Surprise!

 I will bet you are as surprised to see me here as I am to be here! When last we spoke I told you I was planning on spending today in the yard. And, that was my plan...until it wasn't. After I left you yesterday, I ended up in my garage cleaning out a bit and going up and down the ladder to get some other things out of sight-and, out of my way. I decided that after four pretty full and heavy lifting days that I deserved a bit of a break so I am staying inside today-the fact that it is 84 degrees out there doesn't help-and I will try outside again tomorrow.

Before I head to grab some lunch and maybe watch a movie, I thought I would use the day to take you through the next room-the kitchen. The kitchen has a number of changes and it might just be the room I am the happiest with.

I always love my "Ocala" towels.

I have decided that I like having the art in the kitchen and the plan had been to bring back the floral prints that I used for Valentine's Day. But, when I brought them out they just didn't feel like Easter so I found some coordinating bunny images that I had in my Pinterest file, printed them out, did a quick swap and, here we are. I love them. Never fear-the other pictures will probably return with my spring decor.

Between this candle lamp and the Yankee candles I have burning, my house smells like I am encased in lilac bushes!

I still really love the cross picture that I did a year or two ago. As I'm looking at this I'm thinking maybe one of my mom's or Nana's doilies under the white pot would help with some interest? It looks kind of bare there. Lol

So that is it for the kitchen this year but, if you know me, you know that the coffee table in the living room would not stop bothering me until I found a balance. I searched my house over and tried a few little pink perfume bottles but that didn't do it so I brought in my Bethany Lowe Easter egg. I really didn't want to introduce an egg to the mix but, it IS pink and it DOES have a bit of a presence and I DO love Bethany Lowe vintage decor so here it is and I think I am OK with the color balance now.

I almost ditched the green books but I like the height they bring and it keeps the green color from the candle ring and leaves of the tulips in play. So, at least for now, this is how it shall remain...until it doesn't. LOL

That's it for now. I am heading to the kitchen to grab some lunch and then enjoy my "day off" but I'll be back. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Hoppy Easter

I am back and all of my Easter is out and almost everything is put away-need to finish the garage this afternoon. Those of you who are regular followers know that I always seem to have trouble with my Easter decor. I think it is because so much of it is in pastels and, admittedly, pastels are not a favorite. I have also tried to stick to my "editing" again. I left some of my Easter stuff in their Rubbermaids but I also left some of my St. Patrick's "green" out. I know I can't do a totally neutral Easter decor-which it seems like I am leaning towards-because I really can't afford to buy all new things but, I think the addition of the earth tones has helped a bit.

I will say that it is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day out there but that means that the sun is SHINING brightly which means that picture taking was even worse than usual. Apologies are coming your way before we even start.

I left the shamrocks on the porch because they bloom with lavender flowers so I am OK with that and the other pot is starting to fill in so it may soon find its way to the porch as well.

 I left the wreath off of the mirror in an effort to "declutter" but I am having trouble with how sparse this entrance looks now. There might be a tweak coming soon because as hard as I try, I am just not a "less is more" kind of gal! You can see the nail over the mirror just crying out for "something" hanging there.

I just realized that I'm only a few feet inside the front door and it might already be obvious that I am leaning even more strongly this year to just lavender with a slight touch of pink and trying as hard as I can to weed out the yellows and blues.

I'm thinking a tweak might be in order here as well. As much as I love forsythia and jonquils, I think I might need to edit the yellows.

I left this the same as last year because, honestly, I just didn't have anything else to put there but, the lack of height difference is bothering me already so....???? Lol

I brought the rabbit I bought last year in here from the family room. I like him here but haven't settled on what should be in his basket. I am going with the flowers for now as several attempts with different eggs didn't work but, we shall see.

We interrupt this blog to bring you an update. As soon as I started to look at the coffee table in that picture, I knew something with the colors was bothering me. I tried just bringing over the purple to the bunny by putting some different flowers in his basket but then the pink and white tulips were bothering me as well so I pulled out the white ones and found some other purple flowers to add.

 I can't believe I am saying this but I think the round tray is crying out for something pink so that may be the next tweak. Lol

So that is the living room-until it isn't. Lol I will be back with more but, if tomorrow is as beautiful as today I will be outside with the first order of business seeing me painting two of my Adirondack chairs to move over to the extra patio near the pool. It seems as if the wicker chairs I have had there for some time are finally nearing their end. Since I already have the Adirondacks I figured I would see how they look with an update before buying new ones. And, I'm guessing once I'm out there I will see lots more to do so I will stay busy. Stay safe and stay tuned.

By the Skin of my Teeth

 I am just managing to get this last part of the tour in before the big day in two days. If you ever take any decor inspiration from these posts, I'm afraid this one will be way too late to help. I have never cut it this close before but I guess that just means that I have had a super busy month so far and I am OK with that. This weekend was no different but I will get to that in a minute. First, let's check out the guest bath.

I have had a candle here the last few swaps and I love the glow it gives the room at night so fingers crossed I can find a way to keep one here from now on.

I simplified this shelf and added a framed photo I bought for spring but since it has lots of green I thought I could sneak it in here. I also "ditched" the bright shamrock green towel for this darker one and I'm liking it better.

The little water colors that I did last year no longer worked in the living room so they found a home here.

On to the primary with again, just a nod.

And now we circle all the way back to where we should have started. The shamrocks on the porch are full and beautiful now-too bad they will be moving in just three days. Lol

If you see spots of water it is not because we finally got a much needed rain but more so because I had to completely hose down the porch floor, windows and door. The pollen was so thick that everything looked yellow! It seems we went from my pool being covered with leaves to it being green and covered with squiggles but, I will take that any day over still being covered with snow!!

My weekend went pretty much as anticipated. Yesterday my brother ran his race and won his category then we were off to granddaughter's lacrosse game. Don't have any pictures from either except the notice of the game that was on the school's site. Go #00-she actually scored their only score.

Then we headed to the Master Garden Show. It was packed and had so many vendors with so many beautiful things. I actually only bought a nice sized tarragon plant which, for whatever reason, I have been looking for for a few years and haven't been able to find. I would have loved to buy a peach or plum tree but restrained myself because I'm lucky I can take care of what I already have. Lol

Now back to Friday night and grandson #2's lacrosse game. My daughter ended up ordering stuff for a picnic so we didn't have to fight the crowds at a restaurant on a Friday night after the game. When we got there, she informed us that sometime during the game, Hudson would receive either his acceptance or rejection to his application to the University of Florida. And, from that moment on my heart was in my throat because not only is that where he really wanted to go but it is the only place he applied. Thank goodness the wait wasn't too long and I am proud to say that our family has yet another Gator! We may not have taken a win on a game they thought they would win but that couldn't diminish our excitement that night!

Hud with his sweet girlfriend.

So that brings me to today. I have been doing small chores gearing up for the week to come-first the swap and then some heavy duty outdoor things including getting the fountains back up and running after being off since Christmas. Not sure when I will be back but, until then, stay safe and stay tuned.