Hey friends! Can you believe that it’s already May? I have to admit that this year seems to be flying by and May’s calendar is already FULL. Since Mother’s Day is a little over a week away, I thought that I would share a few Mother’s Day gifts that have caught my eye. In fact, I wouldn’t mind having a few of them myself. Hint, hint!

First up, these beautiful begonias. I love these so much that I bought not only myself a hanging basket, but I also bought a few for my sisters! They come in this beautiful pink, a vibrant red and a soft Georgia peach color. Y’all know I couldn’t resist the pink! You can find these at your local Sam’s for $12.98.

Next, some of the coolest earrings from Kendra Scott. I love these! You all have probably seen these already as I’m always the last one to jump on the band wagon. In fact, I don’t own anything by Kendra Scott, but might just have to buy these! I love how the clear crystal ones change color to match what you are wearing. My kind of earring!

These aren’t too shabby either! I LOVE all the beautiful colors. These are a work of art!

Next up, something I’ve had for awhile, but totally love and wear almost all the time.

Co-ordinates cuffs. The co-ordinates on each cuff is unique to you. Favorite place. Where you got married. Where you had you children. You name the place! A few years ago I asked The Hubs to make a couple of these for our boys for a gift. They were a hit. Two years, and tons of cuffs later and The Hubs has his own business. Roxx Hydz Leathers. You can find those, and other fine gifts here: Instagram.com/Roxxmakers

And last, but certainly not least if you love botanicals as much as I do then these are for you. I think these would be fabulous in a chunky black frame. And for $15.00 for four of them, it’s a steal!

That’s it from The Queen’s wish list. I hope that this makes your Mother’s Day gifts buying a little easier!

Until next time…

We have been working so hard lately. Spring in the garden here at the castle is in full swing! This is truly my favorite time year in our back yard.

As you can see everything is green and blooming.

Lucky me, a lot of things over wintered since we had such a mild winter.

Unlucky me, I’m sure we will also have more bugs too.

The pond lilies are going crazy!

So crazy that I may have to thin them out a bit.

There are two different colors of lilies, white and pink. I love the pink during the day because they add some much needed color to that area.

However, the white are my favorite as they practically glow at night!

The partio area is really coming along.

I’ve added new pillows, lots of flowers, and planted a few more stepables between the pavers.

At the east end of the partio, near the house, The Hubs added a new smoker and a new grill.

Honestly, is there anything better than fresh food from the farmers market cooked out on the grill?

The area to the west of the partio is one of my favorite places to sit and enjoy the flowers.

Earlier in the month, I shared a picture of the clematis with you on Instagram, but it is nothing compared to what it looks like now!

I even have a pair of cardinals nesting in this beautiful plant.

On the front of the shed we planted bougainvillea in our large pots this year.

I love the deep hot pink/ burgundy color of it.

In the middle of working, we made a short trip to see our older son.

He took us to Neighbors Restaurant for lunch in Bastrop, TX.

This is such a cool restaurant!

It has wonderful food and great atmosphere.

We sat outside on the deck overlooking the Colorado River.

I could have stayed there all day!

Unfortunately, we had to come back and do some more work in the backyard.

We have put up a new fence, added new white trellises and added more plants that I scored at the HEB in Bastrop!

However, like with anything else, Spring in the garden means more work before we can sit back and enjoy.

We still have to stain the fence, put up the redneck pool and I am sure that I will add more flowers before it is all said and done.

Until next time….

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With all of the changes I’ve made this spring in our living room, it quickly became apparently that our old lamps just didn’t work anymore. I looked to buy new ones. I shopped The Castle ( home) for old ones. And didn’t find any that I loved. So, my solution was to paint the old ones. I now have blue lamps in the living room!

Before I could paint I had to do a little prep work.

Not only did the color not work any more, but I also had grown to dislike the distressing on the lamps. They were too evenly spaced, some were even the exact same shape. They had to go. To make sure that they didn’t show up in the new paint, I gave each lamp a light sanding.

I thought I had hit pay dirt when I found what I thought was the perfect spray paint in the garage.

Until, after painting, I put the lamps in the living room.

Can you say BLUE? I mean, this was obviously the wrong blue. Very bright, very shiny.

Back to the drawing board!

I was giving my patio chairs a little touch up, when it occurred to me how perfect this color would be for my lamps!

Navy, with a hint of steel blue!

It shouldn’t, but it always amazes me how color makes such a difference.

Even when it’s a subtle change.

As you can see, the toned down navy is sooo much better in this case.

Once the navy paint had dried, I added a touch of gold paint to give it a little depth.

I think the blue lamps in the living room are my very favorite!

So far. For now… lol.

If nothing else, painting the lamps blue helps pull the room together and gives me time to find lamps that I love more than I do these.

Until next time….

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I’m so happy to tell you that we have a new table in the kitchen. Well, it might be better to say that we have a new / old table .

If you follow along you know that I made our old kitchen table into a coffee table. If you missed it, you can see that transformation here. Which left me searching for a new table for the kitchen.

A few months ago I purchased this table from a friend for a client. Unfortunately, the table wouldn’t fit the space in my clients room.

So the table sat in my garage until I could figure out what to do with it, much to The Hubs dismay!

When I started looking for a new one, this table immediately came to mind.

I loved the details of the table, it’s shape and the fact that it could be a small round table to seat 4 or could be expanded multiple times to seat up to 8 or 10 people.

After a thorough cleaning, it was time to paint.

I honestly thought about painting it a bright happy color, but that would have meant changing up the kitchen. Not willing to do that!

So, I went back to my old standard, Annie Sloan’s Graphite with a dark wax.

I applied two coats, then a coat of dark wax to seal it.

So how did it turn out? I think it turned out fabulous!

I even love the oval shape, which kind of surprised me! The smaller, round shape was a few inches smaller in diameter than our old one and it felt too tiny.

This feels just about perfect!

I honestly couldn’t be happier with our new table in the kitchen and The Hubs is happy to have it out of the garage too!

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This is the story of how to make your kitchen table into a coffee table. I know, it sounds crazy, but it worked! Here’s how it all came to pass.

A few months ago I bought this chair. Which led to multiple changes in the living room. New rug, new ottoman, new curtains, and new accessories.

This was my old coffee table. Which was fabulous back when the castle was rocking the old world style. Today? Not so much.

Plus, the shape was all wrong. The new chair and ottoman took up a different foot print than our old chair did. Which meant no room to walk between the coffee table and the ottoman.

I looked high and low for a round coffee table in just the right size and of course, the right price. No luck.

Once day I was feeling all out of sorts about it and all I could think was that I needed a table the exact size as the table in our kitchen.

Lightbulb moment!

So, The Hubs and I moved our kitchen table into the living room to see if it would work there.

We lived with it in the living room for a few days and fell in love with it!

The Hubs removed the table from the base to make sure that he would be able to cut the table base to a shorter height.

Yes, it was a go!

We removed 10 inches from the top of the base, then reattached the table top. This made the coffee table 20 inches high.

Which is perfect for my oversized, taller furniture!

And I love it. I mean I really, really love it.

It’s perfect. It’s not too new and shiny, as I like a little bit of wear and tear.

I love that there is plenty of room to walk all the way around the furniture.

And best of all I love that, other than cutting it down to size, I didn’t have to do anything to the finish to make it perfect for the living room.

I honestly don’t know why I didn’t think to do it sooner! I mean not many people would be willing to make your kitchen table into a coffee table, so I’m giving myself a small pass.

Now, I know what you are thinking. What did I do to replace the table in the kitchen?

Well, that my friend is a story for another day!

Until next time….

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Every year I try and send the nieces and nephews something fun for Easter. When they were all little, this was a fun and simple task. However, as they’ve moved into the teen years it has become a little harder. When I saw this glow in the dark Easter egg hunt on Pinterest, I knew that it was egg-actly what I was looking for.

What? Too cheesy. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself!

Here’s What You Will Need

Easter Eggs. I found mine here.

Glow in the dark sticks. I used 1 1/2 inch ones that I found here.

Envelopes

Prizes

I could have stopped there and just left it at a friendly Easter Egg hunt, but in our family we like to take things to the egg-streme…

So, instead of filling the eggs with candy or giving prizes to the one with the most eggs, egg-cetera, I decided to make things a little more interesting for the teens.

First, I numbered the bottom of a six eggs.

Then I numbered envelopes to fill with prizes.

If you get an egg with the number 4, then you get the envelope for the number 4.

Simple, really. I filled the envelopes with cash and gift cards.

Since I’m sending these egg hunts through the mail, I thought it would be best to send a card with some instruction.

I mean, it might be a little crazy to open a box with nothing but eggs and envelopes inside!

Now, it’s time for the hunt.

First, snap the glow stick to activate it, then put it inside the egg!

Hide your eggs and let the hunt begin!

A glow in the dark Easter Egg hunt couldn’t be easier!

Happy Easter!

Until next time…..

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Hey y’all! I hope that you are having a great week. As per usual, it’s been pretty busy here at the castle. Lots of projects! Remember last February when I changed the curtains, which led to recovering the dining room chair seats out? If not, you can see all of that crazy here.

However, I’ll give you the cliff notes version just to catch you up.

This is what the chair seats started out looking like, well after I recovered them for the second time a few years ago.

Honestly, I had recovered them so many times over the years that I couldn’t remember what they originally looked like.

I thought they were originally a white fabric.

But, no. It was really more of a gold color. Not the look I was going for at all.

However, I was prepared to live with it until I realized how badly I had messed up the cording that goes around the chair.

All because I took a huge shortcut, it quickly became clear that I needed to recover all of the chairs again. Round 4, coming up! Ugh.

I started looking for a navy fabric to recover the chairs.

Unfortunately, no luck. All of the materials I found were either too dark, had weird patterns, or were made of odd material.

Then, one day, I was in Hobby Lobby looking at my curtain fabric and low and behold there was a co-ordinating fabric!

While not in my original design plan, it was perfect.

I’m not sure what kind of fabric it really is, but I’m calling it “faux velvet”.

And guess what? It really is perfect for the room.

It obviously matches the curtains.

And I love the rich blue color of the cushion against the raspberry hot pink rug!

I was originally wanting to make everything lighter and brighter. Funny thing is adding color to the room really makes it all come together without starting from scratch.

Which in my book is a win.

Now that I’ve got this part locked in I can focus on the fun part, accessories!

Sometimes I think I should just get out of my own way, recovering the dining room chair seats was the perfect solution in the dining room.

Until next time….

It’s Ten+ on the 10th, one of my favorite times of the month. Mainly, because I get together with a wonderful group of bloggers, who have the best ideas, and we get to share them with you! This month I’m sharing an Egg-stra special door hanger.

Before I get started, I want to give a quick shout out to Barbara from French Ethereal for hosting this month. It’s not easy wrangling this group of gals!

Have you seen all of the fun Easter door hangers on Pinterest lately? You could spend hours looking at all the cuteness! I decided that I needed to make a few door hangers – or should I say Egg-stra special door hangers for Easter gifts.

First, I started out by drawing my egg pattern.

Once this was done, I handed it off to the Hubs to cut it out for me. I swear, some day, I’m going to learn how to use a jig saw. But, not today!

We used 1/4 plywood, as I wanted it to be heavy enough to not bounce around, yet light enough not to beat up the door!

Next, I drew on the pattern that I had chosen for my egg.

Once that was done, it was time for the fun part – painting!

Most of the time I hand paint my lettering, but this time I decided to use a fat chiseled tip sharpie.

Works like a charm every time, as long as you make sure your paint is super dry.

I loved the first egg-stra special door hanger so much, that I decided to make another one!

Okay, I admit that these are a little addictive and that rumor has it that I may or may not be in the process of painting a few more!

Once there were both done, it was time to add a cute bow.

While not perfect, I think that they turned out pretty good.

So how much did these cost me?

Nothing, as I had everything on hand.

However, I did do a little research and came up with a generous estimate of cost for you.

1/4 inch plywood: $3.00

Paint: $2.00

Ribbon: $4.00

Which is a total of $9.00. Not too shabby for an Egg-stra special door hanger!

Ten+ the 10th

Now I hope that you will join me in “hopping” over to my fellow blogger’s site’s to see what fabulous things they have in store for us! Starting with Barbara from French Ethereal!

Barbara ~ French Ethereal

Cindy ~ County Road 407

Susan ~ Homeroad

Katie ~ Let’s Add Sprinkles

Ann ~ Apple Street Cottage

Patricia ~ Pandora’s Box

Carol ~ Bluesky at Home

Benita ~ Chasing Quaintness

Laura ~ Decor to Adore

Amber ~ Follow the Yellow Brick Home

Hey friends! It’s been a crazy week here at the castle. Although, full disclosure, when is it not? I’m not entirely sure where to begin. So, I’ll start at the beginning by telling you exactly what’s been going on in the backyard.

About a month ago, The Hubs and I were in Oklahoma visiting with the family.

While we were gone, apparently there was a huge storm which blew our fence down.

We knew that we needed to replace it, but honestly thought we had a little more time.

Um, no.

Since The Hubs recently retired we decided to rebuild it ourselves.

Never. Again.

This girl is too old for that nonsense for sure!

We still need to stain it, but at least it’s up!

In between hanging the never ending fence, I’ve also added some yard art.

Aren’t these pretty?

My Bestie gave me three of them for my birthday.

I couldn’t wait to put them out.

Also, in the last photo you saw a colored glass wind chime.

It’s my latest purchase from Hob Lob.

In an effort to add more color, I added these new pillows.

I’m totally in love with all of the colors!

Don’t judge me by the pollen on the coffee table.

I swear, I cleaned it and 20 minutes later it was covered again!

Another new purchase were these table top tiki lamps.

I love the color and they were less than $5.00 at WalMart!

Oh, and did I mention that Mother Nature is starting to show off?

My first Clematis bloom of the year!

The strawberries and the mint are going crazy!

The fence wasn’t the only thing the storm blew down.

My poor rain chain is in desperate need of repair.

I love it when plants over winter!

The two largest pots in the backyard are by the back door and they are in full bloom right now!

We still have so much to do, mulch, plant, do a few repairs, stain the fence, etc.

In other words, I’m in my happy place!

So, what’s been going on in the backyard here at the castle? A lot!

How about you? Are you working outside enjoying the fantastic spring weather? If it’s your happy place, like it’s mine, I hope so!

Until next time….

Now that spring is here it’s time to add a some new decor to the castle. I don’t know why, but I always seem to start doing a little tweaking and rearranging for each new season or holiday in my kitchen. It’s almost always with my table or hutch. This time I went with a Spring tablescape as my first project.

I’ve had these bunny plates for several years now, but haven’t used them as much as I would have liked.

For some reason, I was determined to use them this year.

Normally, I would start with a place mat and then add a charger.

However, this time I used two placemats instead of a charger.

I love how the navy “string” placemat adds some much needed texture to the place setting.

Next, I added my white hob nail plates, followed by the blue and white bunny plates.

Everything you see here, with the exception of the bunny, silverware, and glassware all came from Home Goods over the past few years.

The silverware is from Southern Living at Home and the glassware is from The Pioneer Woman collection at Walmart.

I had several different napkin rings in mind, but in the end went with a simple blue and white check ribbon.

I used simple white bunnies that I found at Walmart and drew on the name with a sharpie for my place card.

This is super easy to do!

If you mess up, no worries.

I may have shared this tip before, but it is worth a repeat share again.

Simply take a paper towel and some nail polish remover and wipe off the sharpie.

Super easy and doesn’t harm the ceramic finish on the rabbit.

Note: you may want to test this on the underside of your ceramic piece just to make sure your piece is safe to write on and is safe to use the remover!

My centerpiece has been pretty much the same the past few years.

Mainly, because I love this bunny so much. He’s my favorite!

I think that this is one of my most favorite Spring tablescapes ever.

Mainly, because everything I used I had on hand.

Which is really rare for me!

I was determined that this year I would be a little more thrifty and be a lot more responsible in my purchases.

Sometimes, adulting is so hard!

Until next time…..

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Hey friends! How have you been on this wonderful sunny week? It’s been so beautiful outside that I haven’t wanted to be inside painting. However, duty calls and I’ve been fortunate enough to be painting some of my favorite things. In this case, I’ve been painting a children’s table!

Remember this table I painted for Ella a few months ago? Well, a few years ago I painted Ella’s sister, Everly, a similar table.

Over time, Everly’s table has become a little worn and used.

Also, the colors of her room had changed and the table and chairs didn’t match anymore.

It was time for a little face lift!

Everly’s Mimi saw this toy chest I painted before Christmas and wondered if we couldn’t paint something similar for her table and chair.

Mimi loved the bright white base with all of the super happy colors.

These were also the colors we used in this table and chair set that I painted for my sweet niece, Beep!

So that’s exactly what we did!

We started with a white base and added lots of pinks, purples, greens, yellow and black.

We followed that up with lots of polk a dots and flowers with vines!

Both of the chairs have the same colors with similar designs. I’m with Mimi, to me these are such happy colors!

Apparently, Everly thought so too, as her Mimi say’s that she loves her new painted children’s table!

Which is the true test of whether or not this table was a success.

Painting a children’s table makes me very happy!

Until next time……

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Bunnies and Chicks, oh my! They are everywhere here at the castle.

Spring is my favorite time of year, mainly because it’s the time of year where everything feels shiny and new.

Now that Spring is here, that means two things. Easter is just around the corner and it’s time to break out the bunnies and chicks.

There are all kinds of bunnies and chicks here at the castle.

Some we’ve had for a very long time, like this music box.

I made it many years ago when the boys were little.

Some of the bunnies are new, like this silver candy dish.

I recently won it at Bunko and I love it.

Well, I love everything about it other than I feel compelled to fill it with candy.

Then I feel the need to eat it!

Which leads to me wondering around the house muttering, I will not eat the Reece’s, I will not eat the Reece’s!

Some of the bunnies are plain, like these sweet little white bunnies.

A few years ago I used them as place cards for our Easter dinner.

Simply, write names on them with Visa markers. The ink comes right off with nail polish remover!

A lot of the chicks are not only old, but have a dual purpose.

This one is colorful, cute and dispenses jelly beans.

Besides the living room, the kitchen is probably home to the most bunnies and chicks.

This is my favorite bunny of all time.

He is also the largest bunny in the group.

In fact, this chick is probably my favorite chick too!

I mean, who doesn’t love a chick who can wear a crown?

These little bunny Mud Pie salt and pepper shakers were a gift from my sister.

I’ll be honest, sometimes I leave them out through out the summer.

They are just too cute to put them up year round.

Many of the bunnies reside on my kitchen hutch.

This little bunny is hands down the newest to the growing collection.

He’s so tiny , he fits just about anywhere!

Gerald is the lone rabbit in the kitchen.

He is right at home hanging out in my mixing bowl.

Yes, occasionally we name them!

If you have followed me for very long, I’m sure that you have seen this little bunny before.

She’s been in the kitchen, the living room and the dining room more than once!

I just let her tell me where she wants to be each year.

That’s it for all of the bunnies and chicks here at the castle.

Do you have a collection of bunnies and chicks? If so, have you pulled them out and proudly displayed them yet? I’d love to know your traditions this time of year. Who knows, maybe there are a few more I need to add to my collection!

Until next time…

Queen Sally has been planning a bridal shower for a couple of months now for her BFF’s son and his fiancé. Sally and her BFF had both attended another Wedding shower ( seems like there is something in the water here in North Texas!) where they had the cutest I Do door hanger on the front door.

Queen Sally wondered if we could make something similar for her upcoming shower?

Of course, we can!

If you want to make one too, here’s your Supply List:

3″ ribbon

2″ ribbon

Wooden Letters

D ring

Hot glue and glue gun

Staple gun

Scissors

Normally, I would share the finished project with you at the end, but I feel like the “how to” of it will make more sense if you can see what we are making.

The first thing I did was decide how long I wanted my door hanger to be.

I made mine about 4 feet long.

Using the 2″ ribbon, I cut about 4′ 1/2″ of ribbon.

Then, about 8″ from the top I placed my first wooden letter.

Next, staple the wooden letter to the ribbon.

Using the 3″ ribbon, make a bow.

Then, using the 2″ ribbon make another bow slightly smaller than the first bow.

Stack the small bow on top of the larger bow, then tie both to the ribbon about 6 inches from the top.

Next, we need to make a way to hang the door hanger.

Slip a D ring onto the end of the ribbon.

fold over the ribbon about 1 1/2 inches and glue the ribbons together.

Once this was done, I trimmed off the ragged edges and added a small sprig of baby’s breath under the ribbon.

Once you have completed the top letter, then drop down about 12 inches and repeat the above steps for the next two letters.

Honestly, I was amazed at how easy and fast the door hanger went together.

The best endorsement was when Queen Sally and her BFF loved it.

Also, we made this one to match the shower colors, but the possibilities are endless.

Until next time…

Hi Friends! I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend. Temps were mild here, but it finally feels like Spring is on it’s way! Which means that it’s time to break out the spring decor and make a few new items for Spring. Today I’m sharing how to make an Easter Bunny wreath!

Have you seen all of the cute bunny wreaths that are on Pinterest right now?

One of my favorite was one made using pom poms!

So cute.

However, in full disclosure, I’ll admit that there was no way that my attention span would allow me to make that many pom poms.

So this girl decided to go in a different direction.

Supplies for your Easter Bunny Wreath :

One styrofoam wreath

2 feather boas

yarn

felt

1 sheet of white foam

The first step is to wrap your two boas around the wreath, making sure to evenly space them.

The first step is to wrap your boas around the styrofoam wreath, making sure to evenly space them.

I like to reuse this wreath on occasion, so I used pins to attach the boas to the wreath.

Once your wreath is covered evenly, set the wreath aside.

On a separate sheet of paper, I made patterns for the bunnies feet and ears.

If you don’t want to do this, there are ton’s of clip art out there to help with this step.

Once you have them drawn, trace the feet and ears onto the white foam and cut them out.

Next, I drew small ovals, 3 for each foot, and two larger circles onto a piece of pink felt.

Once this is done, cut them out.

Then, glue the felt onto the bunny feet.

This is what my bunny feet looked like when I was finished.

Now, it’s time to make a bunny tail.

I used a pom pom maker and some variegated yarn.

Don’t have a pom pom maker? Now worries!

There are a ton of how to tutorials out there and they are super easy to make.

Last step, using pins attach all of the bunny parts to the wreath!

The pins work great, however if you are wanting a more permanent wreath you could always use hot glue.

That’s it for my how to make an Easter Bunny wreath!

I love it when a project turns out exactly how I imagined it.

This one was super easy, fun and fast.

My kind of project!

Until next time….

There are so many new things at the castle right now. The Hubs is super excited. Well, not really , but a girl can dream right?

I bought a new chair last week.

The chair was in store, so we could take it home, however the ottoman had to be ordered.

It came in yesterday.

Love, love, love it.

The new rug that was ordered last week also arrived.

The colors are perfect, but I’m still adjusting to it.

It is sooooo different from any rug that I’ve had before that it may take a little while.

However, it is super soft and Sadie loves it!

Last week I also shared a few of the new throw pillows with you.

I’ll be honest, I loved them , but one seemed a little too white and the other a little too dark.

So, I added a new one that has more texture, color and a fun design.

Liking these more and more every day!

Remember that I was giving the dining room a little facelift?

Things were rocking right along until I hit removing the chair cushion material. If you miss my craziness that brought everything to a screeching halt, you see that here.

I put everything on the back burner until I could figured out what I was going to do with the chairs.

I finally had enough of my procrastination and decided to make the curtains in the adjoining room!

You can not believe how happy that they are done.

Honestly, this week was the week of curtains.

Since I bought a new chair, I not only had to change the accessories and the rug, I had to change out the curtains.

Because these windows are huge, I decided to order the ready made ones.

Unfortunately, all of the ready mades were either too short or incredibly long.

I ordered the ones that were too long and gave them a quick hem.

The were perfect for these windows, as well as light and bright.

However, there was no blue on this side of the room.

My solution was to add trim, which believe it or not I purchased two years ago!

The trim mirrors the design in the new rug, so I thought I would give it a shot.

All of the new things at the castle are slowly coming together!

Did I mention that The Hubs is thrilled?

Until next time….

Can you believe that Spring is here? Easter is just around the corner so I’ve been doing a little shopping. I recently shared some fun Spring finds with you recently, if you missed it you can see those here. One of my fun finds was an Easter Bunny table runner.

Super cute, but I had seen a similar one on-line that had some fancy bunny tails and you know I wasn’t going to let these little bunnies have plain tails!

This project t is so easy!

It would be an awesome project for not only you , but for a pre-teen looking for a fun project.

All you need is some frilly ribbon remnants, needle and thread, scissors and fabric glue to make some fun bunny tails.

This part was super easy.

Simply make a running stitch down the center of the ribbon, making sure to gather the ribbon tightly every couple of inches.

Once you have enough to make the size of tail that you want, then sew each end of the ribbon together, which will form a circle.

Next, I glued each bunny tail to the runner using a fabric glue.

Once that was done, I added some turquoise trim and a few buttons for a little added bling.

Here’s how my sweet Easter bunny table runner turned out!

I couldn’t be happier.

Now for the fun part, setting my Easter table!

On a random note:

I was out driving today and I saw my first “popcorn trees”.

Popcorn trees are actually Bradford Pear trees.

Years ago my sweet little neighbor was driving with her mom and said “Look, Mommy, Popcorn trees!”

How adorable is that?

If you have never seen them before, Bradford Pear trees have beautiful white flowers on them when they are in full bloom.

I will always look at them and think of them as popcorn trees.

I hope that you have a wonderful week!

Until next time….

Happy Spring, y’all! Well, it’s almost spring… I know this because my birthday is on the first day of Spring. Okay, I also know it because my garden is starting to green up and my trees are budding. I am so ready!

It is also Ten on the 10th! A great big thank you to Benita from Chasing Quaintness for hosting this month. If you don’t know Benita, hop on over to her site and check her out. Not only is she talented, she is hilarious. My kind of girl!

This months theme is Spring. When I think of Spring, I think of Easter and gardening.

So naturally, I couldn’t help but focus on those things this month!

Normally, on Ten on the 10th, I try and share a new project, however this month I’m going to share a few great buys that all cost under $10.00!

I was recently in Oklahoma City at the Basket Store, aka Hobby Lobby’s outlet. It’s always a hit or miss as to whether I find something, but this time I hit the jack pot.

This sweet little salt and pepper shaker set was only $2.99.

These little bunnies will be perfect for place card holders or even to mark dishes on an Easter buffet!

At $1.00 each, they were a steal!

I’ve been slow to get on the banner train, however lately I’ve fallen in love with all of the beautiful choices out there.

I love this banner because it has beautiful spring colors, as well as being beautifully monogrammed.

Not only is it cute, but it was a mere $6.00!

Recently, I found a beautiful runner similar to this one online.

The only difference is that the bunnies online had three dimensional tails.

Oh, I have plans for these bunnies!

The one online was well over $40.00, my runner was a bargain for $5.99.

My last great find was not found at the Hob Lob outlet, but rather at the regular Hobby Lobby store.

These sweet Easter eggs speak my language.

Don’t you just love the soft colors with the warm gold!

At first glance, I thought about how easy it would be to make some like them, however since they were only $5.99, less 40% when I used my coupon, I realized that I couldn’t make them for that.

If you are thinking that you don’t live near the Basket Store, don’t be discouraged.

I saw all of the items I shared, with the exception of the bunny place card holders, currently at Hobby Lobby for a slightly higher price. If you use your 40% off coupon it’s almost the same discount!

Happy Spring, y’all!

Please join me in visiting my Ten on the 10th friends!

Ann at Apple Street Cottage 

Barb at French Ethereal

Benita at Chasing Quaintness

Carol at Bluesky at Home

Cindy at County Road 407

Kim at Exquisitely Unremarkable 

Katie at Let’s Add Sprinkles 

Laura at Decor to Adore 

Patti at Pandora’s Box

Susan at Homeroad 

On Tuesday morning my living room looked like this. My living room decor for the past few years has been mostly neutrals with a dash of black and a pretty green turquoise. Today, my living room is blue! In fact, it started looking a lot bluer by Tuesday evening!

I blame it on my hip.

Unfortunately, I tend to curl up on the sofa and as I’ve gotten older my hip doesn’t like it!

It was suggested that I sit in a chair that I couldn’t curl up in.

One big problem: this was the only chair in the room that wasn’t The Hubs recliner.

While it’s really pretty, it is very uncomfortable!

I have been searching high and low for the perfect chair for some time.

And then a friend suggested that I look at Pier 1.

Let the heavenly choir sing!

I found not only this beauty, but also an ottoman to match also.

I’ve told you before that my decorating style is “If you give a mouse a cookie” and this chair is a beautiful illustration of that.

Nothing in my living room, besides the sofa and The Hubs recliner matches my new chair.

Nothing!

So, the search for a new rug, new curtains and new accessories has begun!

I was at Hob Lob on Wednesday, where I found pillow covers on sale!

I found these steel blue ones that match perfectly for $4.99!

As you can see, the rug and accessories definitely must change!

If you are looking for pillow covers, Hob Lob has a ton on sale right now.

This shiny beauty would be perfect for a tweens room!

Not looking for anything shiny?

Then how about a luxurious velvet?

Or you want to step out on the wild side.

Either way you go, you can’t beat these prices on pillow covers!

On my shopping trip, I also picked up a few other pillows, throws and accessories, however I think I will wait to share those until I get all of the rest of the room put together!

Little by little, my living room is looking blue.

I have to say, I’m really loving it!

I

In my last post I shared with you my plans for refreshing the dining room. If you missed that you can find that here. Today I’m giving you an update on my progress, or rather I should say my problems in the dining room.

It started out so well.

The curtains were cut, sewn and hung in an hour and a half.

At this point, I was thinking I was the queen of the refresh.

Oh, how the might fall!

Next up, I started removing the material on the dining room chairs.

Now, here’s where things went sideways.

I removed the blue material, only to discover that the chairs were not covered in a white material like I thought.

Nope, instead of white, I found a very light gold color.

However, I pushed away my disappointment and consoled myself with the fact that it still looked better than the blue fabric.

Now, here’s where I have admit to my stupidity.

Apparently, when I was recovering the chairs before I took a short cut.

I must admit, that I’m not proud of this one.

Each chair has a cording at the base of the chair seat.

What I should have done is cut the material into strips, wrap it around the cord, then sew closely to the cord .

What I actually did was, instead of sewing it, I hot glued the material strips around the cord.

Actually, that works really great as long as you don’t glue the cord to the material.

However, that method is apparently too time consuming for me.

Apparently, I was so impatient that I just put glue all over the material and wrapped it around the existing cord.

Which leads me to this mess and me looking for new coordinating material to recover the chairs.

I’ve got to many problems in the dining room, so I’m taking a break to think and add some greenery to the living room

Quick fact.

Here in North Texas, in the month of February, out of 29 days, 20 were rainy, overcast or foggy.

It’s that way today. Cold and overcast.

Y’all, I’m going to need some serious light therapy soon.

That and new material for my dining room chairs!

Until next time….

This is the story of refreshing the dining room. There is nothing majorly wrong with it, it just needs a little up date.

A few years ago my family bought me this rug that I had been drooling over for Mother’s Day. I loved it. It added the perfect pop of color that the previous all blue toned room needed. But something was off. I couldn’t put my finger on it.

Two years.

Two years of walking by, decorating for holidays, eating family dinners and still feeling like I was wearing an uncomfortable pair of cute high heels!

Until this morning.

This morning I was drying my hair, looking at the new valance that I had just made for the bathroom thinking “why can’t I find fabric for the dining room like this?”

It has all of the blue shades that the dining room has.

The pink is the perfect shade to match the rug.

And it even has a few other colors in it that would add much needed interest to the room.

A light bulb went off.

Yeah, you know where I’m going with this!

Even though it would mean having two rooms with the same fabric, I knew that this fabric would be perfect for the dining room.

So I went tearing to Hob Lob and bought as many yards as I could get my hands on.

So here’s the plan:

Replace the existing curtains with the new fabric.

Change the fabric on the chairs.

I thought about finding a coordinating fabric for the chairs, but quickly realized that under that blue is a solid white fabric.

My fingers are wincing just thinking about removing all of the staples!

Of course, I’m keeping the rug and most of the furniture in the dining room,

I’m also keeping my blue and white dishes.

However, I am going to try to add in more gold accents.

And I may even repaint a piece of furniture or two, however I’m trying to remind myself that I am refreshing the dining room not giving it a full on makeover.

My only indecision is with these side chairs.

I’m not sure that the pattern will work with the rest of the room as the scale is so large. I may be selling these and recovering a few others that I have.

I would also like to repaint the dining room to a lighter more neutral paint color.

However, that’s not gonna happen as my floor plan is very open and it would mean repainting almost all of the downstairs.

As I’ve stated before, The Hubs says that he will move before repainting the downstairs ever again.

Guess he hates hanging from ladders 20 feet in air!

That’s the plan so far. I can’t wait to get started on refreshing the dining room.

Until next time….

Lately, it’s been crazy here at the castle. A few trips to Austin to see the eldest son, a Queen’s trip and an up coming trip to Oklahoma make it hard to do a lot of projects, that’s for sure! Since no major projects have been completed, I thought it might be fun to share a few things that make me happy.

Recently, a sweet friend gifted me this towel. She said it just reminded her of me. I love it.

I love to cut out fun vinyl decals for my RTIC tumblers.

This past week, I found this pretty patterned vinyl at Hob Lob!

They had several different patterns, however I only brought this one home.

Now, I wish I had gone ahead and splurged for all of the ones I loved.

This pattern is so fun it reminds me of summer.

Of course, I had to make a few cute designs for the up-coming summer months.

Cause we all know that summer is just around the corner, right?

Occasionally, I love a good cocktail.

Before I left town this past week, The Hubs and I headed out for a few pre-dinner drinks.

We found a cute, small cocktail lounge called the 4 Kahuna’s Tiki Lounge.

There were so many fun drinks to choose from, however I ordered the Cobra Fang.

Oh, come on, with a name like that how cold I resist?

This place is tiny, but it has a huge attitude.

Super fun! I would recommend it to all of my friends who love the unusual!

Po’Keeno was on Monday night.

For those of you who have never played, it is basically 12 women playing a game similar to bingo.

Each participant brings a gift worth $25.00 that serves as one of the prizes.

My gift this month was this super sweet bunny.

Isn’t he just the cutest?

Almost too cute, as I had a hard time taking him as a gift!

While shopping for Po’Keeno, I found this Easter flag.

Seriously, I am in love!

Before leaving for The Queen’s trip, I did find time to start a few Easter baskets for the littles.

This one is for the Marvelous Miss Madi.

She is unicorn crazy!

One down, 12 more to go.

That’s it for things that make me happy.

Nothing earth shattering, just a few things that make me smile.

Until next time…..

This past week the Queens and I made a trip to Beaver’s Bend Oklahoma to celebrate the January birthdays. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that we went to Beaver’s Bend State Park, which is a lake surrounded by hills, pines and lots of cabins.

The two main towns around the lake are Broken Bow and Hochatown.

Y’all this is truly a beautiful area!

The cabin we rented was called Stairway to Heaven.

You might think, as did we, that it was just a cute name given to the, cabin.

Nope! It was given that name because it was at the top of a very steep hill.

A challenge to walk up, but the views…. oh, my!

This is the view of the cabin coming up the drive.

So pretty!

The rear of the cabin had a very large deck that housed games, seating and a large hot tub.

However, the best part of the deck was the view!

The front door had this beautiful iron work and glass.

It just screamed welcome!

Thank goodness the inside was as pretty as the outside, as it rained quit a bit while we were there.

There were 7 bedrooms in all, with a loft area that slept 6.

This is definitely not the best picture, at all!

But, those windows!

While the outside was cold, gray and full thunderstorms, we were inside in front of the fireplace where it was dry and cozy playing games.

Sometimes, rainy days make the best memories anyway!

Our last full day there was beautiful.

We spent that majority of the day walking, hanging out by the campfire and lounging in the hot tub.

I just love a camp fire and s’mores!

There is nothing better than good times with great friends!

Of course, it’s winter so we didn’t spend anytime on the lake, however we did give it a quick drive by on our way out of town.

I have never seen so many houseboats on a lake, ever!

On our last day, we made a few stops on the way out of town.

The first stop was for lunch at Grateful Head Pizza.

This is a must do if you are ever in Hochatown. It has good food and a fun atmosphere.

Our last stop was to Girls Gone Wine.

They specialize in wine tasting and a very fun gift shop.

Sorry, but I was a little too busy to take pictures.

I can honestly say that Beaver’s Bend Oklahoma was another fun Queen’s trip in the books!

Until next time….

Now that Valentine’s Day is over it’s time to celebrate one of my favorite holidays, St. Patrick’s Day. It’s one of my favorite because it’s such a happy holiday. With all of the green, it reminds me that spring is just around the corner. At this time of year I am soooooo ready for some Spring weather! So, as my chalkboard sign says, let the shenanigans begin!

In years past I have used a green “pot of gold” and put an Oxalis plant in it for my table centerpiece.

Unfortunately, when I went to my local nursery there were no Oxalis plants to be had.

I thought that maybe it was time to find a new centerpiece, so I headed to Michaels to see what they had in the way of St. Patrick’s day decor.

As it turns out they didn’t have all that much.

I was just about to give up when I spotted this basket.

It was green and twiggy.

Straight out of the forrest!

In my mind, if I were a Leprechaun this is exactly the type of container that I would put my valuables in!

So I took it home and filled it with all sorts of riches and treasures.

Then I added a sweet bow to the side of the basket for some fun.

The perfect centerpiece to be sure!

Once I had my centerpiece complete it was time to add my place settings.

I started with delicate green placemats, from Ross, that remind me of spring grass.

Next, I added white Atelier plates, followed by green lettuce Bordallo Pimmeiro salad plates.

The silverware and glasses are from Southern Living at home.

The white linen napkins are new to me from Hobby Lobby’s last years Spring line.

Yellow flower napkin rings give the place setting a little pop of color.

I honestly couldn’t be happier with the results.

Simple, sweet, timeless and classic.

My kind of tablescape.

I have to admit, closer to St. Patrick’s day I may add some Rollo candy to the Leprachaun’s treasure to hand out to my guests.

I can’t believe that Spring is just around the corner!

So, let’s all let the shenanigans begin!

Until next time…..

Anybody who knows me well knows that I love to garden and I love glass. Which may be why I love terrariums. All that goodness rolled into one thing. Makes me so happy!

My love of terrariums may date back to my short lived membership in 4H.

I joined at the end of school my 5th grade year, just in time to make a terrarium in an old 5 gallon pickle jar and an ill fated homesick trip to camp.

I was hooked on the terrarium, even if 4H was not for me.

Recently, I was cleaning out a cabinet and came across this glass container and thought it would make a good terrarium.

Plus, it’s the time of year that I start getting antsy, wanting to get out in the garden and enjoy mother nature, even if I know better.

It occurred to me that I might not be alone in my need to grow something green, so I thought that I would share how to make a simple terrarium with you!

Supply list:

A large container

Potting soil

Charcoal

Rocks

Plants suitable for terrariums. If you are not certain which to buy, your local nursery should be more than happy to help.

First, add rocks.

The rocks help with the drainage.

Next, add a 1″ layer of charcoal.

While, the charcoal isn’t necessary it helps the rocks with the drainage.

I’ve skipped this part in the past and regretted it! #mold

Step 3, add enough potting soil to plant your plants!

Now for my favorite part, planting the plants.

Be creative and have fun with their placement!

I decided to have a little fun with my terrarium and added the sweetest turquoise bird.

However, you could leave yours plain.

Just remember, make sure what you are adding is water proof.

Last, add water.

Luckily for the plants, you rarely have to add water to the plants in a terrarium.

It’s basically it’s own ecosystem.

However, once in a great while I find that I have to add some if it gets to dry.

Think rainforest, not desert!

One last piece of advice, I like to put my terrarium where it gets a good amount of natural sun light, avoiding direct sun.

A nice thing about a terrarium is that if it isn’t happy with the sunlight, you can just move it!

It is amazing that such a simple thing can make this girl so happy!

Have I mentioned that I love terrariums?

Until next time…