~Spring Mantel~

Hi friends! Happy Monday!

In honor of Springing forward this week, I thought I would celebrate Spring by bringing a little green to my mantel. I also found some great thick burlap ribbon in the floral department at Michaels and it was cheap, cheap, so I wound that in with the greens.

 I know that everyone is white washing or painting their brick, but I kind of like the earthy look of the darker brick. For the first few years that we lived here, I had planned to re-face this with marble or stone, but I'm glad I didn't. (That's not to say that it won't change eventually, though!)

 I use pinecones in my decor all year round. I think I remember reading that Delores at Vignette Design uses her pinecones all year as well. By the way, She has a fabulous blog. Click here to take a look.

Well, that's my Spring mantel so far. I still have to pull out the Easter decor, so it will change a little more in the next week or two.

Hope you all have a great day!!

xo

-Lisa

Linking to the following...




No Minimalist Here Open House Party





Coastal Charm-Nifty Thrifty Things



Fox Hollow Cottage - Spring Mantel Party
Metamorphosis Monday

Tweaky Week and Life's Blessings.

~ Happy Friday!! ~

Do you ever feel like despite your best efforts, things are just not looking the way you had intended?

I am having a few challenges with my photography in my last two posts. Very sub-standard! Blech! That being said, I have taken steps to work on that, and today is a new day! It is supposed to be sunny and 80 degrees here this afternoon! Whoo-hoo! 

I was thinking this morning about how blessed I am. I have a beautiful, happy child, and a sweet husband, who just went off to school for "Dad's" day this morning at his pre-school. They were both wearing the requested green, and they looked so happy to be spending time together. I swear, I felt like my heart was going to burst it was so full, as I stood waving them off.

I got the ALL CLEAR yesterday, from those test results I was waiting for. I always hold my breath while waiting for results, because one day almost 3 years ago, the results were bad. Very bad. The doctor called to say, "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but it's cancer. You have a fairly large tumor that's going to have to come out." 

So today, I am choosing to celebrate my blessings. I have so many! 

All right, now on to the tweaky week! I did a million little things around the house this week. I have been fiddling around in the little guy's room, and moved some things around on his wall and dresser, and now I am working on his drapes. I also had the paint out this week for my side table project that I posted about yesterday, and while I had the brush I my hand I went to town and touched up all of the trim, doors, and staircase, etc. Anything that was scuffed or chipped got a touch up. It looks fabulous! I have about 3 other projects in the works as well, and plan to post about each of those later.

After my post yesterday, I was appalled by the photography and the lack of vignette for the table. So I made a quick fix with an old vase and some burlap to hold that random manzanita branch. This is just to buy some time until I work on something a bit more Spring-like, but it will do for now.

Yes, my camera skills are still appalling, but I will be taking a workshop later this month. Hang in there with me. I promise to improve!

I went outside to water today, and snapped a couple of pics of my Jasmine. It peaked a few days ago, and soon the blooms will all fall, so I am enjoying it while it lasts!

That's it for today! I hope you all have an awesome weekend!!

xo

-Lisa

This Week's Thrifty Finds.

Happy Weekend!!

I have not had a chance to do much shopping this week. The little guy has a cold, and I kept him home from school yesterday, plus it's been a pretty busy week here at Casa BDG. But, you know me, and I WAS able to eek out a couple of stops at two local spots. 

Here's what I found...

I found a huge pile (not sure how many feet yet) of vintage wood beads. The original price tag from dealer said $39. I bought them at a local junk shop for $4.99! I have been formulating a plan for these...

If I found the right iron fixture at a flea market I could make my own version of the Pottery Barn wood bead chandy! See below.

SO COOL!! (Image via Pottery Barn.)

I also found some English Ironstone plates for 79 cents ea. There were 7 instead of 8, but at that price, I bought them all! 

 Meakin plates for 79 cents??? Oh. yes. I. did.

 They go nicely with the other plates in my collection.

 And texture girl strikes again with these chargers. They were 2 bucks a piece. A little on the high side for this frugal thrifter, but you know I can't walk away from anything with good texture. What is wrong with me?

 Let's just have a look at those beads again, shall we?

 Little vintage owl statue. $2. He still needs a wipe down.

 More texture with these wood star architectural pieces.  

 Iron stone bowl, $1.99. Vintage Pyrex bowl, also $1.99.

 I just liked him. Couldn't leave him behind. If nothing else, I will use him for fall decor.

 Close up texture shots. See...I am a weirdo!

If I don't have enough of these beads to do a chandy, I am thinking of adding them to some iron sconces I have.

Well, I am actually off to meet the hubs for lunch with the little guy. After that I plan to hit a thrift store or two down near where we are meeting Mr. W. He has military stuff going on at the base this weekend, so he will be working today and tomorrow. Bummer. He just returned from his airline trip yesterday. Not seeing him much this week.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

xo

-Lisa
Linking to the following...




Common Ground