Spring in the Garden

If you follow me on Facebook, you've probably seen my garden picks. Yet, I couldn't resist sharing them with the rest of you. My perennial garden looks awesome! It's all wild and tangled, just the way I like it. The ferns and hostas are coming in on the other side of the garden in the shade. The herb garden, however, needs some TLC. As soon as I get to it, I'll post some pics. I also have some new raised beds that Tim and my father-in-law built for me in the side yard. I am excited to be growing some actual food this year. Right now I have broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, onions, bib lettuce and romaine lettuce. I'll be adding tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and beans as it gets warmer.

Etsy Greetings Showcase

I haven't posted in a few days because I have been busy hanging out with my niece, Mea, and sister-in-law, Paige. Of course we had an amazing time with them. LB and Mea were so cute running around screaming and laughing. Their energy is definitely infectious. And then there's Paige. She is the most adorable pregnant woman around in her short shorts, tank tops and bikinis. She looks just like Paige with a ball on the front. This is probably due in large part to the fact that she is still Zumba-ing at eight months! She's apparently a legend at the local YMCA. Anyway, we were all having so much fun that I neglected the blog and my shop. Tomorrow I hope to blog more about the visit and post some cute pics of the girls. But, for now, on to the showcase.

Etsy Greetings Street Team Showcase

I created this showcase using the search term "etsygreetings." These are a few of my favorites, but there are many, many more out there worth viewing. If you search using either "etsygreetings" or "etsygreetingsteam," you will have hundreds, if not thousands, of choices.

Tweet - Tweet Little Felt Bird (Any Occasion Card)



I love all of the layers and textures in this card by Adore by Nat. And who could resist this lovely little bird?

Herb Notecards - Set of 4



These cards from winemakerssister have me drooling for the first harvest of herbs from my garden. What better way is there to send a greeting during these gorgeous summer months?

Vintage Humpty Dumpty Clown (Note Card)



This card from Kelly Bee's Place looks like a vintage upcycled piece, but is completely new and designed to appear vintage. I love this about it!

Goldfish Bubbles Blank Folded Note Card



Fubabee's goldfish card evokes a peaceful Japanese garden, while also giving one a sense of movement. This is a modern interpretation of a classic theme.

Projects

I have a lot of ongoing projects that I have been meaning to share with you. I don't have any updated pics of the house projects, but we are still in the middle of a playroom renovation (turning our old breakfast nook into LB's space), refinishing the stairs and putting up the reed fencing. I finished the herb garden, with the exception of the mulching. Once that is complete I will post pics of it. The perennial garden is looking awesome, if I do say so myself. The Bee Balm, Jacob's Ladder and Baby's Breath are all in bloom. I also have a new addition to the shade garden. I found an old ladder back chair with a cane seat that is coming apart on the curb in my neighborhood. I brought it home and put it in the fern garden. It has an old kettle with English Ivy growing out of it on the seat. I know this sounds ratty, but it really does look nice. I guess I'm going to have to take pictures to prove it. Anyway, that's what's going on with the house and yard.

Because I'm a glutton for punishment, I have many other crafty-type projects going on as well. I still haven't hemmed the dress I made for LB. She might grow out of it before I get around to this! There is also a patchwork skirt and coordinating halter top in the works for her. And then I bought some gorgeous fabric the other day to make yet another skirt for her. I wasn't planning to make another one, but I couldn't pass up this tree fabric that I found at Joann's. I haven't yet landed on a pattern, but I found several free ones online that are interesting and appear to be fairly straightforward. I randomly bought some additional fabric at the Nearly New Shop in the Highlands. Nearly New is a nicer thrift store that only accepts well cared for clothing and items for the home. I found some vintage dresses that I would have loved to purchase, a bed frame that was adorable, two modern armchairs and some wooden serving plates. Alas, as I am being financially responsible, I didn't buy any of them. I walked out of there with a 50 cent piece of fabric. It's roughly half of a yard and super cool. I don't yet know what I'll do with it, but isn't that the way it goes? I'm leaning toward a small purse with a cane handle, at the moment. So those are potential projects just barely in the works. I have actually been working on some things. I finished the bag for my mom, but I forgot to photograph it before giving it to her. It was made from the paisley fabric I posted a few days ago. She left for the beach this morning and I made the bag large enough to be a beach bag and stuffed a huge bright pink beach towel down in it. I'm still not done with the orange project, but I have started another one. I taught myself to make granny squares using a tutorial from Crochet Cabana. I'm planning to make an afghan from these yarns and, perhaps, a third. This is obviously my first one, so I'll let you know how tortuous the process is.

Then I've also been working on my cards for my shop. What I intended to be a paper goods shop has quickly turned into a card shop. I need to make some albums and embellishments. Anyway, here's a sneak peak at a couple of the new items. I'll be listing them this week. If you decide to buy one or both of them, I'll take 10% off of the price (before shipping). Just put "sneak peak" in the message to seller when you make the purchase.

Signing off...check back later this week for a new gift guide.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Tim and I have been focusing on the outside of the house a lot lately. Yes, even though the playroom is still a mess and the stairs aren't yet refinished. We just can't help ourselves. It's so nice to come out of hibernation! I thought that I should share some of the fruits of my labor. They're not literal fruits. I don't have any fruit trees...that I know of. I made a donation to the Arbor Day Foundation and received 10 "free" trees plus a shrubbery. However, while the trees came with a leaf identification guide, I have no idea what they are. This would be because they arrived with no leaves! Funny, huh? Anyway, I wanted to show you some shots from my gardens. I'm a proud mama.

The pic to the right is a lavender plant in bloom in one of the front gardens. Yes, I see the tag! I didn't realize it was still in there until I saw this picture. Argh! Anyway, I have eight lavender plants out front and two of them are currently in bloom. Actually, one of them is dead, and I need to replace it. The remaining seven look gorgeous. Anyway, in this shot, you can see one of the other lavender plants, as well as some Russian Sage and a Red Twig Dogwood. The dogwood isn't so red now, but in the fall and winter, the stems and branches are bright red. A shout out to my brother, owner/operator of Oasis Landscaping, for recommending the dogwood. I love them!
To the left is a thriving sedum (yes, it's really this color). It's really spreading this year, after staying about the same size all of last summer. I have one of these on each side of the front stairs.

To the right is another sedum from the front garden. I only have one and can't remember if I planted one in each garden or not. I feel like I did, but my memory is not what it used to be these days. Anyway, I got this at an Amish garden center in Jackson County, Ohio last summer. I can't remember the name of the plant, but I would love to have another for the other side of the garden. It's just coming in now, but last summer it was a small mound. It looked almost plasticy (yes, I know that's not a word). If you know what this is called, please let me know. I am trying not to drive the aforementioned landscaping brother crazy.
Yes, this final pic is another sedum! I love it and it's perfect for the front gardens. In case you haven't noticed the trend: lavender, Russian Sage, various sedums, it's very sunny and dry out front. Also the street on the front is fairly busy, so I need hearty plants out there that don't require a lot of water and can live without shade. This particular sedum is Tim's favorite. He first picked one out at a Trader Joe's in Alexandria, where we lived in a little cottage in the Del Ray neighborhood. We really loved this neighborhood, but couldn't really afford to be living there, so we rented a place that wasn't in the best shape. I tried to spruce up the outside with an herb garden, three perennial gardens and a tomato patch (I think we only ever harvested three or four tomatoes. The squirrels ate them all.). Yes, it was a lot of money and time spent on someone else's property, but I love doing that sort of thing and it made sitting on the screened in porch so lovely. Anyway, Tim loves this sedum, so I got him one last summer. Maybe he'll name it after me.

Where in the World is Little b Bunny???

Ack! I fell off the blog wagon again! It's been a crazy couple of weeks, but that's really no excuse. I know. That's just the way life is and I need to adjust!I think I mentioned that LB and I would be going on my nephew's school trip with him on the first of May. We went to the Columbus Zoo, mine and LB's old stomping ground. I love that zoo, but the trip was a bit disorganized, to say the least. Right as we were leaving we got drenched and then went to dinner and found a hair in my food. Ugh! I was so ready for that day to be over. LB and I were at my mom's all weekend because one of her docs ordered an MRI on my knee. It turns out I have some degenerative cartilage (my husband had an old lady's gall bladder and I have an old lady's cartilage), which was causing a lot of swelling (it looked like I had a golf ball sticking out the back of my knee). The doctor drained it Monday, which was NOT fun and we're waiting to see what happens. LB and I came back to Louisville on Tuesday to a daddy who was quite lonely.

We planned to go camping this weekend, but canceled the trip because it was supposed to storm all weekend. I think we could've handled it. It didn't rain much after all. However, we did get involved in a home improvement whirlwind. We decided to rip up the carpeting on the stairs because our puppy used the landing as a potty and we couldn't get the smell out. The stairs underneath are in really bad condition, so they're going to have to be sanded down and restained. We had planned to do the woodwork at some point anyway, so this just moved that project up a bit. Unfortunately, there was roughly 50 year old linoleum on the landing, with a sort of tar paper and nasty adhesive underneath. We still don't have all of that up. Then came the good part - the garden and yard. It is really looking awesome! I'm going to have pics up soon.

Today is Mother's Day...Happy Mother's Day everyone! Tim has been spoiling me all day. He brought be juice and coffee this morning. Then he made Smart Bacon and waffles for breakfast with a newspaper to read on the porch. Mmmm. He's been hard at work all day, mowing and trimming the yard, putting in a stone path from the driveway to the patio and now he's sanding the stairs. Wow! I got to spend the day being waited on and sewing on the porch. Lovely.