Forcing Paperwhites

 Well I suppose at this point I don't need to remind you that I like to garden
&

no matter what time of year or how small or large your yard is
there are fun things to do and try

 This is project I have never done before...!
I usually buy paperwhites around Christmas time
already in bloom, at the Nursery

but this year I thought I would give it a try myself 

no shortcuts!

how hard can this be...

you don't even need potting soil!

it's pretty remarkable how quickly these take off 

you can read a quick "how to" guide here

and  if you want even more information on doing this 

here is a link to a post done by a  blogger pal!

Amber has a great crafty blog

 called:

The girl is Crafty....

and yes she is

Have a restful and Happy Thanksgiving!

Ojai Re-decorating and a Something's Gotta Give Rug

 This post is sort of a

what came first....the chicken or the egg?

or in this case it's what should come first... 

the rug or the furniture? 

a very often asked question 

so what is the easy answer?

hmmmm....I'm not really sure

anyway...

 I made the decision a few months back to start putting some of the furniture 

we have in the rented condo 

into the little Ojai ranch house...

  it was really interesting how many of the pieces

 seemed right at home here

 remember the beige condo photos?

this was the condo living room below

 I also started repeating the use of certain elements in the Ojai house,
like galvanized metal,

 barn wood and grays and reds

 and then there was that little touch of blue
that kept popping up

so I introduced a new blue item....

a nice rug...
and I'm not talking toupee here

 I have always wanted one of these rugs, 

similar to the one in Diane Keaton's liking room

 in the movie "Somethings Gotta  Give"

 Do you just love this room...or what!?

and that rug!!!!

so here is my take on the idea

very different in a little country house...
about a million miles away from the Hampton's

 so what do you think came first?  

the chicken or the egg....

do you buy the rug first and decorate around it?
or
let the room take shape and then buy your rug? 

hmmmm....?

Using Reclaimed doors: A cabinet project

 Hep...
we are at it again

using reclaimed vintage stuff from other peoples houses...
with their permission of course! 

This is Dave

he can do/fix just about anything 

...or so he tells me

 for this project he is sanding and scraping

and making sure I like the way the door looks!

Dave happens to like to have his picture taken too.

Hey Dave!!!!
looks pretty good!

 the door is about 7.5 feet tall and about 26 inches wide

about perfect
for a nice cabinet for the bathroom
&
I paid about 60 dollars for the door

it will go in this corner in the guest bathroom

many of the small details in this bathroom are very rustic
have peeling paint and natural wood
but the colors are actually
rather neutral

the vanity is very fun with its
little turned legs and a spot for a basket

the actual bath fixtures and tile
are contemporary and streamlined

but it is interesting how the two
concepts of rustic and contemporary work well together
especially in a space this small

here is our spot for the new cabinet
and a close up of the door in all of its
 painted chippy vintage wonderfulness

we chose to build the cabinet in on an angle
 so it took up a bit less space

and of course every old door needs an old knocker....you twist the knob and the woodpecker knocks!

The interior is built of simple pine and finished with a white pickled stain

this is the other side of the door
which was originally going to be the front but when we set it in the room
is was too busy and distracting

the only thing missing is a great big old knob...which will be fun to search for

so there you have it!

re-think
 re-use
re-cycle

thanks for stopping by!


kelley
; 0 )

Holiday Table Ideas

Can you believe

it?

Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away

A wonderful and generous fellow blogger Susan, asked me to share some ideas of what I might use this thanksgiving for a table center piece.

The idea was to have some sort of a "coastal" feeling..but there was not a shell or a piece of driftwood to be had that day, 

so I did my best with "coastal inspired" colors.

I had these really pretty dyed quail eggs and thought that  they might be fun to use

This is just a little wood salad bowl with some stones,  

carrot tops and some society garlic blooms from the yard

The main centerpiece is in an old French baguette basket which I filled with dried artichokes and butterfly bush blooms

The old camp blanket over the chair was going to be the table cloth but it was just too busy...but the colors are great!

The huge succulent box spends all year on this table 

so why mess with a good thing!

Plus...it's kinda heavy.

I put a few more of the blue eggs in an abandoned birds nest and just layered the rest of the  greenery along the length of the basket

The place mats and napkins are simple ticking in black and white 

and a bit of that robins egg blue color that you see in the little eggs

I stuck in a few pepper berries from a California Pepper tree in the front yard,

Very festive!!!

I really like to do tables for the holidays...which is pretty much the only time I do them.

It forces me to get creative with what I have just laying around and things that are blooming in the garden.

I always think you can't go wrong with the colors found in nature

Susan wrote an article about this which you can read here.

She included many of my favorite blogger friends too, 

and their ideas are really wonderful...it will get you inspired!

Be sure to check out Susan's blog...you won't be disappointed.

Thanks for checking in and have a great week!

kelley