Flower Power!

One of my favorite flowers are hydrangeas. I've grown these beautiful bushes for several years and have always enjoyed watching their little buds expand into large, round orbs of color. Normally, there would be a few dozen blooms, so, as I was telling my lovely friend Tracie at Fishtail Cottage, I never cut them for inside use. I didn't want the bushes to look too sparse by taking their color away. This year, however, I am pleased to say that the bushes have doubled in size and the number of blooms is amazing! They are mainly blue, ranging from a pale, ice blue shade to one with touches of purple. I purchased a nice wooden bench at a recent yard sale, which is currently sitting in front of the largest bush. It will be placed underneath the maple tree as soon as I complete a level spot for it. Nothing in this yard is level! I thought that the bench would make a nice place for my daughter to sit while watching the kids play and will mark the entry to the garden I have dedicated to my mom, called "Angel's Walk". Mom collected angels and loved flowers.

LOVE my pink wellies from the same yard sale as the bench and my hat from last year's trip to the beach!

As I said, I was so impressed with the number of blooms this season that I cut a large bunch the other day and brought them inside. I arranged them into a vase and set it on the mantel, then sat back and admired their beauty. Of course, I snapped a few pictures!

I also took a small bouquet and placed it into my thrift store pink vase for my bedside table. They look so pretty here, next to my old world style clock, Madonna and Jesus statue and wonderful painted and adorned bottle made by sweet friend Rosemary at Villabarnes. Waking up to little decorative touches like these really starts my day off on a happy note!

My day lilies have also gone wild this year, after being moved from the side yard. I think that the soil in the front is better and they get more sun. I love the little yellow-orange ones called "popcorn" and all the shades of purple! I also planted a red yarrow earlier in the spring and it too has grown leaps and bounds! My front bed overhaul is not quite complete. I still want another yarrow, a few white cone flowers and maybe some pink ones as well and a few lariope to line the border. Is that it? I'll have to check my list. I've just increased the bed's depth but may have to dig more out to accomodate everything LOL! I don't think I'll get much done outside this weekend however, as our temperature has moved up into the 100's, but I have plenty of indoor projects to keep me busy until it "cools" back down into the 90's. I'll keep you posted!

Thank you so much for stopping by! Have a wonderful weekend! Hugs, Leena

Linking to Fishtail Cottage's Garden Party

Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Nite Special

Creative Country Mom's Sunday Open House

Beachy-keen Give-away at Seawashed!

Seawashed is having a wonderful give-away of beautiful beach-inspired goodies! I love the beach and this blog makes me almost feel like I'm there. It's great for a little glimpse of what I crave! If you're interested, please click the link above and join in the fun! Thanks! Hugs, Leena

More Crazy Critters!

I swear, Dr. Doolittle has been on the crazy train to la la land lately, or something! We have had so many weird animal encounters recently that I'm beginning to think that we really DO live in a zoo! Let's see, there's the moth that got in the bedroom and insisted upon landing on Jim's head and face, repeatedly and the fire fly that perched on Abigail's nose, then blinked and walked all over her face, making he cross-eyed as she tried to watch it. The other day, Jim walked out to the back yard and was immediately attacked by four robins, screaming and diving at his head! I think that they were moving their babies and were upset that he had disturbed them. The other night, it was the frog peeking in the windows next to our front door. We've lived here 9 years and I've never seen one frog before! Yesterday, I was mowing the lawn and as I worked along the fence, a tiny baby rabbit ran through it and right in front of the mower! He headed towards the deck and stood there for a while looking at me. I was so happy that I'd seen him! Today, as we were headed to Jim's appointment at the Wound Clinic, a huge "thing" swooped in front of my car. It was a turkey buzzard joining his group of friends who were hanging around the drainage ditch by the side of the road. These things are gigantic and SO ugly! After the appointment, we spotted three deer in some body's front yard on the other side of town. I stopped to take their picture and they just went about their business, like dining in a neighborhood front yard was an every day occurrence.

This afternoon, I was in my backyard and spotted two bunnies eating on my neighbor's front lawn. They too did not seem disturbed at having their pictures taken. We have a lot of bunnies around here, but usually don't see them until nightfall.

I don't know the reason for all of these recent sightings - full moon over Critter Country? Whatever it is, it's fun to see them, even entertaining at times. Well, unless they're trying to peck your head. Jim wasn't so amused by that one!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day! Hugs, Leena

Creature Feature!

Jim and I were going out to grab a quick dinner the other night, when I noticed this little visitor, hanging out on the side-light windows next to our front door.

I called Jim to come look at him, then my daughter came running to take pictures and the little grand babies came to see what was going on and everybody stared at and commented on and got a good laugh at this little guy. His neck was going in and out and his little eyes would blink when we took his picture and he had the cutest little suction-cup toes! Just look at that pudgy little belly! My daughter also went outside to take a picture of the unusual design on his back.

With the woods and the WO&D railroad trail behind us, we never know what critters we'll encounter, but they're always fun to find! Well, the opossum skull wasn't so fun to find, but that's another story! LOL!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day! Hugs, Leena

Vintage by Nina Give-away!

Savvy City Farmer is holding a give-away for this outstanding book, Vintage By Nina! Just look at these gorgeous photos from the book:

I think I'll need a bib to read this one - I'll be drooling all over it! Head on over to Savvy City Farmer's blog and enter before June 13th! While you're there, enjoy the many wonderful posts and photos - I love this blog! Hurry! You don't want to miss this one! Hugs, Leena

Fairy Dust - Magical and Cute!

I recently completed a project that I absolutely fell in love with! Have you ever made something, then sat back and looked at it once completed and it just made you smile and giggle? This project was one of those!

I found a few cute little jars recently at a local thrift store and knew they would be good for something fun. I filled one with a mixture of pink and white sand and iridescent glitter. Then, I hot glued a pink patterned fabric yo-yo to the front and little black alphabet letters that spelled out "FAIRY DUST". On top of the lid, I placed another pink yo-yo and some wonderful white marabou feathers - I LOVE using these whimsical, flirty elements! In the center of the top, I placed a vintage image that I found on The Graphics Fairy website, hand colored and added HUGE butterfly wings to. A few little jewels and some glitter and my fairy was complete. I placed her on a coiled wire so she wiggles back and forth, almost like she's flittering and flying! I love this little project and hope you will too! Any time I can play with graphics, glitter and marabou, it's a great day!

I'm sharing this with Inspired By Charm. It's the Completely Random Link Up Party! Come on by and take a look at all the great projects shared by other bloggers. Thanks for coming by and have a great night! Hugs, Leena

Lowe's Gift Card Give-away!

Courtney at French Country Cottage, is holding a give-away for a Lowe's gift card. Who couldn't use a little extra MOOla to perk up their home and/or garden? I know I sure could! Click on the link above to enter! Thanks for stopping by and good luck!!
Hugs, Leena

Vintage By Nina book give-away at Villabarnes

My sweet friend Rosemary, at Villabarnes, is having a fantastic give-away for an autographed copy of Vintage by Nina! Rosemary writes:

"Nina Hartmann is an internationally known stylist of interiors and purveyor of vintage treasures. For the past eight years, Nina has run the vintage and antiques shop vintagebynina.com, and has a showroom in Sweden. Nina's style, love of design, and unique vintage items, have made her one of the most respected and talked about figures of design and style in Scandinavia.

Nina is also quite generous. She has autographed a copy of her stunning book for me to give away."

Be sure to click on the link above and enter to win this gorgeous and inspirational book!
Hugs, Leena