My Spring Mantel

Dear Blog Land,  I would like to thank you....
I love our home and the way (most) of it is decorated.  Even though I have more of a traditional approach to decorating, I appreciate other decorating styles I see in Blog Land.  I love the chippy white paint, the painted and distressed furniture, the linens and burlap and the vintage style I see in so many blogs these days.  I want to embrace those ideas, but-- I'm scared,  I'm unwilling, I'm cheap, I don't want to make a big mess and I think my home is attractive and comfortable the way it is.  Why make changes if there really isn't a need for a change?  Well, I know it all goes to personal taste.  Some people just must like change more than others.  They love to paint, move furniture and sew new drapes.  I do make some changes in my home, but they are usually seasonal (Halloween, Christmas and Mardi Gras) but lately, I've been making the same changes that I made the year before.

I think I like being in a rut.

Since I'm so unwilling to move, recover or paint my furniture, I have challenged myself to create change in our home using accessories that I have seen and love in Blog Land. I'm going for a more updated look without going crazy.

Let's see how this goes!

Here is my family room mantel and hearth with what I call a "winter look."  I have a number of jugs that belonged to my Dad and I wanted to showcase some of them where I could see them daily.  I like the look, but I didn't want to keep it all the time.  The jugs are pretty, but dark in color.  Not a spring look to me.  I usually place three large, off-white, ceramic candlesticks where the jugs are and use  lighter-colored candles with them.

 So what to do with the challenge and

 the things I like in Blog Land?

I really love plants and this little fern is a hard one for me to grow.  I haven't had it long, but it seems happy on the kitchen table.  I would love for it to go on the mantel, but I fear that it won't get enough light there, so it can't stay on the mantel. 

I love this chippy piece that came off a porch someone was refinishing. I love this and have had it for several years.  I wasn't sure what I would do with it, but I wanted it just the same.

I have been wanting one of these wooden shoe forms for a couple of years...don't know why.  They just appeal to me like the chippy porch piece.  I got two of these in February.  And, you can see a peek of the subway art that I like.  I love it, but I have no wall space I am willing to "give up" for it.  And the oil painting above the mantel....well, I really, really love it since the day I first saw it and it isn't going anywhere.

I like the rusty "stuff" I see in blogs.  Again, don't ask me why.  Here is a numeral 3 that I got at Hobby Lobby.  It looks kinda rusty.  I picked a three because that represents our little family.  I used the burlap-yep, gotta give the nod to burlap (even if it makes me cough).  And the other white chippy piece is a capital from a column that was on my great-aunt's porch.

I found this container at a flea market and just

knew I would use it often and I have.

I swapped out the little fern for this peace lily--

it doesn't take a lot of light to be happy.

 This room is dark--so unlike all the Blog Land rooms

that I've come to admire (thank you-- Kim at Savvy Southern Style).

Well---Here's the new look!

I love my new and lighter, more updated design! 

 What do you think? 

I hope my husband eventually notices...

it's been this way for several days!

P.S. I had a teacher friend who would change her whole classroom lay-out while her first-graders were at P.E.  She did a lot in that quick 25 minutes.  I can still hear her children's cries of confusion and excitement mixed together when they returned to the classroom.  I asked her one time if she moved her furniture at home and her reply was, "All the time."  I never moved things around in my classroom.  I found the best traffic flow and that was how it stayed! Guess I would try changing my classroom tomorrow if I was still teaching....

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Feathered Nest Friday

Blue Cheese Dressing

I love blue cheese salad dressing.  Do you?? I think my mother figured it out several years ago...she likes salads but likes the dressing more.  She says the salad is just a nice way to get the dressing in your mouth.

I'm going to share with you a dressing recipe that I got from Ina (The Barefoot Contessa).

I've made it several times and I'm very pleased with the recipe.

Blue Cheese Dressing

1 cup mayonnaise (I use regular)

1/2 cup blue cheese

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 T tarragon vinegar

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 clove garlic (finely chopped-this was my idea)

I had used pre-crumbled blue cheese the first couple of times I made this dressing.  I decided to try a wedge of cheese this time.  The wedge I used was 5.5 ounces.  I put it in a separate bowl and broke it apart with a fork.

I didn't make the pieces too small.  I like my dressing on the chunky side.

Then I added the heavy whipping cream.

I gave it a little stir. 

 Then I added the vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic clove. I added only

1/2 teaspoon of salt with this dressing as it was salty enough without adding the rest.

I made a nice big salad for my lunch and added my favorite crackers.

A delicious salad with a great home-made dressing! 

How inviting!  How delicious!

**Refrigerate in covered container for two weeks--if it lasts that long!

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Spring Plants and Porch

I started gathering plants for my pots several weeks ago.  I planted most of the pots two weeks ago and they are looking great. 

I have a lot of green plants that stay outside year-round.

 But, when the weather begins to warm up, I am ready

to plant my pots with flowers that I will enjoy until late fall

Here's the planter that I have on my front porch. 

  

Here's what most of my pots looked like a few weeks ago.

The pansies worked hard this winter, but it was time for them to go.

Here are some pictures of my back porch and side patio.

I often use the plants (above) in larger pots, but I'm going to try them

on a small table pot and try to keep them pinched back.  I am

also trying some flat leaf parsley in this pot.  If it does well,

I'll try it in some other pots next year.

Lately, gardeners around here have

been using a  "recipe" for their planted pots.

The recipe is pretty easy.

You need:

1. A thrill (a showy plant)

2. A spill (a plant that trails down)

3. A fill  (the other plants that fill up the rest of the pot).

In this pot (above), you might be able to spot my three "ingredients."

1.  A larger coleus named "Kong" 

 It's a little small now, but it will get bigger and

 really look nice.  It is in the back right with the

green and red leaves.

2. I love creeping jenny and I love to use it in my pots. 

It is the plant that is trailing out of this pot.

 I love the color and it holds up well in our Alabama heat.

3.  I have some splash and begonias as my fill plants.

I have found that these plants work well on my porch and in our long hot summers.

The little white purplish flowers in the bottom

 of this pot is alyssum (Easter basket variety).

My baker's rack looks like this almost year round. 

.

I use a lot of pinks in my pots as a general rule. 

But there was something appealing about making this

pot with lots of green foliage and little flowers in white and purple.

This pot has some variety in it.  Verbena (pink blooms), the darker purple below the

verbena is Joseph's Coat (it comes in a bright green, too).  It stays low and doesn't

 flower.  The bright green in the front is sedum and it can take the summer heat. 

I save the little identification tags for the plants that I am least familiar with.

 That way, I'll learn their names and also, so I'll remember them next year

 and if I want to use them again.

I still have a few plants left over and I will make a couple more pots to enjoy.

 Here's a sneak preview of our next outdoor project!!

Have you done any spring planting?  I'd love to know!

Joining the party:

Nesting Place's

Planting Party

Vintage Find

A few weeks ago, we visited Franklin, Tennessee.  We enjoyed the trip.  There were lots of fun shops, spring flowers,  beautiful homes and interesting Civil War history filling this beautiful southern town.  I enjoyed everything we did while in Franklin.

I especially enjoyed visiting several antique stores while in

Franklin and I shared several pictures of the vintage

goodies that I saw while I was there in an earlier post. 

Remember me telling you that I purchased an item? 

 Well, here it is.

You might not be able to identify what I purchased from

 this one picture, so I'll show you a one more.

 

Yes, I purchased the vintage olive gathering basket.

  I had been looking at them on line (for some unknown reason)

 and I was thrilled to see one in person.  The price was much

 better than the ones that I had seen on line, as well.

It has a little bit of rust in all the right places and nice patina. 

 The handles are perfectly rusty.  The sides are very clean
 and surprisingly very smooth. 

Right now, its first home is in our family room.

I think this is one piece that will enjoy being moved around

and serving different uses as it settles into our home.

If you'd like to see the other temping goodies we saw

while on our trip, you can see the post here:

Spring Trip to Franklin

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