Enough. Rain. I am going out into the garden anyway!

My honeysuckle vine is thriving, climbing all over last year's vines and this pretty iron trellis which began as part of a discarded storm door. I am so glad I saved it from the trash pile. I wish I had a few more of them! Can you imagine what an iron trellis like this would cost?


Everything is beginning to bud, little bits of growth everywhere.  When the sunshine and warm weather arrives, my garden is going to explode. The mulch is down, still deep brown and actually a pretty backdrop for the emerging green stems.


The Lady's Mantle in my garden has served me well. I can't tell you how many times I have divided it and planted bits and pieces of it all over my garden. My favorite thing about this plant is the foliage. I now buy perennials for their foliage rather than the flowers it may or may not have. The foliage is there all season, and many perennial blooms come and go. The leaves are really pretty and I love that when it rains all the drops bead up and sparkle. The flowers it will have later are pretty too, a beautiful lime green--rather tiny and airy--which contrast beautifully among the deep red and pink roses it surrounds.


This little ornament I purchased on clearance last year at Hobby Lobby will be used to cover a new annual when I begin to plant them. The bunnies won't be able to nibble. The goldens are another story. One nudge from the nose and it'll be tipped over.


Marley seems content to just check it out. Home Depot has a sale on perennials--3 for $10 so I plan on visiting this weekend and picking up a few additions to my garden.


My helpers {aka Marley and Breeze} will be anxious to see me in the garden more as well. Although Marley loves to be outside every minute of the day watching the birds, chewing sticks, and chasing bunnies, Breeze wants to be by my side. We're all looking forward to the beautiful blooms to come!

Spring has arrived... at least on my kitchen table...

Tulips from the market to get me in the spirit...

I love the bright pink with a touch of white around the edges...


Placed inside a silver champagne cooler. I do need another one of these--I am always finding great uses for it around the house and the during the holidays as well.


There's something about a touch of silver that just makes everything more beautiful. Even if it is from the thrift store!


The tulips are actually in a small pottery crock tucked in the cooler.   I'm hoping the warm weather of Spring arrives soon.... next stop, the nursery for perennials!



Linking this post to these great parties & blogs:
Photo Feature Friday at A Rosy Note
Pink Saturday
Tatertots & Jello

Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground
My Romantic Home
Fishtail Cottage 
French Country Cottage

and my own party... Share the Love Wednesday--Click the party button below to link up!

Easter blessings were definitely sent my way by Patti, my partner for an Easter tag swap I participated in! The swap was hosted by Sandy at 521 Lake Street.

Wrapped in two vintage embroidered tea towels were these fabulous little cards...

Sweet vintage Easter illustrations cut out delicately and layered upon a pretty combination of scrapbook papers...



...layered with ribbon and trims, and touches of glitter {love glitter}. I can tell that each little detail was chosen with care, enhancing the beauty of the original illustration.


 She used punches to craft some of her accents, I recognize the little bird covered in glitter and flowers as punched shapes.


Each one is truly a work of art and I will treasure them always. I was thinking of how I could clip them to the vintage window frame that's on my mantel, or perhaps make a garland banner out of them.


Right now they're displayed like pretty candies in a tiered serving dish. I showed them off at Easter and have picked them up each day to admire their beauty and Patti's artistry.

She also included this beautiful card that is hanging on my bulletin board in my office...


I must be the luckiest girl at the swap! Don't you agree? Stop by Patti's blog at http://paintinpatti.typepad.com/ and see all of her beautiful creations!

Thanks so much to everyone who linked up last week. I'm going to highlight last week's link later in the week since this post is sooooo long! Okay, let's get this week's party started! A few reminders...

• Link to one specific post you want to feature, not your whole blog (to do this, click on the title of the post you want to link and it will open on it's own page, then copy that url). Any post will work--no theme!
• Please link back to the party so that others can find it. Grab my cute button (code is on my sidebar)  to include in your post or somewhere on your blog; text links are fine too.
• If you have clicked around my blog and like what you see, consider being follower!
• Try to visit a few other links if you can. Everybody loves comments and encouragement!

 

I'm linking this post to:
Time Travel Thursday at Brambleberry Cottage
Vintage Thingy Thursday at the Colorado Lady
All things Merry & Bright 
Savvy Southern Style 
Tea Rose Home
Blue Cricket Design 

Check out these Easter goodies on sale at JoAnn Fabrics for 70% off! A pretty pastel door wreath...

A sweet chick and egg sprinkled with glitter {love glitter} that ended up being $1.49 on clearance! I'm wondering what other pieces they may have had earlier in the season that went with this collection.


This last find has nothing to do with Easter, but they were a great price and on my way to the checkout line I passed their dollar section featuring some great colors of glitter glue--I really like the turquoise.


I like to find holiday decorations on clearance at the end of a season. Besides the great prices, I have just had all my other Easter decorations {you can see them by clicking here} out and know what I might like for the next year and what I don't need.

Linking this post to
Coastal Charm Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays
Running With Glitter

Linking this post to:
The Shabby Chic Cottage
Under the Table and Dreaming Sunday Showcase
Good Life Wedensdays at A Beach Cottage
Elements Interiors
White Wednesday at Faded Charm
Weekend Wrap Up
Show & Tell Friday 
Vintage Inspiration Friday @ Common Ground 
House  In The Roses
Between Naps on the Porch 
Amaze Me Monday @ Dittle Dattle 

On a recent trip to Harvard, IL for a golden retriever rescue transport, I made plans to stop along every thrift, resale and antique shop I could find, along with one estate sale. As long as I am making a road trip,  I try to plan a little vintage- finding-fun along the way!

A Salvation Army thrift shop in McHenry just a few finds...

The brass deer bookend would actually be fine as is, but it would also be pretty sweet painted shabby white. I've seen this motif so often in the past year.  Not sure which direction I will take on it.


My favorite is this little planter--a sweet baby bear pulling a cart.  Such a happy little bear and I  can surely find something fun to place in that cute little cart! There aren't any marks on the piece so I'm not sure of it's maker. Anybody have any clues?

 

My next stop was to pick up Gibbs, a 2 year old golden who needed transporting to his foster family. This guy has a bit of a reputation as an escape artist, opening gates (and teaching other dogs the same trick), eating anything (gloves, water bottles, a phone!) and is most definitely in need of a permanent home and some obedience training. I don't always use a crate for transport, many times a safety harness to the seat belt will do. I was forewarned that this job required a crate to keep the puppy out of trouble and ensure a safe trip.


 Here's a quick shot of him through the crate in my back seat... he kept me too busy while on a leash to even think about snapping his picture! What I enjoy about the transport job in volunteering is that there isn't a long term commitment and I get to meet a lot of great dogs while helping them find their forever home. And, of course, the side trips along the way!

Linking to
My Romantic Home
Brambleberry Cottage

Wow--so many great links from last week but two really stood out. The first one I've been watching the progress on for a while, and when it was completed, Nita's dining room at Mod Vintage Life was truly fabulous!

Above is a picture of her sideboard (formerly dark wood) that really shines with white paint and the pretty new hardware. But that's only the beginning. She also has painted a dining set and covered the chairs in a really unique combination of fabrics that look so fun. To top it off, she's painted her ceiling the sweetest shade of pink as a contrast to the white walls. I just love the whole room (actually her whole house is gorgeous so definitely stop over at Mod Vintage Life and check it out!


The second link that stood out last night was this sweet kitchen from The Vintage Farmhouse.  There are so many pretty touches--I admit my favorite is the beautiful mirror so unexpected--yet so lovely in a kitchen! A pretty island counter top stands out, as well as a beautiful glass-front hutch. The most amazing thrifty tales are behind many of these pieces, including a cabinet retrieved from a dumpster!


Lastly, be sure to check out all The Vintage Farmhouse little bits of styling that really make this room beautiful... a silver chandelier on the counter, a gilded chalkboard and a peacock in her ceiling chandy!

Thanks so much to everyone who linked up last week! Now add the best of your blog below for this weeks Share the Love (STL) round up!

A few reminders...

• Please link just one specific post you want to feature, not your whole blog (to do this, click on the title of the post you want to link and it will open on it's own page, then copy that url). Any post will work--no theme!
• Please link back to the party so that others can find it. Grab my cute button (code is on my sidebar)  to include in your post or somewhere on your blog; text links are fine too.
• If you have clicked around my blog and like what you see, consider being follower!
• Try to visit a few other links if you can. Everybody loves comments and encouragement!

 

My name is Mary and I have a shoe problem. It takes many forms... flats, heels, work shoes, dressy shoes. Of course I can only wear one pair at a time, but I feel like I am wearing the same few pairs all the time. Not necessarily because I don't like the other pairs anymore, but I feel like I can't see what's available to me each day. The little tags you see above are my attempt to get this portion of my closet organized.

Although I keep most of my shoes in plastic storage boxes, I still can't see exactly what pairs are in there--they are translucent but not totally transparent.





I took all my shoes out of the boxes, tried them on, set some aside for charity and took pictures of those shoes I was going to keep. I printed small pictures out on cardstock and then used a tag-shaped punch to cut them out. I then labeled each box with it's own picture. Now I can see exactly what my choices for footwear are each day.




The shoes I wear most often (which are flats for work) I've combined into larger stacking drawers and placed multiple tags on the drawer fronts. I've rediscovered some of my favorite shoes with this spring cleaning task and made room for my two newest pairs!

Linking to:
Dittle Dattle
All Things Heart & Home 
Tip Junkie Tuesday 
The Shabby Chic Cottage