This Is What Has Kept Me Busy This Summer:

Gardening!  That pretty much sums up my entire summer.  And of all years to take up a new hobby, I had to choose the “year of the drought”…LOL… 

 

Here’s a list of some of the pretties that I’ve added to the garden this year:

 

1 Dwarf Sweetspire Itea

1 Red “Knockout” rose bush

1 ‘RASPBERRY WINE’ Monarda

3 ‘SUNNY SKIES’ Delphinium

3 COREOPSIS ‘SUNRAY’

2 Nanho Blue Butterfly Bushes

1 Giant Ostrich fern

1 Japanese Beech Fern 

2 Hosta fire and ice

1 Hosta Patriot

1 Hosta Twilight 

2 Salieri daylillies

2 Stella D’oro daylillies

1 Sunny Yellow Knock-Out Rose Bush (purchased by my sweet hubby)

And after all of this hard work, what do I have to show for it?  NOTHING!  I think everything has died.  But I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’m wrong and hoping that everything will come back up in the Spring. 

But there is one plant (well, actually 3) that has really amazed me this year and that is this Hosta:

 

This hosta has been here since we’ve moved in 5 years ago and has never bloomed.  Earlier this year I dug it up and divided it into 3 plants and replanted in a different location.  Look what happened:

 

 

Isn’t it pretty!  All three of the plants produced these showy blooms.  And the fragrance…OMG!  You have to get one of these Hostas.

Well, that pretty much sums up my summer and my absence from blogging.  How was your summer?   

 

I’m still here…

New posts coming soon!  Stay tuned…

TAKE TIME TO SMELL THE ROSES…

 

…I mean the Peonies…lol…Just wanted to share my pretty Peonies with you.  They smell sooo good!   I cut these several days ago and put them in a vase on my table.   This morning I decided to play around with them a bit.  Here’s what I did with them:

Recognize the table in the picture?  Yep…that was my “home office in progress” table that’s located in my dining room.  It just wasn’t working out as the home office area :(  

This is a picture I picked up about six or seven months ago at Goodwill.  I love this picture but I never could find the perfect place to put it.  I think it’ll work here for now.  What do you think?

 

  Peonies are so pretty when they are floating:

 

Can you smell them?

OK…that’s all I’ve got.  Now I’m off to plant some Lavender.  Catcha later!

What’s Your Style?

What’s your interior style?  I just finished taking the Style Quiz over at the ISCD International School of Color and Design and here are my “Style Quiz” results:

Your style personality is NOSTALGIC NEST.

You’re a collector that likes to express their individuality.  Trends don’t interest you; you’re down to earth. You’ve developed your own style and stay true to yourself.  You enjoy indoor and outdoor living.  Unique souvenirs from your travels adorn your home.  You’re sentimental; you keep photo albums and happy memories around you.  You make your own treasures.

YEP!!  Sounds like me…So what’s your style?

DOESN’T HURT TO DREAM…

 

I’ve been thinking about the outdoor projects that I need to get done and dreaming about those that I’d like to work on “someday”. 

On my list of “got to do’s” is fix up the front porch & fix our broken concrete walkway & steps that run from the sidewalk to the house (here’s a pic of the sad looking front porch and the walkway.  And look…a neighbor has come over for a visit):

And a couple of other things that I need to get done are:  get a new mailbox & post, add some type of lighting to the driveway side of the house, & add an outdoor spigot.

 

On my list of “want to do’s” is to build a patio/courtyard off of my dining room with walkways leading to the front of the house and to the back of the house.  Here are some pics of my absolute FAVORITE:

(You can go to Patio Tour from Remodeling Center.com: for more information on this patio.)

I LOVE THIS!!!  This was designed by Landscape architect James Furr.   A 7-foot-high fence lines the neighbor's driveway, which I DEFINITELY NEED!  At the rear of the courtyard, latticework and a gate open to the backyard.  LOVELY!!

Here’s a close up pic of this patio.  Love the raised flower beds and the addition of the water feature:

look at all the pretty flowers:

LOVE LOVE LOVE the mortared flagstone path:

 

These pics are definitely going into my “home improvement ideas” binder.  I know that our side yard could never look like as beautiful as this….but it doesn’t hurt to dream.

OK…back to the things that NEED to get done.  Catch ya later!

Blogger Burnout…Ever Get It? And A List of Future Projects…

 

For the last month or so, I have had every intention of posting “something”.  I have 4 blog posts in Windows Live Writer waiting to be finished and published.  Every time I get ready to hit “publish”, a little voice inside says “Why bother…it’s not like anyone reads it anyway.”  So I stopped blogging. 

But then I got to thinking…why did I begin blogging in the first place?  I have learned so much from other bloggers, from “how to put together a DIY wedding”… to “how to menu plan for a week to a month at a time.”  So this blog was my way of “giving back”.  Hopefully “someone” has/will find something useful here.

So now that I’m out of the “Blogger Burnout” stage, it’s back to posting time.   While I was taking time off from blogging, I did “A LOT” of blog hopping.  I came across a lot of really neat projects out there that I’ve added to my ever growing “Projects to Do” binder.  And I’ve added a lot of new blogs to my “favorites”.  Here are some of them:

Recaptured Charm's Antique Window to Cafe Sign  LOVE IT! 

BobbyPins Boardwalk's Large Impact Art Isn’t that BEAUTIFUL!  I love the colors she’s used.

Luxurious Headboard also by Bobbypins Boardwalk  I could really use a headboard.  And I love this one.

Beneath My Heart's Ballard inspired Cafe Shelf (not sure if “I” can do it, but I’m going to give it a try)

Sunburst Mirror by Stephanie Lynn  Isn’t that GORGEOUS!!  I can think of several places in my home to put that.

But, if you’ll remember, I have a dresser sitting in my dining room waiting to be transformed, so these projects may have to wait a little bit.  But then again, I’m waiting on my sweeet FIL to make me some bun feet for my dresser, sooo……

Ballard Inspired Topiary #2…Picture of Spring in my yard…and a future project!

 

Sorry its been so long since my last post.  We have had a death in the family and some other things come up.  I’m still not feeling up to blogging right now so I’ll keep it short and sweet.

I did manage to finish another Ballard inspired topiary.  Here’s a pic of it: 

I think I’m finished with these for a while. 

The other project that I mentioned in my last post has been put on hold until I can find what I need to finish it.  (which hopefully won’t be too much longer.)

I also wanted to take a minute and share a couple of pics of our forsythia bushes.   I think these are the prettiest ones in town the county :)

And how about a sneak peek of a “near” future project:

This is what I picked up today at the Salvation Army store for $15.00? 

 

 

and here’s a couple of pics of what I’d like it to look like when I’m done with it:

Guess that’s all for now.  I will be back, so I hope you’ll come back and see me.