It Got Me Thinking

The other day I was wondering around HomeGoods, as I tend to do when I've got the odd 10 minutes before preschool pick-up, and ran across these guys. 

It's no secret that I have an affinity for pairs of bird. I already own several sets, but something spoke to me about these birds. Maybe it was the colors, or the shapes. I'm not sure, but whatever it was, I found myself carrying these lovely ladies right on up to the counter. I was fully prepared for the odd look I usually get from the sales person when I pick up something a little unusual, but what I got instead surprised me even more. 

Evidently they just can't keep anything "peacock" in stock.

source

Which got me to thinking…peacocks, really? 
Could they be the next design trend? 
According to HomeGoods, they are.
Let's have a look around and see what we can find.

Peacock fire screens - vintage, cool. And certainly one-of-a-kind statement making.

source

Peacock mirrors. A little faux-vintage bling would liven up any space. Pier 1 sells a fairly reasonable version if you're in the market.

source

Peacock fabric. Dwell Studio Vintage Plumes has been around for ages and continues to be a fan favorite. In fact, I debated using it in our dining room in Chicago. 
Guess I've been a fan of peacocks long before I even knew it. 

Peacocks as a design trend? It's debatable. But, I love mine and that's all that matters, to me. For now, they've found a home on the mantel with our new mirror (also from HomeGoods)…I smell a mantel refresh coming my way soon!

So, tell me, peacocks: yea or ney?

until next time, 

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Bits and Bobs Outside

Pre-school is out and we are in full birthday mode around here (mine, Tessa's and loads of out of town family). In other words, progress around the house is moving at a snails pace. But that's ok because it's more about the process than the finished product, right? Or is that just something I'm telling myself :)

For those inquiring minds that need to know, here's what we've been up to:

Our final plant selections have been made and purchased for the garden bump out. Planting is underway so you can expect a full progress report on that area soon. 

We finally set up our hammock, which was John's father's day present from last year. Better late than never, right? Something about moving house right after father's day 2013, not having a house to set it up in last summer and a yard in need of some serious TLC here in Charlotte. But whatevers. No ones counting.

It's the new favorite place to discuss all things yard/house related. Like the playset debate, which continues on. And the back deck makeover. Which I am happy to report, we are starting work on soon. Yeah!

You can find a similar hammock here and the stand here.

We're continuing to wage war against the rabbits, who are rapidly destroying our vegetable garden. When the pepper spray failed, I moved on to Irish Spring soap (read more about that here), which didn't do a thing. Finally, we threw all hopes of aesthetics out the window and surrounded the entire garden with chicken wire. It ain't pretty, but it seems to be working. Next up, re-seeding all the destroyed plants (mostly dill, peppers, eggplant, lettuces, peas, etc).

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend. 

until next time, 

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Back in the Saddle

I joked recently that the backyard makeover is taking over our lives, but the truth is, it really does feel that way. Sometimes. And, I've been seriously burned out on all the planning, researching and of course, the actual work. The past weekend spent with family was just the break I needed and the motivation to get back in the saddle, as they say.

My Mother-in-Law, who was in town last weekend, is a serious gardener. She had raised bed vegetable gardens in the middle of her yard way before they were fashionable. 

When she shares advice, I listen. 

So when she recommended picking up a cultivator to turn over the soil in the garden, which in turn loosens weeds and helps to incorporate the soil conditioner, I ran right out and got one. Let me just tell you, it was worth every penny. It cut the weeding time in half, at least. Obviously, I'm a believer or I wouldn't be sharing all the details here! 

Side note: loving my Sloggers, so comfy, easy to get off and on for the many inevitable trips in and out of the house, and they kept my feet super clean. Love.

zoinks, this is not my best picture. sorry about that. btw, we were told not to trim back the hydrangea hence all the old weird dead growth. wishing we hadn't missed the boat on that one last fall. 

Of course, I couldn't just pick up a garden tool without visiting the plants. I mean, come on. I may be burned out, but I can still shop!

So, I grabbed a couple of my go-to favorites that we'll be incorporating into our accent garden (read more about that here). 

The overall plan is still up in the air and I am sure these plants will be re-arranged a zillion more times before they actually go into the ground, but for now we have: light pink peonies (3) , a white knock-out rose (still looking for more) and lavender (5) joining our existing hydrangea (3). 

hgtv.com

While researching, I stumbled across this article on HGTV.com all about french country gardens. I love how they recommend mixing the formal with the informal, planting with intention to create a "wild flower" look, especially in the border areas. 

So, for now I know that I want the color scheme to be blues/purples, white, green, and a touch of light pink. I'm on the hunt for more white knock out roses, probably some salvia, perhaps some flowering thyme and maybe even a purple or green variegated grass.  Definitely more research and shopping to be done! 

Any outside projects have you spinning your wheels?

PS. I've started adding my recommendations to the sidebar for easy access. Hope it helps!

until next time, 

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Defining the Space

The backyard makeover madness project continues! 
(Read where we left off here.) Are you getting sick of it yet? We are the ones living through it and while it's exciting to see progress, we are eager to get the yard into usable shape for the summer months.  

Over the weekend our yard went from this…

to this.

I'd like to tell you that we slaved all weekend creating and edging new beds, laying pine straw and generally giving the yard the overall cleanup its been craving since we moved in, but it wasn't us. We had family visiting instead.

Side note: John made this recipe and it was Yum!

Truth is, sometimes you have to weigh the time and energy vs. the overall cost and decide where your priorities lie for each project. In this case, we decided to hire in to save ourselves, what would inevitably be, most weekends this summer trying to get the yard in shape. 

Anywho, now that we've established that, back to the project at hand - the planning and planting of the new backyard beds. As you can see, we went for an undulating shape to add some interest to the property line. In my opinion, there's not much worse than a straight bed running the length of your property line. Talk about boring! You've got to treat your outdoor spaces like your indoor rooms. You wouldn't just line the walls of a room with all your furniture, now would you!?! 

Unfortunately, one of our biggest issues at hand is this awful, dead hedge which is maintained by our neighbors. Initially, our thoughts were to rip the whole thing out and start afresh, but now that the beds are defined we can see that there is enough space to simply add our own privacy screen. Yeah for that. But what to plant?

Maybe Cameillas - wouldn't that just be a beautiful hedge?

A cameilla hedge, or any hedge for that matter, will be a pricey number so we'll probably just focus on this little area for now. This bump-out is directly across from the breakfast room windows, in other words, we really want it to be full and beautiful and dramatic. Thus far, we have transplanted a couple of hydrangea from other areas in the yard. More ideas are peonies, lilac, knock out roses, grasses, lavender, catmint.

Very Patina Farm, you know.

As always, we're open to all ideas and would love to hear what any experienced Southern gardeners have to say…

Meanwhile, I'll be thumbing thru this book for more inspiration.

So, how was your weekend? 

until next time, 

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Slip Sliding No More

Wouldn't it be cool if I had one of those blogs that completely surprised their readers with a whole makeover … no lead-up, no hints dropped, just BOOM you log on to the site and there it is. A whole makeover for you to feast your eyes on. 

Shame, I'm not that kind of blog. Right?

Truth is, I tried to go for an incognito makeover in our foyer. But, then the whole oversized light fixture debacle happened. And the vintage rug from Turkey sold out from under me on etsy (who cares that I'd been eyeing it for over a month)!

So, we move on ...

You see, the delayed foyer makeover all stared because the new paper had me wishing for a more neutral rug so they don't compete as loudly :) Which means that my beloved vintage Turkish rug needed a new home and the back hallway was the lucky recipient. 

Now, I'm loving the aged, pop of beauty when I walk in from the garage/side door. I'm also loving that it's keeping the whole dang family from dragging everything on their feet straight thru to the kitchen! 

But, the story doesn't end there. We had our first snafu when a wipe-out occurred after a run down the backstairs and a slip on the threadbare vintage flat weave rug. I guess that's why they encourage rug pads, huh? Fortunately, a quick search online led me to rugpadusa.com, who offer a wide variety of pads including those made for hardwood floors and flat weave rugs. Score.

Made in the USA, custom cut to size, free and fast shipping - what more can you ask for? Plus, they have a handy "rug pads for hardwood floors" FAQ page that spells it all out for us first time buyers.

So, that's the tale of my botched foyer makeover and resulting update in the back hall. The search continues for a new foyer rug and when I find it, you better believe I'll be ordering another pad from rugpadusa.com !

If you're in the market for a new rug pad, too, use: Trade20off to receive 20% at Rug Pad USA.

Any big makeovers not going to plan in your neck of the woods? Misery loves company so tell me all about it in the comments section below.

* Thanks to Rug Pad USA for sponsoring this post and keeping us from slipping on my beloved rug. All opinions are my own. 

Until next time, 

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Another Plea for Help

Hey all, and happy belated Mother's day to all the lovely US mommies out there. Hope you had a great, celebratory weekend. We enjoyed a lot of quality family time, including strawberry picking, Sesame Street Live and a fancy brunch out! It was a wonderful weekend made even more special by our sweet girls and their homemade cards.

We also spent a lot of time debating the fate of our back deck, this past weekend. If you remember, we laid out these plans for our backyard makeover. And found some inspiration highlighted in these images. 

But, here's the ugly truth.

 This deck and awning are awful. And we are still miles away from a true decision on the extent of the makeover. We are pretty set on the wrap around stairs coming off the deck, but as far as the awning goes, we are completely undecided.

We've researched replacement awnings.

We're researched retractable awnings.

We've researched new canopy structures.

We've researched permanent roofs. 

We've even researched patio umbrellas.

We've run the full gamut on this project, from bare minimum to full on construction, but we keep running into the same problem - we haven't decided what to do with the back of the house for the long term. We might want to expand at some point, so it seems silly to invest a lot of money into a project that will probably, ultimately be scraped. 

So, how do we spruce up the back deck at minimal cost, while still maintaining a certain level of aesthetic?

houzz

How about this beautiful arbor/pergola?

Less expensive than a permanent roof and all of the awning options actually, but still has a presence and a sense of permanence that a simple patio umbrella just can not provide.

Seriously, I'm not sure why it took us so long to come up with this idea. 

traditional home

I love both of these looks - originally leaning more toward the white columns with dark stained pergola and deck, but after finding the gray stained pergola I think it could be the new winner!

Which one do you prefer? 

Remember we have a vaguely french inspired peach stucco house :)

Here's the kicker though (and where I need even more help), a pergola doesn't really provide much protection from sun or rain. 

So, what can we do?

I know one of my extremely talented readers is going to have an outstanding idea for us. 

I should also mention we plan to install outdoor fans hanging under the pergola so said hypothetical protection needs to be on top of the pergola, not underneath.

So there you have it - two questions:

1. Which style pergola do you prefer?

2. How do we protect against rain and sun?

Please share until your hearts content in the comment section! We really need your help.

until next time, 

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Loving This Week

Wow, I can't believe how many of you are loving our new dining room light as much as we are. I wasn't expecting it to be everyone's taste, so I really appreciate all the positive comments and Insta-likes. 

If you are interested in our vintage brass 8 arm chandelier, check out the craigslist ad here. 

It's been a crazy hot week here, summer seems to have come early to the South. So, I'm happy to have this recipe back in rotation. Last summer, we had quick pickles as a side at least once a week. Fortunately, my #1 picky eater still loves them a whole year later!

Loved this post from Renee at Cottage and Vine. As a new to the South gardener, I am looking for all the advice I can get about growing and planting here. I already added the soil conditioner she recommended to our kitchen garden beds, it's a beautiful finishing touch while enriching the soil at the same time. Win-win! 

Speaking of the garden, did you know you could recycle your wood ashes from your fireplace straight into the garden? I didn't. One of my neighbors mentioned it so I did a little research of my own and ran across this article. Sounded pretty good to me, so I added a thin layer to our garden beds under the soil conditioner. Fingers crossed.

Speaking of enriching soil, happy to say our composter is back up and running here in NC. We have this one and highly recommend it.

My Sweet Savannah

And because I can't just leave off for the weekend without including at least one beautiful image, I wanted to share a kitchen makeover (here) that was completed in a short 6 weeks! As part of the ORC (not familiar with this series? check out the introduction here and all the participants here), she revamped her kitchen including newly painted cabinets, new appliances, countertops and loads of other beauties. Enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day weekend, y'all!

until next time,

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Flash Sale Lighting

So…remember when I was on vacation at the beach and I posted a little something, something about making a rash purchase during a flash 50% off sale at Horchow.com?

Well, if you don't remember, I did it. Now you know. 

And, if you do remember and have been wondering what I was talking about, this is the post for you.

You probably assumed I purchased the light I've been obsessed with lately, but I didn't. I got this one. 

Truth? I had been looking at it for awhile thinking about how great it would be for our foyer, but that's about as far as I had gotten.

Then, it magically appeared in my inbox at a great price and I thought - yes, do it! We were at the beach, the sale lasted just a couple of hours - I didn't let that stop me. 

A couple of days later, on my door step it arrived. 

Imagine my surprise when I pulled it out of the box and noticed just how big it was. Perhaps I should have measured in advance! 

Sure enough, we couldn't even open the front door with this light hanging in the foyer. Too big.

Hmmmm….

Change of plans. Looks like our dining room is getting a new light. 

Another truth? I was not going in this direction at all - I had planned to find a vintage, french inspired, crystal dowsed, brass fixture. But, I'm loving this light in here. It's fun! It doesn't scream formal dining room, but it's still elegant. Plus, the shape plays so nicely with our foyer paper.

Win-win.

Sure, I could have returned it. But, I like this idea much better. 

Remember, always think outside the box. If you really love something chances are you can find a home for it. Even if it's not the original plan. 

until next time,

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Get the Look: Statement Planter

There are times when you want your planters to all coordinate, creating one overall scheme. Then, there are times when you want one single planter to stand alone, creating a real statement. 

Of course, we want a big statement in the new urn situated front and center in our kitchen garden. 

Note: After a lot of research, we settled on a clean lined, 27" cement planter from Lowe's. 

Like with any new project, I spent time looking through magazines and online researching combinations for said statement urn. Unfortunately, I didn't come up with much. 
When all else fails, it's time to hit the shops. 
First, I checked out Home Depot for flowers, but ultimately left feeling uninspired. Time to pull out the big dogs and get some personalized attention at a local nursery.

I'm sure I've mentioned Banner nursery before. They are a small locally owned nursery with very competitive pricing, excellent personalized service and a selection that is second to none. Clearly, I am a big fan. If you are local, check them out. 

I worked with one of their planter designers ( I'm calling her that because she was actually working on a planter when I got there). We walked around the nursery looking at various combinations and she highlighted some of their more unusual selections. Ultimately, she left me with a great piece of advice: get a cart and start laying the plants/flowers out how you would imagine them in the planter, keeping the thriller, filler, spiller concept in mind, and go from there. 

Here's what I ended up with. 

I knew I wanted to keep the scheme fairly neutral overall because I have a lot of colors, textures, and varieties in the surrounding beds. The designer at Banner wasn't super thrilled with my "drama without color" concept, but I think we made it work. 

Get the look...

Thriller: Cordyline Red Sensation

Filler: Dusty Miller, Variegated Japanese Sedge 'Evergold' 

Spiller: Variegated Sweet Potato Vine, White Petunia

until next time, 

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Loving This Week

Well, now I know how to get you guys to leave comments and send me emails - just ask for your opinion! But, seriously, thanks to everyone who made their voice heard. Sounds like everyone loved the playhouse option, with some tweaks, as much as I do. 

handmade home

Speaking of the backyard, our kitchen garden has been under attack lately from our furry friends, the neighborhood bunnies. Until we figure out our fencing options, I'm trying out this homemade rabbit repellant. So far so good. 

Velvet & Linen

I was so blown away by the recent post from Velvet & Linen of their Spring garden at Patina Farm. You would never know this is a new property with all new gardens as well. Seriously, if you don't already follow them or haven't taken a minute to check out all this eye candy, do yourself a favor and do it now. So much inspiration.

I loved this post from Young House Love all about assessing priorities and what you're ultimately seeking from blogging. It's no secret that I've struggled from time to time over the last almost 4 years (how can it possibly have been that long!?!) with blogging. 

Keeping up with posts, delivering quality, informative and interesting material - it's tough. But, when I step back and think about it, I realized I was really only blogging for myself. 

Who cares if I only post 2-3x a week? There's no rule to say 5-7x a week is the winning formula.

Ultimately, I want to enjoy blogging and continue to see it as a creative outlet, a family timeline and a memory book, not a stressful job. I'm thankful for everything this blog has brought my way and for my readers, but maintaining a healthy balance is super important.

It's good to know I'm not the only one that feels this way. 

land of nod

Continuing with the little lady theme, I recently picked up some inexpensive prints for their rooms. Have you seen the new collection of Oh Joy! For Nod Collection of prints, all priced under $20. They are limited editions, so don't wait. 

Have a great weekend, y'all!

until next time, 

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