friday flowers....

Carnations... I love them!  I know not everyone feels the same, funeral/hospital flowers, but let me tell you these puppies are cheap and last forever.

Love the pops of pinkish/purple... As we head into fall I can't wait to try some new color combos and bouquets... stay turned.

tazza tuesday...

There has been a lot of work going on around my place, tying to take advantage of the last few sunny days.  Work= work truck and Tazza loves riding along.  

 

She loves overseeing all the projects!

flower fridays...

Because the weather has been staying so nice (I can take some photos outside), I thought I would show my favorite plants, done two ways!  I love succulents, they are easy to care for, perennials (planted outside they come back year after year) and they add a ton of texture and interest to any indoor decor.

 Outdoor chicken and hens.

I unfortunately cannot take credit for this adorable project, this is from Katie and Drew, (I feel a newlywed project blog coming on) who worked collaboratively one this one.  A reclaimed tool box filled with succulents down the middle of their beautiful table, how could you go wrong?

tazza tuesday...

I love my iPhone! The majority of the pictures I take are on my iPhone, including the one below of Tazza.

I used the "lo-Mob" app to get this cool effect. She is getting a little grey beard.

friday flowers...

artichokes, artichokes, artichokes...I absolutely love my artichoke plants. A lot of people choose to grow their "chokes" in their veggie gardens, but I think they add so much texture and interest to any area.  Check mine out!

 

Aren't they gorgeous? You can eat them but I let mine go to bloom because their bloom is so eye catching.

the headboard....

When people visit my house, my headboard is often a point of conversation.  This was such a simple and cheap project, but it definitely took some vision.

It started out as a salvaged door, I paid $10 for this door. To be honest, I was pissed about even paying $10 (I know, "what a steal, what a steal").  This beauty was laying in a pile to be thrown away and I asked if I could have it (side note: don't ask when dumpster diving, as soon as someone knows they have something you want, the price goes up!) of course she said,"no, I'm not throwing that one away" so I was forced to haggle her down from $35 to $10. SO the process began... I hauled it home... and it sat for awhile... I love the colors this door was already painted/weathered but I heheheda and haaada over painting it.  I am normally drawn to bright colors, so it was a true departure to go soft and light (shabby chic, if you will).  Unfortunately I don't have any "in progress" pictures, mostly because this was the one thing my Dad needed to finish before my huge holiday party last year and it went up the day of (love you Dad).

My Dad fashioned a bracket so the door hangs flush with the wall.  He added some crown molding (everything is better with crown molding, trust me) to the top for a shelf.  I absolutely love how it turned out, it has a lot of character and gives my room a cozy feel.  In hindsight I'm so glad I went with light colors, my room is so relaxing and feels a touch glamorous.

yummy...

Check out the fruits veggies of my labor! Growing things can be a long shot, especially this year with the wacky weather the Northwest has be experiencing. I have it my best try and fared pretty well. Check out my tomatoes! 

They started out small, (I actually lost two dwarf trees from freezing, so these tomato plants were temporary replacements) but this area gets full sun light all day; I had high hopes.

 

Boy have they grown! I have three varieties, and they all have done well.

Yummy!  This was a very small gardening feat, but who knows maybe next year my garden will look like this... One can only hope! Send me pictures of your dream garden or one you already have.

via Living the Country Life

so lucky...

I am so lucky to have talented friends. One of those being the amazing husband of my long time friend Megan, Mike Azzano.  He is an amazing artist, he uses several mediums but all of his work is truly unique and remarkable. Well, lucky me, last time Mike, Megan and their beautiful daughter were visiting (I hope to post Megan's baby shower soon) they brought me this beautiful print. (my picture does not do it justice)

I have always loved this one and feel so lucky to have it in my home.  It currently is waiting to be hung (it deserves a place of its own), but I couldn't resit the urge to show it off. Thanks again, M,M&Em!

family tree...

Obviously one of the most important factors of DIY projects is keeping the costs down, also important when planning wedding decorations.  Below is a project I did for Allie and Jeff's wedding that was easy and cheap (like pretty much free)!

Start with a palette, the older the better in my opinion. Cost: Free

Remove all unwanted materials, I think leaving the middle pieces would add even more character.

Even out the frame and reinforce if needed... project is still free at this point!

 Add and secure chicken wire across frames back side, this does not need to be pretty because it won't be seen from the front. chicken wire: in my case free, I found this roll in a dumpster.  Non-dumpster price $1.00/yard

I stained this frame (not necessary) to match some of the other wedding decor.  Then I painted a wedding saying across the top.

The finished product, clothes pins ($5.00/pack of 20) hold up family wedding photos.  This was a fun way to display photos but could be re-purposed in so many ways... seating charts, allow guests to pin up song requests, hang in in your kitchen to hang important mail and lists, and a smaller version would make a perfect jewelry display.  The total cost of this project was under $7.00.

tazza tuesday...

It has been beautiful weather here in Seattle and although I am currently in a boot, Tazza and I have been spending a lot of time at the park.  Check out these sunny shots below.

 Tazza gets airborne, she is sooo talented! Please send over fun photos of your pups in the sun!

the wedding...allie and jeff

Finally the professional pictures are here.  Please take a moment to look at how all the decor and flowers turned out for Allie and Jeff's wedding.  Their photographer Chris (Contact Information) was generous enough to get so many great shots!

The flowers... Bridal bouquet, Maid of Honor bouquet, bridesmaid bouquets and the boutonnieres.

The table tops... each table set varied, there were reclaimed wooden frames, twine and moss balls, flowers and vintage brown bottles (thanks Kate!) and sand/wine cork filled mason jars with candles.

Head table and sign-in table...

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments, contact me directly to talk shop!