Progress on the Deck

Ok I have done pretty much NOTHING to the deck, but wanted to share a few "progress" photos.  The deck is still peeling and in terrible condition, along with the chairs, but ignore all that.  I'm stoked because I bought some plants and they have already made a huge difference! I'm doing my best to not kill them - no promises though.

I snagged a few boxwood's on sale at Orchard Supply, and they're lined up against the wall right now.

I think I'd like to get two more to line the entire length of that wall so it's more full and symmetrical.  Obviously the boxwood's still need to be planted, but they are at least temporarily brightening things up as they are.  

I see them sitting in a taller wooden planter... something like this:

Having them there makes it easier for me to envision what else I see being planted there.  

I'd like to stagger some plants, so that something taller - a vine climber like jasmine or creeping fig - can make its way up the wall behind the bushes.  Then there will be the boxwoods, that I'd like to see elevated about a foot higher than they are currently.  And then in front of them, perhaps some flowers that spill over the front of the planter.  

Maybe also a smallish lemon tree in the corner?  I mocked it up (kind of) just to give you an idea of how I see it playing out...

Anyway, that's what I WANT to see, but even just the gallon size planters with the boxwood have made a huge HUGE difference already.

I also tossed out the dead rosemary twig plant - may it rest in peace - and replaced the entire sad pot with a new wooden planter and some pretty flowers.  I planted some snapdragons, and these pretty pink and white flowers in the wooden planter - no idea what they are called but they were in the section labeled "full sun" so I figure they'll be ok.

They also really help brighten things up.

So pretty right??  I just love how the white one spills over the front.

And finally, since the peeling paint is a bit sharp on bare legs, I dragged out a few of our throws from the living room to sit on, along with some pillows for back support.

It made all the difference in the world this evening, and Kris and I sat out late watching the sun go down.

Just these little changes made me so excited to do more out here!



Happy Wednesday friends!!

Foolproof Fall Flower Arrangement

Do you like the alliteration of this blog post??

Me too... but what I like even more was how simple (and inexpensive) it was to pull together this flower arrangement.

I went to the supermarket and picked up three small bundles of flowers:

One bundle of berries, one bundle of mums, and one bundle of astroemerias... not sure what those look like??  It's these:

I spent less than $10 and I think that the arrangement turned out really pretty - WAY better than any of the pre-made bouquets in the store.

Not to toot my own horn, but I think I kind of have a knack for flower arranging... one of the things I've learned is that keeping the flowers in the same color family REALLY helps you keep it pretty and elegant.

In this case, I stuck with deep reds, maroons, and raspberry shades.  I absolutely LOVE how the astroemerias have green in them that fades into a deep red... it really brings a lot more dimension into the arrangement.

In general I think that sticking to a single color family works so well, because when you pick different flowers in different colors, there are a lot of different textures going on, so it confuses the eye and can easily look messy..  Having different flowers in the same color family is less "confusing" to the eye, so it ends up looking planned, while still being "interesting".  

In this case, it's autumnal reds. My old faithful is white, but blue's and purples (with hydrangeas and iris) would be really pretty, and orange hues would also be amazing - and especially seasonal right now for Thanksgiving (with roses, tulips, branches, leaves, berries.... the list is pretty broad).

One of my other secrets to more professional looking floral arrangements is to cut the stems short.

It takes .2 seconds to plop your supermarket flowers in a vase with their long stems... and it shows.  It ends up looking cheap, but taking the extra two minutes to cut them down and arrange them in a shorter, wider vase, and it ends up looking like something you picked up from a florist.

Finally, I like to stick with flowers that all look fairly different from one another - if you have too many ruffly flowers, you can't tell that they are different (which there's nothing wrong with that) but by picking berries in this arrangement, its more unique, and dresses up these otherwise really cheap looking flowers (I mean mums??  Just ask my mom how much she likes mums on their own)

I'm thinking of wrapping the vase in burlap for Thanksgiving week, since it's really the last few days our home will be decorated for fall.  After that, it's going to be a Holiday bonanza around here!!

Happy Thursday :-)

Le Dinner et Blanc

Have you heard of this??

I hadn't really either, but it's a fabulous event that originated in Paris (of course they have to out-chic everyboey), but this is an event P. Diddy would approve of.  Le Diner et Blanc literally means, "The White Dinner" and it's a trend that's caught on everywhere.

Our own little city of San Francisco has gotten the memo, and started the tradition a few years ago.

Why do I care??  This is the first year I have tickets to go, and I could NOT be more excited!!!

After looking through literally hundreds of photos of these fab celebrations, I'm thinking sparklers are a MUST, so I ordered a few packages of them yesterday!

With that out of the way, I've turned my thoughts to floral arrangements - obviously with the theme of "white" I want to keep the flowers monochromatic.

I loved the groups of different flowers like this photo below:

 I especially love that they are in vintage julep cups... so cute!  And those would be so lovely at night, reflecting the candle light...

I also love the natural feel of incorporating eucalyptus leaves and greenery...

And on the topic of more natural arrangements, there is something about this next one that incorporates berries and clover... so pretty!

Moving in a different direction, I love the staggered height and the clean look of these pale blue bottles with single stems, and small arrangements...

These small arrangements in milk glass are so sweet too - and their low profile would certainly encourage conversation...

This could easily be replicated by wrapping boxes (Kleenex boxes come to mind immediately) in burlap, or even brown butcher paper, and I am LOVING the lambs ear incorporated in the floral arrangement!

I have no idea if white anemone's are in season, but I've always loved the black centers - both natural with the loose pretty petals, but also dramatic from the black...

 This table was just so pretty, I had to include it in my inspiration for floral decor... simple white roses in a glass vase.  Classic all the way...

And although they aren't in season, pretty white peonies grouped together would be an absolute dream!  So gorgeous!

So what do you think??  What will look most amazing against a background of stars and candlelight??

Looking through all these photos gets me so excited!!!

Can't wait!

Orchid Terrarium

Our living room was feeling a bit... cluttered - I have a shamefully bad habit of adding more and more accessories to our space without taking things away.  I feel like a decor pack-rat sometimes.  

The side tables in our living room were in need of simplification - the multiple picture frames, candles, books, vases, etc were too cluttered.  It all had to go.  What to put in their place?  Something simple, clean and pretty.... and what could be more simple or more pretty than an orchid??

I've always loved the look of a pretty terrarium, but do not have the expertise to know how to successfully plant one.   

Despite my brown thumb, I thought I might try my hand at a more simple version of a terrarium - I had a pretty glass apothecary jar, and it was crying out to be used, so on Saturday morning, I took a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up some breakfast goodies, and came home with a few small orchids.  

Bear with me as I scientifically explain how I created an orchid terrarium...

Step I: Take orchid plant out of it's pot as carefully as you can

Step II: dump into apothecary jar

Step III: Admire pretty new "terrarium"

I know, you were hoping for something more special than that, but it was really that simple.

I'm going to get additional soil since there was not much in the pot, and I feel it needs a bit more now that it's spread out over a larger surface area.  See how the roots look like they need a little more soil coverage? A quick trip to a nursery will fix that!

With the light near our windows, and the slightly mottled glass, this was VERY hard to photograph, but trust me when I say it's SO pretty!

If you think about it, an apothocary jar (or cloche) is kind of the perfect environment for an orchid - they love lush, humid environments, and the lid on the apothecary jar keeps things nice and humid... it looks so pretty in our living room, but if this orchid ends up dying in a few weeks, it will still be totally worth it! It was only $7!!

Hope you had a great weekend!!
xo

Mums: Hate or Love?

It's funny - everyone has a type of flower that they absolutely despise.  For me it's carnations, which is why it's so funny that Kris came home with a big bunch of pink carnations the other week... it was pretty cute to see him walk through the door all proud that he was being such a sweet thoughtful boyfriend, but I still just hate carnations.  Poor guy.

For my mom, it's mums.  They remind her of funeral flowers, but she thinks carnations are sort of pretty.  I, on the other hand, have no real problem with mums.  They may not be my favorite flower in the world, but since I like to keep fresh flowers around the house, they fit the bill for so many reasons.
     - They are cheap (hellz to the yeah)
     - They last forever (amen sister)
     - They just have a happy sweet look - like the Daisy's fluffier cousin



Yesterday, I picked up two big bunches at the market for $4, and split them up into a few bouquets.  I think the trick to making these dirt cheap flowers look less like a filler flower, and more like the main attraction, is to cut them down, and arrange them in short, tight bouquets.  The one above is sitting on the side table in the living room, and with their lasting power, this will probably still be there for another several weeks.  Can't beat that!!

Right now, the center of each flower has a pretty lime green tint, but the ones that are more open are nearly pure white.  My mom still hates them, but I am kind of loving them!

Am I nuts?