Hurry Up Spring!

Yeah, I said it.... Hurry Up Already!  Right????  This has got to have been one of THE slowest arrivals of Spring I have seen in awhile.  My poor trees and flowers are just so confused. 

Thank goodness for Michaels and faux flowers or I'd have no flowers at all this year!

Yesterday we finally had a nice normal spring like day (hope it lasts) and I set out to my favorite local greenhouses to collect a few ferns and early bedding plants for all my pots around the house.  Guess what?  Can you imagine my frustrations after getting out the car at the closed gate and reading their sign that they have closed shop and retired?  Oh man!!!

So I tootled around a nearby antique store, came on back home, took a few pics of my den and spring mantle to share with you and went sailing with the hubby.  Love when he has Mondays off too!

I finally got the entire den repainted so I thought you might like to see.

The table here is new.  I recently purchased this at the same place I have my booth.  It was in pretty good shape but I did sand down the top and give the entire table a new stain and several clear coats.  Love how it turned out!

Speaking of new, you probably don't remember the curtains because they are fairly new too.  I got them from Kirklands.  I did like the brown and black plaid and the gold and cream plaid before them but I love, love, love, the turquoise.  

The new paint color is Muslin by Sherwin Williams.  It's the same as I used in the kitchen.  I just love how neutral it is and will look great with all three different colors of curtains should I want to change back.  

Here is a picture of my den from when I had the lighter creamier custom yellow color that I'd had for years.  I loved it but was ready for something new.

And here's the den with the Lucent Yellow that I had repainted not too long ago.  It doesn't show it here in these edited pics but it had a tendancy to put off a glowing color from time to time especially more so in my kitchen.  

And finally, here it is now!  All were great colors and just a tad different from each other. This one should stay awhile since it is neutral enough for me to change out the rest of the rooms elements as I want to and it's so easy on the eyes.

Since you have been so patient now, I will finally show you my spring mantle.

I've had it decorated for awhile but have not been to keen on showing you yet because I kept thinking it needed a bit more something.  

More bunnies maybe?

More eggs maybe?

Finally, I just decided I was done with it already since like outside it will most likely be very short lived this season.  LOL!  Sometimes you just gotta roll with it and move on.  Right?

On the other hand, I do love this little look down here!

Oh how I wish these were all over my yard instead!

Come on Spring!!!!!!

We're ready!!!!!

Have a great week Y'all!

Decorating the Top of the China Hutch

Does anyone remember last week when I said I was on a creative roll?  That was when I showed you my picnic basket vignette.  No?  Well, that's okay, that just means you probably haven't stopped by in awhile.  Can I just remind you that I'm still here!  I'm still blogging and styling and have lot's to share. I know I fell off the grid while I was working but I'd like thank those of you especially who have remained constant and faithful blog friends.  It really means a lot to me!  For the rest of you, I'm sending out a sweet reminder that the door is always open around here and I do enjoy hearing from you! So, I hope you come on in!

We are back in the dining room ladies, where I was inspired to create this little vignette on top of my china cabinet.

Here's what inspired me!  

I have seen these herb boxes all over blog land and wanted some for so very long.  I about flipped when I came across them at a Decor Warehouse that I visited with a friend last month.  They were priced so well, that it was no doubt they would be coming home.  I had no idea they would end up in the dining room of all places but I love because it keeps my dining room from looking too formal.

After hanging the three boxes on the wall I needed a place for the fourth box and decided on top of the china cabinet was perfect.

I stored a few platters that I rarely use in the box to give it even more height.

The I also decided that the top of the hutch was a great place to store those other pieces I love that I rarely ever will use too.

I added some greenery and few flowers for color and a nice summer show and I was done.

I love to say it was as easy that, but...that would not be the whole truth.  You see the top of my hutch is very arched.  Getting my vignette set the way I envisioned was a bit of challenge.  I finally ended up using cotton batting of all things to create height and a flat surface where I needed it on the curves.  Pretty crazy huh?

Wanna take a peek inside? I added some color in here too!

This butterflie dish and the forget me not dish were my MIL's.  I just love these!  

Speaking of sweet look what I saw out of the window when I was snapping pics of the hutch.

Do you see her now?  Isn't she just precious!

Speaking of precious, did you happen to notice my new plant?

I had been wanting to get a real plant for my stand in the dining room for awhile now and was thinking of getting a fern until I discovered this at Lowes.  There was only one and of course I snapped it right up.  It's a good thing I did because I had several ladies asking what it was and where did I find it?

It's called a Lipstick Twister, or Aeschynanthus Radicans to be more accurate.  I just fell head over heals in love with those lacy little ringlets.  It does have blooms that will look much like lipstick. 

It requires indirect sunlight so this little spot in the dining room will be just perfect. 

I am joining the following parties today;

Inspire me

Fertilizer Friday

If you happened to stop by thank you so much! It's always a pleasure when you do.  I love company, don't you?

 Be sure and come back again real soon.  I've got several more projects I've been working on for the booth and have lot's to share!

Have a great day everyone!

My Iris are Blooming

A few weeks ago as I was snapping shots around the yard I took also took a few pictures of my Iris plants that were blooming.   Since I already had so many pictures in my post Yardly Pleasures, I decided to create a separate post featuring just the Iris.  

 When I first started blogging, way back in 2010, I did a beautiful post of my Iris in bloom.  The last few years have not had as beautiful a show since then.  This year has made a nice show so far, though still not quite as abundant.  I thought I'd just show you the pictures anyway and let you enjoy what I was able to capture.

Yellow is one of my favorites, though I have so few of these.

The deep purple of these are amazing and remind me of velvet for some reason.  LOL!

Don't ask me how I got the green background to come out like this because I don't know.  I love it though!

This is hands down my most favorite.  I love the mix of three colors here.  The orange against the pink and lavender just makes me smile in delight!

These are so big this year!

As you can see I have them everywhere.  I love breaking them up and scattering them around the yard and then enjoying them next year when they come up unexpectedly.  These are some of the most hardiest and easiest flowers to grow.  I haven't transplanted any in a few years though.  I am going to have to work on that this year.

I am especially excited about my newest Iris shown here.  I just added these a few weeks ago.  I was looking for something that was light and breezy to go along the edge of the deck here that would also have somewhat of a tropical look to it.

Imagine my surprise when I found out these plants were called African Iris plants.  They will have small delicate blooms unlike the Iris that I have.  But, what is even more special about these is that they are evergreen.  I was immediately sold!  

I am just praying I will have as much luck with these as I have had with the rest of my Iris.

Thank you so much for stopping by today.  I hope you enjoyed these beautiful flowers as much as I have.  It is such fun to be able to share them with you too.

Have a great weekend everyone!