Two Things I Wish I Owned...

this time of the year. I am going to share one of them with you today... It is a Greenhouse!

Okay - so this one is a bit more 'grand' than what we would need..ha ha

This one is $780.00I cringe each Winter (especially this one!) when I lose precious plants because it was colder than normal and the cover I placed on the plant was not sufficient.


This one is $687.00Don and I consume so many cherry tomatoes - we eat them like candy...and with what they cost..if we could grow them all year long, it would only take a couple of years to have this paid for in full!

Even a small structure like this would be nice.

I want a Greenhouse!!!

Heat Wave!!

It has been terribly hot here in Texas and except for one night where our farm was blessed with 5 1/2 inches of rain, we have been in a severe drought! Everyday it has been in the low 100's but with the high humidity the heat index has been closer to 110 every day! Whewwww - now that is HOT!

I am too embarrassed to post pics of my veggie garden. The heat has kept me away except for a few quick harvests of corn, bell peppers and tomatoes. My carrots were a no show this year...but the weeds were more than happy to take the place of the carrots... :0(

So whats a girl gardener to do??? Well my answer to that is to find inspirational photos for NEXT YEARS VEGGIE GARDEN!

A Beautiful Home!

I just returned from Oklahoma City where I was covering a horse show for the magazine I write for. While I was there, I was invited to a trainers birthday party hosted by one of his customers. I thought I might be in for a treat when I learned it was being hosted at the couples home...and was I right! This is what the front of their lovely home looked like.

..and here is the front porch..

..this guy was decorating the front porch!

The whole house was dotted with their love of American Saddlebreds. This is a comissioned painting of 3 of their horses!..

..that hangs in their formal dining room.

Look at these lovely desert dishes!

This is a couple who have been married to each other and raised their 3 daughters to young adults. I guess what I am saying is that they are not a blended family and their rich loving history is reflected through out thier home. This is the back staircase covered with decades of family photos.

What a unique way to display some winning ribbons!

More family photos.

The next 3 pictures are of their formal living room.





An upstairs bedroom.

A view into their lovely back yard.

The master bedroom.

A beautiful spread of food for the party.

Built in china cabnets - there were 2 of these.

A view from the front entrance..sorry it is dark.

Stunning fresh flowers!

More equestrian accents.

How cute is he?? This is Little Bit.

I caught him napping.

Here is the bar.

This gentleman was an amazing pianist and his music enveloped the guests.

This is the huge foyer.

Another room filled with a lifetime of loving memories and family history.

..another picture of the beautiful living room and that stunning flower arrangement!

..and my favorite party guest!Oh - and I almost forgot to mention..this house belonged to her Grand Parents and is quite old. You could only tell by the character of his home. It had so many details you just don't see in todays building plans.

Inspiration

This picture made me Ohhhh and Ahhhhh - so I wanted to share it with you!One of my favorite things about it - and you have to look closely, is the word 'Snug' painted on it!

Looking for a New Building Project?

How awesome is this???..and it does not seem that it would be that difficult to build either. The decorative metal panels can be found everywhere!

What a Great Idea!

Do you need a decorative valence?Why not use wallpaper? Cut to the exact size. Glue on the trim. Hang straight or roll a few layers as was done here...and there you have it!

How Organized Are You?

Even though it is not official, January seems to be the month most of us get more organized and do a first Spring cleaning. Below are a few pictures of storage ideas and the last 2 photos are of my own kitchen cabinets.

This photo is inspiring to me. I want my pantry to look like this!

I want this!!!! I love the idea of being organized, but I have to be able to see my things to use them...so for me, just getting the most "stuff" in the smallest amount of space is not really being organized!

This might be a good idea for some, but you lose me with the photos on the outside of the box. I can't see myself doing that and although it looks better than having everything all over the floor, it still is not eye pleasing enough for me.

I hope not to offend anyone here, but to me this is a joke! I love my library and enjoy my books over and over. I keep them categorized by subject so that I can find the book I am looking for and at times, they need to be stacked according to size for obvious purposes, but never would I color code them.

I will post more pictures as I get things back into their correct place, but here is one of my kitchen cabinets....

...and here is another. Not going to get too much more inside of this one!

Wild Inspiration Photos for the Gazebo TG Dinner!

Okay - I am Fantasizing here!

Inspiration Friday

Today's inspiration comes from my blogging friend Rhoda. Please visit her wonderful blog http://southernhospitality-rhoda.blogspot.com/ She is an amazing decorator!!

I had a dilemma and she posted this picture, which is the answer to my problem. The entire living area of our farm is decorated in French Country with lots of toile and mattress ticking fabrics in black, cream and deep red accents. ( promise to post pictures later.) I made and built several things so they would match, which included a decorative shower curtain. Several months after we had settled in, I noticed that the bottom of my shower curtain was getting dirty. I took it down and washed it...and it shrunk. Not just a bit - but I swear the thing lost 4 inches off of the length. I have never liked it as much since then.

Well - getting back to Rhoda's beautiful dining room curtains...by adding on a black and cream gingham trim on the top with decorative fringe will not only solve my problem, but it will also look like it was designed that way originally!

Thank you Rhoda!!! ((((((Hugs))))))