Uncle!!

 Remember how happy I was when I showed you this?

Those pictures were taken just over a year ago and are what I was expecting to see any day now. But, it finally became obvious to me that that wasn't going to happen this year. And, honestly, I don't know why. For the past few years all I do in the winter is cover the bottom portion of the plant and the pots. Most of the leaves will freeze back but begin sprouting back quickly. For whatever reason, that didn't happen even though I have been faithful in watering and fertilizing with a fairly expensive bougainvillea food.

I have checked carefully every day just positive that soon I would see a new leaf but I finally had to give up! This is the best I was getting.

I wish I could say that the green that you see was new growth but, alas, it is just a weed that seems to be happy for now. And so, I headed to the nursery this morning. I chose the original color bougainvillea that I did because I am not a fan of the fuchsia color and it wouldn't clash with all of the seasonal decor that I used but this fuchsia color was all that I could find today. And, it does seem to be the only color plant I see flourishing on neighbors' mailboxes so I am wondering if maybe the color I had chosen last was a hybrid of some sort and harder to maintain?? I would like to think that might be the reason my green thumb once again failed me. Lol

And so, I caved.

I also grabbed a few new annuals and thought I would get them all down today but by the time I got home and caught up on a few other things, it was too late to start. And so, tomorrow, my day is full. Not only will I be doing that but I will be moving some furniture in all four bedrooms for carpet cleaning on Wednesday. And then, for whatever reason, I have an urge to finally paint the sunroom ceiling. Don't ask me how that happened as I have had the paint for over two years. Let's hope it is still liquid when I open it.

I thought I would zip around the yard and get some pictures of the things that have come back this year but they are few and far between. I guess our winter really was colder than years past.

Just one lonely little gardenia on one of my many dwarf plants but there are more buds so I am hopeful.

Lots of clover growing everywhere and although I know I probably shouldn't encourage it, the little blooms are pretty so for now I am leaving them alone.

The hydrangeas on this side of the yard seem to be fairing the best but so far, this is the only bloom.

I think I have four mock oranges now. Even though I know they have no fragrance, I seem to find myself sniffing them as I walk by anyway. Lol I grew up in the Indian River area of Florida known for its plentiful citrus groves and I will never forget how beautifully perfumed the air was when those trees were in bloom! 

And then there is this that went from this...

...to this almost overnight!

I go out there every day and I swear I expect to see "Jack". This thing grows a foot every day and I am trying hard to keep tying it back so that maybe it grows a little more evenly over the top of the pergola this year. We shall see.

The next few days promise to be busy but I will be back soon. Until then stay safe and stay tuned.

To the Dining Room

 I have a bit of time this morning as I am waiting for the Florida Pest Control guy and since it looks like I have a new technician coming, I know I will need to be available to show him through the house so I can't really get into any projects until I do that. And so, here I am and we can head into the dining room today. I changed up the side board a bit but I think everything else remains pretty much as it was last year.

 Last year I created this vignette when I was once again having a hard time coming up with what to do. It kind of goes against my "simplify" rule but I was OK with it and, since I honestly couldn't come up with anything else this year, I fell back on it. I like it but every time I look at it I see Mr. McGregor and Peter Rabbit. Lol

When I looked this way, something was missing. Where is my pop of color?

This spot might need a tweak or two. I wanted to keep it simple with mostly just the green of spring with a touch of the purple but I'm thinking it might still need some help. Lol Again, Easter and spring just seem to stump the decorator in me.

And that is where I thought I was finished until I looked at these pictures again. I had made the decision NOT to use the couch pillow I had painted a number of years ago because, honestly, that thing gave me a really hard time and I never really liked the way it turned out but, the couch looked bare and missing a pop of color so I went and pulled it out and it is back where it has been all these years.

I did this back when I was painting a different pillow cover for each decor theme and I was trying hard for them to "look" watercolory. I love the watercolor effect but I can't accomplish it on paper so I'm not sure what made me think I could do it on fabric! I will say that some of the more abstract designs worked OK but anything that was supposed to actually look like something...well, not so much.

This was supposed to be lilacs or maybe, better yet, wisteria but at one point they looked like bunches of grapes so I did something and then that wasn't right so I did something else and before I knew it I had this-kind of just big blobs. But, they are big blobs of color and that is what that end of the room needed so they shall stay.

It is hot here right now but otherwise beautiful outside so I think I might end my day sitting by the pool and reading for a bit. Not sure what the next week holds but I will be back as soon as I can. Until then, stay safe and stay tuned.

Now You See it...

 Now you see it-now you don't. That is the perfect name for this blog and you will see why as we move along. Let's check out the kitchen today.

I have always loved lavender. I have tried to grow it a number of times with varied results even though I did "all of the things" that supposedly make it flourish. I finally gave up but still purchase anything "lavender scented" that I can find. I bought this towel when we stopped at this lavender farm when in Connecticut and even though we were not there at the peak of the season, I can still smell the fragrance from all of the lavender gifts they sold in their shop and the few blooms still left on the plants.

When you look this way you can kind of see the pops of purple...until you get closer. Lol

I picked up the new tea kettle in Target. I had looked at it a few times and even though I had a perfectly usable kettle already, I was more than ready for a change so, when this cutie went on sale, I grabbed it.

 I reused the rose prints I had for Valentine's Day to the left and the right of the stove.

And, the rose print I picked up in Walmart a bit ago is on the shelf over the sink. 

And, even though I convinced myself that roses come out in the spring-although I really think of them as more of a summer flower-I already knew that the color and "theme" differences in this room were going to bother me and...sure enough, as I was posting these pictures, this happened.

I just had to find some lilac and lavender prints and swap them out. Which leads me to this...

The flowers in the print are definitely roses but the ones in the small pot on the shelf are pansies so, for whatever reason, this isn't bothering me as much...yet. Lol

I had forgotten that I bought this print in Walmart back when I was looking for what I would use for my "Halloween remake". I didn't use this one but set it aside for spring but then almost forgot I had it. I think I like it here.

And I left the dinnerware as it was for Easter. I like the mix of the soft green ruffled edge set mixed with the floral ones. I usually bring out just the floral for spring but I think the green adds a softness that seems to go with everything on the top shelf. I also just laid the fresh lavender bundle across the metal "bird feeder" tray.

I think it was ALL of the lavender and lilac on this end of the kitchen that made me rethink the other side. Somehow those pink roses just kept saying Valentine's Day. Lol

So that's where the kitchen stands for now. Time to go sit down and put my feet up after a pretty busy day but first, I need to share some pictures from the lacrosse game. We took a pretty hefty win which was exciting because it was the last game that will be played on their home field for this year and the last one forever for the seniors-including grandson #2. After four years of football and lacrosse for this one, it is a bit sad to know that this part of his story is ending-along with all of ours-countless nights of freezing, sweltering, getting rained on, tailgating, cheering, etc. has drawn to a close and I am going to miss it all. And soon a whole new chapter of his life will open as he heads to UF. It was kind of crazy on the field as lots of hugs and handshakes were happening but I did manage to get a few shots before the lights started going off in the stadium to let us know it was time to say good night. Lol

My son-in-law is one of his coaches. Hud actually scored a goal tonight which doesn't happen often because of the position he plays but he has had a great year with more goals for him than usual. When it does happen, it is always an incredible play!

Even his sister is proud of him!

He and his head coach have a bond.

And then he surprised me later that evening when he sent me some other pictures from the prom that hadn't been shared yet.

They had a good time and will be doing it all again at his prom in a few weeks!

That's all I've got for today. Stay safe and stay tuned.