Dreaming of Spring

We have had an unusually snowy winter here in Richmond this year. As a teacher, I have loved getting some snow days, but now I am ready for sunshine, warm breezes, leaves and flowers sprouting, and spending some much needed time outside.

I hung my spring/summer wreath on the front door yesterday, a simple DIY you can find here, and I am not embarrassed to say I have had my spring mantle up since I took down my Christmas decorations. The time between Christmas and spring is a weird time for decorating anyway. By the time Christmas is over I am done with winter and am ready for spring, so I figure why not bring spring inside. 

Here is my spring mantle look. I created it with items found around my house, which is the best kind of decorating because its free! 

I love the pops of greenery for a fresh bright look. The yellow birdie was a Hobby Lobby find a few years ago (although I feel like they often have things like that), and the fresh tulips are from Trader Joe's. I was lucky and happened to be in Trader Joe's when the tulips were on special for $1.99 a bunch. Prices like that make splurging on fresh flowers an easy decision!

Even though there is leftover snow outside of my window right now, a weather forecast of temperatures in the 60s this week, and coming home to this cheery front door, give me hope that spring is closer than I think. 

Summer Design Inspiration

If you read my last post, Dream House Tour, you know I have been in a decorating/design mood recently. Maybe I am going though virtual nesting? You know, still sitting with my feet propped up but happy to spend time redecorating and organizing my home via Pinterest. Am I on to something here? Could I trademark that phrase?

Annnnnyway, I was excited when I was recently contacted by Shutterfly to see if I was interested in sharing their Summer Decorating Inspiration Board here on the blog. They used the colors green and white with pops of orange to create a bright summery feel. I love the combo of colors and am excited to share it with you.

L to R: table setting, wall art, living room, ice tea, snowdrops, kitchen design

So, what do you think? I am loving that grellow shade of green and the pop of orange on the poppy plates. If done poorly green and orange can definitely leave you with a 70's gone wrong kind of feel, but in the right shades, and with a balance of white, it feels fresh, bright, and modern.

After looking at the Shutterfly Summer Decorating Inspiration Board I got inspired and decided to find my own green and orange design ideas. Here are some of my favorites, via my favorite, Pinterest:

Dream House Tour

I want to start this post by saying that I love my sweet little house. I can't imagine being anywhere else right now, but it is fun to daydream...

My dream house would have some land and be a little rural, but also be within 10-15 minutes of important things like more than one grocery store, Target, a good variety of restaurants, a salon, etc... Does that even exist?


A view of the mountains wouldn't hurt either.


A sunroom would be a must.


I would have a big and cozy kitchen with lots of storage and a fireplace.


In this heart of the home I would can lots of yummies...


...Fresh from my garden out back.


And speaking of the outdoors, we would need fantastic outdoor living spaces in the back and the front of the house.



Oh Pinterest is so fun. I could keep going and going! Check out all of my other design ideas on my Pinterest boards.

Hello, Spring {Mantle}!

Finally, what I have been waiting for since January....spring! Sure it may not feel like it (it was snowy here this morning), but the calendar telling me its spring means we are one step closer to the real thing.

I don't have any spring decorations to speak of, but with a change in the seasons I was in the mood for some bright pops of spring around the house. If it doesn't feel like spring outside it might as well feel like it inside, right?

One spot that could use a little decorating love in my house is my mantel. It looks good in the fall and at Christmas, but during the rest of the year we are in a fight. I am never happy with how its decorated. When I got this recent urge for spring decor, what I really wanted to do was go to Hobby Lobby and explore all of their fun springy decorations. I knew they would have what I needed to create some fabulous over the top mantle decoration, but for a girl on a budget that wasn't an option.

I got resourceful (as a kindergarten teacher and budget savvy diva are prone to do) and scrounged around the house to see what I could find.

Here is what I came up with:

The yellow bird has lived on my mantel off and on for a year or so now and he came from Hobby Lobby. The beautiful daffodils came out of my yard and the Ball jar out of my cabinet. The robins eggs are votive candles that my Grammie brought me as a hostess gift in January. The raffia nest was part of the packaging and the ribbon on the Ball jar came tied around the candle box (that is why it is kind of crinkly and wonky). I nestled all of those things in a fruit dish, also from my kitchen cabinet.

So, what do you think? I am very happy with how it turned out. It is simple and sweet, although once the daffodils die I am SOL again since I cut all of the good ones out of my yard, but for now it is a happy promise of the warm spring weather to come.

Do you ever go shopping in your house when you get the urge to decorate? It is fun to see what you can come up with!

Happy spring!

Something More Addicting Than Pinterest?

I didn't think there was room in my social media life for something beyond Pinterest but...it. has. happened. You need to know about houzz.com. It is the site that many say is equally or more addicting than Pinterest, and I agree! It is different from Pinterest because it is only photos and ideas of "home design, decorating and remodeling ideas and inspiration, kitchen and bathroom design" and nothing else. Anyone can visit the website and view the photos, but making a free account allows you to save the photos you like and create a profile (I of course made an account right away!)

The site is very well organized and you can view photos (over 500,000) filtered by space (think bedroom, bathroom, landscaping, porch, etc, etc) and style (traditional, contemporary, tropical...). Many of the pictures have comments from other houzz members on what is the in the pic--brands, where to find items, etc. You can explore products related to home design and decor which are filtered by type of product and style AND it gives you the price of the item and where you can buy it...awesome. Houzz also offers ideabooks, which is a great way to view put together looks if you have trouble putting the pieces together yourself. There is a discussion page and links to professionals in all areas relating to home design and decorating. W-O-W!

Let me tell you, this site is amazing! I guess it is time to play the lottery because my dream house is calling my name. Seriously though, there are also tons of ideas that do not require mega millions to become a reality and I love that there are so many resources available on the site--where to purchase similar items, measurements for recreating the look, details about the products, and more (check out the comments on pictures you like). I think I have to say for home design and decorating my go to will now be houzz (shhhh, don't tell...I feel like I am cheating on Pinterest) You must check it out and find me while you are there--searthur. See you in design land! P.S. I also have the free app for my iPad and it is just as fabulous. It is easy to use and navigate and is laid out really well.

Here are some pics that I have saved to my houzz profile:

Traditional Porch design by Los Angeles Architect Tim Barber LTD Architecture & Interior Design

Traditional Porch design by Minneapolis Interior Designer Lucy Interior Design

Traditional Landscape design by Minneapolis General Contractor John Kraemer & Sons

Traditional Kitchen design by Boston Kitchen And Bath Venegas and Company

Have you tried houzz yet? If so, what do you think? Let me know your user name so I can look you up and check out your pics! :) Happy decorating!

*This post is all my own opinion and was not solicited by houzz

Hello, yellow!

A few months ago I came across this picture on Pinterest:

Source: http://thecreativemama.com/simple-spruces/

And so began my love affair with a yellow front door. I couldn't get that door off of my mind...I had to have it! Because our house has hardboard siding it means that it needs to be repainted every so often so that the boards stay in good shape. Well, wouldn't you know it is time for our house to be repainted...hello, yellow!

Today we stopped by Benjamin Moore (this is the paint our painter uses--Hubby and I are not DIYers, especially when it comes to painting a house!) and I think we have decided on our color scheme. I am loving Benjamin Moore's Platinum Gray for the siding and Hawthorne Yellow for the door. The Hawthorne Yellow seems to be the perfect buttery shade that I am looking for. If we are being honest here, I also like that it is one of Benjamin Moore's Spring/Summer 2012 Pottery Barn colors...I am a little obsessed with Pottery Barn. We would do the trim white and the shutters black. I am a classic girl and love that this would still be classic on our colonial style house but the yellow will add a fun modern twist.

Do any of you have or dream of a fun colored front door? What do you think of my paint choices? Once the painting is done (sometime this summer) I will post a before and after pic!