Vegetable Garden

Our house when we bought it had not been lived in for 4 or 5 years. That means 1. the inside of the house smelled atrocious and 2. the yard looked like the secret garden having not been tended for so many years. And a result of no. 2 is that our yard has had leaves and such decomposing on it for years and years. It is incredibly fertile and has more earth worms than most people would know what to do with. Matty and I decided (mostly I decided) that we wanted to have a vegetable garden. A month or two back I bought packets of seeds, then lost them, then found them again, then lost them again. And today I found them again. So I decided to make a quick project and get those seeds growing.

Matt and I are both huge fans of squash. I love them cooked down so long that they turn into mush. Flavorful, buttery, delicious mush.

(ignore th paint on my hands. I have also been working on the house today)

When I opened the corn packet I don't know what I was expecting, but not raisin looking kernels.

Tomato seeds are probably my favorite out of the ones I planted. They remind me of really, really rediculously small bird eggs. I think anything in miniature is fun so these were a nice surprise.

Matt hates cucumbers. Unless of course they are in the form of pickles. I really enjoy cucumbers, on salads, as cucumber sandwiches, and also pickles. We may try pickling some if I get a good crop.

I needed a way to mark where I planted what, so I got toothpicks, tape, a sharpie and scissors and made my own mini markers. When we plant them out in the yard I'll have to find another way to mark what's what.

I put all four containers of seeds on a cookie sheet, on a stool, in the front window. Decided that I'll need to get strawberries and watermelons too.

Breath Taking

photo by Jason Busch, stylist Rachel Brown

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I came across this awe-inspiring photo on the design files. She has an interview with photographer Jason Busch. His website has incredible work. But there is just something about this image that made me stop. Hill End Artist Retreat is in the outback of Australia. I don't know if I am subconsciously drawn to it because of its location or not. It does remind me of the house from the movie, Australia. I loved that house as well. Maybe I'll design the exterior of our house to play off the appearance of homes found in the Australian outback.

mini mushrooms

I made these little mushrooms a few weeks ago with Sculpey III clay from Hobby Lobby. It was a quick little project and fun to do. They are currently sitting in my kitchen window. I like having little burst of fun around the house. I'll probably make more and hide some on the book shelves, in the linen closet, and in the pantry.

Window Shopping

This desk would fit perfectly in our guest bedroom. Well, our future guest bedroom. Right now it houses our couch, tv, trunk and mini fridge. The husband wants an office. Unfortunately our house won't really have an extra room for that so I think this desk would be a great solution. Space saving and very functional.

Admiring this hammock from over at World Market. I think I know the perfect place for it in my backyard. Only thing it lacks is a giant net surrounding it to keep the mosquitos out.

Premier Prints

Traditions, Cloud/Linen

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I have elaborate and possibly overly ambitious plans to upholster a headboard for my master bedroom. I've drawn off the outline, gathered ideas and tips, measured and calculated. I've had this vision in my head of a patterned fabric, linen with a white print or something similar. A decorative pattern but not too overwhelming. The only catch so far was that I hadn't been able to find any fabric remotely resembling what I've envisioned. I had high hopes my favorite fabric store in Jackson, Premier Prints, would have something, but I just don't make it down there enough. Then the other day I realized there is an outlet fabric store near me in Sherman that is the supplier of my favorite store. Imagine my excitement. This Saturday I'll be trekking up there to browse the options in person. I've found these two fabrics on their website and think one of them may be what I'm looking for.

Suzani, Cloud/Denton

Certain Curtains

these curtains are from Through the Country Door

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When it comes to buying things for the house, I always have something pretty exact in mind. Then I have to search and scrounge and really hunt for that perfect thing I've imagined. Sometimes if I can't find it I try and create it. My living room is a shade of khaki or tan, not sure what to call it. The paint name is Sourdough. Then the accent color is a beautiful warm, antique shade of green. That green is what will be on the walls in the entry/dining room.

I wanted to bring the tan in so I've been looking for an interesting curtain with a country cottage feel. I came across these curtains last week and just keep looking at them. They're linen and absolutely beautiful. I never thought I would choose plaid, but there it is. A rich tan linen plaid. And for just $24.99 a panel, I couldn't be more sold on them. Now I just want to run it by the husband and order them.

Vintage Spoon Garden Marker

This spring I'm going to have rows of vegetables and fruits. I'd love to have squash, tomatoes, zuchini, strawberry, watermelon, sweet potatoes, and others that I just can't think of at the moment. I'm also going to have an herb garden in the kitchen window. Wouldn't these garden markers by jessicaNdesigns be just lovely to go in the window box. I had considered them for the actual garden, but it's going to be a pretty big plot and they may just get lost. But they would definitely stand out in the kitchen. Plus, a set of three is just $18 which is pretty good price for supporting a fellow artist and crafter.

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I also think these would make for lovely gifts. Great for Mother's Day, bridesmaid's gifts, and your garden loving friend.

Ok, so a girl I went to college with posted this on Facebook, from YouTube, and it totally cracks me up. I don't know if it's cause I went to Zumba last night for the first time and this turtle has better moves than me, or if its just because watching something shake its backside is naturally funny to me. Enjoy!

Brown Paper Packages

Isn't this a lovely way to wrap a gift? The yellow and white accent is vintage shelving liner. The white band is canvas fabric. Add some jute twine and a diy flower and you've got the best wrapped gift around. This project is from a blog I discovered today. The Thrifty Crafter.

Our Monster of a House

I don't say that because of it's size but more of the giant, unruly, misfit of an undertaking it truly has been. Here is a video from when we first kind of started the house. It was still in the demolition phase.

Fruit Bowl

I think my counter needs this amazing bowl. I've been thinking about what bowl I want to use as my fruit bowl. It's been a year and a half and I still hadn't found one I liked. But then I was looking at some unfinished wood sitting on my granite counter and it hit me. I need a wood bowl. Real, raw, unfinished wood. This bowl from Target is perfect.

Creative and Rustic

I'm really loving this adorable creative bedroom. The bed is so sweet. I think Matty will be building all of our beds. ah, the beauty of having a carpenter husband.

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This New Years day I'm working on the house (shocker). I've been feeling really greatful for Matt having a day job. I've been able to spend more time with him this past week than probably in the last 4 months. Night shift was absolutely horrible, but it is over now! He's still sleeping, but when he's up we're going to work on getting the kitchen put together. Pictures to come

Kitchen Accessory

The kitchen remodel is coming along pretty well. I've been working on getting the cabinet doors put on and tidying up the rest of the kitchen. When washing dishes I noticed that there was no real convenient place to put the sponge, so I did me some etsy shopping. Here are the two I like the most. This first one is by Extrudergirl. I really like the color of the glaze. It looks like it would match our ceramic serving pieces. Also the price is rather great at $12.

This second one is equally great. The pear is such a beautiful color and would add real character to the kitchen. Only set back is the price is a bit more than the first option. This lovely handmade pear is $38. Made by sarasgallery.

Anjuli and Sam

This video is dreamy. Really enjoyed watching it.

Anjuli and Sam from max and molly on Vimeo.

. . . Found via The Traveling Cabinet.

Bath Design with a Natural Twist

I really like the simple details of this shower curtain from Anthropologie. Unfortunately I could never justify spending $118 on it. Instead, I will attempt to make one of my own.

Since designing our house renovation, I've realized I really like to have natural materials as often as possible. We have grey slate in the master bath, linen style fabric for the shower curtain and small window curtain, and I have big plans to have natural reed wallpaper in the hallway. Keeping with that theme, I think these buttons from etsy would be so perfect for my shower curtain. I think my husband would like to attempt to make some for us, but if that doesn't go well I will most likely be ordering some of these.

Perfect PostCard Calendar

I am totally enamored with this DIY journal project from Design*Sponge. You keep the calendar going for several years. Each day writing a little tidbit about what happened that day. And as the years go by, you'll be able to think back on what was going on that day 1,2,3,4 and so on years ago.

You can find the tutorial here.

Kitchen Renovation

Here are a few photos of our house renovation. These are all the same wall of the kitchen. Top picture is the original state we bought it. The cabinets were pretty poorly done. If you look carefully, you'll see that instead of having handles, they put knobs in the two holes the handle would have gone in. Looked pretty rediculous, but we saved all the knobs since the finish was brushed nickel and that's what we are using in our house. The room even felt so much smaller, though we have so much more in it now. The middle picture is before the start of the backsplash and pre-painting.

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We plan on having some cabinet drawers built on Thursday, which I guess means I need to go pick the paint color. It's going to be the same blue as our Casafina dishes. They will all of beaded board facing and a simple trim.

Treehouse for Me House!

I want my backyard to have cool details like this one. We have plenty of trees, will just take a bit of planning to figure out what I want it to look like someday.

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photo found via A Cup of Jo on Design*Sponge by Mike and Emma of M + E

Kid's Play Kitchen

I have to admit, I've thought before about what toys I want my kids to have. Mainly, no video games, but plenty of games that inspire creativity. Well, talk about creative! Look at what a grandmother and grandfather made for their little grandchild, Milla. An amazing little kitchen from an old entertainment center. Pretty incredible, right? I just had to share it.

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pictures from Amy at Giggleberry Creations found via Design*Sponge

Pillow, low, low, low

I've started looking at accesories for the living room. All these pillows would go with the color scheme. I really think I want to buy this striped one with the different shades of green.

Also digging these zigzag green and white pillows. The color is brighter than the curtains, but I could tie it all together. This one is unique, too. It's blockprinted and lovely. There is also the plus that it appears to be the exact color of the curtains I bought yesterday.

Raffia, Jute, and Wood

I've been designing the living room lately. We have a large chocolate brown leather sectional, a large flat screen tv, and a bare room.

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The coloring will be fun and have lots of different textures. The walls will be a shade of tan, the floor will be white and navy blue on concrete. I'm going to paint the whole floor white, then tape off a geometric pattern, and roll a rich navy blue ontop.

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I think I want to have a braided jute rug. It wouldn't battle with the floor for being the strongest pattern. But the texture and natural fiber will make for a great addition. This one is from Overstock.com.

Also, these lamps I've added are made by the blogger "Meet Virginia". I had seen ones like this on an HGTV show, which ironically is where Morgan saw them. I want to make two and have them hanging near the library side of the living room. I think they'd make for interesting lighting and would carry the natural fibers from one end of the room to the other. .

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I went this evening to Tuesday Mornings to see if they had a pair of curtains I had been eyeing. They did, so I got them, $40, in a beautiful shade of apple green. This picture taken from my phone doesn't even resemble the color it is. The final pictures of the rooms will better represent what is there. I'm going to find ways to tie all the colors together from the room. Like by having throw pillows, and artwork that reflect the mood, style, and colors.

Rickshaw Bagworks

I never know if I'm the last person to hear about something, but this is the first I've seen of these bags. Rickshaw Bagworks is a very unique company in that they don't have fabric waste. The bags are designed so that every piece is used in the making of the bag. Watch this video to learn more about it. .

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I am particularly fond of this yellow small messenger bag, made of Cordura nylon. It measures a lovely 10"Hx 14"Wx 6"D with two pockets under the velcro flap. I'm pretty set on getting one, but I just have to convince the hubby of it first. I usually buy purses and then use them until they basically fall apart.

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Bags discovered through Daily Grommet