Flowers in My Garden

106 degrees in the DFW metroplex today! Yikes! I think I am beginning to understand how the people up North get the winter blues because I am beginning to get the Summertime Blues!  It is way too hot to do anything outside.  Even the pools feel like a hot tub!

The week long freeze this winter along with the extreme heat this summer have really done a number on my plants and flowers. Boo! I can't keep up with the watering!

My Lantana is not blooming!

My Indian Hawthorne is scorched!

My sweet potato vine and ferns seem to miraculously be ok.

My Knockout Roses have definitely seen better days!





Crepe Myrtles are doing ok, too!

All right, I'll admit, I don't have the greenest thumb in town but I can usually keep my Begonias alive until the end of August! They were "goners" in June this year!  I decided that I was going to have some flowers in my garden, one way or another.

Remember my Goodwill finds from my previous post here? Well, I used the beautiful sunny yellow bowl and a pretty floral bowl that I had stashed away to make this beauty. 

Who says you can't have beautiful flowers in 100+ weather in Texas? And...the best part is you don't have to water them!

I hope you enjoyed my new flowers. I'm going to go and make a big 'ol glass of iced tea and peek out my window at them.



Ruby Red Garden Art

I am in love with ruby red glassware! I was super excited to see this box at the Saturday night auction I have been going to.  I got it all for $5...not too bad!  I wasn't crazy about the taller vases but I really wanted the other pieces. 

I knew that I wanted to add a little ruby pizzazz to my garden so I searched through my stash and tried different variations. I finally decided to use these beauties.  One of the pieces was from Goodwill the other day. The clear plate and bowl are from The Dollar Tree.

I used E-6000 to glue them together and here is the end result. I love the way the red looks against the foliage. If I add birdseed to the bowl, maybe the birds will love it as much as I do!

                                 

Goodwill Goodies

Oh yeah...Today is THE day! Half off day at my local Goodwill. As I drove into the full parking lot, I could feel my excitement building. My mission today: to find glass pieces for the garden art I plan to make.


It was no surprise to find no available shopping carts. Hmmm...How was I going to carry all of my loot?? Where there's a will, there's a way, right? I made a bee-line for the glassware aisle. Not too crowded, thank goodness. I immediately found the pretty yellow plate and bowl. I loved it and thought about how gorgeous it would be with the sun shining on it in the garden. I grabbed it as fast as I could, looking around to make sure no one was going to fight me for it. Hmmm...no one cared. That's the good thing about my thrifting adventures. No one else seems to want the things I'm interested in. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?


I found several more pieces that I thought were pretty and different but I was running out of hands and FAST! What to do? I found some kind of little book holder thing-a-ma-jig to put them in. Remember, where there's a will, there's a way!


I could have done a lot more damage if I had only had a shopping cart but perhaps it was a good thing that I didn't! On the way out of the store, I saw the serious Goodwill shoppers with their rolling carts. Why didn't I think of that?  Oh well, the day's not over yet!


Take a look at what I found!

 I thought these were so delicate and such a pretty sunny yellow. I'm not sure how they will hold up if I use them for the garden art pieces but I just couldn't resist!

Grand Total:  $9.60

Oh no! I had to spend $10.00 to get my card stamped so I ran over to the Dr. Pepper cooler to make it right. (I'm sure the long line of people behind me weren't too thrilled.)

Ahhhh...What more could a girl ask for?

Garden Art

I have been seeing these garden beauties all over blogland and decided that it was time to make one.  I have so many glass pieces that I can't begin to imagine parting with so I decided to clean out that cabinet and put them to good use! I just used good old E-6000 to glue them together.  I think the possibilities are endless!! Not sure how long this baby will last with a 7 year old son, though!

I can't wait to find more pieces at my local thrift stores, Dollar Tree and my own cabinets!

"I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky..."

Going to the beach house during spring break was bittersweet this year.  After my dad passed away last year, my mom has decided to sell it.  With the cost of insurance, upkeep and taxes, it is just to hard too maintain.  The last hurricane that completely destroyed one of the bedrooms was a big deciding factor.  We are all sad.  Buying the house was my dad's dream and I am so thankful that we had 10 wonderful years to enjoy it.  When I was a child, I remember going to my grandparent's houses in East Texas and my children will always remember going to the "Beach House." They will remember building sand castles, jumping the waves, finding sea glass and exploring everything that the ocean had to offer.  I will remember how happy that house made my mama and daddy.  They named it Sea Fever after a poem John Masefield.  The sea air was medicine for my dad's soul and medicine for the COPD that would eventually take his life.  For my mom, letting go of the beach house is letting go of a piece of my dad.  It is for all of us.

"Sea-Fever"
I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,

And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,

And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.



I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;

And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,

And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.



I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,

To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;

And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover

And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.



By John Masefield (1878-1967).

(English Poet Laureate, 1930-1967.)

Sheet Music Wreath

Yes...I jumped on the bandwagon!  I just couldn't resist when I saw this beautiful old sheet music.  The paper is a little brittle but the natural aged color was so pretty and much better than tea-staining.

I can't wait to work on some more projects using the sheet music!

Boredom and Chalkboard Paint!

I love chalkboard paint!!  I'm planning on painting some cute circles on my daughter's walls but in the meantime...it all started while I was cleaning out the fridge.  I thought to myself, "Wow, those empty jars are pretty cool!  What shall I do with them?"  The answer was very clear!  CHALKBOARD them!!! Next time I think I'll use a snappy stencil but I like the straight lines of these.

Well, the chalkboard frenzy didn't stop there!!  I had bought a tarnished silver tray from Goodwill for a couple of dollars and decided to give that puppy a coat!  My kiddos were super excited to use it as a daily menu. 

Bon appetit!

More 'chalkboard mania' to come!!

Framed for DInner

My mom and I were looking through some of her pretties when we came across some beautiful silverware given to her by her aunt.  The patina was such a pretty color so we decided to frame them.  I made this one for my dining room and when my mom's kitchen redo is complete, we will make one for her!

It was a super easy project!  I just framed some of my FAVORITE tissue paper and used good ole E6000 to adhere the silverware directly to the glass! I like the way it turned out!

It's About Time!

Wow! Just when I started learning to blog, the air was totally knocked out of me. My father went to be with Jesus on February 12th and things have been very different for me. My dad was my biggest fan. He was the smartest man ever and definitely, my hero! I miss him terribly but know that I will seem again one day. I keep thinking he is just "away" and will return soon. The hardest part is when I realize that I won't ever see him here on earth again. My dad used to call me everyday at about 5pm. I still find myself running to catch the phone when it rings, hoping to hear his sweet voice again.

I have really started to look at my own life since my dad passed away. I see that I share some of the same attributes as both of my parents. What a wonderful gift! My dad was a collector of many things and my mom can find beauty in unexpected things. We loved going to garage sales to find those hidden treasures. In a world of cell phones, video games and Aeropostale, I hope I can instill the love of 'junk' in my own children!

Ok--After the wild love project, I started thinking. (Uh Oh) I saw some really beautiful napkin rings at Pier One and just knew they would be perfect in the kitchen. (They were only $1.38 each!) Until now, I had only used a touch of animal print in other rooms of the house but never in the kitchen. I think I'll have to work on a Wild Love tablescape and enter my first Tablescape Thursday!! I'm so excited!

Things I Love- Week 1

I always enjoy the "unexpected" when decorating! While at Michael's the other day, I found some beautiful scrapbook paper. (Another addiction of mine) I fell in love and immediately the wheels started turning. Valentine's Day is just around the corner so I decided to mix the two. I call it WILD LOVE!