The Morning Garden

Mornings here have been cool and sunny. Perfect weather to get out in the garden and do a little work. We have begun dabbling in raised beds for our veggies this year. I love how they contain everything neatly. Until now, vegetable gardening has been something I was really not interested in. If you want to turn your kids off of gardening, get them up at the crack of dawn and make them tend (weed) your 3 acre garden all summer. My parents had slave labor (us) and we had better get every. single. weed. I grew up detesting vegetable plots. And then there were the hours of canning in the hottest part of summer. Ugh.
But the past few days, out in the cool morning sunshine, weeding and mulching my little beds and seeing everything become neat and ordered has renewed an interest in gardening. Of course, it helps that my flowers are part of the garden and I get to see their beauty as I work. See the cute tomato marker above? My sweet sis-in-law made that for me:>)

Above, peas are almost ready, marigolds glow next to the tomatoes, in the upper right corner is some pink lavender I found a couple years ago at the farmers market. It doesn't smell as good as the purple variety, but I like it's uniqueness. In the lower right corner, my "black" hollyhocks, I love the single variety rather than the ones that look like powder puffs. They look so much more old fashioned. What's growing in your garden?

While the cat's away

Earl is always joking that whenever he leaves the house for a few days he never knows what color the rooms will be when he gets back. He went down to help my brother install some windows early this week and I had a few days to play. I don't have a before picture because I was so anxious to start I just forgot to get any. The upper walls of this bath were papered with a pretty ivy wallpaper and I had a white shower curtain. I liked it but after a few years the steam from the shower was making the edges loose and I thought it looked tatty. I had all the things I needed for this makeover except the paint and that was $20. Not bad for a whole new look! I have to admit, as I tore that first piece of wallpaper off the wall I thought "What am I doing!?" It wasn't too bad though and once I got the top layer of vinyl off, soaking the paper on the wall with water and a bit of white vinegar dissolved the paste very well. It came off easily.
When we added on to this little cottage 25 years ago (!) we chose grey tile for the bath. I hate it now and, although grey is a neutral, if I could go back I would get white. So one of the biggest challenges has been working with that color and being happy with the outcome. I think the green tones down the grey and I love it with the grey! I had the toile curtain panels from a 5 yard piece of fabric that I paid $5 for at a yard sale a few years ago. It was dining room curtain panels for a while and I just sewed 3 of them together with a flat seam to make the shower curtain. Button holes allow for shower rings. The mirrors on the walls are all garage sale finds. The two above the sink were $3 each and I spray painted all the mirrors glossy black. I love it!

This little wicker house holds toilet tissue. $5 at a storage unit garage sale and it came filled with vintage patterns!

One of my toile hearts hangs from the robe hook:>)

This vintage frame was $2 at a garage sale, once again, sprayed black and hung over one of the towel bars. It is hard to see the details with this photo, but these are really old, ornate plaster frames.

And this vintage oval mirror, $3 at another garage sale 2 weeks ago. As you can see, I did this on a budget but I am thrilled with the way it turned out. Earl got a surprise when he walked in last night:>) I love that too, it always makes me smile to surprise him:>) I still have a few details to add but the whole family loves the new look and it didn't break the bank!

Happy Birthday America!

Happy 4th of July! America throws the biggest party every year and it is wonderful to see the outpouring of love for our country. We went to the parade this morning, strictly small town, and as the national anthem began, everyone stood and though the streets were shoulder to shoulder, there was absolute quiet. Suddenly, you could hear people joining in. What a wonderful moment:>
I hope everyone out there takes this day to play and laugh and enjoy the freedom we have fought so hard to attain and to keep. Happy 4th!

I am, quite possibly, insane...

Yes insane! It all began when Earl brought home a box of precut, 5" fabric squares from his mother. She didn't want them, could I use them? Well, hmmm. I had been thinking of making quilts for the daughters (quilting being something I swore I would never do!) and here were the pieces all cut out! Woo hoo! Except they were not the right colors. Well maybe I could use a few of them and just fill in with colors that I love. Right? how hard could that be?
Of course Victoria had seen a pinwheel quilt in the header of this blogger, (oh why do I let them look over my shoulder when I'm blogging!?) and requested it. It is gorgeous. I could do one for each of them (and maybe one for me?) And then I calculated how many squares I need to cut out... about 500? Insane. Best not to think about the number. Just do it. Wish me luck. Anyone know where I can get an all white charm pack?

Little flower - but if I could understand what you are, root and all, and all in all, I should know what God and man is.
-Alfred Lord Tennyson
Flower in the crannied wall

Rustic cake stand

With two daughters, you know that weddings are something I often think about. No, neither one is engaged, but a mom can't start planning too soon can she? So I often think about how we are going to make the day special without spending a fortune, 'cause let me tell you their weddings will be big on money saving creativity and short on $$! With all the popularity of going green and rustic elegance right now I asked Earl to whip up a little cake stand from some wood pieces we had. Can you see this as a centerpiece on each table at the reception? Topped with flowers and surrounded by green vines and candles?
I don't know if this would fit with what my daughters would want, but in the meantime it's in the shop. Now I'm going to go eat that cake:>)

A Beautiful Gift:>)

I was the lucky winner of a give-away from Cynthias Cottage Design and received it late last week. What with sewing frenzies and an impromptu visit from my brother I've not had the time until now to show you this lovely package. If you have never been to Cynthias Cottage Design, go now! It is so beautiful and I love her use of color and pattern. She has great decorating ideas and a darling online store and design services. I won this gorgeous box of goodies which included one of her beautiful collages, a vintage apron, a pink toile plate, a pretty, pretty basket and this vintage cross stiched tablecloth. There was also a little blue plate that adds to my recent search for blue and white dishes and I love it all!

You can see how the collage she made looks on my beadboard backsplash in the kitchen, beautiful! I added the apron and plate just so you could see them together. I have the other plate and the basket in use elsewhere already. SO pretty:>)
I wanted to show you a photo of the table cloth all opened up because I am seeing a red cross stitch monogram in the center and this made into a pillow, what do you think? It is a small table cloth but it would make a big cushy pillow and the center of the rose ring just calls out for that monogram don't you think?

Thank you Cynthia, I enjoy your blog so much and I loved getting this package of beautiful gifts in the mail, it brightened my day!