The Perfect Chicken

I've always wanted to keep a few chickens at my house and have been tinkering with the idea for several years now.  There are a few important obstacles in my way though.  First of all, I don't need one more thing to do, take care of, or feed.  Next is the issue of building a chicken coop.  There certainly are many pretty ones out there to stir the imagination.  Then, there are the wild critters that already live in my yard, like the possum who lives under my deck, and the raccoon that lives in the eaves of my garden shed.  And last, but not least are my own pets, who would torment them ~ most likely.  Beside my two cats, there is Moby, a miniature dachshund.

Now he may look innocent enough, but he tangles with the possum every chance he gets and loves to torment the cats.~This weekend, at The Rural Society Antique & Garden Show, I found the solution to my chicken cravings. Wha~la.  The perfect chicken.

Saw this little lady and knew I just had to have her.  She was the answer to all my chicken dreams.

She was the perfect picture of weathered cement.

She looks so lovely resting by the rain barrel, but the best part is, I don't have to feed her or worry about her safety.She's just perfect.~Linking with Thrifty Decorating for Thrifty Thursdays~The Charm of Home  for Home Sweet Home

 

A Sweet Chandelier

I bought this sweet chandelier from my friend, Nancy, who had a booth space at The Rural Society Antique & Garden Show this past weekend.  I bought it to hang it out on my deck or screened-in porch for the summer.

But as you can see, it ended up outside where I usually hang a flowering basket.  I loved how it looks against the backdrop of all the lush greenery,  But the best part is ~ I don't have to water it or pamper it like I would a hanging basket, and I think it's just as pretty.As you can see, it's missing a few parts and pieces, but it's shabby rustiness makes it perfect and a lovely garden decoration.

Love those little flowers where the screws hold it together.

I can see it from the house, from the gardens, from the deck and from the screened-in porch.  This view was taken from inside the screened-in porch looking at the opposite side of my yard.

I think this was the perfect place to hang it. ~Linking with  
Faded Charm for White Wednesday~A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday

 

Potted Ferns

I've been potting up a few ferns this weekend.  

  I saw this idea at a local flea market a few weeks ago and was tempted to buy a couple, until I realized I could make them myself.  I already had the faux ferns ~ all I needed was the peat pots. 

  I smudged some dark wax on the peat pots to make them appear older.  Then I filled each pot with a chunk of oasis and topped it with moss from the yard.  Lastly, I arranged a few fronds of each kind of fern in the pots and ended up with a lovely collection of potted ferns. 

 I originally made them to sell, but after arranging this table vignette, I have fallen in love with them and want to keep them.  Isn't that the way it always is? 

 Rust and green just seem to go together.    I found this little tray at Hobby Lobby and added a few touches of green paint and then a layer of dark wax and now it looks old too. 

 

 I think I'll sell a few and keep a few. 

 Linking with ~A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday 

A Finally Finished Bathroom

Finally ~ a finished bathroom.  I started this project right after Christmas and have been dragging it out ever since.  It wasn't even anything major ~ just cosmetic changes.Here are a couple before pictures.  As you can see I was trying out paint colors and it looked like this for months before I finally began. 

 It is a really small bathroom and the only one in my house.  Two in this bathroom is a crowd.

This is a picture of the paneling that was on the wall when I moved in here 23 years ago, but then it was powder blue.  It has an embossed look and I painted it white.  I always wanted to remove it, but there were areas where the seams didn't lay flat, and I was always afraid of what was hiding behind that paneling.

I covered the paneling with Martha Stewart's paintable bead board wallpaper that can be purchased online from Home Depot.  It is wonderful and by carefully aligning the stripes, I could camouflage the uneven paneling seams underneath.

I painted the top of the walls a very pale pink to match the shower curtain and replaced all the trim on the window.

I added a very small piece of decorative trim to the bottom of the crown molding to hide the clumps of paint accumulated from years of painting.  It gave me not only a cleaner edge, but a slightly larger crown molding.

Then came the fun of decorating with a few old accessories and a few new.

A new soap dispenser from Target for the sink . . .

and a basket to hold toilet paper.

I've already shown you this wreath that I made from sweaters for the wall.

And I've shown you the fabric of the shower curtain that was the inspiration for the makeover.  I bought a second shower curtain and sewed them together to make it fuller.  My tub is the original one from when the house was built in the 1940's and it is not a pretty sight.  By adding the additional shower curtain, it not only made it fuller, but covered the ends of the ugly tub surround without stretching the curtain flat like a sheet.

I also covered the inside of the bathroom door with the bead board wallpaper and rehung the towel rack.  I can't rave enough about this wallpaper and how wonderful it is to work with and the dimensional finished look it gives you.

Like I said at the beginning, it is a very small bathroom, but then there is only me in the house now, so it's all that I need.Sweet and simple is my new motto.

Linking with

Boogieboard Cottage for Masterpiece Monday

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The House in the Roses for Show Off Your Cottage Monday

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Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday

 

Redbud Beauty

It's been so long since I've done a post that I didn't even know the format had changed.  It just goes to show you, when you're not looking, something is always being updated.

Seems like I've been away forever ~ mostly a combination of being so busy and not having anything to say.  Thought today I'd just share a few pictures of some branches I cut from my redbud tree.

I was out trimming my jungle of a yard and thought I might as well make an arrangement instead of throwing them away.

I set them on the vanity in my bedroom where I 

could see them often and when I sit down to curl my 

hair in the morning.

I love the shadows the flowers cast on the wall from the glow of the overhead chandelier.

 In the midst of all the extra responsibilities that come

with spring and the outside care of a garden and home, 

it is nice to slow down and enjoy the simple 

beauty of spring blossoms.

Linking with

How Sweet the Sound  for Pink Saturday
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The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays

 

Beautifying the TV

I'm a firm believer in beautifying every space in your life to the best of your ability and affordability ~ and that includes your TV viewing area.  I've already shown you what I did with my living room TV area where my TV resides in an armoire neatly tucked away with a collection of movies and books. 

 But in my bedroom (where I love watching TV) it is more exposed.  So I set out to beautify the space around it and here is how it looks for spring. 

 I found the vase at Goodwill for $.99 and hustled it home to put in my pink and beige bedroom.   

  Then I arranged it with my pink mercury glass candle, a small glass dish of pink vintage buttons, and doily I found at a flea market this spring.

Don't they make good companions and look at all those textures.  The older I get, the more I love pink in all forms.~Lastly, I splurged on some new faux pink and white ranunculus and a delicate green filler.

I've never really seen real ranunculus, but I love these and they don't wilt and die ~ all the better I think.

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So ~ although the trend is to have a big-screen TV that is the center of attention, I prefer to blend mine in so it's not the first thing you notice when you walk in a room.  Plus ~ now every time I watch TV in my bedroom, I see my lovely rannuculas and vintage buttons, and that makes me realize that it's the simple things that makes life sweet.

Linking with 
A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday
 

Makes Me Smile

Do you ever buy things just because they make you smile?Even when you absolutely don't need them.I picked up these plastic summer dishes at the grocery store just because they make me smile. 

  Sometimes I end up taking things back because I feel guilty, but even though I knew I should ~ I didn't.I set them up on my dining room table and then really fell in love with them. 

  I found that they matched so many things I already owned and just had fun playing around with them ~ all the while ~ still fully intending to return them to the store.But ~ they matched my Goodwill pitcher and turquoiseBall jar. . .

and these sweet linens I bought to sell on Etsy. 

And one purchase usually leads to another and I ended up with these sweet little egg cups which matched these eggs I already had.  Can you see how I justify all of this unnecessary buying?

Day after day I walked by them sitting on my table, and every day they made me smile.  Before I knew it, they were in my sink and I was washing off the stickers and I knew then they were keepers.  

I guess, in the end, I don't have to understand or even justify why something makes me smile inside.  I just know that is a good thing, and that we can all use a little more smilingin our busy hectic lives.~Linking with The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays~A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesdays