One more thing

I think I forgot to show you this little lovely. Ok - really I am done shopping on eBay! Or at least shopping for big things. The fun thing about this is that if you notice it has these great key holes with mother of pearl on the bottom three drawers. They are beautiful, but one is missing in the picture. The guy I bought it from was a real jerk and when I asked him if he had the missing one he was pretty snappy telling me "Nein!" This also might explain why I got it at such a bargain. Well guess what I found in one of the little drawers? Yes, the three are complete now and it is really a pretty piece. I'll probably take the top drawer to someone in Dallas to have the veneer repaired, but a little brown paint made it hardly noticeable unless it's in the right light. I'm thinking this will go in my living room flanking the fireplace. : )

Mission Accomplished

So yesterday the moving assessment people came and thank the Lord, she things it will all just barely fit into the 40 foot container. I am relieved. Since we're not redoing our master bathroom in the foreseeable future I decided I had to find a large wardrobe that could fit our clothes. There are two tiny closets in the master bedroom, but they were cram packed when we moved out. And then I won this gorgeous bedroom suite. Mission accomplished! See link above. I can hardly wait to put this room together. It even has the original receipt from it's sale in 1915 and all of it, the wardrobe, two night stands and two dressers for 221 euros. I have been blessed.

And I picked up the painted wardrobe pictured above just this week. You can envision me driving illegally slow on the autobauhn with this thing hanging out of the back of my minivan. Don't worry, it was only a few exits away from my house, but the whole time I was praying that the sketchy little rope I tied to secure it would not break. I was also saying thank you prayers for the two construction workers who helped me load the thing in my van! I think this will go in my sun room which I'm thinking will be kind of an indoor potting shed room. I'd like to try my hand at growing citrus trees in big pots. I hear if you bring them in in the winter you can grow them.

I'm working on lots of little crafty projects today and will post on my progress soon. Hope you have a great weekend! Is this the kids last week of school?

What about roses?

I wonder if there are any climbing roses that are ok with partial sun? Remember Julie Dreher? She has a friend that works at some great nursery in Dallas. She was just quoted in the NYT about some mulching issue. Maybe I can pay her for an on site consultation.

Front door fave

All this talk about front doors reminds me I should show you my favorite front door of all time (and one I aspire to have in my lifetime).

Isn't she lovely?

Color Ideas for front-Yellow/khaki/white & black accents

Check out the post below. Everything applies, but the color scheme would be with black instead of red.

o o o! Almost forgot, you could add black slate tile over the concrete on the porch with this option.

Something to think about red/yellow/khaki

O.K. I'm just thinking out loud here with your bench and the color scheme of the outside of your house. Here is food for thought:

1. Red front door--paint your front door red and paint the one to the upstairs apartment the same color as the wall beside it (yellow?) to blend in. No one will ever pick the wrong door and it will give your front door great punch. Besides, you are such a red gal.
   
2. Bench with the red/khaki and yellow pillows above. These are outdoor pillows from Pottery Barn.
3. Maybe over the bench we could find some sort of reclaimed antique iron twirley thing to hang. That probably doesn't translate well. You know, hang something up over the bench.
4. Yellow jasmine climbing up the posts. (See below)
5. English ivy draping from planters. (See below)
6. Red gardenias in planters to tie in color.
7. Red blaze climbing rose bush trained up side of porch between you and neighbor. (Maybe on on a white garden trellis for privacy?)
8. Maybe a little side table with a red gerber daisy plant.
9. More red seasonal color in the yard--pansies, petunias, etc.
10. A white hydrangea bush would be nice on the left side.
    

What do you think?

Vines

Here is Carolina Jasmine--not in bloom, but blooms yellow.

Star jasmine--white, in bloom.

Alright, I love Wisteria as much as the next ice-tea totin' Southern gal, there are some things you should know before you plant this sucker.

We had this in our Crooked Oak house, and it was beautiful, but at a price.

1. It needs full sun or it won't bloom.
   
2. It grows like crazy and needs lots of pruning. It is thick and difficult to prune. Prune at the wrong time and you will cut off the buds.
   
3. It is very, very heavy. It bent our wood fence.
   
4. It will grow 30-45 feet--up into your trees!
5. They are picky about nitrogen and alkaline soils.
6. Sometimes it doesn't bloom at all and without reason. It can be fickle. 
   
7. It only blooms for a little while. It doesn't look that great when it isn't in bloom.
   
8. It is deciduous, so in the winter you are looking at bare woody vines.

Here is an article from Neil Sperry.

http://www.star-telegram.com/living/columnists/neil_sperry/story/1268845.html

I think Carolina Jasmine (blooms w/ yellow flower) or Star Jasmine (blooms w/ white flower) would work well there since you don't have full light. It is in bloom the same time as wisteria and also smells lovely. Either color would compliment your house. 

I think it would be nice to do pillows that would complement the whole house and plant color scheme.

Planters

I can't remember (and I can't tell from the picture) if your trim and door are done in khaki like the Vanderbilt house or a greyish green. I think it is greyish green, right? 

For the front planters I think you should add English ivy and have them dangle down long and low. Then you can add season color in the boxes. (It will depend on the color of your trim.) The ivy will be perfect since you don't get full sun there.

Things have been crazy!

Please forgive me for not updating. Our whole family has been sick all week and it has left us all upside down. I will write soon.

Bench Update

I picked up the bench today and it is a bit newer feeling than I thought it would be. Instead of a great antique patina it has a bit too much lacquer. BUT, it's so well made (very German) solid wood, great mechanism for the lifting up the trunk. So it is other wise perfect. But, should I paint it? I am very tempted to not paint it. I think it cannot be white because it needs to stand out more. Will some great pillows & recovering it be enough? Maybe you need to see it to really answer my question. When can you pop by?

The New Old Porch!

So I just got this cool bench and pick it up Monday morning. I love it and think I can recover the seat cushion, add some vintage pillows and put it front & center on the porch. It's pretty long, maybe 10 inches longer than the one that is in the picture, so I think it will be a great size for that spot. Plus, I think it has a storage trunk inside which would be perfect for Flash's dog leash etc.

Also, I'm thinking I'll plant a large wisteria plant on the right side of the steps and train it up and over either side of the porch roof line. I am hoping I can find one that is a few years old as I'm feeling impatient about getting started! I know they are aggressive so I'd have to trim it if it became an issue, but I just love the look of lots of vines. Do you know of a better vine plant to put there?

Then is the issue of the two built in flower boxes flanking the front steps. They have potential I just know it, but I'm not sure what to do with them. Any ideas? What about having two planters built for that spot? Possibly they could be shallow & bottomless, more like trim around the existing ones, just raising them a bit and adding some architectural interest. Painted white to match the trim of course.

BTW I love how they filled the bird bath with moss in the picture above.

I am getting so excited about this new plan and truly wonder if it won't be even better than the old one.

Talk soon! oxxo