Outdoor Living and Loving It

I am slowly finishing all my deck projects. The green metal planter belonged to my grandfather, all I did was spray it green and put a few plants on it. Not much thinking there. The whiskey barrel behind it will be filled with mint, hopefully this weekend. I have another barrel, just out of the picture that I filled with basil this week . I love the smell of basil. It is so nice to be able to cut a few pieces whenever I need to. I planted red and white impatience in this barrel, since they love shade they will do just fine under the umbrella. I have to cut a few inches off the umbrella stake or I will find this umbrella over the fence on windy days. At night I light the candles and it is just so pretty. In the background is our shed. Just a shed, nothing glamorous like a studio, the usual yard tools are stored in there.

I painted these shutters about ten years ago. Yikes! Seems like yesterday. They are not the best artwork I have ever seen ,but I still like them after all these years and I can not say that about very much. My husband thought the lace curtain was a little much, but it is still there.

Orchid in the House

I received this beautiful orchid as a present over the weekend. I was happy to get it of course, but I am very intimidated by it. I am not that great with indoor plants, let alone an orchid. I am going to do a little research on basically how to keep it alive while in my care. It is just too pretty to let anything happen to it. I love the white on white of this picture. It is a southern exposure window, so there will be lots of natural light. I do think it looks pretty where it is right now. I hope I can keep it looking like this. Wish me luck.

Geraniums in black and White

How would the world look in constant black and white? I do like to watch old black and white movies. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Mr. Blandings Builds his Dream Home , Dial M for Murder and of course It's a Wonderful Life are a few of my favorites. Watching I Love Lucy in color, I am not sure it would be the same. Most of my childhood memories are photographed in black and white. I can remember watching the Wizard of Oz and waiting for the movie to change from black and white and into color. My grandparents had a color television before we did and going over their house to watch television on Sunday nights was a treat. Today, I took pictures of the geraniums I bought on Monday. I like the color picture better right now, but tomorrow who knows?
PS I had no idea you might have to wear sunglasses to look at these pictures. They are so bright and white. I wish I could edit them but it it too late now!

Where have all the flowers Gone?

Don't you just love a before and after? I was looking at some of my older pictures and I noticed this one. I was just so eager back in April to get some color on my deck that I think I created a monster. They are all perennials in the barrell except for the purple pansies. All I have done, up until now is just water them. I took the after picture yesterday. I am going to have to remove a few of the perennials, you just can't see them anymore. I must say the second picture does make the plants look overgrown, but in real life they look much better. I so under estimated how tall that back plant would get! Now I just have to find the right place to replant the perennials.

Had a nice Weekend

I hope everyone had a nice long weekend. Mine was very busy. Friday I went to the Wrentham Outlets in Massachusetts bought a few things. A Yankee Candle factory store just opened that day. I spent a lot of time sniffing the different scents. They do come up with some clever names for their candles. Do you think we actually buy the candles for the way they smell or the image the name creates in your mind? I bought cherry lemonade, pound cake,mango peach salsa and peach and sweet berries. I am thinking I was hungry when I made my purchase, I see a food pattern in their names. Saturday was spent going to the barn sale and antique stores followed by a nice dinner at my favorite restaurant. Sunday was so beautiful here and we spent that day at a cookout/ graduation/birthday party. Last but not least, Monday I bought more flowers. Then we went to eat cookout leftovers at our friends home. My pansies are just doing great on the back deck, I wish I would of bought more. I looked for some this weekend but they are an early spring plant in the northeast, so they are long gone from the garden shop. A friend suggested that I make a three tier planter, so I did and I like it very much. I already had the pots, so it was so easy to do. It is the planter in the first picture. In the third picture if you look in the background you can see the little patch of flowers I planted a few weeks ago. I had a few pieces of white iron fence sections that I was not using so I put them in the back of the flowers and it really gives them a bit of a lift.

Barn Sale Revisited

Last Memorial Day Weekend my daughter, her friend and I stumbled across a Barn Sale in Chepatchet, Rhode Island. For a one stoplight town they have three antique/consignment stores and a great rustic general store that sells penny candy. This year we decided to make another visit and I was not disappointed. I found a few things that I am sure that I will use. I bought a couple bags of cloth pins, two bags of buttons , eight green like new napkins and two green vases. They also have this barn sale on Labor Day, so I am thinking there will be another trip at the end of the summer. Have a nice weekend everyone!

Pretty Paper by K & Company

This paper mache box will hold a gift card and hopefully a few little note cards that I intend to make later today. It is for a friend of our family who graduated from college last Sunday. Her bedroom is done with these colors so hopefully she will like it. The paper I used is from K & Company, I bought it at Michaels's last week. It has 36 double faced pages, they are all so pretty. Everything matches so well, you can not make a mistake. A few of the pages have owls on them and I seldom find any paper with owls on it. Have a nice day everyone!