Planting + Picture Hanging

Why can I never get my act together by Monday morning to post???   It's Wednesday and I have been working on this post for 3 days.  I thought I would share with you a few weekend activities planting + hanging. 

 Stopped by the local flower/plant store to get a few plants for the 3x4 foot dirt pit in the backyard.  The whole yard has grass or mulch except for this tiny area and the boys only want to play there???!!!  Mr. Big took my brand new cordless vacuum out there and vacuumed up all the dirt-no lie.  

Below are the flowers I didn't get....pretty right.  

Here are the plants and herbs I did end up getting laid out nicely.

And here they are planted.  Big R is our yard man-thank the Lord!  I am clueless in the yard and plus it's H.O.T out there:)  I have caught Mr. Big out there tearing all the basil leaves off and sniffing as hard as he can until all the scent is gone and then he picks another.  What gives?????

Finally got around to hanging my yellow circle painting above the sofa.  This is my least favorite room because it is so blah at the moment...can't believe I am even showing y'all!  You may remember it from Novel. pics here.  I'm sort of thinking a) hung too high, b) needs something hanging to the left and right?, c) we need a navy sofa-it is ruined and doesn't look so good against the white wall-thoughts?  Maybe another post...

Hung this foursome when my dad was in town in our dining room-love the arrangement!  And my dad totally rocks the "eyeballing" technique for hanging pictures-he did this in 5 minutes!!  Would take me all day!

Y'all may have seen this picture on my Instagram of Little R's artwork, but I thought the chair looked cool beneath.

I have a thing for painted chairs?  Here's another shot of another one in the foyer.

I also thought this shot of the playroom ceiling turned out kinda cool.  I'm so happy we left the ceiling exposed!

Here is a dingy shot of one wall in the playroom.  Please, please think of these as "before" shots.  I have so much work to do to get this room in order.  Will it ever be?????

I thought it would be fun to add to this wall as the boys make new art.  All I had to start with were 4 framed pieces so that's why they are spaced accordingly.  I also am thinking of putting Little R's navy mattress ticking duvets on the daybeds out here for extra cushion.  I must say, these two beds make the room but I am having a V E R Y difficult time keeping the boys from jumping to the point of mattress going through the bed slats to the floor.  Keeping it real.

Once I get my act really together I will show you more.  

Til then.....

Blues

I came across this painting the other day on All Things Stylish and it just caught my eye!  I love how fluid the painting appears and how watered down the blues are in certain areas.  I think I figured out why it was so appealing to me... after looking back at some recent paintings I had photographed of my own work I saw the similarities...

via

Similar color palette with a like movement as the one above.  The background of mine is pure white in reality, but this is an Instagram shot.  I actually added to this painting with other colors but sort of wish now that I had stuck to the all blue color family.

And happy to report that "Roo" is doing great and on the mend!!!  Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!!!

Loves

There are a few loves I must share with you today.  Number one being my boys "Roo".  He is their daddy's daddy and we are saying a big prayer that he will come out of his heart surgery this morning on top!!  Lots of love and prayers going his way today! We love him so much!  You should see the excitement on my littlest's face when he sees "Roo"  He does a hop, skip and a jump and cracks the biggest grin you have ever said and says, "Woooo!!!"  Can't wait to get though this day.

I thought I would share a few new pieces of artwork hanging around the house too.

Went to Amber's blog last night and discovered her curator's collection sale on Joss & Main.  Some really great finds.  I could load up!!!!

Moving forward with an exciting birthday present from my parents...

I can't wait for this to arrive...outside or inside..not sure yet where we will put it....

And on to Best of Division....

Whole Foods

Greek Yogurt

Atlanta Fresh

flavors tried so far:

Wildflower Honey and Peach Ginger

a tie for best Greek Yogurt around

(consistency is a little runny compared to another fave, Fage.  SO be forewarned.  Delicious nonetheless!!!)

Trader Joes

Best "new to me" cracker

Gotta try them..nutty and crunchy

Trader Joes

Best Soap Smell

Best, Best, Best scent I have found lately for hand soap at the grocery

So, I will leave you with these loves today.  If you have a moment, send a little thought and payer "Roo's" way today.
Here's to a strong and speedy recovery!!!  

Tuesday Food Day

Sometimes I feel like I eat the same things over and over so this may be very boring for you!!!  I  did try out a new recipe  last night that my friend Natalie posted yesterday on her blog from the NY Times.  I tweaked it a little and used Israeli Cous Cous instead of Quinoa and added a few different ingredients.


Spicy Quinoa, Cucumber and Tomato Salad




  I had to put the cous cous in a separate bowl because I made too many vegetables to top it off.  This is what's in my version:


Silver queen corn (off the cob)
 tomatoes
cucumbers
avocado
Vidalia onion
Basil
Cilantro
S&P


Lime Vinaigrette
Lime
Olive Oil
Champagne vinegar
S&P





I must show you my burned pot of cous cous.  Fortunately it did not ruin the entire pot, just the bottom layer.  It made a cool design though, right?  I blame it on the kids:)





The Smorgasbord





I also roasted okra in the oven and made my favorite raw zucchini salad.  

Big R made grilled chicken to put with his meal and used Trader Joes Tzatziki Sauce on the side.  He highly recommends this stuff!!

Marshalls Find

I am not normally the type to have good luck at Marshalls Home Goods or TJ's but last week I decided to run by and take a stab at finding something fab!  I almost always walk away with a cart load of non-neccessities (word?)...just like Tarjay!  Well, I hit up TJ's first with zilch luck so went over to Marshalls (same shopping center thankfully) and this is what I found in the rug section.

I really love the herringbone pattern and the fact that I have incorporated blue into the hallway.  My fave!  All of our rugs are seagrass and all the bedrooms are wall to wall seagrass so this runner works out well.

And an up close

Whatcha think?

And a shot you may have already seen if you are a follower on Instagram.  

wayway123

Our "new" back porch

The color is revealed. 

Paint:

 Farrow & Ball Downpipe

Furniture:

Ikea

Moved In?

Well, people.  We did it.  We're back home.  Been looking forward to this day for the past 3 1/2 months!!!  I am dying to show you all pictures but I can't.  You see, the house looks like a bomb went off!  I can't seem to get things straight.  We moved in Thursday, almost two weeks ago now and then moved out to the beach with my in laws that Sunday(3 days later) for a week?!?!? Crazy, right!  It actually was the most relaxing week I have had because I just checked out.  I couldn't deal with the disarray our house was in so I just avoided it.  We live only 7 minutes from our in laws beach place (fyi) so it would have been an easy trip over, but I just didn't want to deal!  HA!  So now, I'm dealing.  It's coming together slowly.   A few have asked so I will share a couple photos but there's nothing too exciting yet because I haven't hung very many pictures and I am kind of Type A like that.  

Get ready for 100 photos.  Sorry...

First shot of our pantry with butcher block counter.  I'm in love to say the least!

View of our breakfast area off the kitchen looking out to backyard

Before shot

View from L.R. into kitchen with a peek of blue in the dining room.  This picture was taken before our blue Moroccan tile backsplash went in.  And I thought it would really bother me not having our light fixtures in yet, but so far very little annoyance.  Talk to me in a few months when they still aren't installed.

A before shot

Blue Moroccan Tile=LOVE

This is Mr. Big's bedroom.  I already had it painted with stripes before we moved out so I decided to keep them.  He moved into a big boy bed when we moved back in so I'll have to take a picture to share with you soon.  He is so proud of himself!!!

Master bath.  Still waiting on a mirror, but loving the transformation!

Came home from the beach on Sunday to find our house painted a new color.  This is only primer on the porch and the house only has one coat so far.  I'll give a more updated pic at the end of the week.  Can't wait to see the porch painted in my favorite color.....

Before shot

Lowes indoor/outdoor fan.  

Did a little picture arranging/hanging with my dad the day after we moved in.  

Top left: Sally King Benedict

Right: My dad's painting

Bottom Left: my painting

Little R's masterpiece

Moving on to the beach, Sullivans Island to be exact.  Heaven on earth!  Our view each morning...hard to beat!

Triple threat

My cuz, Jane's little boy on the left with my two

A sweet moment with my boys

Little R and his big bad self

Caught a few sunrises with my littlest badger:o

"Machi" (my MIL) and her boys

My precious, precious nephew

Lobster birthday celebration last Friday night with my sister in law.  Big R bought 2 1/2 lb lobsters for each of us?!?  Didn't think we could make a dent, but we did???

A little light eating after a glutonous week at the beach:)

Ok, sorry to go on and on.  I can be a little long winded!!!  Hope everyone is having a fantastic week!  Big R and I are off to celebrate my birthday tonight at The Grocery and I CANNOT wait!!!!