Wednesday, March 30, 2011

What I Wore Wednesday

Here we are and it's already Wednesday!!!
You what that means -
I'm linking up with The Pleated Poppy for a little fashion inspiration!!

Please join me and all the other fabulous ladies to get out of your sweats and leggings
and throw on something cute each day (well, at least most days!) -
Believe me, I can't do it everyday, but when I do get dressed in my "real" clothes,
I usually feel better about myself and have an extra spring in my step!!
I know, I know - It's all in my head - but that's ok!!
Sometimes it's the silly things like that - that make life happy!!


Thursday - I had a doctor's appointment and went to the fabric store.
 Oh!!! I love the fabric store! Beautiful fabric is one of my many weaknesses!!
When I see all the fabric, I want to re-decorate my whole house!!
So, needless to say - I usually don't tell The Man that I'm going to the fabric store!!
striped pink/white tshirt - old navy ($4 - and I love, love this shirt)
floral scarf - old navy
silver bracelets - 2 are brighton and 4 are cheap wire bangles I've had forever!
 



Sunday - Wow! I look a little mad in this picture -
But I'm not - I was getting ready to go shopping with my sister!!!
Maybe I was already stressing about trying on jeans :(
 argyle cardigan - old navy
yellow v-neck - gap
skinny jeans - gap
gray flats - payless

Love the sweet little flowers on my flats!!



Monday - It was really cold and dreary on this day!
But lucky for me, I bought this adorable navy coat for $38 the day before!!!
I had to run some errands, so I thought while I was out, I would 
deliver some cupcakes to my daddy's work! 
favorite boyfriend jeans - gap
navy coat - gap
striped scarf - the loft
boots - dillards
white v-neck tshirt - gap
gold hoop earrings - kohls




Tuesday - another cold and dreary day, but I didn't have to leave the house except to take
my son to school and drive around my neighborhood because it was big junk pick-up day!!! 
gray leggings - kohls
white sweatshirt - another bargain I found on Sunday - old navy - $8
black flip-flops - walmart


That's it for now!! Again, nothing too exciting in my wardrobe!
I have noticed I wear alot of cardigans and scarves and I really need some new jeans!!!
But I can't find any that fit right!!
 I tried on several pairs at The Gap and Old Navy, but didn't like any of them!!
So for now, y'all will have to continue to see the same three pairs.
Sorry 'bout that!! But I'll keep shopping and looking!!

Thanks for stopping by and please go check out the other ladies over at The Pleated Poppy!!

Have a great day!!!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Spring Wreath

First,  I would like to say thank you for such positive feedback about my backyard project!!
I'm glad you enjoyed the photos and hope you will stick around for the final pool reveal.
It really is our dream backyard and we are anxiously awaiting its completion.
There is still much work to be done and we are working on it as weather and time permits.
We are looking forward to many outdoor get-togethers with family and friends!!

Now, onto the actual post -
It is a dreary day here in Oklahoma - cold and drizzly -
I decided I should spruce up my front door with a new spring wreath
hoping it would brighten my day!!

Because of the weather, I didn't want to have to leave the house,
so I just worked with what I had "stashed" in my craft room.

It started with this regular ole grapevine wreath.


It looked kind of bare just hanging there all naked!!
So I dug through my stash to see what I could find and ended up with this -


I had a piece of upholstery webbing, a spring floral spray,
a couple of skeleton key Christmas ornaments, and a remnant piece of burlap -


Tie it all together -
add a few dabs of hot glue here and there -


and Ta-Da -


A new spring wreath for the front door!

Nothing fancy or expensive - just a little touch of spring!!

What's hanging on your front door to greet friends (and the UPS man)??

Have a wonderful day, my friends!

Monday, March 28, 2011

My Dream Backyard

Hello - hello - anyone - anyone still out there???
Sorry for the lack of blog posts, but here is the reason I haven't been able to focus on any
projects lately!!  We have a huge project going on right here in our own backyard!!

I've gone back and forth with whether or not I should do this post -
because I don't want to seem boastful or like I'm bragging about this
or saying "look at what I have". 
That is not the case at all!!

This is about a dream
and the biggest design project to ever happen in my life!!!
Plus, I started my blog to document the projects I'm working on, as well, as inspiration I find
from others.  This project is all about finding inspiration from other people and sources.

I love all things related to design - great before and after photos and seeing projects completed.
This post is about all of those things - happening right here at the farmhouse!!

The Man and I have many pictures pulled from magazines, dog-eared pages in landscaping books,
ideas in our heads, on paper napkins, on notebook pages, many pictures saved in my favorites file and
much time logged on our back porch visualizing our dream and how great it would be
 to have it come to fruition so we could share it with family and friends! 

Due to the number of photos I have, I will do this in several posts, so please hang in there with me!!! 


The actual project started January 17, 2011 with a spray painted outline in my backyard!!

The perfect blank slate!
 It was a wide open space begging for something - anything - but we had a plan and didn't want to spend time or money on landscaping that we knew would be temporary and/or interfere with our grand plan.
So, for over 6 years, we've lived with the empty backyard - just waiting for this day!


Yay!!! Momma's gettin' a swimming pool!!!!!


January 18, 2011 - I was so excited this on day!!!
It's actually happening!!! 


   

They weren't messing around!! We had this huge hole in our backyard the first day of digging.


My baby boy!! He can't wait to get in - water or not!


Boys will be boys - no matter what age!! He loved "playing" on the dirt pile.
By the way, they dug up about 16 dumptruck loads of dirt to create this dream dirt pile for my son.
We asked to keep the dirt for our landscaping project!!!!  That's ALOT of dirt! Hope we can use it all!


The re-bar, electrical and plumbing were all set -


This was a busy day on the cul-de-sac!!!
Three huge trucks showed up to spray the gunite (concrete type stuff) as the pool base.


All this only took about 4 hours and was a little messy!!
They had to place a temporary tarp wall to keep it from blowing on the house.






This was an exciting day because we could actually see what the pool was going to look like!!

We had them create a suntan ledge and a few benches into the walls.

(see how large the yard is)



We had to make a trip to the rockyard to pick out the stone we wanted as the coping around the edges.
 I wanted stone instead of brick for a more natural look.  Picking out the stone was easy!!


The tile - not so much!!!
I had a really difficult time with this and wasn't confident in my decision
 until the pool was filled with water. 


Here's The Man watering the gunite!! We had to keep it wet so it wouldn't crack. That was a little
nerve wracking to know that we could be the cause of a crack so early on in the project!!


I love the flagstone we picked out and most of the time it looked great with the tile.
But there were days when it appeared peach, instead of tan. Not what I had envisioned at all!!!


Well, we got to this point really quickly - then it snowed - twice!! This caused a 2 week delay.


The pool full of ice and snow.


The snow finally melted, but there was still ice. Thick ice in the deep end of my pool!!




Yay!! It's finally melting!
Let's get this party started again!!



Doing a little dirt work in prepartion for the patio and decking.



Wow!! That's going to be a big patio!!!








The patio and decking are completed and I'm freaking out!!!
You know how things looks all "wonky" in a funhouse mirror??
Well, that's what my new patio and deck looked like to me. It was a sea of wonky concrete!!
I cried!!
We paid extra money for all this concrete and it looked ridiculous!
It slanted and sloped -
and how was someone going to sit upright in their chair??
I called The Man
I called Greg - our pool contractor -
Greg said it looked fine. I called The Man again - I cried.  He called Greg.
I wasn't happy!! Not sure what could be done at this point, but I WAS NOT happy!
Greg came back out and looked at it again and surveyed it to make sure it was ok -
I'm sure this was just to satisfy this hormonal crazy woman -
but again, he said it was "slanted and sloped" the way it needed to be for proper drainage
and assured me it would look good and I should just wait until it was all completed
to make my final determination.
Oh yeah, right?? Wait til it's completed so nothing could be done??

So, that's what I did!! I waited and waited!! 

And I'll give you a heads-up. It did turn out looking great!!
Greg did know what he was talking about!! I should have believed the professional!!



On top of being unsure about the patio and decking, we had to pick out a pool color.
Not by looking at life size pools, but looking at 2x2inch color samples.
What?? You think picking out paint colors is difficult - this kept me awake at nightt!!

 We didn't want it too dark, we didn't want it too light, didn't want it to look like
a motel swimming pool, and didn't want it to be a "trendy" color that would be outdated in a
couple of years. I wanted it to be the color I visualized in my mind, but what "color" is that??? 

I can decorate a house, but take me outside and my mind goes completely blank!
I can't visualize the space -
Everything I know about decorating my house just comes naturally -
but outside -
NOT SO MUCH!!!

So, this is where I'll leave you for now - contemplating a pool color!!!

I'll post more later this week.  Thanks for hanging in there!!
I promise the "after" photos will be worth the wait!!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

What I Wore Wednesday

Sorry for the lack of posts lately!!
Last week was Spring Break and I wasn't very motivated to do much of anything
and this week I'm trying to catch-up on everything I didn't do last week!! 

I am linking up with The Pleated Poppy for What I Wore Wednesday.

I did have to get dressed a couple of times over the past week, so this post didn't
require much imagination or motivation, which I seem to be lacking lately!
I hope to get my "groove" back soon!!!!



Thursday - St. Patrick's Day
Get your green on!!!

I had to run to the grocery store for a few items.
I did wear green - but no make-up and my hair was in a pony-tail!! 
It was Spring Break!

green/white checked snap front shirt - old navy
green tank - old navy
boyfriend jeans - old navy
flip flops - born


Friday - went to the airport to pick-up my aunt and uncle who flew in from Alaska!!
I love them!! They are wonderful people!!!

favorite jeans - gap
blue v-neck tshirt - gap
white tank - old navy
blue/gray grandpa sweater - clearance for $7 at gap
shoes - my bobs!!


Sunday - ran errands with The Man!
I love him, too!!

favorite jeans - gap
green cardigan - old navy
yellow v-neck tshirt - target
white lace trimmed tank - old navy
necklace - premier designs
shoes - burlap toms (love these shoes!!)


Love the writing on my shirt!! 


It says - imagine, love, dream, believe, happiness, dream, imagine, love, believe, happiness


Please go check out the other blogs over at The Pleated Poppy for a little fashion inspiration!!

Thanks for stopping by the farmhouse!!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

What I Wore Wednesday

Hello Friends!!!

It's that time again -  I'm linking up with The Pleated Poppy
for some great fashion inspiration.  

 I'll show you what I wore (only 2 outfits)
and
 I'll also show you a few things I wish I was wearing!!


Monday - 1st day of Spring Break - so I thought I should dress "spring-like".
My 15 year old son wanted to know why
I was wearing a grandma sweater!! WHAT???

I thought it looked kinda Anthropologie-ish - but appartently, not so much!

grandma sweater - old navy
pink striped long sleeved  tshirt - old navy ($4!!!)
skinny jeans - gap
bronze colored flats - marshall's
flower necklace - kohls
coin necklace - found in a box from The Man's grandfather's upholstery shop



Definitely more color and pattern than I normally wear,
but I like it!

What do you think?? Does it work??
Or is it grandma's sweater??




Wednesday - lunch with my son

new skinny jeans - kohls
white vneck tshirt - gap
pink/white striped ruffled scarf - The Pleated Poppy
leopard print flats - kohls



I love my new ruffled scarf!!!
I also purchased a cream colored one.




I love this outfit! The jeans, shoes, and especially the hat!!

via banana republic



 I love these shoes!! I would wear them with just about everything!

via aldo




This outfit is so me!! I love everything about it.
I would wear the above sandals with this.

 via old navy




Another outfit that I love!!  I really don't stray from my comfort zone - do I?

I wish I had this so I could wear it tomorrow - St. Patrick's Day!

via old navy



I love a great maxi dress and this one is adorable!!!

 via piperlime




Another great pair of shoes that I would wear all the time!! 
These would be great with my cuffed boyfriend jeans and a white shirt!!
via piperlime 



Well, there you have it!! My crazy spring-like clothes,
 along with my wish-list for some new clothes!!

Go ahead -- check out The Pleated Poppy What I Wore Wednesday linky party!!

There is alot of fun fashion inspiration, plus check out Lindsey's shop for
the ruffled scarves and other great items!!!

I love receiving comments, so I would love it if you drop me a line!!

Happy Spring Break!!

Have fun and be safe!!