"Garden Room"

Two months ago, I talked about moving this cabinet into the entry and said I wanted to paint it.

Last month, I showed you a picture of the cabinet painted, but I was not happy with the "staging" of the cabinet.

I still need to sand the cabinet, but finally the entry makes me happy.

The star of the entry is one of Steve's paintings, Flowers and Rust, which is 4 feet across and 5 feet tall.

It's an old painting of the garden and the only thing that remains the same from that painting is the rusty watering can.

The green box, my grandmother's Coats & Clark sewing box, sits on the cabinet holding flatware.

Steve always hates change, but he likes this one because he knows right where to put the flatware when he unloads the dishwasher.

The bird candle holder was a gift from one of my college roommates and I am so happy that I found a prominent place for it.

The green of the box and the yellow of this birdcage blend beautifully with the colors in the painting.

I have no idea why I have started a mouse collection - maybe I should blame Vera of Rowhomes and Cobblestones who always shows us the sweetest little mice.

My excuse is that these little Maileg mice me smile.

I like the view of the "Garden Room" from the doorway and from the kitchen.

I don't know when I will get the cabinet sanded because my hand still troubles me and also because JP's wedding is just 11 weeks away -  I am in full "wedding creativity mode".

I leave you with a picture of "Little Lulu" and Steve in the "Garden Room".

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Join me for

Share Your Cup Thursday at Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage

3 Quick Projects

Between workmen in our bathroom (not a fun way to spend $$$$) and Little Lulu, I knew today would be spent at home.

 Last night I looked for inspiration for projects that would not take much time and would fit with my August mantra of "use what I have".

This cute little vignette at White Lace Cottage became my first project of the morning.

We eat on small plates for most meals (portion control) and I have lots of different colors of dishes.

We are always rummaging through the cupboard to choose a plate in the morning so this little dish strainer is perfect for holding plates and bowls for our morning fruit and yogurt.

A roll of webbing I found in my parents' garage earlier in the summer

combined with a birdcage frame I found at TJ Maxx months ago became the second quick project.

I simply stapled the webbing to a piece of cardboard and attached the key with wire.

I love the bench beneath the trees in the garden all dressed up with pillows and a banner, but the banner and the pillows are now covered with sap from the trees.

I spent too much time embroidering the banner to see it destroyed so a change in the bench became project #3.

This Moda fabric is a favorite and I only have a skinny strip left, but I was able to cut out hearts for a banner.

I placed batting in between 2 hearts, sewed the hearts together and connected the hearts with ribbon.

I washed and dried the banner so the edges would fray.

A simple basket with a plant is a much more practical choice than the cushion which I can grab from a cupboard if I want to sit and relax - unlikely with Little Lulu!

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I am joining the following parties

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson - Share Your Cup Thursday

Lavender Garden Cottage - Cottage Style Party

Shabby Creek Cottage - Transformation Thursday

Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesdays

Ivy and Elephants - What's It Wednesday

Rooted in Thyme - Simple & Sweet Fridays

No Minimalist Here - Open House Party

The Pin Junkie - Friday Link Party

Green Willow Pond - What We Accomplished Wednesday

Speed Shopping

Friday night we headed to one of our favorite Italian restaurants so poor Steve didn't have to cook.  

We usually go out about 6:30 on Friday nights, but we had to drop by the opening of a show where Steve is displaying some art, so we were ready for dinner about 5:30.

As we walked to the restaurant, I noticed that the lights were still on at one of my favorite shops, Meadow.

And I was in luck because the hostess told us we had a 20 minute wait.

 I talked Steve into walking across the street to Meadow - my "go to" shop when I am buying for my sister. 

She is a world traveler, for work and pleasure, and does her shopping in London, Paris and New York.

What do you buy for the woman who has everything?

I go to Meadow for little unusual gifts that she might not find for herself.

In the 20 minutes I had to spend before a table was ready, I found these sweet things.

They sat in the bag until after school today when I actually had some time for fluffing.

I love my basket of clocks, but it is time for a redo.

The birdcage is now on my antique record cabinet ( designed to hold 78 rpms) which will be changing colors next week.

A few daisies from my garden, simple books and a metal bird I found at Joanne's brought spring to the living room.

First I went with a little metal ladybug, 

but I didn't know what to do with the faucet knobs (is that what they are? ) so they replaced the ladybug.

The white heart is on my green chair,

the basket that was holding all the clocks is on the coffee table and 

some of the clock faces are on the long table.

If you read my post Losing an old friend, you might notice that "Land of the Lofts" was Steve's choice to replace the yellow truck.

The living room is fluffed and clean.

And it all came about because I had 20 minutes to wait for dinner.

The best part - our anniversary is in two weeks and Meadow has the perfect lamp to go next to Steve's old leather chair.

I think I dropped enough hints on Friday night so I hope the lamp will be mine on April 3.

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I can be found partying at

Lavender Garden Cottage

The Dedicated House

Creative Cain Cabin

Boogieboard Cottage

Spring Thing Linky Party

A Humble Creation