hydrangea goods: and how you can get 3 for $2.50+shipping!

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hydrangeas.

i have never had them in my garden before.

planted some last year.

i purchased three through the mail.

from here.

and for a limited time if you use the code 414217

you get $20 in free plants.

i just bought three more of these for around $15.

you get three for $22.50,

use your code above to get $20.00 off.

you pay $2.50+ shipping

for three hydrangea plants!

can't beat that!

yes, they come in the mail.

yes, that's a little weird.

yes, they will look kinda bad when you get them.

do follow the directions.

water, water, water...

next year they will look like this:

i can not believe how big they have gotten in one year.

when they came in the mail,

each one literally had a few leaves and maybe one bloom.

and now look at them!

(i took this right after it rained.

that's why those big blooms are laying on the ground.)

we purchased the other three at lowes.

when they were on clearance.

then they all died.
or so i thought.
i had no idea that hydrangeas loose all their foliage for the winter.
i was thrilled when i saw green early this spring.
and now they look like this...

they are huge!

it's amazing that all of this can grow out of something

that looks like twigs.

in a matter of months.

at first a lot of the blooms were very white.

but now they are all turning different shades of

pink

purple

periwinkle

and fuchsia

gorgeous!

and they aren't even close to done yet.

the best is yet to come.

and then there is this in my yard that makes me happy:

our magnolia tree is blooming.

we've had five blooms so far.

they smell so good!

and finally there's this little guy.

my youngest made him in preschool.

a caterpillar made out of

knee highs and grass seed.

i love preschool.

i hope you have something in your garden that makes you happy!

~elisabeth

very good goods: i reeeeally want this.

at some point in my life, i will own one of these.

i hope.

i found it here.

you can buy it here.

thrifty goods: a few recent finds

a few weeks ago my friend stephanie and i went on a thrifting adventure.

here are a few of the goodies i came home with:

this ottoman wasn't priced.

i asked the guy working and he said $5.

sold!

as you can see, the lovely pillow comes off.

it needs a bit of work.

a coat or two of paint and some new fabric.

i think it looks a bit like a cat bed.

i don't have a cat.

but if i did it would have a fab new bed!

i have no idea how or where this will be used.

but for $5,

who cares!

this mirror is by far the best thing i came home with.

it is solid and heavy!!!

i have an idea where i will use this.

i am thinking yellow.

it was $25.

as stephanie and i were heading out i spotted this sweet little yellow bowl.

no price.

i carried it up to the counter with me and sweetly asked the man working if he could just "throw it in" with the mirror.

he said yes!

it never hurts to ask.

isn't it pretty?

(the bowl. not my picture. horrible picture.)

two weekends ago i went to a garage sale and picked up this frame

for a buck.

it had cracked plastic and cardboard inside.

but i didn't care.

that stuff went in the trash.

(ha! i just noticed the distorted reflection of my legs in the plastic.

no, my feet aren't freakishly tall.)

just in case you didn't believe me...

i picked these sconces up at my favorite local thrift store.

i think they were $2.

they will definitely get a spray paint face lift.

and then, today.

ahhh today.

it started off pretty bad.

my youngest got sick in the car.

all over the car.

why do they make car seats so dang hard to clean?

poor thing.

poor mommy.

after cleaning out the car i left the windows cracked so it could air out.

i went inside to make sure my sick daughter was taken care of, washed her clothes, made lunch, etc.

all the while we are getting slammed with a major thunder storm.

for hours.

and hours.

i get in the car to take her to the dr. and the car is soaked!

ugh.

back inside for towels.

and dry pants.

silver lining?

we had an hour to kill before picking up my oldest from school.

not enough time to go home and get anything done.

sooooo, what are a couple of girls to do?

thrift store!

(by the way, everything checked out at the dr. she was feeling like a new lady at this point.)

i rarely look at clothes in thrift stores.

i am more of a furniture, fabric, odds-n-ends type person.

but today we had time to kill so why not?

boy i am glad i did!

check out what we found.

only the shiniest, most prettiest, most twirliest dress in the whole wide world!!!

and for $.99 at that!

i had never heard of the brand, marie chantal, but checked it out online when we got home.

this brand sells at saks in the three digits.

yikes!

and i couldn't resist this little number.

it's linen.

the brand is cottontail originals.

never heard of it.

it reminds me of something from olive juice.

of course, you know which one my little likes best, don't you??

we picked up a few more things today at the thrift store including

an oriental parasol $2.99,

a salor dress/costume for lucy $3.00, 

a mini speed racer lunch box $.99,

a bag of red craft pom poms $.99,

two large wood picture frames perfect for painting $2 ea.,

a grab bag of girls dress patterns $1.75,

i drove around the whole day with the back of my swagger wagon filled with good will donations,

but never got around to good will.

ironic.

hope you are having a great week!

~elisabeth

before and 'during' goods

this room is taking forever! mostly because i forgot all about letting latex paint "cure". that's annoying. the whole curing thing. why can't it just dry already? did you know it can take up to a month for latex paint to cure? well, she told me that it can and i believe her.

so anyway, i am working on my dining room. my plan was to wait until the whole thing was finished so that i could post a big dramatic before and after post. but i'm getting impatient. so, while my newly painted china cabinet is still "curing" i will let you see some before and during pics.

here is the room before:

the black mirror and table you see below are what you see when you walk in the front door. the window on the right is the front entry. i have big plans for this little foyer. big plans. but i have a feeling it might be a while before i get to it. many other rooms to accomplish first.

here is a shot of the antique china cabinet that i painted. you know the one that is currently "curing". ugh.

there is a story behind this china cabinet that involves my great-grandfather and a trade. i need to investigate.

when we lived in ohio we bought my great-aunt's farm house. (picture of farm house living room below) along with the house we purchased the heywood wakefield table and chairs and the china cabinet. the cabinet was in pretty bad shape. my mom took it to her furniture guy and he rebuilt it. he replaced a lot of pieces and added the feet. it really needed feet.

(see those big huge beautiful windows??? the people we sold the house to removed those and put in small, regular, run of the mill windows. it makes me want to cry.)

here is the cabinet now. curing. waiting patiently to be filled up...

...with all this stuff.

this picture offers you a sneak peak of the new wall color. this is my dining room as it sits today. we moved the kitchen table and chairs in here. not sure if they will stay. i am currently in a table and chairs dilemma. more on that later.

hope you enjoyed the sneak peak! i really hope to be moving right along on this soon. next on the to-do list is curtains. already purchased from ikea. love that place.

~elisabeth

inspiring goods: pictures from my files

when i started reading blogs i created a file on my computer labeled "interior design ideas". these are my favorite photos from that folder. unfortunately, in the beginning i didn't take note as to where i found the pictures. so, if you see one and you know where it's from please feel free to leave a comment and give credit to the designer/blogger.      

i really love seeing how people organize and display art and photographs. i love the unexpected blue frames here and how the common color ties together the miss-matched frames.

(absolutely beautiful things)

love this wall. love the different colors and how random it all is.

(absolutely beautiful things)

this room just makes me happy. love the rough bed.

this is one of lauren's (pure style home) favorite books. i must own it someday as i am constantly dreaming of white filled rooms.

love the combo of the floral with the stripe. what a fun laundry room!

(canadian house and home)

love this chandi. want one for my master bedroom.

closets are a perfect place for wallpaper.

(houzz)

genius use of a hall closet. a reading nook/coat closet. love it! so cute!

(houzz)

 this pic has been everywhere on every blog but i still love it. some day i will turn a barn into a home and it will look like this. (cote de texas)

 i am in love with the use of the blue-green shutters and porch floor boards. this picture has been on my mind a lot lately. i have been imagining this color scheme on every dreamy house i see these days.

(design sponge-corbin lee)

i can't get yellow out of my system lately. love these stairs.

(design sponge)

here's yellow again. beautiful room, eh?

(jeffrey bilhuber via colour me happy)

i have never seen a claw foot shower before and now i am pretty sure i need one.

(house of turquoise)

love how sophisticated this room is and then how quirky the patchwork sofa is. love the pop of color.

(colour me happy???)

hmmmm...yellow again. stripes.

(jenna lyons-domino)

dream kitchen. 'nuff said.

(house of turquoise)

did i mention i want to turn a barn into a home? bingo!!!

(nest egg)

numbered stairs number two. these are in my future.

like the ceiling here. and just about everything else.

love the pops of color here. love the sofa. love the artwork.

(rashida jones studio)

clean, simple, open, easy.

i will be doing this in my upstairs hallway. my frames will be yellow.

love the ceiling here. thinking about doing this in our kitchen but all white.

(style swoon)

i hope you have enjoyed a little peek into what inspires me. soon i am going to go through my piles and piles of magazines and try and get them as organized as the photos on my computer. i think doing this will help me hone in on my style. sometimes i feel like i am inspired by too much- too many different design styles. going through my magazines, tearing out what i love and getting it organized will help me focus.

i am envious of people who know exactly what they love and hate. that's sort of the whole reason why i started blogging. i need a place to put my thoughts down, experiment with what i'm inspired by, put it out there and then see how i feel about it a few months later. it's much cheaper than decorating and redecorating a room. on a blog you can change, grow and evolve more freely than in your own home or closet.

ok, it's late and i'm rambling...until next time!

~elisabeth