Simple Details: March 2012

Thursday, March 29, 2012

i've been keeping a secret

The painting is finished!

I'm loving the fresh, creamy 'navajo white' in the

entry, living room, dining room, hall, family room and kitchen!

The secret...

with my clever photography skills I've avoided showing you my black door!

This my friends is the result of an impatient diy blogger that wanted a black door

immediately, and didn't take time to prime!

My advice: JUST DO IT!

It wasn't that bad until mr. simple decided to scrape it for me,

and then concluded it was 'a big project' and stopped!

I did our back door at the same time and it is in perfect condition??

It's a dirty, ugly, boring job, but some one's gotta do it!

Guess who?

HAPPY WEEKEND!!

HOPE IT FINDS YOU DOING SOMETHING FUN & FRIVOLOUS!

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

charming easter idea

It's too simple and sweet not to share!

Years ago a favorite neighbor gave me with the most charming Easter surprise...

~ thank you, Karen ~

One empty egg carton

Two Small Viola 6 packs

Two toothpicks to hold the lid open

Here are some styling ideas...

rustic garden

fresh modern

kitchen vignette

breakfast buffet

coffee table chic

After Easter remove them from the egg carton and plant in

your yard or favorite pot.

You can use any size egg carton 6, 12, 18 or 24 packs.

If you'll be a guest for Easter, it would make any hostess smile!

Linking up with

Savvy Southern Style's Wow Us Wednesdays here
The Shabby Nest Frugal Friday here
Beth's Home Stories A to Z Tutorials & Tips here
Think Pink Sundays here
Jennifer Rizzo here

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

a philosophy & party tips

Do you subscribe to this 'day after the the party' philosophy?

"Since, the flowers are fresh and the house is clean we should invite someone for dinner."

A quick wash and iron of the linens and you're ready for a casual spring dinner.
These pretty daffodils were a hostess gift from the birthday girl yesterday!

Sunday evening we invited my Mom and Dad for dinner, here's our easy spring menu:

Bruschetta

Grilled Bread, Tomatoes w/ Balsamic Vinegar, Basil, Shaved Romano Cheese

Grilled Salmon with Fresh Dill & Cucumber Sauce

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Pioneer Woman's recipe here

(both my 13 year old and friend who hates brussel sprouts love these)

Dessert from Mom :)

Here are a couple of tips I use when entertaining:

Since our dining room table doesn't comfortably fit more than six,

we put an 8' x 4' piece of particle board on top when we need more seating space.

A hole in the center accomodates our patio umbrella when we want to use it outside.

I painted the back with chalkboard paint, here we used it for a

Teacher Appreciation BBQ at school, but the possibilities are endless.

If your home doesn't have a powder room, this tip is for you.
Since ours was built in 1938, we're powder room less!
That means everyone sees our main bath when we entertain, this sight makes me cringe!

123rf.com via google

It takes just a couple seconds to stash your personal products in a drawer,
and add a pretty clipping from your yard.

It's simple to choose something to put on the bathroom counter, too.
It doesn't have to be an expensive floral, any greenery looks fresh.

Simple things that make life pretty!

Monday, March 26, 2012

simply, a pretty party...

.... for a pretty friend

At each place setting was a wrapped, personalized favor,
chosen specifically for that guest!

Table decor included glass and crystal candlesticks, rose petals and rhinestones.
I love the eclectic look of using a collection of wine glasses.
It's easy to pick one up whenever you see something you like, here are a few of mine.

My stylish friend set her handbag on the table.

A fun tribute to our girlfriend, 'What we love about Andrea," on my chalkboard.

Love my girlfriends!
The two co-hostesses who helped with EVERY detail! (on the ends)
Seven kiddos are at one of their homes ordering pizza and playing Capture the Flag.
Myself and the birthday girl in the center.

Thanks for serving us, sweet husbands, while we properly entertained the guest of honor!

Spinach Salad with Toasted Almonds and Strawberry Vinaigrette

Grilled Bourbon - Bacon Wrapped Sea Scallops

Rice Pilaf

Roasted Asparagus

Four Layer Vanilla Cake with Raspberry Bavarian Cream

Happy Birthday beautiful friend, we all love you!

here's to many more!

Tomorrow, a philosophy and a couple entertaining tips.

Join me at Kim's Wow Us Wednesday!

Sunday, March 25, 2012

party postponed...

Not really, just the blog post!

Has this ever happened to you? You're writing your post, uploading your photos and

all of a sudden you get the message your photo storage is FULL, you may purchase

more, but it may take 24 hours... ok, Plan B!

To the rescue...

Deborah Needleman's 10 Odd Yet Essential Elements of Style

Ethnic Textiles

"Handcrafted textiles bring coziness to a room and worldliness to a home. Some personal favorites

include Central Asian suzanis and ikats, Indonesian and West African batiks, Moroccan wedding

blankets and American quilts. These can be draped over a table, laid on a bed, made into pillows

or hung over the back of a sofa. Since every room can handle one of these far flung treasures,

when love strikes, buy it. You can figure out what to do with it later.

In Spring colors, of course!

living rooms - Silver French Flea Market Table purple ikat chairs black and white rug ikat chairs purple ikat french bergere chairs, white

decorpad.com

living rooms - art natural wood black beige ikat console fabric drum shade round coffee table rug lamps teal eclectic Lucy Fenton via DTI

decorpad.com

kristen buckingham

decoration home inspiration Textile Spotlight: Suzani

decorpad.com

houzz.com

shulmanart.blogspot.co,

lostindecoration.tumblr.com

elledecor.com

Sarah Richardson

Sarah Richardson

I don't have ANY ethnic textiles, do you?

I love the look, Cost Plus or Pier 1 might be a good choice if you
aren't going to Morocco or Indonesia anytime soon!

Hopefully the party pictures tomorrow!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

easter inspired decor and a winner

Thank you all so much for your kind comments and entering!

Congratulations... #22 Pendy @ A Place for Us

I used the Random.Org Generator,
but when I put the widget on my blog my post disappeared??
Being the technical person I am, I quickly got rid of it!

Easter Inspired Decor

decorpad.com

Pinterest via Rachael Jones

Pinterest via Lauren Perrson

housetohome.co.uk

Wishing you a fun-filled sunny, spring weekend!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

inspiring outdoor ideas

If you missed my book giveaway go here to enter, winner announced Friday!

Do you have a plan for your yard this year?

We usually choose one outside project to complete every summer.
It might be a labor intensive one or a purchase we've saved for, either way,
I LOVE to finish it early in the season, and enjoy it for the rest of summer!

Here's some inspiration for you...

Urns for your porch...