Some Very Good Things.

I'm now realizing exactly how much lettuce two little packets of seeds produces, because we just can't eat fast enough! Too bad we can't preserve it somehow, for those scorching summer days when not much worth eating is growing. We've had some pretty perfect days, though, actually stretching Spring weather through the most part of Spring.  Summer usually hogs more than her fair share of months here.

I wanted to share a few good things with you. Someone asked me on instagram where I got my little glass creamer, and I didn't want to just say, "Oh, sorry, I picked that up in Korea a few years ago."  I looked online for a bit, but today, it showed up on Zulily here (a flash-sale site, go here to sign up if you haven't, and you get a $20 credit for the first purchase of everyone you refer!)

They also have an amazing teepee.  Because, teepees are THE thing right now.  I thought about making one for my kids, because I've already picked out the perfect spot for it, but my list of to-do sewing could pave the road up the east coast.  I didn't want a cutesy one, and I also wanted one big enough for a decent size crowd inside (aka the whole Dill clan...or at least a few of us) and it, too, showed up on Zulily! The sale ends tomorrow morning for this one, though!

Someone will be getting it for her birthday next month!!

And you know my mitered corner tutorial?  My mom has memorized it and made the most beautiful, simple, linen dish towels for their shop!  They are larger than normal, so they really last through a whole days worth of drying, which is no small feat in my house.  Plus, they look stunning just hanging up, which is just as important in my book.

They also have the most cheerful star named after...ME!  Look at the orange goodness!  

 Do I need a whole window-full?  That's a rhetorical question.

And one more good thing: Remember my niece with Cystic Fibrosis?  Their pantry looks like a pharmacy.  I really thought it was and wondered why my sister was snapping shots of her local Walgreens.  They have a life-time journey of medical bills and my parents are helping out by donating 100% of the proceeds of this sweet, pink star, the Mary Deane Star, to help cover those bills.  Last month they were able to send a check for $1,000!  So you get a star (or a baby shower gift) and help a sweet girl with her medication at the same time.

Meanwhile, I've actually done some bonafide sewing this week!  I still have boxes that are staring me down, but it gets easier and easier to ignore them and do things more fun. Like sew, paint, bake, sweep, mop, and scrub the toilet.  Yes, it's come to that.  Hopefully I'll get it done and shared sometime this week.  Have a terrific Tuesday!

Magnolia Manor: Front Entrance Reveal

Just about the only thing we didn't change on Magnolia Manor was the exterior paint color. (And our bedroom tile, but that will go eventually).  But the setting and the bones, right down to the angle of the entrance, we fell in love with.  We saw past the teal carpeting and the floral wallpaper and big swoopy curtains.

The entrance of a home, I think, is often overlooked.  We pay particular attention to our countertop choice, faucets and the appliances, but the front entrance is where first impressions are indelibly marked on one's mind, as they picture where you live. While people are standing there waiting for us to answer the door, they are either noticing the cobwebs, nature's detritus and peeling paint, or they already feel welcome and invited. 

While we did have the house freshly painted, we kept the color because we like a good grey.  It is, after all, the offspring of black and white.  The doors got a fresh coat of paint as well.  I have always wanted double doors, for those times when you want to open them both wide and let the cool breeze of the morning sweep through the house, wakening those inside, and washing the staleness of sleep.

I ordered the light fixtures, not knowing about the the bonus feature of the light beams behind (do we see a theme?).  I liked the square with the round.  It seems I gravitate toward the duet of shapes within shapes, like the doorbell that mimics our giant Texas star going over our garage. I did love geometry back in the day). But when I came to check on the progress of the house one day, the lights had been installed and were on in their full glory! I loved them even more, which is rare for me.

I repainted (spray paint of course!) some of our giant red pots black and white and planted white flowers (and leaves) to match.  That amaryllis?  Each year, after Christmas, we plant our holiday bulbs outside (the advantage of this balmy weather), and they will bloom again outside every year.  Before we moved, I had 2 of the Dill girls go and dig in the mud to retrieve our amaryllis garden.  We brought them in a big garbage bag and promptly forgot about them.  Until one day, I was looking for my bee suit, poking around amongst the paint cans and building paraphernalia, when I picked up the garbage bag full of slimy spheres.  This amaryllis, in particular, already had a stem about half this size with buds ready to bloom.  I planted the poor wilted, pale beauty and she bloomed mere days later.  This is the second stock from the same bulb, just about a yard high. I also have jasmine on each side that gives the most pleasant scent to warm your senses while you wait for us to answer the door ;). 

And! My penny tile!!

The tile they took out left the floor lower than the rest of the flooring, so they had to "float" it, or raise it.  They did a pretty good job of getting it even for those little round beauties.  I did grey grout, a happy medium between the black and white with a permanent "rug" in the contrasting tile. 

This isn't the entrance we normally use, so we don't have our shoes lined up here, but we are now a no-shoes-in-the-house house. More on that later, because some of you have asked.

Drummer, who normally starts crying when I take pictures, hammed it up for me.  I guess he doesn't mind a dslr in his face compared to my phone? Or was it the fluffy treat in hand?  No, it's probably his sharp lookin' star shirt.

This seemed like a good place for our giant hibiscus.  I almost killed myself hanging it, and realize now that I should have just waited for Ryan to get home, but when I get something in my head I want to accomplish, I get 'er done. I tried to get Clover to assist me in where the hook was when I hoisted the gargantuan flower.  Finally she said, "Maybe we should just wait until the sisters are home."

Surprisingly, Drummer didn't take a single bite of those mammoth marshmallows.

He just smeared them on the tile.

Go figure.  Happy Friday!

Magnolia Manor: Half Bath Reveal

Instead of starting from the beginning (which I think I'll try to do Monday), let's start small.  This is the little half-bath that we weren't going to doing anything to.  I was going to handle it, steam off that wallpaper, paint the vanity.  But, then, since this bathroom comes off the hall, which leads into the kitchen, which is getting a huge makeover, we might as well do it, too.  Right?

Right.  

So, I realize this might be the most lame before picture in the history of before/after photos, but I spent all morning going through my phone and my camera and my computer, and this is what I had.  And I had this only because I texted it to my sister (who also sews), so she could appreciate how they matched the print on the wallpaper when covering the lightswitch plate.  A closer look? Of course:

But, you get the idea.  You can get a glimpse of the tile, which was a lot uglier than it looks.  The vanity was just a blah brown wood, which we were going to replace entirely, but it came down to a few budget cuts, and we just painted instead and replaced the top, which was a peach faux-marble thing.  Bleck. We used Absolute Black granite, which is what went in the kitchen as well.  There was fluorescent drop-ceiling lighting that we also took out and just put in 2 can lights.  We kept the original towel racks and toilet paper holder, but I'd like to eventually replace those with something round. 

Round was the theme in here, in case you didn't pick up on it.  Do I also need some round-themed towels?  Why, yes.  Yes I do. But, like I said, trying to just document, because perfection won't come in this life.

I think the sink is my favorite feature.  I ordered it online from amazon because it was cheapest there, as well as the faucet. It fit perfectly in the space, and I love how long the faucet extends, so the kids don't splash as much.

I began looking online for a big, black, round mirror and everything was at least $200 or much more.  I didn't want to spend that much.  I finally found one at Target! 

It wasn't solid black, more of an oil-rubbed bronze look, but PLASTIC!  A mere $30 (they gave me a discount because the one I had was scratched) plus some spray paint, and I think it looks just as good as the $200 mirrors. You can't tell, can you.

The towels came from my mother-in-law, who let me go through her stash when we were there last. Circa 1970s I'm guessing? And the knobs on the vanity just came from the knob aisle at the local Home Depot.

And the splurge was...the toilet.  A Toto toilet (we bought locally) with a (round) button that let's you choose the flush power you desire with a soft close lid.  

It's all about the details, I like to tell Ryan. 

(Romantic) Hanging Lampshade Planters

Look at me on a roll.  Two consecutive posts. May momentum keep moving me!

I never considered myself a romantic.  I've tried to be.  When I went to see Sense and Sensibility with my mom and sister in high school, I looked over at them during the movie, both had tears streaming down their faces.  I tried to squeeze out a tear, but if I succeeded, it was probably due to pain, poking at my eyes. 

So, when Ryan asked why I was so hesitant about turning the carport into a garage, I think it took him by surprise when I said I didn't want to lose the little scenic sunny spot next to it, with the weathered trellis and the lacy ferns and the climbing ivy, where I was going to hang some plants.  Or maybe it didn't surprise him at all, because he's so used to being surprised by my whims that they're not surprises anymore.

The garage was built anyway.  But, now, it's a bit of a secret garden.  I told Pearl she can bring a book and sit in the little Nook of Ferndom.  It still had the trellis and the ferns and the ivy, but it needed those hanging plants.

The previous owner had some plastic pots that I was going to spray paint and re-use, but they fell to pieces the second I touched them.  And mysterious creatures were used to living there that I didn't want to touch.  So, romantic plan B was born. It must have been the week I was picking out light fixtures for Magnolia Manor, because I had lampshades on my mind.  I began looking on ebay and was sucked in with all the possibilities.  I didn't want to pay a fortune, since I was just going to dump dirt in them.  I lost several bids, but I also wasn't too concerned about minor cracks and scratches, so I got some for amazing bargains.

Here are a few tips:

〇 Use "glass ceiling lampshade" as a search term to weed out regular old lampshades.

〇 You want them to have holes in the bottom, where screws and hardware were used to secure them for draining purposes.

〇 The middle one I got at Home Depot for just a few dollars and used a tile drill bit to drill 3 holes.  If you do this, make sure you go slow and steady, and that your glass isn't really thick, or you'll be kicking yourself.  Or the lampshade.

〇 Look for something with a wide opening.  The center one was a bit narrow and I had a hard time getting the strawberry plant inside.

〇 I used nylon rope that won't deteriorate or discolor as quickly as something natural.  Use a lighter to singe the ends to keep fraying at bay.

〇 Be creative in how you secure the rope.  Some of them I braided with 4 strands, others I just knotted together.  Or if you have some mad macrame skills, this would be a good time to break those out.

These would also be neat inside by a window, or used to hold fruit or other objects (which, in that case, wouldn't require holes).

You'll note that I strategically placed them just out of Clover's reach.  

More strawberries for me.

We Are In!

Well hello blog world!  I have gotten some very kind emails lately from dear readers telling me they miss my posts.  If that doesn't warm a girl's heart, then she probably doesn't have one.  We have finally moved into Magnolia Manor!  

We've done the majority of unpacking, but we still have a wall of boxes surrounding our bed. The boring stuff that, obviously, I haven't really missed.  But, I need to finish painting our room, plus I don't want to start smelling like a cardboard box, so it needs some attention.

Like my sister, Ann, said when they had lived without their own furnishings and "stuff", I feel like I have my personality back.  My orange.  My fabric.  Still haven't found my shoes, but I've been wearing my garden boots almost daily, both for gardening and for spray painting.  I've lost track of the amount of spray cans I've used.  I even got one without a marble!  Lucky?  I'm saying yes.

I have appreciated the gentle nudging from those who have missed my presence here, concerned that I was abandoning my blog.  We all like to be missed.  Goodness, no. Jumping this ship is not happening today. Especially as I've been unpacking my sewing studio supplies, my mind is spinning and my heart yearning to get sewing again.

This will probably be my last instagram review for a while because I'm committing to blogging again. And since it's written in big black lettering for all to read, it's real.  I feel like my words are rusty.  It's so easy to snap a shot and slap on a little caption that those composition muscles have grown weak.  Articulation atrophy has set in.  

I plan on sharing the changes we've made to our new home, but probably in installments.  Because.  I'm a perfectionist.  Maddening to me.  And Ryan.  And especially my dear workmen.  But, there will always be something I want to do before I snap shots, so I will try to reign in the perfectionist so that photos will actually happen.

 Meanwhile, there have been some snags with moving in.

 Like the bathroom sink was leaking through the outside wall.

 The brand new air conditioner stopped working.

 The brand new washer overflowed.

 Although, as it turns out, that one was my fault. Whoops. Who knew little, fluffy bubbles could be so menacing?

 The roof, we thought, was leaking, dripping down our newly painted ceiling and walls. But then it happened on a bright, sunshiny day.

 Turns out, it was air conditioner related.  

We were without the internet for 2 weeks with claims we didn't have a working phone line.  Phooey, I said to that.  Look at me blogging, eh?!

 The bumps have to eventually stop, don't they?

 Or at least come with less frequency and preferably with minimal intensity.

 All that to say I am so supremely content.  The space, the garden, the everything makes my soul smile and fills my body with gratitude that it all worked out.  I got bees, for heaven's sake!  There will be some financial belt tightening, but I tell Ryan we can do this.  We hold on to each other and figure it out, because we're a mighty spectacular team, the 8 of us.

Plus, I can always sew me something new to wear.