Garden Starlets

Hello friends...Today I want to showcase a few of my garden stars of late May. My Stella daylilies have woke up from a long winter nap. The yellow is so pretty against the fence and between the Origami Columbines and Star Jasmine.

The Hibiscus that is growing about 2" every day!

This is Veronica Speedwell. The dark pink spikes are looking pretty healthy beside the periwinkle vines. They seem miniature compared to the Salvia.

This shows part of my white garden. More Salvia, Shasta Daisies, white coneflowers (almost blooming) and hostas.

I took this geranium inside last fall and it survived! Now its blooming.

I love this lemon yellow flower. My landlord gave it to me last year and I can't remember what it is. Anybody know its name?

The bee sure likes it! It is full of buds.

One of my hydrangeas is starting to bloom! I have two more that are close by but are not showing off yet...

More of my white garden. My favorite...twirling butterfly gaura. The pics do NOT show the true beauty of this flower. It blooms from spring to fall. We've had so much rain that it is a little too tall but seems to be holding up pretty good. I love these babies. From a distance they do look like little butterflies whirling around.

My knockouts are busy working on their second flush of pretties.

This is my first coneflower volunteer (I think). It is very tall! Like I said, we have had a very rainy spring.

The coneflowers are getting ready to bloom.

My second pet flower is the Russian Sage. The lavender spikes are forming now. The foilage is chest high now so I don't know if they will be able to hold 2-3 feet flowering spikes.

The reflection in the mirror shows the gaura whirling around in the distance. Star Jasmine is in front of the mirror.

I made this path to the back yard about three years ago. I love the river pebbles beside the flowers. The columbine seeds like to jump over too.

The blanket flowers are a bright spot of color and seem to be holding up the yard bed while the rest of the neighbors are getting their show together.

More of the Russian Sage. Did I say that I LOVE these? When they are in full bloom, the lavender color is so pretty beside the red knockouts.

This is one of my mums that I planted last fall. All eight are about to bloom. I have read that they should be pinched back so you will have a full bloom in the fall. I believe that if a flower wants to bloom then it should be allowed to bloom! My plan is that after it blooms I will cut it back by late June and I will get another bloom for fall. Does anyone know if this will work?

 

  

I love the color of this varigated liriope. It is very cheerful and will bloom very nice lavender spikes next month. 

Another picture of the white garden and the whirling butterflies...I told you I love these. The liriope was here when I moved in. It makes a great border for the garden. They are well established and the blooms are lavender.

This shows a corner of the back yard. I haven't done much work back here yet. I've been told that the very tall thing is poke salad. A lot of people here in the south cook it and eat it like greens. It is about 10 feet tall!

 The nandina is so pretty. I love the flower clusters. You can see it still has red berries from winter too.

 Lavender garden phlox is almost blooming. I have several of these spread around here and there.

 Maybe the shastas will be open by next week.

See the gaura whirling around behind the shastas?

 

Just because I love the gaura!

Just because I love the Russian Sage.

Don't think that he doesn't have a plan. This is the view from my desk. See why I don't like to go to work? If only I could sit here and look out all day!

Pretty determined little guy! Gonna get himself some meal worms.

My Easter gift hydrangea is STILL looking great on the porch along with my Mother's Day gift New Guinea Impatiens.

Thats all I have for this week. Go on over to Tootsies for Fertilizer Friday. You won't be sorry. Have a beautiful Memorial Day weekend.

Powder Room Makeover

Hello friends... today I have a little makeover.

My cottage is a rental unit in a duplex home. I've lived here six years and I have suffered for six years with a powder room that was just plain ugly! Beware: you have been warned.

The walls would make you dizzy and nauseous. It was embarrassing. The stick on floor tiles were as bad as the wallpaper...trust me. The powder room is the only bathroom downstairs, so when guest would come over...this is where they had to go if they had to go. Its very small...4x4 feet, so it was hard to get pictures.

Early this year, every time I went in there, I would rip little pieces of wallpaper off that were coming loose. Pretty soon, all around the toilet and sink area, the paper was gone. My logic was to get the bathroom to a state where I would be motivated to fix it because it would be too late to turn back. I went ahead and started the makeover pretty quickly. My landlord agreed to deduct the cost of materials from my rent (read: very very small budget.)

Man oh man...I hate wallpaper. Even in this small room, it was a job getting it all off. I tried a solution that I picked up at Lowes...not much help. I ended up using hair conditioner mixed with warm water in a spray bottle. It took me a few days (I tend to lose interest in projects after I start them.)

After the paper was gone, I spackled the areas where sheetrock peeled with the paper. A good friend helped me take up the old floor tiles.

Next up...primer and paint. The paint is First Light by Olympic. This was my first attempt ever to paint walls. I stalled for a few days until my friend came back and she painted the bathroom. I painted all of the trim and door white.

We laid Armstrong sticky floor tiles (fake wood look.) I still have a few more small pieces of floor to finish, calking, add new shoe molding and sew a sink skirt but the room is basically finished. I am not embarrassed of my little powder room any more! Here she is...

I found the shadow box on sale at an antique store for $3.00. I'm still looking for something to place on the wall behind the commode. I replaced the medicine cabinet with this mirror that I found at Habitat Re-store for $7.00. I like it much better.

I found ALL of the decor at thrifty shops. I really like the crystal egg with a little birdie on the lid ($1.25) that I found at The Habitat Re-store. The number blocks came from Salvation Army for $2.00. The apothecary jars and shells--yard sales. I can't remember where I got the crystal kiss.

 I need a larger frame for this treasured picture. This is me and my youngest son who is 23 now. We had it taken at Central City, Colorado in 1989. Central City used to be a tourist town showcasing the old gold mining town. Now it's a gambling town and most of the historic building were gutted. Boo.

One last picture. This powder room makeover (paint, flooring and decor) was less than $75.00 but it made a HUGE difference. I am not embarrassed for my guest to go in there now.

Do you think it is  nicer? What would you put behind the commode that would not be too much with the mirror and shadow box? Have you ever seen a powder room this small? Do you think a sink skirt will make the room appear even smaller? Thanks for looking. :-))

I'm linking with these fun parties this week. Click the buttons to go to the parties! Thank you ladies for hosting the fun!

 

White Pears

Hello...I hope everyone had a beautiful weekend. I know that I did. I enjoyed spending time with a few of my girlfriends. We ate very good, drank some refreshing beverages :-) and talked till 3 AM last night.

I want to show you my pears. I really really like them.

A few weeks ago I bought 3 pears for $1.00 at our Hospice Thrift Store. They looked OK as they were but I knew they would look sooo much nicer in white. Here they are after 2 coats of white spray paint. I bought the little pewter bowl for .50 cents. It is marked Jostens Pewter Paul Revere Reproduction. I priced several on Ebay from $10.00 - $25.00! I also got the little angel candlestick for .50 cents. I think $2.00 is a great price for all these pretties. I almost wrapped them in jute but I'm liking them white. How do you think the pears look in white?

I'm linking this little pear makeover with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday and with Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for Thrifty Treasures Monday. Go visit both parties and you will be inspired with other makeovers and thrifty treasures.

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Miss Cup

We have three dogs living here at the cottage and you can read their doggie profiles on my Dogs Page. They all have interesting stories to tell but today I want to tell you about my fourth dog, my Granddog. Back in 2005, my daughter Brittany was 15 when her Grandmother, Sweet Ella, passed away unexpectedly. Britt was so sad.


A family friend asked if she could give Britt a puppy for Christmas. We thought it would help her through her grieving. She named her new puppy Reese Cup, AKA Miss Cup. She is a chihuahua mixed with fiest. When Miss Cup was delivered, she was so tiny and didn't weigh more than a few pounds.


My younger daughter was holding Miss Cup when all of a sudden Miss Cup jumped out of her hands and fell to the hardwood floor. We all rushed to pick up Miss Cup to check her for injuries. My Mom was here for Christmas and she picked up Miss Cup first. Mom is a RN and knew Miss Cup was severely injured. Miss Cup went lifeless and quit breathing. Both my daughters were crying. Brittany cried out, "do something MawMaw." Mom sprung into action and began giving Miss Cup CPR. She gave her a few breaths and chest compressions. Miss Cup started breathing again. Whew...things were very turbulent there for a few minutes.


We knew Miss Cup was still in danger because her breathing was very labored and raspy. Each breath seemed like it could be the last. We decided to take her to the Emergency hospital for pets. The doctor said there wasn't much hope but they could try admittng Miss Cup and putting her on IV fluids. Her chest and head were severely bruised. Well...we didn't have the money and told them we would take her home. A few minutes later, the Dr. came back in the room and offered to "put her down" for $60.00. This was very upsetting for a 9 and 15 year old to hear. When we refused, they tried the guilt line of...It's cruel to let her suffer like this. Girls are crying...I asked them to prescribe something that would possibly help Miss Cup recover at home. They sent us away with an antibiotic that maybe would help her not get pnemonia because she had possibly aspirated fluid in her lungs. We went home pretty scared. Every breath Miss Cup took was painful for her and us.


Britt cradled her puppy all night. She didn't get any sleep for 4-5 days because she was afraid Miss Cup would die. Slowly, Miss Cup recovered. She will be five years old this Christmas. We all love her so much. She is spoiled rotten. When Britt went away to college in 2008, she was so lonely without her baby. She only lived in the dorm for one semester. She then rented an apartment and came home to get her car and Miss Cup. I want to share a few pictures.

Miss Cup living the good life. Myrtle Beach ~2011

 Miss Cup and Britt. Myrtle Beach ~ 2011

I get to keep Miss Cup when her Mom goes out of town. It's my pleasure. ~2011

Miss Cup at home in Chapel Hill, NC ~2010

Miss Cup with Aunt Mara. ~2009

 I painted up this little doll bed for Miss Cup.

A bed fit for the Princess that she is!

Christmas~2009

Ms. Cup's Profile

Miss Cup giving her Momma some love.

Thank you so much for reading about our dear sweet  dog...Miss Cup. I am linking up with Donna at Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Night Special Pets link up in honor of her dear Beethoven. Go on over to read about beautiful Beethoven and more sweet pet stories.