Around the House: What's in the Garden

Our yard is a work in progress. A couple of years ago it looked like this.

Over time we've turned the yard into a full garden adding flowers, plants, and shrubs to fill things out.   It has required a lot of time, work, and patience, but has been well worth the effort. We see it as our little way of brightening up our home and city. So without further ado, here's what's going on...

This year we added a few peony plants and orange lilies. The pop of orange really makes me happy and the scent of the peonies is wonderful. It's too bad our peonies were not in bloom very long :-( But I have a special project I'll share with you later that involves our spent blooms.

We have a huge sycamore tree in the front yard so most of our garden is covered in shade. This makes hostas a nice option. They are an attractive low maintenance ground cover. They spread vigorously and can easily be divided, so it's often easy to score a few for free. You can get them free from a neighbor, through plant exchanges, via Craigslist free section, and FREECYCLE. Several people were kind enough to give us free hostas. We have many in the yard that will fill out in years to come, and once they do we'll be able to return the favor and offer our extras to someone else.

We also added another shade plant, astilbe. We have them in two colors dark and light pink. Most of them are small now, but in a few years they'll spread out and cover more ground. They work well if you need to plant around a tree base.

Interspersed throughout the yard we have a few purple hydrangeas. They do well in part shade and are one of my favorite cut flowers. It's nice to pick plantings that you'll enjoy bringing inside, so you won't be tempted to purchase bouquets during the spring and summer.

There are several blue mistflowers planted. I like them because they add interest through height and have a pretty lavender flower that blooms later in the summer.


Tucked in a shady corner are some bleeding hearts. They are pretty small now. I'm looking forward to watching their growth.

You may have noticed we still have a few leaves on the ground. We opted to use them as natural mulch, instead of purchasing mulch. It saves us money, simplifies things, and uses what we've got. So far I'm happy with the decision.

There are a few more flowers, but to be honest I'm pooped and will have to blog about them some other time. So tell me what's going on in your garden?

"Life's a garden--dig it."~unknown

Anniversary Staycation

Typically for our anniversary the hubs and I like to celebrate by staying at a bed and breakfast. This year it occurred to me, "hey, I already have a bed and I know how to make breakfast". In light of this epiphany, I decided to plan a lovely weekend staycation. The rules of the staycation were to have fun and enjoy a large dose of good old quality time. I must say all the undivided attention was heavenly.

I decided to jazz things up a bit around the house by filling it with tons of flowers and lighting my favorite candles.

(TIP: If you want to wake up to a pleasant aroma, place fragrant flowers by your bedside. I like to use garden roses.)

We finally found time to visit CLYBURN ARBORETUM, and Baltimore's much talked about WOODBURY KITCHEN. The ambiance at the restaurant was incredible, as were the deviled eggs.

At the end of our weekend I made sure to whip out some of our favorite wedding pics.

All-in-all we had a great time.  We've got to try this more often!

"Love is.......hanging out together." ~unknown

Around the House: Progress in the Nursery Pt. 2

I hope everyone had a fabulous 4th of July weekend. I used the extra time off to make some progress in the nursery, so I thought I'd share an update. 

For this project I had a few stipulations. It had to be done cheaply, use stuff I already own, have a classic aestethic, and not be too "baby" looking so there is no need to overhaul the room in a few years. So here's what I came up with......

The walls are painted in Benjamin Moore's Chantilly Lace (sidenote: I actually got the paint from Sherwin Williams, which is a few blocks away. Did you know you can have them reproduce colors from other companies?). I couldn't decide on a color, so I figured I couldn't go wrong with white. It makes the small room feel larger, and is gender neutral. The window curtains are Ikea's RITVA. I have these in every room in our house. They are cheap, wash well, and stand the test of time. I highly recommend them. The candle sconces are vintage and  were purchased years ago on sale at AVENUE ANTIQUES. I've had them hiding in a closet and almost forgot I owned them. Finally, they have a home :-)

Above the crib is an old ship pic. I like to incorporate nautical elements throughout our home because it makes me feel like I'm on vacation at the beach. It's also a nod to the hubs who is a former sailor. The ship photo was picked up in DC at GOOD WOOD years ago.

 For the rocking chair I went back and forth about reupholstering. Unfortunately, reupholstery was just not in the budget, and not a job I thought I could DIY. To change the color, I just plopped a blanket over it. It's not perfect, but definitely gets the job done. 

 The chest as you'll RECALL was something I already owned and painted. The lamp I got a while back for $10 at Target. The shelf above the chest was a vintage find from THE TURNOVER SHOP.

The rug is just a simple classic sisal rug. It adds texture, and pretty much goes with anything in case I want to move it to a new room or change this room's color scheme later. I found it at Homegoods for the great price of $25!

I'm almost done with things. I'd just like to add a small child sized chair and perhaps a crib skirt.

Flowers in the House: June 2014

Summer is almost here, which means......hydrangea time! Hydrangeas are my favorite, they offer an instant pick me up. I planted a few in our garden last year, and am so glad I did. What's blooming in your garden? What are your almost summertime favorites?

To see more "Flowers in the House" visit SMALL BUT CHARMING.

Around the House: Progress in the Nursery

After much distress over what to do in the nursery, I'm finally making some progress. Due to hormonal changes and my crazy obsession with making our home perfect for our little family, it's been a lot of work. My poor husband has been very supportive during my numerous meltdowns where I've begun on a design scheme only to scrap it, screaming out, "This isn't good enough for my baby!" Sad, I know :-( Don't judge me, again it's the hormones (at least that's what I'm telling myself).

My small budget hasn't made things easier either. On many occasions I've thought, "To heck with that budget! I'm gonna spend every last penny to make this baby's room great." Luckily, I came back to my senses and kept the receipts on a few ridiculous purchases. Gotta prioritize....college before cute expensive baby crap. So without further ado here's my progress.

Tada, I painted that ugly red chest I had.

If you'll remember it looked like this before.

I think it looks a lot better in white, and for a little over 10 bucks to paint it and swap out the knobs, I couldn't be happier.

I also picked up a crib, the Davinci Jenny Lind 3 in 1, which converts into a toddler bed later on.

(Sorry for the terrible pic. This room is tiny and difficult to photograph). Next up I'll finish painting the walls, and tackle storage and seating. I hope to have everything finished in the coming weeks and will update you on the final result.

I hope all you mothers had a fabulous Mother's Day!

Spring Cleaning Pt. 1: Yard Work

Right now I've been working hard to accomplish several spring cleaning goals. First, I want to tackle the yard, which currently looks like this

A hot mess, I know. Our lawn is pathetic, if it can even be called a lawn. It's more like a sea of weeds. I'm really disappointed because we spent a buttload of money last spring to have our yard covered in English ivy, which our landscapers promised would look lush and beautiful by this spring. As you can see above that's not the case :-( I'm not yet sure what we are gonna do about this, but I need to figure it out ASAP, cause looking at our yard is making me depressed.

In addition to the lawn I've been working on tackling our flower beds. First up, are two that occupy the front of the house which up until this point only had some hydrangea I planted last year in them.

Even though hydrangea are my absolute favorite flowers I decided to plant some more items, because they are such late bloomers, and I really want some color as early in the year as possible. To spruce things up I added some evergreen bufford dwarf holly shrubs  and yellow and white daffodils. I can't wait til' things fill out a little more in a year or two. I'm working on selecting a border for the beds because the wood pieces the prior owners installed are rotting.

I also want to add some purple flowers in pots on the porch, any ideas on what to plant there?

On the side of the house, next to the daffodils I planted three azaleas. I agonized over what color to plant and ended up putting in some light pink ones. I hope I don't regret it, I kinda think maybe red would have been a better choice? I'm not sure how I will feel about the pink against the yellow of the house.

Well, that's about it for what's going on in the yard right now. All of this racking, digging, mulching, and planting has this pregnant lady pooped! I had wanted to start an edible garden this spring, but think that will have to wait til' next year after the baby comes and my energy levels are higher. I'm aiming to take care of the side garden and possibly backyard garden next, as well as clean and paint the porch steps. Then I'll rest :-)

Slowly, but surely things are coming along. What's going on in your yard?

“Nature never hurries: atom by atom, little by little, she achieves her work. The lesson one learns from yachting or planting is the manners of Nature; patience with the delays of wind and sun, delays of the seasons, bad weather, excess or lack of water.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Around the House: Our Kitchen

In the time we've lived in our home I've had a love/hate relationship with our kitchen. We purchased the house newly renovated, which as a positive meant we had all new finishings, but on the negative side meant I didn't get to choose any of the finishings. This posed a dilemma in the kitchen, which was finished in a style far from my own. I personally had always dreamt of a classic white kitchen, with no beige to be seen anywhere. As you can see our kitchen is swimming in a sea of beige. Since re-renovating the kitchen was absolutely out of the question, I had to make the best of what I had, and learn to appreciate the existing kitchen.

After adding a few accessories, I've grown to like the kitchen a bit more, but I'd be lying if I said it was my favorite. Ah well, I guess we can't have everything. Since, I've started cooking more I tend to look at the room less in terms of a design statement, and more in terms of a functional space for making good meals, which brings me contentment.

Things are pretty much done in the room except I think I should add some window treatments. What do you think? I'm not sure of what kind to add, but I feel they would help ground the room and break up some of the monotony.

"When you are discontent, you always want more, more, more. Your desire can never be satisfied. But when you practice contentment, you can say to yourself, 'Oh yes - I already have everything that I really need."~ Dalai Lama

Around the House: Powder Room Update

Although it's the smallest room in our house, the powder room was the hardest to decorate. For some reason i just couldn't decide on a paint color. After going through a bazillion paint samples I finally decided on Sherwin Williams Icelandic, which is a bit ridiculous because I have two other rooms painted this color. Why it didn't dawn on me to try this color first, is beyond me. Anywho, I'm pretty happy with how things turned out and will list some resources for anyone who might be interested. Starting with the Astor faucet pictured above by Newport Brass that I bought through Ebay at a very steep discount.

The little crab print is a 200 year old antique I found on Etsy for a few bucks (Maryland represent!) I had it framed up the street at McMillan Custom Framing. (Sidenote: Though pricier custom framing makes a huge difference in the appearance of your prints. Sometimes I like to shop for custom frames at flea markets and thrift shops and swap out the art they come with, with my own.)

The vintage schoolhouse light was a great find from Housewerks. If you like old fixtures or want to have period appropriate lighting, they are a must stop shop. I personally feel keeping or adding historical elements adds soul and character to your home, not to mention boosts your property value.

The ship pic is by a local photographer whose work can be found at Avenue Antiques in Hampden.

I hope you enjoyed! Now to tackle the rest of the house.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

This Christmas is rather special for me. That's because it's the first year since being an adult that I've put up Christmas decorations (I'm a little late, I know). Now that things are up, I'm wondering what the heck took me so long! Christmas decorations are awesome. They make me feel warm and fuzzy inside, just like when I was a little kid. And nothing beats the smell of fresh pine on a winter morning. I confess, for environmental and financial reasons I have a fake tree, but these ScentSicles from Amazon make the house smell like the real deal.

This year the hubs and I agreed to give each other two gifts, one that costs nothing and another that costs under $25. I can't wait to see what he came up with :-) I hope all of you are enjoying your holiday decorating and gift giving.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Full Bath Update

Although our master bath was in good condition when we moved in, I decided to make a few changes to put our mark on it. Here's what the bathroom looked like before.

To improve things I got rid of the ugly pink paint, and switched to Sherwin Williams Sea Salt. I used a sample can to paint the small room to save money, it was on sale for only $5. I painted the vanity as well, and changed the knobs, which really helped it to look less cheap. For $150 bucks I highly recommend this vanity. Next I added a carrera marble countertop from a place called European Marble, which ran me $400. Then I added a chrome shower bar and chrome faucet, lighting, and accessories from Restoration Hardware (sidenote: it's a good idea to look for these items on Ebay for a discount). Though high-end fixtures are pricey, I think they're worth it because they have integrity and can last a lifetime (or two or three for that matter). Plus, since the bath was already small, the cost to install them wasn't too bad. I threw in all white linens to keep things feeling classic, open, and spa like.

The faucet is from Restoration's Asbury line. I like the timeless look of it, but be for warned that if you're considering installing it, because of all the crevices it's hard to clean. I use old toothbrushes and a t-shirt to get it back in shining condition.

As you can see bungalows don't come with huge baths, but that doesn't mean you can't make the most of em'. As they say....appreciate the small things!