Fabulous Outdoor Spaces

Hello friends!!! Sorry for the lack of posts - it's been crazy here at the farmhouse

this week, but I'm looking forward to a relaxing week-end with family!!



I am so ready for warm weather!!  While relaxing this week-end, I'll be dreaming

of these fabulous outdoor spaces and how I can re-create just a little bit

of this awesome-ness in my own backyard.

love the mix of colors of these flowers and the fullness!!

house beautiful

 love the hanging flower pot/candle chandelier and the chairs!!

 martha stewart

 I love everything about this!!

the gravel floor, the bistro table, the topiaries and climbing vines,

the pillows, the juice containers in the ice bucket/flower pot!

martha stewart

  I love the feel of this one. The climbing vines on the arbor,

the hanging candles - probably mason jars, the colors, oh, and the wine!

martha stewart

 very relaxing!

martha stewart

 this just looks like a fabulous place to hang out with friends!

martha stewart

 I love the topiary and the vines above the window.

martha stewart

  what a great place for breakfast!

not sure where I found this fabulous picture - do you know??

 I love the candelier, the table, the basket of greenery on the table, and the climbing vine!

pottery barn

the flagstone path - makes you want to see what's around the corner and the flowers are beautiful!  

country living

  love the detail of this planter against the rock wall!

ballard designs

 I love everything about this one!!!

pottery barn

  love, love, love the chairs and their great chippy patina!!

southern living

gorgeous!!! 

southern living

I love these containers (except for the lion's head)

restoration hardware

 I love the look of this, but is a little too formal for me. I do love the colors, the gravel, and the lanterns!

restoration hardware

 again, maybe too formal for me, but I love the containers with the topiaries!

restoration hardware

I would love to have a pergola and a fireplace!! Beautiful!!! 

again, not sure the source of this great pic - it was something I had saved in my favorites

  

love the moss on the pots and the detail of the iron planter!! 

pottery barn 

love everything about this one, too!!! 

pottery barn

These items and spaces are all fabulous, but probably way more work and money than

we can do.  But with that being said, I'm going to decorate outside the same way I decorate inside.

I'll start by searching for items similar to the ones in the photos that I absolutely love

and incorporate them into my own design.  I don't want to "copy" the

above photos, just use them as inspiration and try to capture the feel of these

spaces in my own outdoor space!

I hope you found some inspiration as well for your outdoor areas!

So, here's to a relaxing week-end dreaming of fabulous outdoor spaces!!

Bring on the spring!!!

photo sources: pottery barn, southern living, restoration hardware, country living,

martha stewart,  house beautiful,  ballard designs

The Mantel

I finally took down the Valentine's decor

and did a little re-do on the fireplace mantel. 

It has all the elements I like......

vintage

chippy

texture

layers

a little green

I keep tweaking it, but I think I almost have it the way I want it.

Most of these items were found at either a thrift or antique store. 

Look at the detail on this vintage frame!! Absolutely love it!!!

The large canvas of children walking through the field was a gift from The Man.

The smaller picture with the young girl and sheep was a recent find at an antique store.

The large iron piece is from Hobby Lobby about 6 years ago.

I've had the large white candlesticks for many years and still love them!!!

The small green votive cups are thrift store finds.

The small bag is a pellet bag. I don't think it is vintage, but I love the vintage look and

the graphics on the front.  Plus it is the perfect little item for that spot. 

The books were all found at thrift stores or antique stores.

The great wicker vase/jug thingy was found at an antique store for $8.00. 

I thought it was a great find and I love the texture and size!!

I added a few greenery picks from HL and some sticks from outside, along with

a small bird nest to the vase and wrapped an extra piece of grapevine around it.

Cheap and easy!! My kind of decorating!!

So, there you have it - my newly decorated mantel.

Have a lovely weekend my friends!!

What I Wore Wednesday

I'm linking up to  The Pleated Poppy  for What I Wore Wednesday. 

A fun little fashion show to keep everyone accountable for their daily

wardrobe by getting out of their comfy clothes and wearing something cute!!

Click on over there and check it out!!!

Thursday - running errands

skinny jeans - gap

off white sweater - old navy - given to me by my sister :)

blue v-neck tshirt - gap

white cami - old navy

floral scarf - old navy

necklace - I don't remember

shoes - payless

Friday Night - date with The Man!

This was planned at the last minute so I didn't have time to wash my hair, so I thought

I would just put it up in a messy ponytail.  Instead - I ended up with a bad prom-do. 

I tried to make it  messy, but I just couldn't do it!! 

Can anyone explain to me how to make a messy ponytail??? Please?? 

jeans - gap

green cardigan - kohls

white ruffly shirt - old navy

scarf - gap

shoes - target

Wednesday - run a few errands

jeans - old navy

black v-neck tshirt - gap

tan tank - old navy

scarf - The Enchanted Cottage (a local home dec store)

boots - dillards

heart necklace - a gift from my oldest daughter

short necklace - american eagle

earrings - f21

leopard print watch - Christmas gift

hair pulled back in black clip

I really did get dressed more than 3 times in the past week, but I forgot to take pics!

I only lost 1 pound this week, which makes me sad but I'm not going to give up!!

Hope you have a wonderful week!!

The Cake Plate

It all started with a cake plate............well no, actually it started with my sister - my sweet baby sister - she is having a love affair with cake plates!! Weird, huh??  Not really!  I think it's better than the penguin collection she used to have - her love affair with penguins - that was a little weird!! I'm just sayin'........

About a year ago I found a vintage cake plate/dome at a thrift store and immediately thought of my sister! I didn't love the cake plate - but I'm not the one having the love affair!! This little vintage find did have potential with it's great shape and it was different than all the others, so I purchased it, took it home, went into my craft room thinking I would give it a quick "make-over" and surprise her with it!! I am crafty after all, so this should be easy!!

Ha!! It sat in my craft room for, oh I don't know, about 9 months and still, I had nothin'! No great ideas! No inspiration photos! No color scheme! Nothing came to mind! 

Have I told you that I'm a procrastinator? How about a perfectionist? Not really a good combiniation - a "Procrastinating Perfectionist"!! I put things off until I can see them perfect in my mind - but I'm not a planner - I just need to "see it" perfectly in my mind - no plan necessary - once I can "see it" - I just go for it!!  Very unrealistic and a little stressful to say the least!  But the good news.....I work well under pressure and most of the time I can make it work.

My sister's birthday was fast approaching and I needed a gift. I wanted to give her something special, something she would love, and something that would "wow" her.  After all, she is my baby sister!!!

So about a week before her birthday and 9 months after I purchased the sweet little cake plate/dome,  I finally went in my room, no plan, but I found some scrapbook paper I liked and some coordinating paint and went after it!!!

It was starting to look better, but still not great! I found some more supplies in my room - some ribbon, a wooden tag, a drawer pull/knob, some old book pages, and some wire.

The wooden tag was green, a Christmas clearance item from Hobby Lobby. I painted it, cut out a smaller tag from the vintage book page, stamped it with "cake" on one side and "yum" on the other, and aged it with my stamp pad, glued it all together, then decoupaged it with Mod-Podge. 

It was starting to all come togehter!

I also decoupaged the cake dome after I painted it and added the scrapbook paper. Then I added the rick-rack riboon to cover the seams.

I added the drawer pull/knob, from Hobby Lobby, to the top as the handle of the cake dome, attached the tag, ribbon, and some curly wire.

And finally............a completed cake plate/dome that was worthy of my sister's affection!!

I'm linking up to Metamorphis Monday over at Between Naps on the Porch.  You can scroll down to the bottom of that post to see all the other great projects!!

I'm also linking up to Motivate Me Monday over at  Keeping it Simple.  Go check out all the great projects.

As always, thanks for stopping by!!!

**EDIT** I'm also linking up to Tip Junkie for Tip Me Tuesday.       

 

<a href="http://tipjunkie.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.tipjunkie.com/images/TipMeTuesdayButton1.png" alt="Tip Junkie handmade projects" border="0"/></a>

What I Wore Wednesday..............

Hello Friends!!

Today I'm joining the "What I Wore Wednesday" linky party over at The Pleated Poppy. 

Nothing too exciting with my wardrobe this week.

 I've been feeling kind of "blah" for a few days.

So, this is it............

Friday night - The Man and I went to dinner with my sister and her husband. 

Guess what???

I'm wearing my fav gap jeans - again!

brown vest - gap

button down shirt - gap

brown boots - Arturo Chiang - from Dillards

short necklace - american eagle

pocket watch necklace - walmart clearance - $3.00

(it's an Alice in Wonderland necklace, but it really looks like

a pocket watch on a very nice chain!)

And the big hairdo - not really sure what to say 'bout that!!

I'm just goin' with it!!

 Sunday - I hung out with my sister!! Good times!!

jeans - gap

pink cardigan - old navy

white v-neck tshirt - gap

shoes - burlap toms

valentine necklace - gracie rays

hat - showplace market

sunglasses - target

Monday - Valentine's Day

 I didn't leave the house or get out of my comfy clothes so - no photo!!  We didn't have any big Valentines plans, so we just stayed home and The Man watched The Bachelor with me.  That's true love, my friends. 

Tuesday - had to run some errands.

jeans - gap

military jacket - kohls

white tshirt - target

necklace - kohls

shoes - ok, you've met my Toms - now meet my new Bobs!!!

Bobs - by Skechers

Same concept as Toms

You buy a pair - they give a pair to a child in need.

I like the concept, but think it's a little odd that the style of shoe is

almost identical to the Toms.  The Bobs actually fit me better, but

I still love my Toms!!

I love the plaid lining and patch on the back!! Cute, huh??

Wednesday - I'm just hanging around the house today! 

I have a to-do list I'm working on!!

jeans - gap

red tshirt - gap

white tank - walmart

scarf - old navy

shoes - bobs!!!

And onto the weight loss..........I hate trying to lose weight! It makes me sad and cranky!!

But I have lost one pound! yay me!! Now onto the trillion more I need to lose!

Have a great week my friends!! Thanks for stopping by the farmhouse!

My True Loves..............

These - my friends - are my Valentines!!

The loves of my life!!

my true loves!!

.......and just look at these two? The Man and my baby boy -  ~sigh~

oh - and these two lovely ladies - my beautiful daughters!!!

these kids make my heart sing

and I love them so much!!

 just me and my baby boy!!

oh, oh - and The Man!!  He makes my heart race!!

 I love this man - The Man - with a thousand hearts!!! 

He is my best friend and soul mate!!

I am so blessed to have such love in my life!!

Happy Valentines Day, my friends!! Hope your day is filled with love and joy!!

all photos - except the last one - taken by LG Photography

Score!!!!

Look at these beauties!!!

Maybe "beauties" is a bit much - at the moment - but don't you see the potential??

You do have to look past the awful lampshades and the groovy 70s vibe you see at first.....

but look at that great amber colored glass.............

the detail on the base! and the patina is wonderful!

I think it is the perfect color antique gold!!

and the size!! these babies are huge!!

So while I do see the beauty in these babies - they do need a little work! For instance - that grate thingy in the middle of the amber glass base. I think it definitely ages the

lamps (in a bad way) so I'm going to try to remove it - hopefully there is a rod or something

 in there that will hold the lamp together!!

and these lampshades have got to go!!! I found some at PB I love - but they

 are a bit too pricey!! I'll be checking out Target and Walmart and even

 the thrift stores for shades I can "make-over".

I love these lamps and can't wait to get them "made-over"!! They will make a

 great addition to my bedroom, which I am going to paint - maybe this weekend!! 

So stayed tune for their reveal!

And if you're wondering - I scored these babies for $10 each!!!!