Miss Kim Korean Lilacs

I am playing with lilacs today and I just love this variety.

It is called : Miss Kim Korean Lilac.
She blooms later than other lilacs and is a lacey type that is just gorgeous.

I love this container with three metal pockets and chalkboard on the front.

I will be redoing the chalkboard paint soon becasue the bottom pocket is looking bad.

Do any of you grow these? I would love to hear about yours.
They smell fantastic and it is perfect when we step outside the back door.
The perfume from these just fills the air with a wonderful scent.

If you want to look them up here is a link and here is one.
You can also google it and find more sites. This is supposed to be a dwarf,
but it isn't dwarf here. We have good ole' black Michigan soil and it is
wonderful!

I wish you could smell these...happy Wednesday!!
Blessings~

Laundry Room/Porch Makeover

I did not intend to do a back porch/laundry room makeover this week, but one thing led to another and
here we are. ha! I didn't buy one thing except paint and found out after I had used some of it that I already
had 3/4 gallon of the same paint left over from the bathroom / pantry area. Can you say CRAZY?
Yep, that is me. Can't remember one thing these days.

I painted the room in Glidden Country Fog and the trim is Glidden Pinch of Salt.
Love those colors. I don't go to Home Depot or anywhere fancy to get my paint. I go to good ole'
Walmart. Living in the country we have to drive 25 mins to Walmart which is far enough.
The other stores are much farther so I make do. I have never had any problem with
paint no matter where I purchase it.

I still have to paint the ceiling yet! I know, I know...should have done that first, but remember?
I didn't intend to do any painting. It just kind of evolved so when I got the walls freshly painted
I realized the ceiling should be painted also. I am putting that on hold for a few days though.
I am TIRED.  

I purchased this very large basket at Home Goods last year. I either leave it this way or turn it
so the Home Sweet Home doesn't show. Kinda kitschy and I am not always in that mood. ha.

This is still one of my favorite pieces. My oldest son made this for me when he was knee high
to a grasshopper. {okay maybe a little taller than that}. It has been painted green with flowers on it,
painted a cream color and now 'pinch of salt". I also removed the door this time around.

Rosemary is one of my very favorite herbs along with basil.

I still ADORE this table that I purchased on the RTE 127 sales a couple years ago.
The piece in front is a drawer! I didn't know that when I bought it , but was pleasantly
surprised to find it. It also holds gardening items.

This is the other end of the room and this door with the full length mirror attached to it
 leads to the basement.

My daughter-in-law made this sign for me for Christmas a couple years ago and I love it.
She did a great job.

I am still tweaking things here and there so some things will probably go and others remain.
The nests will go. I had to have somewhere to put them so plopped them in the box for now.

Remember this piece that hubby and I originally made a potting bench out of?
It is our new, old vanity on the porch.

One thing we didn't really think through when we made this piece was how in the world
do I paint the wall behind the window when it needs it?  Since we ran water lines to it, it isn't
 like we can move it out to paint and there isn't much space in there to do anything.

I would have to stand on my head or rig up something else. haha!!

I had a light-bulb moment! I decided to paint the window panes with chalkboard paint. WA LA!
Problem solved!! Now no one knows that the wall behind it isn't painted...except you...
and you...and...:)

I see that Sandi got sloppy and got a splash of white paint on my shoes sign..sigh.
Such is life.

I can now remove the mirror whenever I want to and just write on the chalkboard windows.

Maybe something like:

Mirror , mirror on the wall, Who's the fairest of them all?

 haha

I LOVE this laundry tub. I also purchased it at Home Goods on clearance a year or more ago.
It is very sturdy canvas and just what I wanted and the price was great!

{The cement statue will go outside in a couple weeks}

I do hope you have enjoyed my mini makeover. I intended to put before and after pics, but may
save that for another post. I don't need to buy one more thing so it was nice to be able to
move things around my house and get a brand new look without spending any money.  I think
 it is fun to do that and see what you can come up with.

Happy Spring everyone!!

Blessings~

Chippy WHITE Project Finally Completed!

You know those projects that start out as one thing and then along the way they
morph into something else? Yep, that is how this project came about.

Do you remember this starting out as a bench/ potting bench. {If not I have added pics
at the bottom of this post} 

It was a potting bench that hubby and I created this past summer while he was laid off and
now it is a vanity on our back porch/ laundry/mud room. The vanity we had out here was

NASTY!

I didn't realize how nasty it was until we took it out. ugh. NO, I didn't take before pics.
I didn't even think about it. ha!

I was laying in bed one night with my mind racing a million miles an hour {couldn't sleep
AGAIN} Does that ever happen to you?

Well, I was thinking about the brand new porcelain sink that I had picked up at the Route 127
 garage sales in August for $15 and inspiration hit! Why not make the potting bench into
a vanity. We can always make another bench right??!! yep...it was on.

So, I timidly boldly broached the subject to my hubby.

He was INSTANTLY on board!! Can you believe it??  He is always indulging my whims,
but I know he secretly thinks knows I am crazy!!

So we got started and we both
LOVE 
how it turned out!

I had fun filling the little pockets/shelves with lotions , Christmas decor etc. Think of the
decorating possibilities. Unlimited! 

I thought my little white twig tree was perfect for this spot.

This mirror is old with some patina and a little cloudy, but I love it.

Do you see the Merry Christmas HUGE burlap piece?

It is a huge lavender sachet that I won a few years ago. In fact I won two of them along
with a burlap bag. These exact pieces were featured in a magazine and I forgot
what magazine! HA! Romantic Homes or Country Living or something. There
was a giveaway on a blog and I won. They still smell wonderful!

We picked out the perfect faucet for the sink. Whoever sees this almost always says,

"Does the sink really work"...ha! YES, it does! 

I used an old feed-sack to hang in front of the shelves at the bottom.
{After all I had to hide the plumbing. :) }

This is another corner of my porch where the vanity is.

I would show you all of it, but there is a bag of cat food, a can of kerosene and other
 "lovlies" sitting around that doesn't really make for pretty pics.
 Keeping it real here folks.

The long tin coat hanger is made from old tin ceiling panels from a store that I remember
 going to as a child. Loudens was the name and it was in Montpelier , Ohio. Loved that store!

Okay, here is how the vanity started out. I picked this up at a garage sale this past summer for $2.00!
It was a yucky bluish gray color and had a lot of grease on the top as it was used for a work bench.
I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned and got it painted white.

Then it morphed into this potting bench above and now into my vanity.

Somehow I see a new potting bench in the works next summer. SMILE.
I will have to hit those garage sales again and see what I can find to start our project!

Yep...loving my new/old vanity!

Some of these photos are out of order , but oh well.

My dear friends... always remember that

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL...

no matter what is happening in our lives
that is one thing we can be sure of...Life is a beautiful thing!

Blessings~

The landscape of summer

I suppose technically summer doesn't arrive until June 20, but it sure looks like summer
around these parts. I love to visit the greenhouses at the very first chance I get and I
know for a lot of us it was earlier this year than ever. I planted several things in clay
pots this year and I love the look.

My chives always put on a good show and I enjoy it every year.

This is the path leading up to our back door. I wish I had some before photos because this area was
nothing but rocky soil when we moved in over 30 years ago. I wonder if I have any photos lurking
around. I will have to go on a hunt. :)

My mother gave me this purple flowered plant for Mothers Day. It might be called
*million bells* , but I don't remember for sure. I added it to this pail along with some
white allysum.

I have shown you my front porch before, but here we go again.  I was tossing around the idea of
painting the floor white  , but I just don't think it will look right ...do you? I would love to replace
the screen door with an old wooden chippy white door that I have in the potting shed, but I
haven't even mentioned it to hubby yet...don't think he will quite understand. LOL

Geraniums and vinca hanging out together.

I LOVE ferns on my porch in the summer!! I may just have to get a couple more next time
I get to the greenhouse. 

I found this old crate in my potting shed and decided to bring it out. I wanted to add
some asparagus fern to it as well, but I haven't gotten that far yet.

We made the mistake years ago of putting two brackets for hanging baskets on our posts.
We didn't realize until later that the person walking up the step would whack their head on
 the basket so right now I have wind chimes hanging on it. I am thinking about putting
 it on the other side of the post, but then I think it would hide my fern...oh my what is
 a girl to do?? hee hee

Happy Tuesday and enjoy your day!!