Blooms

Summer has SUDDENLY arrived in Texas so that means 100+ degree temps and lots of dying plants and grass. A lot of my annuals are starting to wither away, but other plants are fighting to stay alive. I went ahead and snapped some pics just in case they die off in the next few weeks... #blackthumb

We planted some Russian Sage flanking our garage doors last weekend and I cannot believe we waited so long to figure this out. I think they look great against our house colors and I can't wait for them to get big and bushy! They are supposed to be drought tolerant and perennials...we'll see. 

Our big pecan trees are full and green, too!

My hydrangea are turning colors...this one has been green for a while, but I'm thinking its going to turn pink eventually. See the pink on the edges? They change colors depending on the soil acidity and there is a house down the street that has a bunch of pink hydrangea, so I'm thinking that's what we are in for. Can't wait for them to make up their mind!

I relocated all of my petunias to the back where they get more sun. They should be annuals (right?) but as long as I give them plenty of water, they are happy! Also, #patternmixing. :)

I love green onions but we don't seem to use them fast enough and they go bad. Here's a tip - stick the roots in water and they will grow! I had them cut down all the way to the blue sticker, so everything else is growth. Love this tip!

..and this is my bloom failure. I picked this orchid up from TJ's for $5 a couple months back. It did fine and was independent for a good 45 days but suddenly it shriveled up and the flowers died. The bottom still looks alive so I just chopped off the flowers and moved it to the windowsill. Crossing my fingers it comes back! Any orchid experts out there want to chime in?

Fresh flowers, as usual. :) I picked these up for $1.49 at Kroger on Saturday. LOVE!

We have ivy surrounding our house, and it has decided to start taking over this flowerbed. I'm totally OK with it right here since it's bare anyway, but should I be concerned about it popping up all over our back lawn? 

Everywhere. 

I hope some of these blooms stay alive into next winter. I love lush, green plants!

Outdoor updates : part one

The last few weekends (excluding the most recent) we have had some really good weather here in north Texas. I got a little carried away and picked up some bright flowers and décor to spruce up the front of our house.

 

I found this sign for 50% off at Hobby Lobby and thought it would be perfect for this wall on our front porch.

 

 

Down the road, I have plans to paint the floor and the ceiling and add a chair or a bench plus some pillows for an extra cozy feel, but for now this sign does the trick!

 

 

The sign does double duty when we have the windows open. It really makes the porch feel like more square footage, and it should be treated as such!

 

 

If anything, the picture above shows how far we really have to go before our landscaping is complete. Crossing my fingers for a big change after the summer!

 

Also on the agenda was changing out the wreath on the door.

 

 

This is the first yarn wreath I made and it's still one of my favorites! I just added some black and white chevron ribbon and it was just the touch it needed to SCREAM 'me'. Love it!

 

The previous owners left this pot when we took over the house and it's been sitting with weeds in it for a while. I just bought a big pallet of pansies (super cheap) and put them all together.

 

 

 

 

I'm hoping I can keep them alive through the summer!

 

We have plans to really dive in with our landscaping this summer. I'm probably a little ambitious to think of what we can accomplish, but I hope it's an improvement on what we have now!

Details: a work in progress

Not much to talk about today, so I wanted to share some 'work in progress' details with you. Maybe you can help inspire my next project! (cross your fingers its kitchen counters!!!)

After my Wednesday post last week, my friend and former roommate Kelly commented that I should use this typography quote for my next chalkboard wall inspiration:

So I did!

I used the format and the text as a guide and just copied it onto my wall with a little freehand action. I took Christa's advice this time and wet the chalk. It made for a more solid line and an easier time in general, but the texture on the wall is still my nemesis! 

(you can see why I want new counters so bad, right?!)

Emily already shared a few detail shots (much better with her pro camera!) but here are some more that I have taken along the way...

I might have already said this, but fresh flowers are one of my favorite things! Especially in big bunches. (coughmarkcough) I also love to have a candle lit at night. Try it! It automatically helps you de-stress, as well as turning down the overhead lights!

This table has followed me around a lot. I first got it for my room re-do at my parent's house my sophomore year in college. I bought it for $20 on sale at Ross, and it was a weird silvery-gold color. I spray painted it silver before it went it my room. Then, I took it with me when I moved into a house with my friend Jody in Lubbock. I brought it back with me to Dallas and it was in my first apartment. When Kelly and I moved in, we had a little fun and sprayed it a bright royal blue for our living room. It stayed that way for the apartment in Oak Cliff, and when I got it here I just used some leftover ORB and sprayed it again! Its the perfect little lightweight side table. The top used to have a mirror on it, but it broke somewhere down the line (I blame kitty cat paws and a strong jump) so I painted it with chalkboard paint when I painted the kitchen and I just drew a scalloped detail on it for now. Here it is in it's current state! Quite a story it has, right?

This bookshelf has been extremely useful, too. Its the LACK shelf from Ikea and I bought it when Kelly and I lived in our duplex to serve as a shoe compartment in my fun 'office/closet' space. I then used it as a bookshelf/room divider in the apartment and got a few comments on how useful it was that way. As soon as we brought it into the new house, we set it on the ground next to the window and voila! it is now a window seat and bookshelf. It's where people drop their items when they come in the door and many people have sat on it. It was a great buy!

Again with the flowers! I saved the mason jars and vases from our wedding, too. This one has gold glitter on the upper half, and it's one of my favorite flower vases!

Emily took a similar photo, but this is our dresser in our bedroom. I'm glad that I don't have too much cluttering the top, I want the bedroom to be more sparse than the rest of the house.

I've shown this detail before, but I'm still really loving this side table!

I bought a little grey rug just like this a couple of years ago from World Market and it rests in Mark's bathroom now. I always loved it, so I went back and got this wine colored one for my bathroom!

I've been holding off on showing more bathroom pictures because I've been on the search for the perfect window treatment fabric, but I'm coming up empty so far. I had Mark hang this Ikea bookshelf to hold some items that bring more color into the room (like our postcards from our honeymoon in Hawaii), plus its a convenient spot for my jewelry. I love it!

So, what are your favorite details in your house? Do the little things make you happy, or is it more about a large piece of furniture or a new appliance?

Happy Hump Day!

Weekend update + bonus recipe!

We meet again, Monday. I won't be missing you this time next week!

So we got another weekend under our belts and it was a fun one, at that! Like I mentioned, Emily came up and spent the weekend in the area.

Before Emily arrived, Mark and I whipped up some fajitas on the grill for dinner on Friday night. Cooking has been rare in the house so far!

After dinner we headed up to our friends house for a game night. It was full of laughs, as usual. While playing Taboo, one of our friends described a ladybug as a 'domed creature' and I could. not. stop. laughing. So fun!

Emily and I got up on Saturday morning and enjoyed breakfast by Mark and then headed down to Aveda. Our friend Jody is going to school there and was giving manicures, so we couldn't turn that down! We hit up Velvet Taco after that with Jody in tow.

Emily requested a stop at a boutique so I obliged and scored some cute mint colored crocheted shorts while Emily picked up a silver necklace.

We both tried those shorts on and they were definitely a no-go. 

We stopped at HomeGoods and Tom Thumb for a few things, then headed home where I made this loaded baked potato dip to take to a housewarming party later that night. 

Here's my simple recipe, found just about anywhere:

-about 3 lbs of sour cream (this was for a large party, I just bought the big tub)

-two bags of shredded cheese

-one package of cooked bacon, crumbled

-two bunches of green onions, chopped

Mix it all together and serve it with potato chips and it's pretty dang good!

Mark, Emily and I then made the drive to Arlington to congratulate our friends Jimmy and Courtney on their new house. They had a great turn out, lots of food, and the perfect yard for lawn games. I saw quite a few of my best high school friends and we played corn hole (also known as bean bags) until the sun went down. We got to hang out and chat for a while and then the old people (us) headed back north around 10:30pm. It was a great night!

Emily headed out on Sunday morning to see some other friends, so Mark and I got back to it with decorating, cleaning, and making changes to the house.

 I love having fresh flowers around!

This was part of my day on Sunday...fabric shopping!

I also hung a few things in my office for inspiration.

Stay tuned this week for more updates, as promised!

linking up with Sami today!

One more thing-I'm doing a draft tonight for my very first fantasy football league with other bloggers! Karoline at Karoline with a K is heading up our league and to say I'm excited is an understatement. 

how cute is she???

Wish me luck and share your fantasy football stories, tips and tricks!