Springtime garden

Snow... it happens and it happens in Colorado a lot and throughout the spring.  Springtime for most means warmer weather and rain while here in the Rocky Mountains it means 70 degree days followed by 18+ inches of snow the next day! 

Last week we had about 4 inches of snow and it and the 18+ we got the weekend before has finally melted under the Colorado sunshine.  I am confident enough that it won't snow again (April is our snowiest month) that I've re-redecorated my front for spring. 

 

 I want to re-paint my shutters and door.  I just think they are a bit too baby blue but they do stand out well against the battleship gray of the house so we'll see. But painting shutters and or your door is an easy and pretty cheap way of updating your homes look. 
I've thought about painting the brick but just like my fireplace I am cautious, oh heck, terrified!  I think the brick works for now and I like it with the colors I've got on the house. 

Last fall I bought an old screen for $5.00 at an antique store.  This spring I've brought it outside and hung one of the 3 boxwood wreathes I made last year on it.  In front I put a galvanized box filled with wood and pinecones.  Sometimes I put lights in this box for a sparkly effect.  I put this all under my metal star. 

I love lilacs... those, tulips and peonies are my favorite flowers.  I filled a metal container full of faux lilacs this year.

The look pretty real to me! 

Though my neighbors white lilac bush has lots of blooms on it this year.  She lets me cut them so I can't wait till mid May when they should be in full bloom!!!

I have a large purple bush in my backyard but this one is farther along than mine for whatever reason. 

Speaking of my backyard... my tulips made it through the snow!

So did my bleeding heart - and look it is blooming!

Whoo hoo!  I always worry about this little guy but he's hanging in there!

I don't know what kind of bulb these are but they get big purple balls on them when they bloom.

They end up about 2 feet or more tall... they seem to be good to go as well. 

Even my peony fared the 18 inches of snow well.

AND... don't know if you can see it but I got really excited to see my hydrangea coming up! They are so sensitive.  I was worried.

This upcoming weekend I'm going to the Castle Rock Antique Fair at the Douglas County Fairgrounds.  Over 600 vendors will be there and I'm super excited.  I am on the lookout for some old camera's and equipment as well as any unique stools or lights.  I'll be taking photo's and sharing on Instagram this weekend so follow me there!!! @Vicdenni on Instagram. 

What does your spring garden look like where you live?  Do you have a lot or a few plants blooming now?  I'd really love to see. 

Have a great week, thanks for reading. 

Victoria

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Go-to decorating tool

Someone on Instagram asked me what I use as my 'go-to' decorating tool. 

It took me 2 seconds to respond with "lanterns."  I love lanterns and they can be so versatile to use in decorating.  So I went around my house and looked at my lanterns so I could take pictures for this post. 

I didn't find a single, not even one lantern that I've got out to use as an example.  Hmmm....

So I thought, "Okay I love candles."  Candles that's the correct answer.  Nope only 2 candles currently being used in my spring decorating.  Okay...

Flowers.. I do like flowers and I know, KNOW I use flowers in all my decorating during all the seasons.  Be it faux or fresh I use flowers all the time.  Now I've talked about using flowers several times and are flowers really a decorating tool?  NO they are an accessory so I've got to find something I use as a tool. 

So I thought books!  I know I use books to decorate with.  Books are very versatile as risers.  I know I use books.... yeah NO.  I could only find 1... ONE book that I'm currently using.

ONE.  But hey it is a cute old book that I painted white and stamped with a script stamp.  AND don't you just LOVE the dragonfly! 

It is a Christmas tree ornament I got at Big Lot's 2 years ago... LOVE. 

SOOOOOO - decorating tool.. I can do this!  My husband tried to help he said, 'How about pictures? One's we've take on our adventures.  Are pictures a tool?  Yeah they cover the walls but this isn't what I was looking for. 

My search continued through my small house to see if there is anything that stands out... I use a lot of metals....

And orbs can be a tool but that isn't what I was asked.... again - accessory not a tool! 
I walked around my living/dining/kitchen and found that I use a lot of trays and cake stands a lot. 
In my kitchen to hold sugar and creamers....

Also in the kitchen to hold fresh fruit.

 On my dinning room table.

I got the tray on my dinning table at Target.  I filled it with a seashell, (you'll always find seashells in my decorating as I'm originally from Maryland), a candle and other items... including faux flowers in a beer growler... yep that is how classy we are here.. a beer growler but isn't it CUTE! 

Just remember to think of a tray as a decorating surface like a table.  Keep things in 3's and vary the heights to keep the eye moving.  Things don't necessarily have to relate to one another - I've only got 3 things that relate in the above picture - the ornamental finial thing, the bird and the Fleur de Lis.  You'll also notice a small church thing in the vase with the faux flowers and the roof is in the same color pallet as the finial, bird and Fleur de Lis.  You could fill a tray with seashells in glass jars with sand, you could have 3 candlesticks of different heights on your tray.  Just keep things in 3's it seems to work best and vary the height to keep the eye moving on the surface. 

Speaking of pretty...

I added these dragonflies to my table to relate to the green tea light holders.  Yes these are also Christmas ornaments!  So think outside the box when decorating your table. 
I also use cake stands as risers. 
This one really isn't a cake stand but a garden riser but hey...

 This cake stand is from Southern Living at Home. 

 This cake stand I got at Home Goods. 

Cake stands or other kinds of stands are very versatile to help raise an item higher than another or spotlight an item.  The above teapot and cake stand are in my kitchen.  The cake stand highlights the pretty antique teapot. 

So whew!  I found some things that I use as decorating tools!  I was sweating a bit there! 
What tool or item do you use in your decorating?  I'd love to see and hear about them. 

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Next week I'll share the front of my house decorated for spring... wish me luck getting it done as we are expecting snow, yep snow and lots of snow this weekend ( 24+ inches)!  Follow me on Instagram and I'll share what happens!!!!  SNOW yes it is April in the Rockies! 

Victoria

Spring mantle

Happy Spring!  Or at least I hope so... here in Colorado it can snow all the way through May but since snow = drinking water here, I'll take it!

So I am still showering in the hall bathroom.

I am pretty lucky I've got a husband who once I convince him of something he is all in.  Holes in walls, knocking down walls, ripping up flooring once he gets my vision he's in 100%.  Hence our master bathroom. 

Now the bathroom is small but most houses in our neighborhood don't have a master bath so we are lucky for our small house.  But our master bathroom was well...

U G L Y

I shared a bit of the destruction and general ugliness here. 

The hubby is willing to take on anything and I am really lucky because he is generally really handy.  Be it a toilet removal and install or taking down a wall to laying hardwood floors he's really a handy guy. 

You know those questions...'If you could only take 1 thing on a deserted island what would it be?'  I always say, "my husband"  he's MacGyver!  Give him a paperclip and some tape and he could build me a house! 

Well it did take him a bit to solder the copper piping and not have any leaks then we found out about this new thing called 'shark bite' which uses plastic piping and ends - no leaks and fast! 

But I do have bathroom walls now.

Whoo Hoo!
We are just going to put a pre formed insert in here for now.  Eventually we will gut the entire master bathroom and there will be tile in there, no tub and a bench that is heated!!  But for now to keep any further water damage from happening this is our solution. 

Hopefully this next weekend the insert will go in... I'll keep you posted and show you pictures of the finished product. 

So with snow on the ground last weekend (it snowed last Thursday and Friday) I started decorating for spring.  I started with the mantle.  For me my mantle can be difficult to decorate.  The mantle itself is a dark railroad tie and the fireplace itself is large and dark.  I'm afraid to paint it because if I mess it up it is really messed up but... I'd LOVE to be brave enough to do it. 

This is what I came up with for spring.

I kept the window pane and the 2 lanterns along with some wood.  I added a blue box, a boxwood wreath I made last year, a picture, some small birds, a banner and my favorite thing - a Target dollar spot galvanized bucket filled with faux flowers.  Super cute! 

I also decorated my shelf over my buffet.

I kept everything there that had been there since January and added a white finial. 

If you've been following me on Instagram (Vicdenni) you've seen some of my outdoor décor for spring/summer.  There will be more to come. 

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Lastly... have a great week it is going to be beautiful here in Colorado - 70's all week! 

You can still see some snow up on Pikes Peak... looks like it is snowing up there right now! 

Have a great week!

Victoria