Good Garden Bones

Thanks for all of the nice comments on our newly painted exterior!

Speaking of exteriors.  We are fortunate that this house came with some good garden "bones".  As the spring season progresses, were are delighted every day with something new.  We have had daffodils, grape hyacinths, several varieties of iris, azaleas, red bud trees, forsythia and Bradford pear trees blooming.  There are also several hydrangeas that are getting buds on them!

We have planted a lilac bush, gardenia, lavender, peonies and boxwood so far.  Come take a little walk with me around the house.

Here is Maddie...her hair is growing a little.

The lilac bush we planted this spring is full of blooms.

One of the peonies blooming.

A rooster hiding in the Lily fronds.  My friend Penny gave it to me a few years back, as a house warming gift for my previous home.

My little back patio area is crowded with my veggie "garden".  Next year we will have raised beds, the table and chairs will be moved off the patio and under a pergola, soon to be built by Mr. Comforts, and hopefully we will have a fireplace next to the patio.

As you can see, even though the garden has great bones, it does need some house whispering.  I promise to share it all...from the pergola building to the raised beds to the fireplace, when they happen.

Off to Home Goods to pick up a few things for the master bedroom...reveal coming soon!

Before and After Outside Paint Reveal

Our house looks so much better now.  This past week, for 5 days, we had a crew of 3-4 painters painting the outside.  It originally was a greenish gray, and was really faded and spotty.  The porch railings were a dark gray, and they were peeling.  It was the original paint and the house is 11 years old.

The front door, was a stained wood, but the stain job was very streaky and did not look good.  Here is what the house looks like today all painted.  I can't believe what a difference it has made.  Especially the white porch pickets and railings!

The body of the house is painted Harmonic Tan (which is not tan at all, but more of a mossy green/gold).  The porch railings are now painted white to match the columns and the front door is painted Red Bay.  The paint is from Sherwin Williams.

Here is a before shot...before the landscaping too.

The shot below is taken standing on one side of the porch.  You can see the color better. 

Standing on the other end of the porch below.  I hope to get some outdoor rugs to place on the porch some day, to help cozy it up.

The lights at the doorways are new.

So is the lion door knocker.  If you have read my blog for some time, you will see that we always have a red door and a lion door knocker.  It is kind of our signature.  We thought about other door colors for this house, but decided to stay true to our style.  You can see our other red doors and lion knockers here and here.

Here is another full shot...this first picture is the AFTER.

And below the BEFORE.

There is quite a difference in curb appeal, don't you think?  And speaking of curb appeal.  We did a couple of simple, things towards making the house look better from the street.  

First, instead of replacing the lanterns on the stone column.  We simply spray painted them.  Here is the before...a kind of rusty color.

After spray painting it black, below.

We also replaced the green, duct taped mail box with a shiny new black one.  I painted the original wood post black too.  Then we added new numbers to the post.  

Before

After

We have been busy planting new plants.  Some lavender, lilacs and geraniums.  I will show you those soon.

I also finished sewing and hanging the master bedroom curtains.  I need to get a few more things for the room, and then I will show you that too.

So, what are you doing this week?  Any projects going on?  

Linking with:

Savvy Southern Style - WOW

Cedar Hill Ranch - The Scoop

Suburbs Mama

No Minimalist Here

Up Close Fabric Shot

As promised, here is an up close picture of the master bedroom curtain fabric.

And this is how it looked rolled out on my hallway floor, before cutting.

I have all 6 panels sewn, except for the bottom hem.  Mr. Comforts is hanging the rods either Thursday or Friday.  Then I will hang them, pin up the hem and take them down to sew.

We have to wait, because the house painters are here painting the outside of the house, including the outside French doors in the master bedroom.  So the doors will have to stay open while the paint dries, and we are not sure what day they will paint them.

A few of you requested the French Style Grilled Potato Salad recipe that was on the blackboard of my last post.  It is a Bobby Flay recipe and can be found here.  The only difference I made was to substitute sweet gherkins for the cornichon and I added fresh tarragon to the dressing.  I also omitted the Chervil garnish.

Chalk It Up

A while back I did some rearranging of pictures in the house.  Originally the poppy painting was here in the lounge area of the kitchen.  You can see it in the picture below.

I moved that painting into the dining room, because it look great with the curtains I made.

I remembered I had a chalkboard, I had made way back here, that I thought would work great in the kitchen lounge area.

We had friends over for dinner last night, and I have fun writing the menu on the board.

On to other news.  The outside of our house is starting to be painted today!  Can't wait to show you all, once it is finished.  The fabric for the master bedroom curtains is arriving today too.  So I will be busy sewing this week.

We planted some boxwood, gardenias and lavender this weekend.  I am looking forward to the gardenias and lavender blooming.

What are you up to this week?