffee table for our family room but everything kept coming back to the horrible black laminate thing our tv was sitting on. It's been a sore spot for me since the day it came home. It collects dust like its nobodies business, the tv sits so low the baby plays with the buttons, she also pinches her fingers in the drawers and pulls all the dvd's out. Nick finally said maybe we just need to replace it. Ding ding ding! Enter the sweet distressed antique cream buffet. It looks sooooooooo much better. We still need to wrap up the cords hanging down but I love it so much. The TV sits up way out of Lucy's reach now and she can't even get the doors or drawers open (for now). Not to mention all that storage and it just has so much more dang character! Sunday I went around and blasted the house with some spring/ Easter paraphernalia. I love the pops of color! Our bulbs are emerging in the yard too. It won't be long now...

smile

Just when we thought spring was in our midst last week we got blasted over night with more snow. Snow be darned i'm choosing to smile today because i can't wait to plant my booty on the sofa with popcorn an mercilessly critique the oscars (really the arrivals) on sunday and because i know that peony season is right around the corner.

looming spring swaps

Like everyone else I'm beginning to get the itch to swap out the heavy for the light. The cozy for the crisp. It's probably the heat wave of 60 degree weather this week sparking my spring fever. Whatever it is I'm just praying that groundhog was right.

decor pad

pure style home

I think a new lumbar pillow is just what I need to spark my interest in changing out the winter bedding. I've also been toying with a wallpaper accent wall like the one in the first image. I just need to pull the trigger. 

blooms at the table

I went all out with the tulips bulbs last fall and I'm so glad I did. God love my yard, just about everything grows great in it! I can't wait to pose little L with them next year.

We ripped out these old dwarf shrubs below Easter weekend that were half dead, leaning and crawling with spiders and old birds nests.

They were replaced with 3 pretty new forsythia bushes. Eventually they will grow in nicely and give us the same privacy we had with the old dwarf bushes but these are definitely much prettier to look at. We still need to add mulch to the front and back yard but we're waiting until the spring flowers are cut down- so much easier then!

And finally here is what my mom calls the stinky tree. While it may look pretty these blooms do not emit the most pleasant odor.

Any day now I expect the other tree in the front to bloom, it turns bright fuchsia- it's amazing all the color mother nature provides us. I love Spring! Next up: vegetable planting. I'm giving a go at new way of planting I haven't tried before and I can't wait to share it with you soon!