Uncategorized

Dishing about Graphics on Day 2 of FILWTexas

Happy Tuesday to you all!  I know it’s late in the day and I had my Bible study earlier today so I’m just getting this posted, but I wanted to be sure and share more with you from the Fall In Love With Texas blog tour…



Both  the lead photograph and this one were created by my very talented friend and fellow blogger Katie at Let’s Add Sprinkles.  If you’re stopping by from Katie’s blog or from any of the bloggers on the tour, welcome!!!   I’m glad you are here.  Katie has worked hard on this tour and is creating a collage for each day.  Don’t you just love these sweet graphics?

So that got me thinking, if you’ve never created a Pinterest collage on Canva or Pic Collage {like Katie did here}, especially in the beginning they can be a real challenge!  I enjoy making them now and probably should do more as they are real eye-catchers.  I did make this one for a past post on decorating with white:

I love decorating with white and am looking to do more here for the holidays.
This particular post can be found here.
Whichever company you decide to use to format your graphics
they all have pre-formatted templates to help you with your design.
I’m always making Pinterest graphics on Canva.com but there are a wide variety of things which can be made:

*presentation slides
*posters
*Instagram posts
*Facebook covers
*email banners
*cards


Since we are heading towards the holidays; you might like to make this


How to create your graphic

Take one of your photographs and imported it into your graphic design site, then cropped it large. 

Pick out what type of item you want to create, such as a Pinterest graphic.  

From there play around with highlighting the different template’s words and entering your own.

Then play around with different fonts and colors ~ this is the hard stuff in the beginning but gets really fun as you start creating!

Save your graphic and “publish it.”  You can send your graphic straight to Pinterest, Twitter and other places, or  board you have on just download it to your computer to save and add to an upcoming post.  This is what I tend to do most of the time.  Your program should automatically save any work you create so you can use it again at a later date.


Well that’s basically it for creating a Pinterest graphic!  I haven’t created too many other things yet but I once you start using a graphics program you’ll immediately see its future potential.
🙂
Coming tomorrow  I’ll keep this post short and sweet as
I have a much longer post one coming out in the morning… 
It’s Mr. Ethereal’s and my wedding anniversary!

Here are the links for Days 1 and 2 of the tour and each day goes
“live” that morning. 
Stop back by tomorrow to catch the next day’s party-goers and please visit the previous day’s Texas bloggers if you haven’t already. Lots of wonderful fall decor and ideas being shared.
🙂
Monday 


Tuesday
Jusqu’à demain {until tomorrow},
Uncategorized

Small Space Living ~ Sharing Kindness through Organization

Sharing kindness  and helping someone to
organize their home is something
I love to do!
Today’s post will be sharing the beginnings of this
new project I am helping a friend with and
that is organizing and redecorating
her small rv home.
🙂

<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Edwardian Script ITC"; panose-1:3 3 3 2 4 7 7 13 8 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}
Today I am joining
a wonderful group of bloggers
who are sharing their stories of kindness
with you, our readers, and those links are included
in this post below.
Please enjoy your visit with a warm cinnamon scone
and a hot cup of tea…
:)’


These two new pillows my friend loves!  Her favorite color is blue so that will be our main hue.

<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Edwardian Script ITC"; panose-1:3 3 3 2 4 7 7 13 8 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}

I have  a friend here where we live who has special needs and lives on her own however organizing her living spaces
is just not her forté.

She and I have been friends for a little over a year now and we walk together all the time and I help her with things
she may need from time to time.
I have helped by taking her to get groceries or driving her to the doctor, as a number of her other friends also do.
It is a privilege to be able to help in this way and it is really an honor to be able to use my organizing and decorating skills
to make her life more
functional and beautiful.
🙂


Begin by clearing out

My friend had already begun packing up things
she no longer needed and had outgrown in bags.
We continued some of this on our first day organizing.
Since she has lost a considerable amount of weight
she is excited to be receiving gently used clothing
from friends and finding new clothing at a few nicer local thriftshops.

We concurrently went through her kitchen pulling out
duplicate and unneeded items and talked about having everything you need to prepare meals and for baking everyday right where you cook and mix things.
We also discussed ways to organize the kitchen ~ by use and item.
You can see in the top photos we have begun putting all the
kitchen appliances in the cupboard above the tan chair.
Then we worked on putting paper goods and less needed
kitchen items together in that same area.


Reorganize and space planning

Since my friend has lost a considerable amount of weight she is excited to be receiving gently used clothing from friends and finding new clothing at a few of the nicer local thriftshops.
A mutual friend takes her out shopping about once a month
or so and they make a day of it by going out to lunch, too.

As we worked on purging those no-longer-needed clothing pieces
I spent time teaching my friend about hanging long items
together and about taking unrelated items out of each closet.

Small space living is the same whether one lives in a trailer,
a small cottage home or in a studio apartment.
Really organizing one’s built-in cupboards and closets
is key to making our homes look and feel bigger!
😉

Our Yoda shows an interest in helping clean and organize. 

Clean as you go

One of the biggest tips I can offer is to clean and wipe down
cupboards inside and out and the items going inside as you go through them.
Putting everything away all nice and clean makes a big difference in how we feel about ourselves and about our home!


<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Edwardian Script ITC"; panose-1:3 3 3 2 4 7 7 13 8 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}
Part of the fun  for us was just looking at what
my friend had and seeing things with fresh eyes!
Since there are only three small storage drawers in the kitchen which were meant for the silverware, some utensils and a few linens for wiping and washing dishes,
I showed my friend how to display her silverware in large
water glasses up on her counter along with an unused crock
to hold her utensils.
Just doing this gave us a free drawer to have the
ever-needed “junk drawer.”

Repurpose closet spaces

Above her television is a perfect spot for my friend’s jeans
casual pants that can be folded and t-shirts.
Here we will put in some foldable shelving to give her
better stacking ability.
This closet will probably hold other things as well
but she really needs clothes closet storage ~ 
her chief complaint with not being able to put
things away as she would like.


Store away non-used items

Christmas is just over for the year so we worked on
giving her a bigger storage box for her needs.
In this new box we were able to put in all of her blank
Christmas cards, wrapping paper and decorations
and ornaments as it was just the perfect size!
This box fit perfectly in her really unused storage area
on the outside of her trailer.
We will be storing more items there as we get further
into our reorganizing adventure.
😉

Fixing up the bedroom will be here in the next few weeks.
To be continued…
I’ve been over one other day and we worked more on
putting things for donation out in my car
so…
The next time we get together we will probably tackle
the bedroom closets and storage needs in there.


Here are some items we might need in my friend’s home
that I began pricing when I picked up my own groceries
this past weekend.

Stay tuned!
Being kind and helping others is what I believe in.
I love my decorating and gardens but my heart is
firmly planted in helping others and especially friends
to achieve their dreams and goals, too.

<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Edwardian Script ITC"; panose-1:3 3 3 2 4 7 7 13 8 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}

Sharing with
Wow Us Wednesday ~ Savvy Southern Style
Hearth and Soul Linky ~ April J. Harris
Totally Terrific Tuesday ~ The Savvy Apron
Feathered Nest Friday ~ French Country Cottage
Thursday Favorite Things ~ Katherine’s Corner

*An Update
My friend and I walk together and attend the same Bible
study, but we haven’t really got back to more organizing
in her little trailer home.
I did share some organizational skills with her and we
took a bunch of outgrown clothes and other clothes
which were donated to her to the Salvation Army.
People at her church and here where we live give her
bags of clothes to sort through all of the time ~ one of
the problems she has with organizing.

So… with that, we will get back finishing organizing as
the weather cools off, hopefully!
🙂

Also  I’m resharing this post with
Spread the Kindness Link Up #80 ~ Shelby on the Edge




Thank you to – our hosts on today’s
PERK  Project
{kindness the last in the series}
Jemma and Stacey

<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Edwardian Script ITC"; panose-1:3 3 3 2 4 7 7 13 8 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}
Here are all of the ladies sharing their 
posts with you:

Jemma ~ At Home with Jemma
Discovering Kindness on a Yellow School Bus

Stacey ~ Poofing the Pillows

Throwing Kindness Like Confetti

Jeanie ~ The Marmalade Gypsy
When Kindness Brings Tears

Kris ~ Junk Chic Cottage
PERK Project and Kindness

Lavender Dreams
The Give Way of Life

Cindy ~ County Road 407
Serve and In Turn You Are Served

Tammy ~ Patina and Paint
The PERK Project

Terri ~ Our Good Life
One Word ~ Kind

Carol ~ Bluesky At Home
How to Write Your How for Your Why


Stay kind, always,

amzn_assoc_placement = “adunit0”; amzn_assoc_search_bar = “true”; amzn_assoc_tracking_id = “frenchetherea-20”; amzn_assoc_ad_mode = “manual”; amzn_assoc_ad_type = “smart”; amzn_assoc_marketplace = “amazon”; amzn_assoc_region = “US”; amzn_assoc_title = “My Amazon Picks”; amzn_assoc_linkid = “6522a976de557428366f98cbb1bc87ba”; amzn_assoc_asins = “B00BCLERPA,B001UU0NJW,B01DYXHI0E,B00V0VQK1G”; //z-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/onejs?MarketPlace=US

Uncategorized

Just a Quick Post…

Just a quick post…
Was really under the weather yesterday so I
got NOTHING done so doing double time
today!  🙂  

I’ve been wanting to make some pretty
drop cloth slipcovers for these two
chairs here in our Prairie Home
for a little while now.
I saw a cute idea over at a favorite store
{I’ll share that place when I post the final post tomorrow or Friday}
 and that gave me an idea!
Skirted dining room chair cover with tiebacks and rosette ~ front to be a little tank top!
So here’s the beginnings of a 
flirty little dining room chair cover
I just designed…
Sharing with:
Tuesdays with a Twist ~ Stone Cottage Adventures
Feathered Nest Friday ~ French Country Cottage
Friday Features ~ Oh, My Heartsie Girl!

That’s all for now, folks!
😉
Uncategorized

Inspirational Furnishings ~ Cynthia Rowley’s Gorgeous Furniture Pieces

Riding the downward escalator inside
Dillard’s
at the 
Shops at Willow Bend, Plano, Texas
a couple of weeks ago
I spied this gilded bedroom beauty and 
an armchair that made my heart go
pitter-patter…


“Mimi” wing chair ~ available at Dillard’s online and in stores.
I tend to fall head over heels for rose strewn pieces
and having two upholstered couches decorated with roses 
just waiting to come out to Texas…
this lovely armchair 
would fit right into my home perfectly!


A year ago in the spring at the
Design Blogger’s Conference in Atlanta
Cynthia Rowley came and spoke during one of the
sessions about becoming a designer.
In her slides, she shared this table from her new line
which was then going to be coming out in the fall
and of course I remembered it 
because of the roses!

The Antoinette gilded upholstered bed, king size along with other Cynthia Rowley designed furnishings

The gilded twig mirror in that first photograph
{sharing again!}
is also part of her collection for
Hooker Furniture.
I love the play on faux bois with the twigs
around this gorgeous mirror!

The tables, chairs and other items you see around the 
Antionette bed and the rose armchair are also
part of the collection.
I am thinking my daughter would love
that mirrored dresser ~ it’s so glam and
Old Hollywood with its retro 1930’s/1940’s
vintage look.

One last quick photo ~ I only took a very
few photographs with my iPhone while I was
looking at these lovely pieces.
The part of me which loves anything and everything 
in a vintage French style wanted to share this 
amazing detail with you.
Loving the soft blue grey velvet
paired with the gold ormolu crest!

Trés bien, non?
Have a great Wednesday!


Sharing with
Wow Us Wednesday ~ Savvy Southern Style
Create Link Inspire
Welcome Home Wednesday ~ Five Kids a Dog and a Blog
Vintage Charm ~ The Blue Willow House
Talk of the Town ~ My Simple Home
Dishing It Digging It ~ Life and Linda
If you’ve enjoyed reading this post
please sign up on the sidebar to receive more, thank you! 
Uncategorized

Interior Decorating Goes Outdoors ~ Our Spring Garden Taking Shape

I’m liking the new arrangement!  Was drying laundry while potting plants that day, as you can see.  🙂
Over the past few weeks
our little 
Texas Garden
is beginning to take shape.
🙂
 

Really like the terra cotta pot I found at At Home… I put a few rocks in the bottom to help with
keeping dirt in and critters out.

Garden beginnings…

Before heading to California
After picking up the mail in Richardson, 
I finally found out how on the freeways here
in North Texas to get to
At Home
which is down in lower
Lewisville
on the border with Plano, Texas.
 
At Home is a really nice decorating store
filled with current holiday decorations
to spruce up your home,
all kinds of garden pots and urns in many colors,
indoor and outdoor furniture including
slightly damaged pieces
{which I looked at since we need a small table in our bedroom}
for the adventurous person to take home and 
repair and save
a little money at the same time!
The first time I stepped into At Home
I picked up a couple of kitchen and bath
storage pieces.
I’ll probably share those in the future
some time.  Anyway…
 
I am in~love with this store!
If I had the funds, I could buy like
10 pots and urns and go crazy with plants!
But so far on the couple of shopping trips
I’ve taken, I purchased three.
 
 
Love this sweet Scripture pot!  I saw it and knew it needed to come home with me!

Garden Structure

One of the things about living here
at Wagon Master
{and really any campground}
is there are always rules about
whether one can put out a carpet
build a deck and 
whether you can decorate out of doors.
{and with good reason ~ nobody wants a trashy neighbor!  🙂 }
 
Even people coming in who aren’t staying
for an extended stay bring their plants
with them, surprisingly.
Kinda like bringing your cat or dog
we garden people have to have our gardens
in some form or another.
😉
 
I just got a very few plants to see how they will do here in Sanger. Found the lantana and this mini striped petunia
along with the blue flowers in the Scripture pot.  I want to plant the two pink flowers in with the rose bush I have coming.
Plants overhanging from pots and flower boxes are sooo pretty!
Every spring I get this urge to be outside
and garden… It’s pretty hard to not garden.
So I asked if I could put out our garden carpet
like we had at Lake Skinner
when we were camp hosts.
 

The new terra cotta pot reminds me of these that I left
at our Big House ~ including the angel one below.  My friend
Sandy has a good majority of my old plants and pots now. Photo
right and below right show our Lake Skinner yard and the outdoor carpeting.
 
We can’t. It’s not that the owners
Ken and Janet
don’t want carpets ~ it’s that it’s too hard
for mowing around.

So… I noodled the idea around for a bit
and came up with a “visual carpet”
using regular decorating techniques!
{Can you see the rectangle ~ with the big square planter as the lower right corner ??}
With our big 9′ x 12′ hand-made wool Afghani rug, it was easy to put all of our dining room furniture “on the carpet,” as you can see here.  I’ll probably use this beautiful rug in a family room when we get another house.  It is the largest of the three rugs and carpets we have.  My hubby brought it and three others home from the Persian Gulf after returning from Desert Storm in 1991.  We gave three to family members as presents but two returned home to us.
 
When you decorate and lay out your furniture
inside your house
the rule of thumb is to either
put all of the furniture on the carpet {the rectangle} 
when you use a rug in your living space
or 
keep all of it off the carpet
putting the sofa, easy chairs,
lamps and end tables surrounding the rug.
 
So I made mine “on the carpet.”
Of grass, that is!
😉
 
Yoda likes the new arrangement ~ he’s happy in the shade under the table.
 
The furniture layout outside had really been bothering me 
for about a month or more and I hadn’t really
sat down and figured out what exactly was it
that I didn’t like.
 
I had created a triangle with the picnic table
and the bench and The Girls
and it wasn’t working…
It was a hot mess!
 

The Solution

When I did figure it out, it was a simple fix:
add more pieces {hence the pots, which I wanted anyway}
and create a visual rectangle.
That did the trick!
😀
I knew I was looking for a few pots to put up
some plants and I already had the Garden Girls.
I’d also bought the bench a couple of months ago from 
Wayfair online when there was a sale
so it was fairly easy to lay everything out
like putting all of the furniture in an empty room.
 
This is an easy trick to do and is 
really simple:
Just remove everything from 
your decorating area then put pieces back 
thinking about decorating
as if you were putting it on a rug.
Works every time!
😉
 
Sharing with
Friday Features ~ Oh, My Heartsie Girl!
http://www.ohmyheartsiegirl.com/friday-feature-linky-party-62/


Sweet Inspiration ~ The Boondocks Blog
This post was featured!

My Sweet Things

Friendship Friday ~ Create-With-Joy



Happy planting,
Uncategorized

A Little Spring Breakfast Tea and a Scone Recipe

Our new Little Home receives 
the most beautiful light
in the morning and now that it is springtime
“taking breakfast in the breakfast room”
<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;} @font-face {font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Adine Kirnberg Regular"; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}
is de rigueur.



This week a friend stopped by for 
an impromptu breakfast tea.
We sat in the mid-morning light and 
enjoyed a light breakfast of
fruit and nut scones
served with English Breakfast tea.
Simple creamy white plates
lace-edged napkins
sweet bunnies surrounding a
soft pink carnation bloom
and
delicate pink transferware
with silvery accents 
set a serene breakfast table.


We talked about the paint colors she’d like
in her place and also about
making a bar height table and 
adding two small stools.
Storage is a big need so
she’d like a shelving unit to hold many
of her things.
Next week we will get back to
painting and see if we can get that done.

After a nice visit my friend went
off to run errands and so did I.
Always sooo nice to
take time and sit and visit with friends.
And now we can in our
“breakfast room.”
🙂


Here is the recipe for the scones I made
in our new convection microwave.

Fruit and Nut Scones

2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
3 oz. cold butter, cut into pieces
{use a pastry blender, a food processor or 2 knives to cut the butter}
1 egg
1/4 c. maple syrup (or Lyle’s Golden)

1/4 cup buttermilk
{can make with regular or even 1% milk ~ add 1 or 2 Tbsp. white vinegar
to measuring cup then fill remainder with milk to make “buttermilk”/curdled milk}

1/2 cup diced dried fruit bits
{I used Craisins and golden raisins}

1/4 cup chopped nuts
{this time I used only pecans}

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
{or use butter-sprayed cake pans}

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Add butter and cut into mixture with pastry blender, knives or food processor
until mixture resembles fine meal.

Add egg, syrup and buttermilk ~ stir until combined.

Mix in dried fruit bits and nuts.
Place dough onto parchement-lined sheet and pat into 10″ circle.
{I split my dough into two circles about 8″ around.}

Cut circle into 16 wedges with a sharp knife.
{or however many to feed your hungry crowd! ;)}

Bake 15 min. until golden brown.  These scones freeze well.


***This recipe is adapted from an older
Victorian Homes magazine, December 2005 issue






Hope you enjoyed this “tea”
and enjoy this recipe!




Sharing with
Thursday Favorite Things

Happy Sunday,

Uncategorized

Places to Stay ~ The Beverly Hilton

Beverly Hills a land of enchanted
movies, movie stars and more
and a 
most luxurious hotel…


I loved that Esteem Media 
chose the 
Beverly Hilton 
as their venue to hold the 
Design Bloggers Conference.


Every morning we were treated to 

gleaming silver urns filled with 
coffee and hot water for our
morning cuppa.

Below each urn, sweet square silver catchers 

collected drips and solid hotel silverware and 
cream colored china
were provided for an elegant breakfast
reminiscent of a time gone by.

The conference finished late Tuesday afternoon
and last year I had hurriedly 
flown out as the conference finished.
This year I decided to 
stay one more day…


early shots before dawn





Wednesday morning dawned bright and sunny.
 In just a few hours it would be
time to check out so
thoughts of capping off this
hotel adventure by having a little 
breakfast in bed
swirled through my head!

A young woman brought my bagel and hot tea
from the hotel’s kitchen and she giggled at 
my delight in “ordering in.”
Of course I had to take some photographs
to remember the day!
Just a few quick pics then
hopping up in bed
breakfast was enjoyed.


More lustrous silverware was placed
“just so” on a large tray
alongside a
chocolate orchid set inside a 
grooved cylindrical vase
and tiny 
salt and pepper shakers ~
a bit of 
royal treatment 
from a romantic hotel 
where hallways are hung with portraits of
Cary Grant, Judy Garland and
Katharine Hepburn.



A lovely way to cap off a
working holiday in the land of
magic and movie stars!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, btw…
xoxo Barb
🙂



Thank you for liking and sharing ~ merci!

Sharing with
Friday Feature ~ Oh, My Heartsie Girl!
http://ohmyheartsiegirl.com/friday-feature-linky-party-59/

Sweet Inspiration ~ The Boondocks Blog
http://www.theboondocksblog.com/home/sweet-inspiration-link-party-48
Uncategorized

3 New Products and Lines for Your Home

Today I want to share some of the 
gorgeous products 
coming to market seen at the
Design Bloggers Conference
which caught my eye…

Crystal embedded faucet handles, or taps, for your bath and kitchen.  The lovely ladies
who work for THG ~ sorry, bad iPhone photo shots!
Kitchen and Bath
1. THG  a French company which I am just learning about, has some really exciting bath products for the lavatory.  Their lead designer has used tiny Swarovski crystals in several of their taps {aka “handles”} giving those pieces such a textural and tactile experience!  For this girl who just came out of 14 years working with autistic children, you’ve got to get these for your kids!  
They will LOVE the feel of these!

THG also asked Lalique, the company famous for their incredible crystal vases and perfume bottles, to fashion their crystal into the prettiest rose and apple taps and fixtures you’ve ever seen {the pomme collection}.  I’m sorry I didn’t take a closer picture for you, but please check out their company website online HERE. Seriously in love with all of their line!  Their idea is that these pieces should be “jewelry for your home.”  

2. Miele {pronounced Mee-Lay} is a German company which makes a full range of kitchen and bathroom appliances, vacuum cleaners and hardware for the kitchen and bath.   These aren’t technically an individual “new product” per se; however, they are new products in an established line and they are new to me so I’m sharing them here with you.  😉  

These ranges have closed burners which are particularly nice to keep food from falling down below the cooktop, and I also really like the burners as they are large enough but move easily, good for people with grip issues.



Love these double ovens!  Couldn’t you see yourself cooking a Thanksgiving turkey in one and your pie and other goodies in the other all at the same time??! 
I’m hungry already!
Miele’s hardware comes in a wide range of colors 
{some shown on this display board} and styles to fit yours or your client’s home and aesthetics.  Please hop on over to Miele to see their full product line.

Home Decor

3. Universal came out with these really cute chrome and cararra marble hexagonal-shaped tables.  I was in love the minute I saw them since I live in my “Small Cottage” and we need our tables to be small.  These cuties can be grouped and moved around super easily as each only weighs about 10 lbs. or so.  Universal had a contest to see who could style their tables the best and the winner would win a table.  Obviously, I didn’t win one.  Sad face…. 🙁   I’m still thinking I might call them up and see about buying one {or two or three} as they are super cute and portable!  Universal is only available to the trades; however, you can look them up online at:  www.universaltothetrade.com.


I hope you’ve enjoyed this quick
tour of some of the newest home appliances, 
fixtures and housewares for you home!
I’ve enjoyed 
bringing them to you. 

Check back later this week as I’ll be sharing
more from L.A., Beverly Hills, and
this quick working vacay and the
Design Bloggers Conference.
We got to hear from some other really
talented and royally famous people
{that might give you a clue}
and
I have some more design tips
and blogging ideas that each shared
that I’d like to share with you.

Blessings to you and until then,
xoxo Barb 🙂





Will be sharing with
WOW Us Wednesday ~ Savvy Southern Style
Uncategorized

Inspirational Designers ~ Styling Your Photoshoots Like a Pro

Jickie Torres ~ editor of Country Cottages and Bungalows
Hello from Beverly Hills and the
Design Bloggers Conference!

Today I thought I’d share a little about styling your own
photoshoots like a professional.
This was the talk Jickie Torres and Courtney Allison
two of my favorite photo stylists and designers
gave on Sunday afternoon.

Jickie is the editor of Cottages and Bungalows magazine 
and 
Courtney is the photographer and blog-author of
French Country Cottage
one of my favorite blogs out there
in Blog Land.

Together they spoke about creating 
good quality photos and the differences between 
creating photos for your blog -vs-
creating photos aimed towards 
magazine publication.
Two slightly different ways of photo shooting
that I think most bloggers wouldn’t just
intuitively realize.

Courtney of French Country Cottage
In this slide, Courtney compared two
of her photographs and talked about how
the one on the left is more of what the industry
calls “a vignette scene.”
See how it’s more of a “close-up?”
It shares more details like the pompom ruffle
around the chair pillow,
the thick plush down seat cushion
and of course
the ever sweet doggie!

These kinds of photographs work great
on your blog, but for editorial print work
there needs to be more of a “room shot.”
Editors also need your photos to
“tell a story.”
Jickie mentioned to make your photos
realistic ~ have a cup on the table,
drape a blanket over the chair’s arm.
You want those things in your scenes to draw a 
reader in and make him or her
want to jump right into the picture and just
plop right down making oneself 
right at home.
🙂
Well, those are just two of the big takeaways
from Jickie and Courtney’s talk late
Sunday afternoon!
There’s sooo much more to share from conference and I’ll be sharing more in tomorrow’s post.
As always, feel free to share this post and any others and please sign up if on my sidebar and follow along on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook as I’m posting video and other photos there.
Thank you!
Leave a comment and ask questions, too.
I’ll get back to you as soon as I
am able.
Have a lovely Tuesday!
Barb 🙂



Sharing with
Wordless Wednesday ~ Oh, My Heartsie Girl!
Uncategorized

5 Favorite Gifts to Give this Holiday Season

Happy Cyber Monday, Everybody! 
I hope your Thanksgiving weekend with 
family & friends was wonderful! 
Today I’m joining a wonderful group of bloggers 
in bringing my
Favorite Holiday Gifts
to give to family and friends
and you’ll find them all
at the click of your {Christ}mouse!


1. Wedding Cake Serving Sets


A wonderful present for 
the lucky couple 
with a wedding in the coming year 
or here at year’s end!



I gave this gorgeous
Wedding Cake Serving Set 
from David’s Bridal
tmy son and daughter~in~law 
this summer and they loved it!


This serving set must be based off real vintage pieces!
I love the stamped “I Do” and the 
Art~Deco retro styling!
Seriously pretty with its swirls and graceful lines
reminiscent of that lovely era ~
a lovely, thoughtful gift
any bride and groom would surely appreciate.


2.  Warm & Cozy Winter Scarves

I have become a scarf~oholic the past few years.
I have had a few scarves since my early 20’s
but now there are soooo many choices!
I just don’t think anyone can have too many scarves.
😉
I found these at a sweet little shop called
Mia’s Mirror
and this shop was actually inside another store
H.E.B.
which is a grocery chain here in Texas.
Some of the scarves were only $5.00.
Seriously!!!
Mia’s Mirror can be found at:
3.  Christmas Ornaments


Christmas ornaments are the perfect gift to give
your coworkers, bosses, your children’s teachers, 
really anyone!
Every year after Christmas I like to go out and buy up
left over ornaments to stash away
for next year’s quick go~to present.


Ornaments make lovely add~ons to tie into a package.
It is fun to give your children an ornament for their first year of life, 
then a new one every year after to go along with 
whatever they are into right now.
These were also found at H.E.B. in their houseware section.
4.  Meaningful Signs

Sooo many beautiful signs out there with 
wonderful sayings on them!
Some are so elegant with gilded frames 
or the writing is scrawled
across a mirror.
Others are more rustic and have been made with
recycled wooden boards.
Others still are cut out of sheet metal.
There’s a meaningful sign out there for all tastes.
🙂
These framed signs I found at
Hobby Lobby
and there were many different ones 
from which to choose!
Hobby Lobby can be found online at:

5. Home Cooked Meal

It’s what most of us dream of having
someone else to cook for us!
{at least I do!}
😉
Why not give your loved ones a little “coupon book” 
homemade by you for homemade meals
that you’ll make for them?
or…
So many restaurants deliver so perhaps a gift certificate
or prepaid card with an amount that would cover
the cost of a nice meal.
Everyone appreciates a good homestyle meal so that
they can take a break from cooking ~
especially with today’s busy lives
after work.


Thanks for stopping by!
I hope your holiday season
is a wonderful one.
I’ll be sharing more holiday decorating 
and gift giving ideas over 
the coming weeks.

Blessings to you,
Barb 🙂

Please stop by and visit some of the other participants in today’s
Gift Giving Guide blog party, thank you!

Rustic & Refined

https://static.inlinkz.com/cs2.js