Ahhhhh!!

I know I have posted about this before, but I love the smell of citrus blossoms. I grew up along the Indian River-home of  what some say is the "best citrus in the world"-and, where the smell of blossoms often lingered in the air!

I know I have blogged about our frequent trips to McKee Jungle Gardens and the bottles of intoxicating orange blossom perfume my cousins and I always bought. And so, I am finding myself taken back to my childhood once again every time I walk up the steps to my pool.

I had wanted a meyer lemon tree forever but, they were expensive. Once day I saw what I would call more of a lemon "bush" at Lowes and I grabbed it and wasted no time bringing it home and getting it planted in a large container near the entrance to the pool deck. I really don't think I ever thought much about it doing well. I just loved the romance of the thought of it. I figured it would stay green awhile and when it no longer was, I would yank it out and put in another topiary!

But, all it took was one "harvest"-of ONE lemon-and I was hooked. Not to mention that the meyer lemon is delicious! And so, knowing it wouldn't take long for this bush to drink up all of the nutrients in the potting soil, I purchased some fertilizer spikes made for fruit trees. I hammered them in and went about my happy way.

And then, I noticed another bloom on the tree...and about 14 more lemons coming. And then soon after, another bloom and even more fruit popping out. And now, just a month or so later, another full bloom. I googled this and it is not supposed to happen. The blooms should appear in cooler months and cool it is NOT right now!

I have no idea what is happening but every time I open the side door, I smell those blossoms and I am back in Vero Beach...and so much younger!!

I don't know how long this will continue but I am definitely seizing the moment and stopping to smell the "citrus"-OFTEN!

Guess I'm going to have to start looking for some meyer lemon recipes!

Heading off to do a bit more yard work. I am hosting a big family get together this weekend so there is much to do both inside and out! I've still got my buddy here as well so it will be fun trying to get anything done with my constant companion by my side. Truth be told, I will miss him when he goes home but I know I can borrow him back any time the urge might hit. Lol Stay tuned.

I think he knows I am "talking" about him. And yes, he has two eyes. He is just so dark that it is really hard to get a good picture of him and two seconds after I snapped this and he knew I was looking at him, he was by my side so no chance for another try!

Final Answer!

This post could probably be sub-titled "Who Cares?" but, since I'm still just tackling really small projects to keep myself busy and in the house, this just caught my fancy. If you remember, this is the third incarnation of this project. It was never really meant to be a favorite but since everyone was making paint stick crafts online, I thought I would give it a try to see if it might be something I would like to do with the kids...jury's still out on that. But, since I made it, I figured I might as well use it and it definitely needed a bit more pizzazz for me!

After I added the flag with just a simple thin bow, I still wasn't excited so when I finally got to HL, I looked for some 4th of July picks. There were a lot of great picks but their scale was just off for this project so I decided to just beef up the bow. Kind of like putting lipstick on a pig but way more acceptable now!

It's hard to believe that something that simple could put a smile on my face, but that is how I roll. As I'm looking at this right now, I'm thinking I might like this more if it was nestled in a wreath. Gotta remember that next year!

Another thing off my to-do list. I'm on to looking for my next totally un-necessary project to keep me busy and out of trouble! Stay tuned.

Hurray For the Red, White and Blue!

I have had daughter #2 here for the last few days and we had such a nice visit. We got to do lots of catching up, eating and running errands. Since I have been dog sitting, I have stayed pretty close to home but when there was nothing left in the frig at all except a few old baby carrots and condiments, it was time to hit the stores.

She was open to anything so, once we took care of the essentials, we hit some of the fun places. I haven't been in HL in so long that I missed the arrival of their autumn and Halloween goodies-not to mention the beginnings of Christmas!

I was hoping to find some fabric for my bar stools, but no luck there. I did pick up a pillow cover (on sale for 50% off so even better) so that I could do the 4th of July craft I have been dying to tackle!

This is all I needed and the cover was the only thing I had to buy.

I started by tracing stars on freezer paper and then cutting them out. At this point I wasn't sure how many I would actually be using. I used a pillow cover I saw at the "SippingIcedTea" Etsy shop as inspiration. There are still some available if you would like to just buy one but I love the crafting almost as much as having the finished product!

I decided to just go with three and I ironed the stars on to the cover. This gives you a really strong "paint bleed" barrier. I also put a layer of freezer paper inside so the paint didn't bleed through to the back.

I wasn't really sure how I was going to tackle this but decided to start with a block of blue...

...then I moved on to the red...

...and finished with white.

After that, I went back and played around with some blending and some additional blocks of color.

 

The last thing was to remove the stars and paint them white. I had hoped to find a white cover and then the white painting wouldn't have been necessary but I think this worked out better in the end because now the entire front of the pillow has a layer of paint. I did mix the craft paint with a fabric medium so the paint absorbed nicely into the fabric.

After all of the paint dried, I went back and embellished where I wanted bits of color.

And here's where it ended up. I really like it...it sort of reminds me of the canvases Hudson, Presley and I did last year.

Not bad for a project that only cost $2.50!! Seriously! This pillow cover has a zipper so I honestly couldn't have even made one as inexpensively!

More to come so stay tuned.

Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

Yep, that is my life as we "speak" and for the next two weeks as well. I am baby sitting one of daughter #3's dogs - the other is staying with daughter #1. Two large, young dogs are a handful but I could do it except for the fact that Hazel is a swimmer...and, since it has taken me over a year to finally get my pool looking good again, we decided not to chance it. I am keeping Parker, a very large black Golden Doodle who has way more of the standard poodle look than the Golden look. He is such a sweet dog but have I said "large"? He is a gentle giant but still can't help getting excited every time he sees you move. He has been my constant companion - which is lovely but also a bit of an issue because I can't seem to accomplish anything. Hence, the lazy part of my life. I am giving myself permission to take it easy and just enjoy my "shadow". If I could only get him to shadow me outside, life would be perfect but, once I open the door to my 3/4 acre yard, he is off! And, since there are so many areas I can't see all at once, I find myself not able to weed, trim, etc. because I'm wondering where he is and what he is up to. Believe me, if he finds a way out, he will be off to new adventures. Hence, once again, lazy days!

Sorry this isn't clearer but he moves every time he sees me!

I am trying to stick pretty close to home and stay busy indoors. Tomorrow my long time friend and her grand daughters are coming over and we are going to do some 4th of July crafting. I've got lots of supplies ready and lots of ideas...can't wait to see what they decide on.

I think I have a bit more 4th decor to share so let's hit the family room today while Parker is lying at my feet and all is quiet. Lol

Now that I've decided to leave the two PB lanterns on the ends of the mantle, the rest of the decorating there is pretty simple.

I think this flag was one of the first large wood signs I ever made. I used bead board and lauan plywood. I actually made them as gifts that 4th and it makes me happy to see them still being used in so many homes. Mine has gotten a bit chipped and scratched over the years but I think that only adds to its charm.

I still love the hand print wreath made for me many years ago by daughter #3. It is still one of the most pinned images from my blog and brings many people to this site.

So that is the family room for this year. I've got a few craft ideas in my mind but I need to get to HL to pick up some supplies and I'm still not sure about leaving Parker alone for that long. I needed to make a quick run to my daughter's the other day and he got into all kinds of trouble while I was gone. I think I'll weigh the options for another day or so. Lol Stay tuned.

Let There Be Light?

It looks like it might be another rainy day so I am finding myself wandering the house looking for any possible thing I might enjoy doing. As I have posted before, when it is dark and dreary outside, I have a hard time doing anything that involves new paint or cleaning because it just never looks fresh and bright in the shadow of the dark clouds!

And so, as I was walking through the dining room on way way into my office I noticed how really dark it was looking. I knew I had more 4th of July string lights that I had chosen not to use in an effort to "simplify". I was good with that decision...until I wasn't! With all of the glitter of the holiday from fireworks and sparklers, this room was just not representing. And so, after a quick trip to the garage...let there be light!!

Without a tripod, I can never get an actual night shot...which is what this room feels like right now...but you get the idea. To be (lit) or not to be (lit)...that is the question!?

Since we're here, let's take a quick peek at the sunroom and guest bath.

I still love the tall Uncle Sam the kids and I made one year. It was so simple that even Hudson and Presley could do all of the painting themselves and I love how they each made their own face!

I needed a few more 4th of July pillows and didn't want to spend a lot because I might have another plan up my sleeve, I grabbed these 2 outdoor pillows at Wal-Mart the other day. Their quality isn't great but they serve the purpose here for now and then I will move them outside when I have a replacement. They were only $5 each so no worries if they get wet and soggy in all of our liquid sunshine!

So that's it for today. I have accomplished every small task I could think of and it is still raining so it might be time to put on a movie. Stay tuned.

Bits and Pieces

It looks like we are going to have rain pretty much most of the day. As much as I would love to finish up my list of outside to-dos, I am also OK with the rain. My lawn and gardens are so happy and, just when I thought I might need to add some water to the pool, Mother Nature has stepped in and done it for me...free of charge!

But that meant that I would be looking for things to keep me busy indoors today. There is no dearth of those things but, because it is kind of dark and gloomy, a lot of them just don't work for me...like painting base boards, crowns, doors etc. Too dark and damp for a big paint job. Lots of deep cleaning that could be done but, for whatever reason, things don't ever seem to look clean on days like this so why even try. I did get a few loads of laundry done and now I am just kind of "grazing".

I hit up my 4th of July Pinterest board to make a list of my favorite 4th crafts in case the kids come over for a day and to make a list of supplies I might still need to get.

And then, I spied a paint stirrer flag that had been embellished a bit. Since I wasn't really totally enamored with the star I made ( as a sample for the kids ), I like the idea of the addition of the small flag and bow. There was also a bit of 4th of July "bling" so I'm going to see what HL has to offer. Right now, it looks like this. Getting better but still not quite there! If I can't find some sparkly flower picks, I think I will add some more ribbon to that bow...we shall see.

In any case, before I head off to unknown projects, let's take a peek at the dining room.

I still love this vintage Bethany Lowe inspired star that the girls and I made so many years ago. I remember that this was a long project because we actually had to start with sheet styrofoam and cut the stars the size we needed. Then, there were many glittering and coffee staining steps.

I just went back through my library to see how long ago we actually did this project. Here we are in July 2009!

And here are the 6 finished products ready for gifting.

 

Serendipity! Just when I was getting really exhausted from the 2 days of decorating - with more to go - and carrying around 3 left over flags with nowhere to call home but not wanting to go "all the way" into the family room closet to put them away, opportunity struck...yep, just perfect. Lol

I am starting to think what I might be able to put here in place of these shelves over the "fireplace". They are so narrow and hard for me to decorate. In any case, this is how they look now. I was able to use the canvas flag we made last year and then prop the special painting Presley surprised me with up on the top. I love that masterpiece!

We seem to have a slight break in the weather so I'm off to put out some new chair cushions and plant a few more flowers. Still looking for a craft project. Anyone have any ideas? I'm sure inspiration will strike soon. Stay tuned.