Anniversary and New Finds

We recently celebrated our 

35th Wedding Anniversary

April 15, 1978

April 15, 2013

Our kids had a lovely cake made up for us

and had it delivered by a local bakery.

We wined and dined at a great restaurant 

The evening came with a pretty sunset.

Overall it was a quiet day we spent by ourselves, but we both felt content and we still can't figure out how 35 years has already gone by!

 

A week later we spot a for sale/lease sign at our Ethan Allen store.  I knew immediately that it meant they were leaving.  Drat!  It's not that I frequent their store, but  when I do I usually find something to fall in love with.

So being the nosy type I am- I suggested to hubby that we 

should stop in and find out what's going on. They have a store wide sale of 40% off plus their clearance section so we combed it 

over real good.

I spotted this picture and was immediately smitten.  I have never purchased a portrait like this before- I always end up with pictures that are of things, like flowers, architecture, nature, etc.

I thought since this was a bit romantic it might be nice for the bedroom, but when we got home with it Dan suggested we try it above the fireplace.  I "recently posted about a new picture" we just put up there, so this was a jaw dropper idea for me.

I've been fussing with it and working on a good 

look to go with it.  I'm not sure that I've got it right just yet but for now this is how it looks.

 

The new lidded marble piece was another sale

item I found.

The frame has great detail and it's nearly 3" thick 

on the sides.

Upon reading the back of the picture I discovered it's called the "Painter's Honeymoon".  

Since it was near our anniversary I suggested we claim it an anniversary gift to ourselves!

  I've taken a step in a different direction with this

picture- and that's a good thing!

 Speaking of new directions. I've ordered a new sofa and accent pillows.  I won't be in for a while but I'm excited!  I managed to sell my big red sofa on Craigslist so I'm happy about that.  

I'll put something together about it soon.

I'm joining 
A Stroll Thru Life 
for
Inspire Me Tuesday
and
Our Home Away From Home 
for
Tuesdays at our Home

   

Free At Last!

Shhhh..... don't tell the winter warden, 

but I've broken out !

I feel like the shackles of winter have finally been lifted.  Seeing some green..any green caused great joy in the inner spirit of this lady! 

First things first...lots of debris to be removed including the grasses and oak leaves that came down through the winter.

My hubby decided to try his shop-vac to vacuum out the tangled leaves and it worked quite well!  It's an usual approach but he was quite happy with how well it worked!

I was raking everything off the beds to get ahead of the plants that are starting to sprout up. Those oak leaves are tough...and they like to wait until winter before they drop so we always have them to clean up! 

Eventually he got the back pack leaf blower out and cleaned up all the bird seed leaves and dirt that seemed to have migrated all over the walkway and patio.

We've got rain coming Monday/Tuesday 

so we are rushing to get a few details 

out of the way.

The crocus have been popping up.  

This is out front.  The tulips and daffodils 

are coming out fast.  

These crocus were a part of an old garden that I removed years ago.  They just keep popping back up in random areas.  

This year they seemed quite strong.

We'll be cleaning out the leaves and dead plant material soon.  I'm just afraid to step in the wrong area!

My assignment today is to trim back the vine on this arbor .  It doesn't look like much but with the warmer temps it will be greening up real fast.

I hope you are enjoying some spring like weather too!

Here's a toe tapper for you to listen to!

It's a good day!

Thanks for visiting!!

Liz

Happy Earth Day!

This observance always falls on April 22.

On Earth Day, enjoy the tonic of fresh air, contact with the soil, and companionship with nature! 

Walk through the woods in search of emerging wildflowers and green moss. 

Go outside, no matter what the weather! 

Earth Day History 

Ever wondered how Earth Day started? 

 This observance arose from an interest in gathering national support for environmental issues. 

In 1970, San Francisco activist John McConnell and Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson separately asked Americans to join in a grassroots demonstration. McConnell chose the spring equinox (March 21, 1970) and Nelson chose April 22. Millions of people participated, and today Earth Day continues to be widely celebrated with events on both dates. 

The most common practice of celebration is to plant new trees for Earth Day.

"Quoted from The Old Farmer's Almanac"

 

From a sapling like this that we planted (late 80's)  

It was a free hand out for kids on Earth Day

 

Summer 2012

She's now a big Blue Spruce tree!

Summer 2012

On the right side you can see how tall she's become!

Reaching to the sky...these can grow up to 75' tall!

Have a great Earth Day!  

I hope you get a chance to go outside and 

enjoy a bit of our wonderful earth!

  

Check out my newest post

on my garden blog

"Sit With Me In My Garden"  

 

Looking for Inspiration

 We've had a rather extended season of winter 

like weather lately. Snow, rain, snow, snow, rain...snow

 The other day it warmed up so fast it looked like

steam was coming off the snow!

See that shrub with the burlap torn down...a red squirrel took to ripping on it there

 for a while.  He looked like a kid throwing a bad fit.  

I have no idea why he was doing it.  I never saw him take anything away.

  

Well- it sure isn't pretty, but I'm glad to see the ground again! The birds have left quite a mess of hulls from the bird seed beneath my topiary lilac tree.

Lots of clean up to do to get things looking good again. 

We have to bundle up our shrubs for the winter. They survive much better

 this way since we get so much snow and bitter temps.

Signs of life emerging! Yay!

 I've been suffering with 

"lack of inspiration" 

about the upcoming season, but these pictures 

from the garden center that I shop at when visiting 

my mother got my motor running!  

I'm going to blast you with a bunch

of pictures!

Adding decorative twigs in the center to add some 

height and interest 

Using baskets instead of pottery

I noticed the use of enamelware containers

I love violas

Using crates 

A way to decorate around the base of a fountain

These caught my eye and inspired an idea! 

 I'm inspired by the  picture (before) and I have these two metal plant stands-
I'm thinking of lining them with cocoa fiber (and perhaps green moss on the outside) and planting them with flowers.... I've tried small pots, for the last three years but I'm not happy with the results.

I'm glad I found some inspiration 
and I hope you are too!

Bathroom morphing!

Last weekend I finally got my wish to have the bathroom repainted. 

Spring 2010

 I had a terracotta color for a while, but

I grew tired of it.

 We put on a color called Eggnog by

Pratt & Lambert

and I worked in my Tuscan accents.

 After a while I popped in some ruby red 

accents and a tapestry.

Then last year I saw the botanical pictures and 

these Shower curtains and fell in love with the 

fabric which I blogged about here.

 I turned one of three curtains into a valance.

I had decided to dump the Tuscan look and

go more towards a botanical look. 

  

 I liked it a lot for a while, but I really wanted more freedom to change accent colors if I wanted so I decided I'd go towards an off white that would pick  up on the tiles.

  

   I ended up going with a color called Ice Formations by Benjamin Moore (matte finish).  It was deeper than I expected to go but it has this nice earthy tone and I will still be able to play off it with other colors if I want to.

You can see here how well it goes with the

tiles.  It's very soothing too.

  It's hard to get a shot in here...I'm up against a

wall trying to get a picture. 

The sun finally shined and I was able to get a few shots with natural lighting.  See my new rose colored mercury glass bottle?  I had recently decided to add a rose color to the room and I spotted this while browsing on One King's Lane (again).

Had to have it!

This is from Pier 1 Imports back in February.

 My robe hook...

 Loving that sun!

 I found this and my tissue box cover (Croscill) marked down last year.  

They were a perfect pick up for the theme.

I'd been looking for a rose colored towel for a while but they were always the wrong tone.  There is a rose colored accent in the pictures on the wall that I was trying to come as close to as possible.

I found these at Younker's and they're made with Eucalyptis fibers and 

they're super soft too!

 

I promised my hubby I won't ask to change this

again for a long time!  (He's my painter)

The room was flooding with sunshine today.  It was such a cheerful welcome since we've been experiencing snow, rain, snow, rain etc... all this past week.  

We're really getting a s l o w start to spring here!

Thanks as always for visiting!

Liz

I will be joining Between Naps on the Porch

on Monday for

Metamorphosis Monday 

 and

Our Home Away from Home 

for

Tuesdays at Our Home