M O S S 

the unsung hero of French wire baskets 

An inexpensive fresh flower arrangement can always be made from 4-inch starter plants from the local nursery. Need a quick, easy arrangement as a table centerpiece for a party, birthday, or luncheon that you and your guests will absolutely love?  

Magnolia Garden Ideas To Make Your Own | Part 1

Sometimes the best ideas come from unexpected places, when you are not looking for them. To get gardening ideas is not why most people go to Magnolia Market at the Silos in Waco, Texas, but much to my delight on my visits there I discovered the Magnolia complex is a blueprint of gardening ideas. 

There are so many great garden ideas gathered from Magnolia Market, I am sharing two of them, PLAN and WALKWAYS, as Part 1 in this post and will share more ideas in additional posts. 

This series of posts will help you create a garden of your dreams. Who better to learn from than a woman, Joanna Gaines, who made her dreams come true? 

🌿 Garden Idea ❶ : PLAN  

At the main entrance to Magnolia Market is a site map to help visitors find their way around. The map also illustrates the first great garden idea: PLAN. 

Home Renovations | Thoughts About Beautiful Images

While you are mulling over your thoughts about budget wise countertops, or why white is timeless decor, or 7 ways to add French style to a bathroom, may I ask you to mull over something else about home renovations, also? 

Recently I began thinking about what others write about home renovations and how it relates to home decorating and blogging. The whole point of this blog is to share beautiful images and thoughts about beautiful images for our homes and gardens. 

Master Bath Small Vanity Progress

When you last saw the master bathroom's small vanity area, the vanity was its original lightly stained wood finish, turned reddish, from thirty years ago. Finally, this spring work began to update the old vanity area from its American Country look. 

Here we are, 5 weeks after work began. 

Master Bath Small Vanity A F T E R Painting 

the FINAL coat of white paint 

The first of several planned changes this spring include painting the vanity white, but the number of times the vanity would be painted and the number of colors of white were not listed in the published plan I recently shared.  

Why not? 

DIY Wood Bathtub Tray | French Country Charm

While refreshing our master bathroom I looked for ways to add more French Country charm to the bathtub. 

What was I looking for? Something beyond the French Country chair, French script candle, carved pedestal, and natural cotton bath mat. 

7 Ways to Add French Country to a Master Bath

Adding French Country style to a new home or a fixer-upper is easier to do than adding French Country style to an existing home. When you build a new house, you can include architectural details with French roots from the ground up. Fixer upper projects often include major renovations for floors, windows, room layouts, plumbing, appliances, and/or built-in cabinets. All offer ways to include French style. 

But, what about when you want to add French Country style to an existing room without remodeling? The good news is you can make changes to your rooms that will give them French style without changing the structures. With a little practice for looking at your existing rooms from a fresh perspective, you will begin to see changes you can make. Each new change will spark ideas for more changes. 

To get your creative decorating ideas flowing, take a look at seven ways you can add French Country style to a master bathroom... without making structural changes. 

Notes From The Country | No. 3

Living in the countryside means getting to enjoy the changes of seasons up close. Every day in the spring is exhilarating with all the new life emerging. Each day something new is noted. Fits and starts of warm days, of cold days, of rainy days, of overcast days, and of BRILLIANT blue sky days make each new bit of green a cause for celebration. 

C E L E B R A T I O N 

for birds and critters 

Wild dewberry vines will provide berries for birds before summer comes. The berries are always small and unappetizing for picking for us, but just right for the birds. An old hollow stump makes a good shelter for country critters. 

Kitchen Island Spring Nesting | Design Challenge

Spring brings out the feather-my-nest instincts to create pretty arrangements on the kitchen island. Then over the course of several days I continue to fluff my nest by adding some elements, removing some items, and rearranging others. It reminds me of a saying my mother had, "Can't get your nest made?" 

New Hardwood Floor Refinish Update and Discount Code

{Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Rug Pad USA. I receive compensation for working with Rug Pad USA, but all opinions are honest and my own. You may want to read about why quality rug pads are important to protect all your flooring and area rugs.}

 H A R D W O O D   F L O O R   U P D A T E 

One Year Later 

Living Room Oak Flooring BEFORE Refinishing 

One year ago we had our hardwood oak floor in the living room refinished. Our house is thirty years old, and the oak floor has been refinished once before. Yes, it was time to refinish the floor again last year, and this year I am sharing an update on the refinished oak floor.  

The original oak floor was finished with a white-wash stain that kept the floor light, but allowed the wood grain to show through. The finish complemented the exposed natural pine beams and rafters in our post-and-beam house. 

One of the main reasons the floor needed refinishing was my beautiful black-background wool needlepoint rug had discolored the floor over time... even though there was a rug pad under the rug to protect the floor. 

Spring Potting Bench Flowers

F A V O R I T E   B E D D I N G  P L A N T S  

Nothing says spring has really arrived better than your favorite bedding plants showing up at your local nurseries. Once spring flower bedding plants arrive at plant stands, then they make their way to potting benches getting ready for spring gardens. 

At least that is what happens at my house and on my back porch potting bench. Every year my plan is to plant my new favorite bedding plants as soon as I get them home. But, every year my good intentions get waylaid. 

One Tired Easter Bunny

H A P P Y   E A S T E R 

O N E   T I R E D   B U N N Y 

at the end of today