We always plant plenty of tomatoes, peppers, (especially hot ones for Bill), lettuce, zucchini, and onions. This year we have sweet peas that are almost ready to be picked and we will probably put in some green beans too. Sometimes I plant squash or pumpkins or sunflowers. I tried eggplant and red beets last year but they didn’t do well. Here’s a look at the garden this year.

An old and rusty arbor stands at the entrance, flanked by urns that are filled with pansies. I’ll  replace those after they wilt in the hot temperatures.

The lettuce is growing nicely and I’ll probably be giving a lot of that away. You can see the sugar peas and Spring onions.

We have 2 large beds surrounded by wire to keep rabbits out! Last year they figured out how to get in so we added smaller wire and now have the garden surrounded by 2 types of wire!

Sometimes I can see rabbits standing on their hind legs by the fence trying to figure out how to get in there. Well not this year you rotten rabbits!

Here’s a look at the zucchini and tomatoes in home made tomato cages. You can see some of our garden last year HERE and HERE.

Now let’s get on to the Garden Party, here are 2 from last week.

Hometalk Community Blog shared these planted pants. This is a very cute idea! A pair of jeans for every member of the family!  Daddy jeans, mommy jeans and kid jeans in a row.  What a way to greet your guests.

Lavender Cottage shared her lovely peonies, one of my favorite flowers. We had 2 long rows of peonies at our house when I was a kid and I loved them.

Thank you to everyone who linked up!

I hope you have some gardening posts this week and will join in and link up! I love seeing what flowers and vegetables other people are planting. If you would like me to continue the garden party just say so in a comment, I was going to have it only in May but I have lots more flowers and plants to show off and I bet you do too!

Thanks for visiting! Debbie (((xx)))

Let’s kick off Summer by spending time with family and enjoying all that freedom has to offer.

One of my favorite flowers, classic red geraniums are the stars of this patriotic display.

In the cottage style entry, a vintage flag is displayed with blue hydrangea. If only I had a beach cottage that looked like this!

This is certainly a kitchen with a big WOW factor. The cabinets are beautiful. I like it but it’s not what I would want in my home. You?

I love the mix of fabrics in this beautiful red, white and blue living room. This country-ish color combination created a classic room.

Now lets get to the food! Check out these drool worthy memorial day treats!

Everyone will think you’re a genius when they see this! I’m going to do this layered drink for our annual Memorial day cookout.

Impress your family and friends with this pretty patriotic cake. I’m a sucker for cake. Any cake.

Here’s one you might like better. Chocolate. I’m a sucker for chocolate too.

This berry dessert is so simple and so pretty. What a great idea. I’m a sucker for luscious berries and great ideas.

Blue velvet! Just put a strawberry on top. I’m a sucker for this too.

We’re having a little cookout on Monday and we always have the same foods. Burgers and dogs with baked beans, macaroni salad and some yummy dessert. I don’t know what dessert I’ll make but it will certainly be red white and blue.

I’ve created a Pinterest board with plenty of red, white and blue inspiration that you can see here.

Please take time to remember those men and women in service to our country. I think when one family member is serving, the whole family serves, so think of them and all those who have lost their lives in service. My dad served in the navy in WW2 and talks about his time served often.

Enjoy your holiday!

Don’t miss the giveaway from Royal Design stencils. There’s still time to enter HERE.

The winner of the Pink Giraffe giveaway is Kimberly. A big thank you to everyone who entered!

Thanks for visiting! Debbie (((xx)))

They were ideal for painting in one of my favorite colors, Annie Sloan Provence,the perfect mix of green and blue.

For a bit of punch, I stenciled a pretty design form Royal Design Studio on the tops. Then I waxed them with clear wax and sanded for a little distressing.

The stenciled top makes them more interesting and I love the look!

It’s so pretty! I’m not quite finished with the other one but the pair of these little tables will work well in this room.

Thank you to Royal Design Studio for the great stencil I received for review. The stencil was the perfect size for this small table and so easy to line up with the registration marks. Their site offers a huge selection of stencils for all uses in damask patterns, paisleys and even peacock feathers

  Royal Design Studio is generously offering a reader of this blog  any one stencil $50 or less with free shipping included, within the continental US.

Head on over to Royal Design Studios and take a look around at all the beautiful stencils.  Come back here and let me know in your comment which one is YOUR favorite and how you would use it.

You can gain one extra entry for each of the following:

• Liking the Royal Design Studio Facebook fanpage
• Following Designamour on Twitter
• Following the company’s Pinterest page and sharing your favorites on your social networks.  

Come back here and comment separately for each.  That’s a total of 4 comments! You will love your stencil from Royal Designs!

Debbie (((xx)))

Black Velvet petunias are new to me this year and I’m loving them! They aren’t really black, but a very deep inky blue that appears almost black. They pair wonderfully with just about any other color and make quite a statement in your garden.

I’ve paired Black Velvet petunia with Euphorbia and another plant that’s new to me, Black and Blue Salvia.

The buds appear black and open to blue. It’s so pretty.

Source                                                                        Source

A couple more black flowers are Black Beauty Pansies and Nigra Hollyhocks. Flowers considered black are dark purple, dark red or have dark foliage instead of pure black and are oh so lovely!

Now let’s get on to the Garden Party, here are 2 from last week.

Simple Holdings Farm shared her lovely lilacs and some great garden tips.

Kathe with an E shared her thoughts on the benefits of gardening and lovely pictures of her garden.

Thank you for coming by linking up!

We had our first fresh veggies from our garden. Lettuce and sweet Spring onions made a tasty salad. I can’t wait for more!

If you don’t have anything about gardening or plants to link up this week, come back next Tuesday for another plant party link up and show off your dirty fingernails or green knees.  It’s fun digging in the dirt!

Please link back here in your post. Thank You!

Happy Gardening, Debbie (((xx)))

All this batting was only 6 bucks! And I need this! I was planning on using a coupon at Joanne’s to buy some, because I want to wrap my slipcovered couch cushions in batting to plump them up a little.   This is a great example of how yardsaling saves you money! Love it!

Also found this horse head for 14$ at a new thrift shop and the old bridle was just 50¢.

For the last 2 years I have really cut back on yardsaling because there comes a point when enough is enough and I have definitely reached that point.   But I still love it!

Added to Thrifty Finds at Southern Hospitality

Meet Me Monday at You’re Talking too Much

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm

Tomorrow is another Garden party link up, come on over!  Later this week another is awesome giveaway! Please stop by!

Thanks for visiting! Debbie (((xx)))

Take an old neglected vacation house, a lot of blood, sweat and tears, a determined woman with her own tools and you end up with a beautiful French Country Cottage. Courtney’s blog is  today’s Friday Feature. 

In her words, “It was dilapidated, vandalized and neglected for over 50 years. It would have been easier to tear down and rebuild. But there was something about it. I fell in love with the original details that were there.”

Let’s take a peek into her vision.

Click on pictures to be taken to the original source.

Take a minute to drool over this gorgeous kitchen! You won’t believe the before pictures of this space on her blog. I didn’t think that French country was my favorite style, but I can’t stop looking at pictures of her amazing kitchen.

She created drop cloth ruffled curtains for her office space. Charming and chippy old cupboard doors flank the window.

For a touch of whimsy, she mounted an antique screen door on the door frame. I love this idea and have a few places in my home where I could add an old door.

Her bedroom was an addition to the original house.  Corner windows, an original feature of the home, beadboard walls, ceiling, rustic shabby beams and hardwood floors were added to give it the same vintage feel as the rest of the home. Notice the shabby headboard behind the bed, I love the look!

A French armoire in soft gray, adds romantic charm to the master bath. What a beautiful room for relaxing and washing away the cares of the day.

This beautiful bathroom is in a little cottage on their property.

A vintage china cabinet that was her grandmothers now hold books and treasures. She painted it with chalk paint and let it unwaxed. Notice how all the books are turned backwards to allow the gilded edges to show.

 French Country Cottage, once dilapidated, has been transformed into a beautiful romantic home that’s been featured in Creating Vintage Charm and Romantic Home magazine! Be sure to stop by and say hello!

With so many great blogs all over the blog-o-sphere, Friday Feature is a way to showcase other bloggers while gaining lots of decorating inspiration. If you have a project or makeover that you think is feature worthy, please email me or leave a comment.

There are 2 more weeks left in the Tuesday Garden Party Link up, come on over and show off your green thumbs or plants.

I sure would appreciate your follow or subscribing in a reader!

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Thanks for visiting! Debbie (((xx)))

The Pink Giraffe is your one stop shop for monogrammed and personalized items.

Click on over to my giveaway page for all the details on how you could win this,

the ultimate Carry All Bag – Great for taking along whatever you need, monogramed just for you!

The winner of the giveaway from PrintRunner  is Bonnie and Trish from Uncommon. 

Thanks for visiting! Debbie (((xx)))

Combining flower shapes and colors is one of my favorite things about gardening. Contrasting flower colors can complement each other for an even more beautiful display and there are endless possibilities. 

Frey’s greenhouse is my go to place for inspiration.  I took these pictures while shopping there and I can shop there for hours!  Visiting your local garden center will give you lots of inspiration, that’s for sure.

A Black Velvet petunia is paired with yellow nasturtium and a bright orange Gerber Daisy.

This is Pretty Much Picasso Supertunia. It’s bright pink with a purple center and lime green around the edges of the flower.

This planter really WOWED me. I saw it as soon as I walked in the door and loved it! It’s got the perfect example of thrillers, fillers and spillers!

Some pots contain annuals and perennials. I think the light colored leaves in the right side of this pot are perennial Coral Bells.

You can check them out on Facebook to see more examples of their amazing combinations.

Now let’s get on to the Garden Party, here are 2 from last week.

The Handmade Housewife shared her repurposed book rack. I love the idea of using unusual things as planters.

Color Transformed Family showed off her lovely Purslane. This is a plant I have never tried, but I might now.

Thank you for linking up!

Our vegetable garden is planted now and the lettuce, sugar peas and Spring onions are doing well…..can’t wait for those juicy tomatoes!

If you don’t have anything about gardening or plants to link up this week, come back next Tuesday for another plant party link up and show off your dirty fingernails or green knees.  It’s fun digging in the dirt!

Please link back here in your post. Thank You!

Happy gardening, Debbie (((xx)))

Click on the pictures to be taken to the original post.

There’s lots of attention to detail, starting right here at the entry. It makes you very curious as to what you’ll see inside. I love the chicken wire on the door.

In the foyer you’re greeted with a painted wood floor. Holly painted the wood floors in the foyer kitchen and family room. They look amazing! sigh

There are vintage touches throughout her home, like the pallet planter above this door and the interesting old door leading to the basement.

Here’s the rug painted on the floor in her kitchen. She took out the island and replaced it with a new-old island that she made!  Now I’m thinking about doing this at my house….but I really need the storage space the island provides…..but I could use baskets….wire baskets…..hmmmm.  I can see it in my mind, but I doubt my husband would be able to! 

The wire shades on the pendant lights were once planters. That Holly is one clever gal!

In her master bedroom she’s created a romantic and restful space.

In one of her twin’s rooms, she made this headboard from barn doors. Every little boy would love this room. I think my grandson Jake would love it too!

Here’s a peek into her other son’s room. In this room she painted the brass headboard flat black and added pieces made from cast off fencing, pallet room, and tree stumps.

Be sure to read her Tricks of the Trade posts where shares some of her best kept decorating secrets. sshhhhh, don’t tell

In Holly’s own words, “I have an eye for reusable items that might add character (basically…JUNK).  Sometimes while we are driving in the car we’ll see things on the side of the road with a free sign on them …. my husband always speeds up at that point hoping I won’t notice….
I ALWAYS notice!”

Some people are just gifted like that! Thanks for inspiring us with your Down to Earth Style! 

With so many great blogs all over the blog-o-sphere, Friday Feature is a way to showcase other bloggers while gaining lots of decorating inspiration. If you have a project or makeover that you think is feature worthy, please email me or leave a comment.

Thanks for visiting! Debbie (((xx)))

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Lemon roll with pansies is a beautiful dessert for Mother’s day. It reminds me of a pretty dessert from a tea house and is perfect with hot tea.

The pansies are baked into the cake. If you want to impress your Mom, try this recipe! It makes such a pretty presentation that she’s sure to be impressed and so proud of you!  pat yourself on the back now

If you’ve never made a rolled dessert before, here’s my complete tutorial. It only looks difficult, actually it’s pretty easy.

Prepare a jelly roll pan which is about 16” x 10”. I used floured wax paper to line the pan but I think parchment paper is better, so use that if you have any.

Beat 5 egg yolks at high speed on an electric mixer 5 minutes or until thick and pale. Gradually add 1/3 cup sugar, beating well.  Stir in 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil and 1 teaspoon lemon extract.

Beat 5 egg whites in a large bowl at high speed until foamy. Gradually add 2/3 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time until soft peaks form and sugar is dissolved.   Gently fold the egg white mixture into the yolk mixture.

Combine 3/4 cup sifted cake flour, 1 and 1/4 teaspoons baking powder and a little salt and fold it into the egg mixture.    

Place pansies flowers face down on the waxed paper lined pan.

Spoon batter carefully over the pansies. I cover each pansy first and then fill in the spaces in between. Bake 350 for 12-15 minutes.

When cake is done, turn out onto paper towels sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar. Peel off the wax paper or parchment paper and turn cake pansy side down. Starting at the narrow end, roll up cake and paper towels together. Let cool.

For the filling, beat 8 ounces cream cheese and 4 tablespoons butter until creamy and then stir in 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons lemon curd.

Unroll the cake, spread on the filling and roll up again.

     Happy Mother’s Day!

It’s been about 14 months since my Mom has passed and I sure do miss her. No matter your circumstances or differences, cherish your time with your Mom and give her a hug from me!

Added to

Thanks for visiting! Debbie (((xx)))