Homemade Gift

Last weekend I went to a Christmas party, and we were told to bring a handmade gift for an exchange. I had seen on Pinterest the idea to add hardware to a crate to dress it up a little. I asked my wonderful husband to make me a crate and to then attach these handles. I'm thankful he's so talented, and I was very happy with how it turned out! I filled it with a tartan scarf, and some homemade goodies (including one of our loofah scrubbers!) I've requested that he make me yet another crate (for myself). I think it would look lovely with some fresh greens and berries arranged inside of it - rustic Christmas!

Herringbone Throw

While I don't so much like cold weather, I do love that autumn brings a bit of coziness into my home. Who doesn't love snuggling up with a blanket on a crisp fall evening? I have somewhat of an obsession with throws - especially those in neutral colors. I also happen to adore all things herringbone. I came across a herringbone throw on a site called Linen and Boxwoods (side note: when I first heard the name of the shop, I knew I would be in love with all of their products.) Anyway! I saw this throw and wanted it badly, but the price (+ shipping costs) was more than I wanted to pay. I seem to run into this problem a lot! When this happens, I often go to Amazon.com to see if I can find a similar item for a lot less. Amazon.com pulled through for me - not only did they have a similar one, they had the EXACT same one available (Herringbone Throw). I chose the gray color because it went best with our living room colors, but I'm still lusting a little after the camel color. It arrived several days ago, and I'm so happy with it. It's beautiful and cozy. Great gift idea too!

 

 

Olive Topiary Tree

I'm pretty excited about this little gem I found! I recently saw, in a Ballard Designs catalog, an olive topiary. I loved it, but I just have a slight issue purchasing fake plants. I'd much rather have the live plant in my home. I think it adds character, and there is a sense of satisfaction in keeping it alive and looking nice. I was browsing etsy, and found an awesome little etsy shop that had an olive tree topiary for sale! (TuscanyTopiary)

It was fairly cheap - $30 plus shipping, and it is absolutely perfect. The terracotta pot it arrived in gives it such a Mediterranean feel. If you have a green thumb, and love topiaries, I highly recommend this little shop.

Drying Lavender

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned several times before that I love lavender. This year I had planted several plants, and they are finally starting to bloom! It has been exciting watching the stems shoot up and bud. 

Tonight, I was finally able to "harvest" the first of my crop. It was a small amount, but I was still pretty excited. My plan is to dry most of it, and use it for decoration, wreaths, homemade soaps - and maybe use some for culinary purposes!

I found this website How to Dry Lavender that listed several methods of drying lavender. I was pretty surprised to see it was possible to dry it in the microwave. Since I had a small amount, I decided to try the microwave method. I'm amazed at how quick and easy it was! This obviously wouldn't be ideal for large quantities, but it worked perfectly.

Simply lay out the lavender on a paper towel and microwave for 1 minute. If it is still not dry, continue to add 30 seconds on, checking after each interval. It literally took less than 2 minutes for mine. It also smells absolutely amazing in my kitchen right now. 

Within minutes I was able to cut, dry, and use my lavender. We have several floating shelves throughout the house, so I thought it would be a nice touch to add some dried lavender. 

Farm To Table Dinner Party

This has been a very busy, but fun weekend! We hosted our Farm to Table dinner party with 10 of our friends. Each dish on the menu incorporated local produce - most of it from our own garden. I spent Friday and Saturday cooking and cleaning, and today I'm happy to be able to relax some! I was hoping to be able to get more pictures during our evening, but I was so busy keeping up with the food. I sadly didn't get any photos after the guests arrived. Things turned out great, and it was a wonderful evening. I hope to share some of the recipes I used for the meal in the next few weeks. For now, here are a few photos of the tablescape and other decor.

I realized quickly that our tiny kitchen did not have space for all the dishes I was going to be using. My handy husband happened to just build this shelf for the garage, and let me use it to keep my dishes on for the evening. I loved the way it looked with the linen table runner across it - a little rustic!

And this was the appetizer station. I love artichokes, and they make lovely decorations!

Beverage Station: Beverage tags are from Ballard Designs, Drink Dispensers are from Pottery Barn.

I managed to get one "food" photo of our soup for the evening. This Tuscan Vegetable Soup was absolutely so flavorful!

After months of planning and days of preparation, it was a great success! I had a lot of fun with the theme, and all the food turned out great. I tried many new recipes that I'm sure I will make again. Now I need to start thinking about a theme for the next one we host!

Sunday Baking - New Bowls!

For months I regularly looked at these mixing bowls on Pottery Barn's website wishing they were in my kitchen. I kept hoping they'd run a sale or go on clearance - I loved these bowls. I tried to forget about them and tell myself I really didn't need them -but they're just so pretty! And it is of those purchases that I don't regret at all! After talking with my husband about how wonderful it would be to have them, he said " buy them." I was a bit surprised at his response, because he doesn't often encourage me to buy stuff (he usually talks me out of it!) After thinking about it though, I bake A LOT. At least 2-3 times a week! I'd get plenty of use out of these bowls, and my other plastic mixing bowl set was cracked. I felt I could justify this purchase, even if it was a bit more than I'd normally spend for mixing bowls. I finally caved in the beginning of July and ordered these mixing bowls (with a free shipping coupon to save a little bit of money). Then I waited, and waited. They went on back order for like three weeks. As soon as I got the "shipped" email, I checked the tracking information like 10 times a day. Finally, the day they were at my front door, I was so excited - only to open a package filled with broken and chipped bowls; what a let down! Pottery Barn was quick to replace my order though, and a week (a very loong week) later they arrived in tact. This time perfect! 

Rhodes Mixing Bowls - Pottery Barn

This Sunday evening was a perfect night to get some use out of them. I was craving some chocolate, so I used my favorite Brownie Recipe. Mmm, great way to end the weekend!

Lavender Wreath

I'm a little excited today - well very excited! I have been looking for the perfect spring/summer wreath for a long time... it's mid-July and I had yet to find one. I still have our boxwood wreath up from winter; it has now dried - making it a perfect fall wreath - but it just doesn't cut it for summer! 

Last weekend, my husband and I had been shopping at Target, and I was browsing the home section. I found the absolute, most perfect wreath! It was made of lavender - and i LOVE lavender. I'm slightly obsessed with lavender. It was everything I had been looking for - but it was $39.99. I just couldn't bring myself to pay that much for a wreath. I know that price is actually pretty good compared to many others that you can buy, but it still just felt like a lot. I sadly left the store, and hoped that soon my lavender plants would start getting blooms that I could dry, and then create my own wreath - but I knew it would be quite a while until I had enough dried lavender to make a wreath. 

Well, I've been thinking about that wreath since last weekend, so I decided to look it up again today online and remember how beautiful it was. When I got to Target's site, I saw that there was free shipping, and 20% off of that lavender wreath! Not only that - but I'm a member of ebates.com - so by logging in there first, I got an extra 5% off! I am one happy girl, and I cannot wait for my wreath to get here!

Lavender Wreath - Target

Bleach Glass Jug

I like a neat and orderly house where everything is in it's place (My husband and I may be slight neat freaks - you should see his closet). Since we don't have children yet, it hasn't been too difficult to keep everything nice and tidy throughout the week, and to give our home a thorough cleaning once a week. But my cleaning supply cart had been driving me crazy (yes, I want even the cleaning supplies to be nicely displayed in our laundry room). It had all these pretty Mrs. Meyers cleaning supplies on it and then a big ugly bottle of bleach! The past few months I've been in search of an alternative storage solution. Last weekend I found the perfect fix! We have a store in town here - similar to a flea market- with vendors who sell used items/antiques/handmade crafts/etc. You never know what you might find at this place! I came across this large glass jug, and it is exactly what I have been looking for. The cost? $1.99! I'm so excited that I found this - it's much more tasteful then those big white plastic bottles, and what a cheap solution!

Berry Box Colander

I'm in love with these ceramic berry boxes. I first saw beautiful handmade ones at a cute shop in Glenside, PA while visiting some friends - but they were a little pricey. I happened to come across a similar style on pinterest, and it was linked to Crate and Barrel. I was so excited when I saw these lovely berry colanders were only $4.95 each! I picked up three of them, and I couldn't be happier with this product. Add a little charm to your brunch and serve fresh fruit in these! And, how cute of gift would this be to fill with berries from your garden?

Crate and Barrel Berry Box

Herb Garden

It's been a while since I've posted, and that is because it's so hard to be inside with all of this gorgeous Spring weather. My free time has been spent taking walks, going for runs, kayaking, and of course gardening! I thought for this post I would share a little bit of my fun! 

Last year around the time of my birthday, I saw this amazing planter on Pinterest that I knew would be perfect for my herb garden. It was listed for several hundred dollars online, so I knew I wouldn't be purchasing it! I went to my wonderfully, talented dad and showed him a picture. For my birthday, he made an exact replica (I actually like the one he made even better than the online version), and I stained it. Not only was it less than $50 in materials to make, but it also has sentimental value and a handwritten note from my dad on the bottom. He used black locust wood as it lasts a long time and is not quick to decay. Below is a picture of my handmade planter.

Last weekend, I was able to get some of my herbs planted in it! I love cooking with fresh herbs throughout the summer. I planted some oregano, basil, dill, rosemary, chives, and sage in my planter. I also have a container of spearmint, and multiple lavender herbs along the side of our house. I cannot wait to can our dill pickles, make lavender biscotti, and cook up some delicious Italian food! Recipes to come throughout the summer months :) 

Spring Tulips

When it comes to decorating my home - I love simple, and I love natural. There is no decor more beautiful than fresh flowers. Below, I used an old mason jar and added some blush colored tulips. Having fresh flowers in your home makes it so much more inviting; I love bringing the outside in (except for bugs!). On rainy days like yesterday, having these tulips sitting on my dining room table, made the day just a little bit brighter. 

Turkish Towel

Last Spring I was searching for the perfect blanket for our ottoman. I didn't want something too heavy that looked sloppy, or something that left a lot of lint on light colored furniture. I searched Amazon.com for something in our price range, and I came across some Turkish Towels. They were linen... so of course I immediately was attached, and I loved the look of them.  When it came in the mail, it was lightweight and shed-free. Best of all, it was a great price! Recently, I've seen these towels around a lot in magazines and online. Even though they're called "towels", they can really have other uses. They do not resemble your typical towel at all.  I've heard they do make great bath towels, but I have yet to try that. If you are looking for the perfect gift, I highly recommend these Turkish towels :)

Turkish Towel

My Orchid

 Orchids are my favorite flowers. They are so unique and come in so many beautiful colors. I bought this orchid below as a college graduation present for myself, and I have been blessed with blooms every year since. Right now, it has over 30 gorgeous white flowers, and a few more buds getting ready to open. The orchid blooms from beginning to end in about an 8 month span - which is awesome because it provides the prettiest decor almost all year! The phalaenopsis orchid is my favorite of all the orchids. Every time I see a stem breaking through I get so excited and wait patiently for months for the first bud to open. They're is just something so beautiful about these simple white blooms. 

Le Cruset Dutch Oven

Whew! It's been a busy last two weeks - not a whole lot of time to sit down and blog! Today, I'm excited to post about a new kitchen toy I've picked up :) For the last year I've had my eye on a Le Cruset dutch oven... but they're sooo expensive! I would regularly check random places looking for a deal, and I finally found one! If you would have told me a few years ago that I would be this excited about a dutch oven, I would have laughed at you. They have so many lovely colors to choose from, but I've had my eye on the dijon color from their classic line. The new yellow (soleil) is also pretty, but its a bit to bright for me! I like that this one is more mustard colored. It fits in a little better with my kitchen. I also love their caribbean blue and the palm green, but those two colors didn't go as nicely with the rest of my kitchen decor. I have yet to make anything in my dutch oven because we've been so busy, but I cannot wait to finally scratch out some time to make a delicious soup. 

Le Cruset Dutch Oven

artichokes

The past few months I've developed a liking for artichokes. It started with the artichoke napkins I made (see previous post), then decorating with dried artichokes, and now this beautiful ceramic white artichoke. (I actually purchased it for my friend for her birthday, and I loved it so much that I added it to my birthday wishlist). I've also purchased artichoke seeds to add to our garden this year! Apparently, I'm not alone in this new artichoke obsession. As I've been paging through all of my home decor magazines and venture into stores, I spot random artichokes all over the place. I've seen artichoke lamps, artichoke salt and pepper shakers, and numerous other things with artichokes.

Below is a picture of my new ceramic artichoke. I love it, and I love that it's white. I'm not usually one to purchase nic nacs... but I caved for this one. 

This is a Home Decorator's Collection item purchased from Amazon.

I've loved decorating with artichokes, but I've never actually eaten an artichoke. Right now as I'm typing, I have one steaming on the stove top. Hopefully I love to eat them as much as I love decorating with them!

Hydrangeas

I love all flowers, but hydrangeas are one of my favorites. They come in so many different colors, and they are so easy to make arrangements with. All you need is a few blooms and a vase, and it effortlessly turns into something gorgeous. For the last few years, hydrangeas have been in all the home decor magazines. Last summer when they were in bloom I had them all through my house. The best part is... they're all still here and have dried so beautifully! 

I used to have absolutely no luck with drying hydrangeas. Everyone said it was so simple, because all you had to do was let them sit in a vase and dry on their own. I don't know how many times I was disappointed when this didn't work for me. I would come home from the grocery store every now and then with a beautiful bouquet, and I had high hopes that this bunch would dry nicely. It failed time after time. 

I do believe it depends on the type of hydrangeas you have. I purchased a limelight hydrangea last spring, and my problems were finally solved. While the shape of the blooms is slightly more cone-shaped as opposed to the big round balls, they are still beautiful. Nearly all my flowers from this limelight dried perfectly (and all I had to do was let them sit in a vase)! If you're like me trying to figure out the whole dried hydrangea thing - buy a limelight this spring! You won't be disappointed. 

Below is a picture of my dried hydrangeas. 

flower painted measuring cups

Who knew that my favorite wedding gift would be something so small and something I hadn't even registered for.  When I opened these beautiful measuring cups I was pretty excited. Out of the mountains of gifts we received, this tiny package held a lovely surprise. I admit though, I don't use them as measuring cups. They are just too pretty to use as a kitchen tool, and I fear I may chip one of them. I have them on display in my kitchen on the window sill, and occasionally I'll use them for entertaining. They are great for putting sugar in to serve with coffee, used as dip bowls, and they would make a great display for an ice cream topping bar! Later this year we are having a garden themed party, and I'm sure these will make an appearance. 

I believe that they were purchased from anthropologie, but they are no longer an available product. They do have similar ones for sale here - Anthropologie Measuring Cups

Boxwood

One of my favorite plants is boxwood. It looks great year round, and it is easy to care for. I was looking everywhere for a boxwood wreath before Christmas. I found a few I liked, but none that were exactly what I was looking for. Initially, I planned to buy a fake wreath, because I didn't think a real one would last long. A few weeks before Christmas, I was shopping at Trader Joe's and saw they had beautiful real boxwood wreaths for just $9.99. I was so excited! It was just what I was looking for -aside from the fact that it was real. I When I put it up, I religiously misted it with water daily to keep it looking fresh. It is now February 17th, and my wreath still looks great. It dried so beautifully, and I think I'll be able to use for years to come. I wish I had bought a few more for decoration, but maybe they'll have them again next year!

I also have a little boxwood topiary plant in our kitchen. This one needs trimmed up a bit, but it is so easy to care for. I love homes decorated with small boxwood topiaries, and I also love the look of boxwood in gardens. It adds a bit of formality and structure to your garden. Find a way to include boxwood into your home :)

Garden Seat

Recently, garden seats have been in all the home decor magazines. At first, I wasn't completely sold, but now I love them! I received this garden seat (below) from a friend for my birthday last year. She purchased it at TJMaxx, and the same one can also be purchased from Ballard Designs. They look great both indoors and outdoors. The stool can be used for extra seating, a table for drinks, or as a plant stand as I have here. I've seen so many unique designs with these stools. Here's a link to another seat that I love (on sale now!) Elise Garden Stool

Searching online for these garden seats can be frustrating-most of them cost $100 or more.  For cheaper options, look in stores like TJMaxx, Marshalls, and Home Goods. I saw this exact stool (above) at TJMaxx a few months ago for $40. -Ballard Designs sells it for $129! I'm all about a good deal :)

Entertaining Pieces

I love entertaining pieces. I especially love the styles of Pottery Barn and Ballard Designs. Having friends over for meals can be a bit stressful at times due to all the preparations, but I love it because I get to use my favorite tabletop dishes! White/Cream entertaining dishes always catch my eye when I'm browsing. They go well with 

anything, and I love the clean and simple look. 

In the picture below, I pulled out a few of my favorites. I got the trifle bowl as a gift, so I'm not sure exactly where it came from. It adds a lot of elegance to a simple dessert! I have made numerous trifles and desserts in this dish, and it always looks great. 

I also love my beverage containers. In the very back  of the picture there is a large glass jar with a ladle for serving. I prefer this style over a standard punch bowl. You can't see it - but the lid and ladle are hammered, and I love that extra detail. You can fill it up with your favorite punch recipe, and I like to add in some fresh fruit. I also love my juice jars. These are perfect for brunches. I've seen so many versions of the juice jar, and I love them all. Next to my juice jar is my milk carafe. Another great piece for brunches!  I purchased all three of these beverage dispensers at Pottery Barn.

It is difficult to see in the photo, but on my serving trays are three miniature pitchers. I received these as a gift, and they are part of the Southern Living Collection from Ballard Designs. They are the cutest little pitchers ever. They work great for salad dressing and sauces. I hate having a salad dressing bottle on the table when hosting a meal, and these were absolutely perfect for it!

These are just a few of my favorite pieces, I could go on and on! Entertaining pieces are probably my favorite thing to shop for! We don't have a whole lot of space in our home, so I try and purchase pieces that are versatile and that coordinate well with the rest of my collection.