Screened Porch Love

Hi and welcome to my porch. It was nice and warm this morning so I decided to have my coffee out here (while checking mail, blogs etc.) I live in a little country cottage and the porch is a very relaxing place to be. Since my wren family left the porch last week, I've been wanting to get out here and enjoy. You can read about my wrens here and here. (I'm so proud of those babies.)

Homie loves sitting out here.

Its a great spot to eat too.

Yes...its a big bowl of cereal with strawberries. And I ate it all!

This little screened porch is in the trees. It feels so nice when a breeze is blowing. I tried to keep accessories and furniture to a minimum because the porch is not too big and I like the focus to be on the natural beauty.

See what I mean about the trees?

The house is on a big hill. The banks are steep and covered with ivy.

This hardy hibiscus is coming along great.

The nandina is really nice on the side of the porch and the hostas always put on a big show with large leaves and flowers.

Look at the nandina flowers. It's an evergreen and produces clusters of bright red berries in fall and winter. Some call it invasive but mine is well behaved and I call it beautiful!

Oh look...a Gerbera daisy is coming back. Last year I planted three around the lamp post as annuals. I was jumping up and down when I saw it this spring. I didn't expect it to be a perennial in zone 7B.

This is a perennial bed to the left of the porch. It was grass but not any more.

A reflection of the porch and gravel path.

Stella de oro daylilies waking up.

Lookie here...a columbine volunteer.

This is another shot of the perennial bed. Not much blooming yet. Wait till next month though! There's knock-out roses, garden phlox, blanket flowers, yarrow, russian sage and coral bells. I like it much better than grass/weeds.

We can go back in this really old porch door.  I think it is sweet.

The mondo fern is trying to fill out. I said trying...

Looking out to my white bank garden. There's a white rose bush, white gaura, white shasta daisies, white mums, white salvia, lily of the valley and hostas in this area. It will explode in a few weeks with all white blooms.

Thank you so much for visiting my porch. I thank God for blessing me with all of this beauty that I enjoy every day.

Lets go to Kate, the Centsational Girl's Outdoor Party and to Tootsie's for Fertilizer Friday.

A Rose for You

An Iceberg Floribunda rose from my white garden for all my new bloggy friends. Thank you for the warm friendly welcome.

Sincerely,

KK

Who Cares if it Doesn't Work

Hello ladies (and men if you are out there please give me a hint.) I need to come clean. I have a serious disorder. Its a lamp disorder. I fall madly in love with my lamps. I love them dressed up, dressed down, naked, tall, short, working or not. I love them so much that I don't even bother replacing bulbs in overhead lights.  The overhead lights in my little rental cottage are not the pretty kind anyway. 

ALL of my lamps have been gently loved before. I can tell. There's too many lamps to properly describe today but I will show you MY FAVORITE of all my lamps (for now.) The lamps are not jealous of each other because they all get their shining moments and time with me. Just like one of my other thrifty lamps that I posted about here just the other day and that just happened to be FEATURED by Rhoda yesterday at Southern Hospitality!  Thank you Rhoda!

Let me tell you how me and this lamp got together. The Christian Outreach Thrift Store was having a yard sale. You know the price is going to be right if the thrift store is having a yard sale. However, when I pulled up, it was not a pretty scene. A bunch of shopping carts and boxes were just lined up outside the door. Mostly clothes. Boo. Nothing was displayed or organized nice at all. I took a quick glance around so I wouldn't look snobby. Not seeing anything of interest and feeling defeated, I started to leave. Whoa not so fast KK...Is that something Sparkling? Metal? Clear Glass? Yes, Yes and Yes! I had to look closer. It all happened so quickly. As soon as I saw her, she was MINE.  I asked how much? The lady said, "It doesn't work. You can have it for $2.00." Oh my Goodness!

So Without further Ado...here she is...insert audience clapping...

Her thin little cord was frayed and very old but her round, clear glass body is upheld by a narrow glass pedastal which stands upon a beautiful marble base.

The hardware is brass with a beautiful aged patina. I usually don't like brass but she is different!

I like her so much that I display her as she is. Non-working and nakedly beautiful with her harp showing proudly.

I think she fits in flawlessly.

I do love my lamps. More lamps are coming soon! It is so cold and rainy today (as you can tell by the dark pictures.) I need to go upstairs to get my thrifty quilt out. Come on up to my bedroom in the trees. (You can get a sneak peek at my bed that I painted.)

I love listening to the rain and looking out my bedroom window while in bed. The bedroom is 2.5 stories above ground and feels like a tree house. OK...back to the quilt.

I found this beautiful quilt at The First United Methodist yard sale last year. I love going to church sales. The ladies usually have the nicest stuff. I can't remember how much I paid but it couldn't have been much. Trust me.  I believe it is queen size. The tag is JC Penny Home Collection. The quilting and fabrics are perfect. I think the pillow I found at the Salvation Army for $2.50 looks great with the quilt.

Look at the colors and stitching.

Time to lay down and listen to the birds singing in the rain.

Thank you for stopping by today. Do you love your lamps? Do you love quilts like me? Listening to birds sing in the rain?
KK

I'm linking up with these fun parties. Come on lets Party:

http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/2011/05/mantel-makeover-and-wow-us-wednesdays.html

    

2nd Time Around Tuesday at A Picture is worth a 1,000 Words

Freshening up KKs Place: The Dining Area

Last year, I started to lighten and de-clutter my home. I started painting everything white. I painted little frames, side tables, candle holders, baskets etc. I added white curtain panels, pillows and throws. I donated and gave away car loads of non-white stuff. But my shiny, orangy table, and chairs were standing in the way of progress in the dining area.  The chair cushions were way way past their reasonably expected lifetime. This is a bad picture but you get the idea. See what I mean?

The table and chairs looked horrible and blended right into the floor. (I can't use rugs--ask my dogs why.)

So what do you do when you want to paint your first piece of furniture? You go to blog land of course! There are so many creative bloggers providing inspiration  for painting newbies like me. Cindy at My Romantic Home and Miss Mustard Seed have great painting tutorials.

Look at my table and chairs now.

I haven't distressed the chairs yet. I am liking them as they are for now. I bought the lace tablecloth at a yardsale for $1.00.

I recovered the chair cushions in a linen fabric that I bought at Habitat Re-store for $2.00. I found the pillow (that is sideways) at the thrift store for $5.00. It was new and had Bed Bath and Beyond tags.

I love the way the dining area came out. It is light and fresh. This space is in one large room that includes the living area, the dining area and my office. I have re-done each of the areas and  I'll post about the living and office areas soon. What do you think?

I'm linking my dining area re-do with these fun parties.

http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/2011/05/mantel-makeover-and-wow-us-wednesdays.html

You Can Find Me in the Garden

I enjoyed my coffee on the porch this morning. I couldn't help but admire the blue hydrangea and the delicate new guinea impatiens.

My mondo fern is starting to get comfortable and spread out. 

My daughter gave me the hydrangea for Easter and my son gave me the impatiens for Mother's Day. I love my gift-giving kids and my gifts that keep on giving. 

I think I will keep this baby protected on the porch.

I'm lovin this blue!

I had to go on out and look a little closer. I see my little yard bed trying to show off! It's like the plants are trying their best to out-do each other and bloom first. There is lilac garden phlox, russian sage, coral bells and monstrous yarrow. They will all bloom in a few weeks.

 I love the plum coral bells.

I did not expect the yarrow to get this big so fast. I planted them last summer.

 The coral bells look so pretty with raindrops on the leaves.

The star jasmine my daughter gave me last year for my birthday is waking up. She has a few pretty white blooms and the light green leaves are fresh and healthy.

This is my first ever volunteer. I found this columbine last summer in the gravel path. it has bloomed continuously this Spring.

I think the white whirling butterfly gauras are trying to get taller than me. They started blooming this week.

These gauras were planted last summer. They bloomed all the way through fall. I am very impressed with these babies!

My youngest daughter gave me this iceberg rose last year for Mother's Day. It is looking so pretty this year. Yes, I have trained my kids well.

 This hosta is spreading out! I love the white and green.

I forgot the name of this pretty red and yellow daisy-like flower. It is starting to open some spectacular blooms.

Another pic of this beauty.

This is a garden newbie. My son gave me this dark pink gaura for Mother's Day last week. It has started bloomimg.

 Thought I'd sit down with the beauties. Can't wait till the russian sage joins in the bloomin fun.

Well that's all for today. Stay tuned there's way more garden blooms coming soon! I'm sharing my garden goodness over at Tootsies for Fertilizer Friday and over at the beautiful Fishtail Cottage for Flora Thursday. Go take a look. You won't be sorry.

KK