A Stroll Through the Garden

If you couldn't already tell, planting and gardening are in full swing at my house this month. Flowers are my other children during spring and summer (my children that don't talk back and always smell good). My hobby stems from my mother-in-laws beautiful garden. Over the years she has taught me a few things, and the mortality rate of my plants is on a steady decline.

My mother in law once told me "What is the point of a beautiful yard/garden if you can't share it with others?". So, that is what I am going to do! I am going to take you on a stroll through her garden and let you be inspired as much as I am.

The amazing part of this garden is that mother-in-law does this on her own! All of the fences, gazebos, and arbors were built by my father-in-law. And that amazing fireplace, my brother-in- law. How is that for talent folks!

Have a good one,

Lauralee

Container Planting for Beginners

I have always told my husband to never buy me flowers from a florist for my birthday, anniversary, valentines day etc. Instead, I let him by me flowers at the nursery in the spring and I plant my own. The above picture was one I planted a few days ago. I can't wait until it has time to get fuller!

With that said, my favorite is arranging flowers in pots! Here is a simple recipe that is almost foolproof, even for the beginner. It is called the thriller, spiller and filler formula.

1. The Thriller
 Start out with something with height and texture. Spikes are great for this. Other great plants could be Cordyline or Ornamental grasses.

2. The Spiller
This is where it gets fun. Find a plant that will trail or spill over the side of container. Here are some of my favorites: Potato Vine, Creeping Jenny, and Bacopa.

3. The Filler
This next step is where you can experiment with color. For the remaining space in your container, fill it with colorful flowers. Easy flowers to grow include Petunias, Inpatients, Calibrachoa, Vinca and Lobelia.

Remember to choose plants with varying sizes and textures to add more interest. When choosing flowers keep in mind where you are planting them. Keep sun lovers and shade lovers separate. Also, pay attention to  the water recommendation of the plants. Keep flowers that require little moisture separate from those that need to be watered more often.

Here are a few examples to get you started:

This container I found in Better Homes and Garden magazine. These are the flower they used:

A. Sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas'Margarita') 
B. Flax lily (Dianella tasmanica 'Variegata') 
C. Zinnia haageana 'Star White' 
D. Salvia guarantica 'Black and Blue' 
E. New Guinea impatiens (Impatiens 'Sonic Sweet Purple') 

Also, from Better Homes and Garden. Flowers used:

A. Impatiens 'Accent Pink Picotee' 
B. Hosta 'Golden Tiara' 
C. Jacob's Ladder (Polemonium 'Brise d'Anjou') 
D. Fuchsia 'Thalia' 
E. Ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea 'Variegata')  
F. Sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas 'Sweet Caroline Bronze')
G. Plectranthus 'Zulu Wonder' 
H. Vinca major 'Variegata' 




-Lauralee

Linking to:  Easy Living Mom   Thursday Favorite Things   A Glimpse Inside   A Handful of Everything
Six Sisters' Stuff  Tatertots and Jello   The Best Blog Recipes   Redfly Creations   One Artsy Mama  Today's Creative Blog  Someday Crafts

Positive Thoughts

I was watching Studio 5 (local KSL TV program) last Tuesday and just had to share this clip with you.  I am so passionate about positive thinking and how it makes a difference in our lives. We all have crappy days, but this is about changing the negativity that comes so quickly to our minds.  I know how easy it is to get negative thoughts stuck in our heads.  I know the whirlwind effect it has on my little family and home. My thoughts are the one thing, that no matter what my circumstances are that I have the power to change.  Take a look and feel inspired too!!!!!

Studio 5

The Power of Positive Thoughts

Hillary Weeks Billion Clicks

 Happy Thinking!!!

Jan

10 Design Mistakes...Are You Guilty?

I am sure at some point we have all been guilty of at least one of these (I know I have). But, with a little guidance you can turn that design blunder into a design success.

So let's get started:

1. FAILURE TO PLAN
Stop, before you buy that piece of furniture or pick up that can of paint, make sure you know exactly what you are going to do with it. Have you ever purchased a piece of furniture or piece of artwork because you had to have it only to get home and find that it doesn't fit or you have no where to put it? You are not alone.

Start by knowing the rooms dimensions and layout. Better yet, draw out a floor plan and rearrange the furniture on it. (BHG has a free arranging program here).This way you know the dimensions of the furniture when you go to the store and can avoid pieces that just don't work!

2. RING AROUND THE WALL
I like to call this next mistake the ring around the wall effect. For some reason we feel that we need to place furniture all around the perimeters of the room. But, if you pull the furniture away from the wall it will give it a more put together look and add more visual interest.

                                                                                                                  photo credit

                                                                                                          

3. MAGIC CARPET RIDE
The floating area rug is a common mistake. A rug should always be connected to the furniture in someway. Ideally, all front feet of the furniture should be touching the rug. Also, avoid using rugs that are too small for the space. Use masking tape and create an outline before purchasing or placing the rug.

                                   hgtv.com                                                                                                                 housebeutiful.com

4. A ROOM WITHOUT A PURPOSE
I think many of us have that room that is a guest room/playroom/study. While, I don't think it is wrong to have a room with multiple purposes. It is important to make sure that it is organized and doesn't feel cluttered. (Check out our tips on organization here). So, hide that computer in a great armoir and put the extra toys in the closet.

5. MATCHY, MATCHY
We have all walked into a big retailers showroom and seen the set-ups displayed. All of the furniture is from the same matching set. This makes for an easy sale because you don't have to hunt for coordinating pieces. To be honest, it is a bit boring. Any designer will tell you to mix it up. It adds interest and looks more professional.

                                       iseecubed.com                                                                                                        trendecoration.com

6. ARTWORK NOT HUNG RIGHT
You shouldn't have to bend your neck either up or down to look at your artwork. As a general
rule of thumb, the center of a piece of art should be at eye level. If you are wondering "who's" eye level, figure hanging it for the average person that is about 5'6".

http://www.utrdecorating.com

7. IMPROPER LIGHTING
Lighting is the emotion of a room and is responsible for creating the mood. Task lighting and canned lighting is great for kitchens, but too many can lights in a bedroom kills the mood and makes your ceiling look like Swiss cheese. Using lamps creates a mood in any room. Use soft lighting in bedrooms and other intimate areas, and brighter lights for working spaces such as bathrooms and kitchens.

                                                                               http://arcadianhome.com

8. KEEPING SOMETHING YOU HATE
Have you bought a piece of furniture because it was on sale or you inherited your in-laws old television stand, and you don't love it? GET RID OF IT! Sale it on craigslist or donate and get something that you love!

9. IGNORING WINDOWS
Proper window treatments are the jewelry to an outfit and the frame to a picture. As a general rule of thumb when hanging window panels: they should always reach the bottom of the floor, hang them to the top of the ceiling or at least several inches above the top of the window.

10. FOLLOWING FADS AND THEMES
While everyone wishes they were in a tropical paradise, save it for a vacation and not for your home decor. If you just love the tropics, the woods, cats or whatever use them sparingly as accents and not as a mecca.

                                     hgtv.com                                                                                                                       homedit.com



-Lauralee

linking to:
http://www.homestoriesatoz.com
http://ladybug-blessings.com/
http://www.notjustahousewife.net/
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5 Cleaning tips you won't find on Pinterest!

Hey Potluck Pals!
So I know if you are anything like me, you can use all the help you can get when it comes to keeping your castle spick and span. These are some tips I have found that have really helped ease me load!

1. Dirty Windows: Hate the ugly smudges that are left on your windows after you've had littlies over? Give this crazy spray a try! I was worried initially since it looks blue in the bottle, but have no fear once you've sprayed and wiped it off the window it leaves NO BLUE RESIDUE. So don't be afraid, give it a try! The MAGIC!!!

smudges come off like

2. Laundry: I don't know about you but I HATE the pain in my back and arms after doing a full load of laundry. It's like after a full day I barely have energy to pick the kids up from soccer! If you feel the same way, you are going to sing my praises forever more once you hear what I'm about to tell you. Stick your clothes in this round box and they come out clean, EVERY TIME! Sayonara washboard mama's got a new pair of high tops!

3. Sweat Stains on Shirts: I hate when a new shirt is ruined because of those nasty yellow armpit marks. It's like, what's the point of a cute shirt if you lift your arms and its not cute anymore? So do what I do. It's very simple. Find a sharp pair of sewing shears. Make sure you are in a well-lit area and lift the shirt to the light, making sure you see the stain. Next using the stain as a guide, cut out the shirt around the circumference of the yellowed area, making sure not to clip the unmarked fabric and you're done! The stain is gone and the problem fixed.

4. Yucky Sheets After Guests Have Stayed Over: I love to have house guests. It's such a treat to entertain. Sometimes however, house guests though initially welcomed, leave unwelcome surprises once they're gone. How to treat that? Yuck right? Follow these three simple steps and you'll never have to deal with it again. 1.Take a polaroid of the sheet (make sure you include the offending mark in the frame). 2. With gloves and a hazmat suit if you got one, pick up the sheet and promptly throw it in the OUTSIDE  garbage can. 3. Find a card with a cheerful looking bird flying away with a suitcase in his beak that says "Thanks for stayin'! " Make sure to include the polaroid and the receipt for the new 900 count sheet set you bought for your guest bed. After getting your bill, there's no way they're coming back!

5. Bathrooms: This one is my favorite tip and one that I use on a regular basis. Sometimes my hubbers gets tired of wallowing through dirty clothes and soap slime to get to the shower in the morning and complains that it's dirty. WHAT? Once he starts threatening my AmEx access, I find the best way to get

things clean in a jiffer is to call any one of the people at Daisy Maids and they can come over and get it all done waaay before that sweet man comes home. Easy and painless!

So there you go my friends! My favorite tips that I tell everyone about when they first get married. Have so much fun cleaning that beautiful home of yours.
Love times a million,
Maren

P.S. I can't believe it's already April that went by so fast.

Patterns!

This season you will see quite a bit of pattern on pattern going on in fashion and interiors. While combining patterns can be successful, other times it can look like a train wreck. If you prefer the first to the latter, here a few basic design rules and tips that will make your pattern mixing look intentional. So here is the science: Scale, Color, Placement of Emphasis and Character. The rest is just art!

1. Scale: 
When choosing a patterns consider the scale or size. I find it more successful when you choose different sizes of patterns. Try using a large pattern, medium pattern, and small pattern. If you use patterns with  similar size, make sure that the style and color of the patterns are similar.

Medium                                  Large                                      Small    

Similar scale with same style and color scheme

2. Color:

To achieve a put together look stick to a closely related color scheme. If one pattern has blues and yellows, the other patterns should contain the exact or similar blues and yellows. The trick here is to get the colors to be almost exact so that it doesn't look a little "off".

The colors in the chair are being repeated in the rug.

Notice the colors in the top repeated
in the pants of this JCrew outfit.

3. Emphasis:
Emphasis is established by using a greater amount of one pattern than another (especially in home fabrics). This helps to eliminate too many patterns competing with one another. 

*Make note of the picture to the right. The patterned rug

is the main emphasis in the room. All other patterns compliment it. Photo Credit

            

                                                             

                                                                                                                                                                                    4. Character:

When using 2 or more patterns, the patterns should be compatible. For example, a dignified damask probably would't look so hot with contemporary geometric pattern.

Some of my favorite "fool proof" fabric combos are mixing a floral print with a stripe or polka dot, a funky geometric with a stripe and different scales of the same print. 

Need a little inspiration? How about these great combos:

Have a good one!

Lauralee






                                                                                                      

                               

Front Room Makeover

We bought our house almost exactly three years ago. We had some hand me down couches, an awkward wooden thing Marcelo stole from his roommates as a coffee table and nothing really went together. Decorating an entire home is something I have never done before and it's a bit intimidating. But I thought, hey if I take it room by room maybe it will be a tad more manageable. Starting as small as possible, I did the half bath downstairs and moved on to the next tiniest room: the front room. Hopefully in such a small space, my mistakes would be easier to fix.

Here it is in it's naked state:

Cozy right? Makes you just want to go in there and snuggle on that yucky 80's corporate foyer couch and hope a spider comes from out of that pile of crap in the corner to read with you. Something desperately needed to happen in here.

I started by drawing a diagram of what I basically wanted to look like in there and chose some colors. We got some little flower paintings from my friend Sarah when we got married and the flowers were bright orange. I love turquoise and I thought it would be pretty with the orange. I was afraid that these colors together would end up looking like a pair of board shorts but I went ahead anyway.

With these things in mind I began to prepare the frames for the flowers, paint some accessories and collect furniture. It was a bunch of fun getting it ready.

I saw these chairs at Ikea that I wanted badly. Yet, I never seemed to be able to save my monthly allowance to get them. When my husb got home from his two week (read two years) trip from Brazil, the next day he informed me that he may be headed to Europe on business. Instead of lashing out in lonely-inspired violence, I told him that if he was to indeed leave me so soon, I would be buying the furniture I needed and retain my sanity. He thought that was a good deal.

So his trip arrived and I went to Ikea with bright, bountiful hopes. I bought the chairs and who would a thunk it? They were too big for my car! What?! It was one of those frigid days to make matters worse and there was no way I was going to return my beloved chairs. So I did what any desperate house wife does, I called my wonderful friend Jane. She galloped into the parking lot in her shining SUV and rescued me and my wicker friends, saving us from the rain and the returns desk.

That night I put my baby to sleep (probably earlier than was necessary) and set to work. I kid you not I hammered and cursed until 1:30 am but after a year of planning, preparing and dreaming that room was done! It felt so good.

So here is the process for your viewing pleasure:

Emptied out the whole room into the hall. No visitors today!

I kid you not, it took seven times to nail that picture up. Sorry about the holes in the wall honey!

And finally....

Finished product!

This being my first venture into the mysterious world of room decor and design, this room will probably be changed and updated in a few years but you have to start somewhere right? I mean I can't believe that Miz Martha Stewart was Martha Stewart when she first started out either. From what I learn from HGTV, design is about trying new things, having fun and mistakes happen so learning can take place. So have fun!

~Maren

What to do with your harvest...

What do you do when fall comes around and you are left with a bunch of produce that your family can't possibly eat in the time it takes produce to go bad? Can it? Preserve it? What if you don't have a canner and you're lazy?  Ok so maybe I'm thinking about me and not you super ladies out there who do it all without even batting an eye. But,  if there is any one else out there who are like me and would most likely be spending time with a good book (see last post), than can produce like a good girl should, here's a quick and handy tip to you, from me, from my friend Daphne.

What Daphne does and I did was get all the zucchini we wouldn't be using immediately and grate it all up. Then once my grater was full I just measured two cups worth into plastic bags and wa-la! Now if I have a hankerin' for zucchini bread come frigid February it's all ready to go in the right amount. 

You don't have to stop at zucchini. You can freeze squash for soups (butternut is a champion), fruit for smoothies, fresh herbs from your garden, the list just goes on. So take heart all my book readers, tv watchers, kid player withs! There is another option! Freeze on!

~Maren

10 ways to use your Veggie Tray

"DON'T EAT YOUR VEGGIES" said no mother ever. 

BUT, today this mother is showing you 10 other ways to use your veggie tray.

 One day I was making Hawaiian Haystacks for dinner and I was getting annoyed (knowing I was the one on dish duty) at how many bowls I was using for all the toppings.  I was looking around the kitchen and saw my veggie tray and suddenly one of those "AH HA" moments came.  Since then I have started using my veggie tray for many things other than veggies. Here is my top ten things
I do with my veggie tray.

1. Hawaiian Haystacks

2. Taco Salad Toppings

3.  Homemade Pizza Toppings

  

 

4. After school Snacks

5.  Movie Night Treats
Small bags in the middle
to put treats in while watching a movie.

6.  Omelets
This is one of my girls favorite meals to cook. 
They mix their eggs in a bowl and add toppings.
Pour in pan and flip. YUM!

7. Fruit Tray with Fruit Dip

8. Subs or Hamburgers
I hate when pickle juice or tomatoe juice gets on my lettuce
so this is a perfect way to divide.

9.  Sorting Colors
You could also sort shapes and numbers.

 

10.  Counting or Sorting money
We played a game this summer where you chose a piece of paper
with a dollar amount on it and then you matched the amount on the paper with money from the tray.



5 Fun, Fast, and {mostly} Free Ways to Decorate

 My family recently moved back into our home after living away for a few years. When we moved back, I felt a little 'blah' and wished our home looked more like this:

source: Haute Indoor Couture

Thankfully though, there are some tips and tricks that even with a budget of nearly zero, your house can look pretty and reflect your family. The expensive updates may have to wait til later, but anyone can create beauty even with very little money.  Here are a few tips to erase "blahs" and enjoy your space.

1. "Shop" your own home and yard.  Look in your cupboards, cedar chests, drawers, garages, and even your yard for things that are pretty or have a story.  Find jars, vases, bottles, aprons, books, art {even your children's originals}, sticks, rocks, flowers, baskets, pretty clothes, souvenirs, dishes or containers and display them!

 I've learned from Anthropologie that decorating is about fun, beautiful, cool, and quirky things that look awesome in homes. {Actually the store reminds me of walking in to my great-grandma's house.} Some of the most recent hot items at Anthropolgie...

You have things just as cool around your house or yard... but, FREE.

I found these plates my mom painted 25 years ago at the bottom of a box. She died nearly 20 years ago, and it's fun to have something she created on our walls.

 As you decorate with things you love and already have, your house will be totally unique, and reflect who you really are. You  may set the next trend, who knows?


2. Create moments in your home. In other words, let your decor create warmth and tell about your family.  But, make sure to keep collections or like objects together. If not, the room will look tacky and discombobulated. Set collections on shelves, or even hang on the wall.

This is a collection of my my mom's, my Grandma's, my Great-Grandma's, and my dishes.  It's on a shelf in my kitchen.

The things you've collected your whole life are different than anyone else in the world. Let that speak in your home.

3. Use Frames. Frames are so cheap at thrift stores or garage sales. Even frames missing the glass are great for displaying collections, plates, wooden or vinyl letters, collages, or anything that is smaller than the frame itself. Remember: paint works miracles. Framed  pictures or mirrors make great gallery walls... find  more ideas here or here.

I inherited my great-grandma's silverware from the 1940's, and I love how it looks in this broken frame (even though I KNOW the picture is bad- don't judge, I'm working on it :))..

                                    I love this frame that's painted and glued onto a coffee table:

Source

                           Put frames together in a collage like this.  Paint + thrift store frames= beauty.

Pottery Barn

4. Color with paint, pillows, and fabric.
Put swatches of fabric around a vase, on the floor, or as a bunting on a window, or even make {or fake-make}a curtain.

BHG

Pillows bring new life to a room. The first thing that improved our home were a few new pillows that I adore. It made the home so much happier.

Paint is another magical substance that makes a room lovely and happy. Give old things new life with a simple coat of paint. This is a great spray painting tutorial.

A few peeks of my desk and chairs that used to be ugly....

Chalkboard paint is one of the chicest, most inexpensive and fun things ever. Any area can turn into a chalk board with two coats of this paint! Let anyone draw on it, or make it a changing "work of art".

   This is a superb chalk art tutorial by In My Own Style.  Impress someone and use it on your  own chalkboards!

5. Include something fun, whimsical, bold, or 'outside the box'. Sometimes decorating can get so serious. Have fun while decorating, and let other people have fun when they come into the room.

Stools made out of truck springs from recycleart.

If you're not sure about a decoration or idea, just do it. Leave it for a while. If you hate it, take it down. If you love it, leave it. Don't be afraid- just try it!! Your room will speak to you.



These things will help you love your space. It won't be perfect-- you'll still have to buy the big stuff when you can, but your home will reflect YOU, not a magazine.  What's not to love about that?

XO,
Nancy

PS.  Even though I used a few pictures from magazines to illustrate the points, don't let it make you feel bad about your house. Look at beautiful pictures for inspiration and apply colors, elements or the ambiance to your rooms.