Forcing Blooms & Spring Decor

In the doldrums of winter (although a mild one for Maryland), I decided to bring some Springtime inside a little early by forcing blooms.  I've never attempted this before, but I love learning new things, and this was easy.  I don't like the term "forcing" though--I much prefer coaxing;-)  Hopefully soon I will be rewarded with a vase full of beautiful blooms to cheer up the place.  

I decided to coax Forsythia.  Here's how:

1.  Cut branches from the Forsythia using small pruners & cutting at an angle. 

2.  Placed riverstones in the base of a vase (actually I used an Anchor Hocking gallon canister that I now use as a vase since I broke the lid). 

3.  Add very warm water & flower food & then the branches.  I put the vase out of direct sunlight.  That's it.

After just 48 hrs there were buds!

In 4 days there were bright green leaves emerging:

After 6 days the blooms started bursting open:

I also decided to dress up other plants I have in the house.  Here is a pot of miniature Narcissus that Mom gave me last year.  I couldn't plant them because we hadn't yet moved, so I kept them inside.  They sprouted before Christmas and now they are lush and green. 



 I bought this $2 pierced metal planter at Ikea, and it is perfect to show off the Spring green.

I added a bow to spruce it up a little more.  I've actually had this ribbon since 4th grade.  I used to use this ribbon to make those streamer/string barrettes everyone wore.

And my violets are blooming like crazy.  I had to prune them a bit and get them some violet food. 

 Finally, for Easter I wanted to do a small project since I can't go all out and decorate this year (no time!).  So I made this centerpiece with speckled eggs.  It's simple and I like how it turned out.

  

Happy For Small Victories:-)

Snow today!  We decided to stay in today and complete a few small projects.  We began the day with a man from Gardiner's furniture coming by to install the China cabinet shelves that were missing from our Broyhill delivery.  He also hooked up the interior cabinet lights, so now the cabinet is all ready to be set up with our china.  Now the dining room is complete, and I can't wait to host a family dinner soon.  We have to put a lot of things away in that room, but here's the cabinet among the boxes to unpack.

Then we spent a long time stringing crystals on the living room light fixture.  We had to lay all of the parts out on the floor to organize them.  Nosey Rosey had to see what all the fuss was about--anything new and she is on it:



Here she is with the large center pendant.  She thought it was a toy:



Comet didn't give a hoot what we were doing, but that didn't stop him from trampling all over the crystals.

Humphrey was just happy to explore. 

Because I can't stand on a ladder, Jeff hung the crystals as I handed them to him.

And voila!  Our light is complete.  One more item crossed off our To-Do List, which feels good:-) 

We also hung up our favorite painting in the dining room.  A room doesn't feel "finished" or cozy until the art goes up.  We were happy to get this finished. 

I'll need to start shopping for window treatments, too.  I'm thinking some neutral Roman shades would look nice here, and get matching ones for the kitchen.  The problem will the be 8 foot window in the front of the room.  It might be hard to find the right size, so hopefully I can find someone who can custom make them for us.  I'm not 100% happy with the paint sheen.  In person it is a warm beige and looks way better than in the pictures--in pictures it reads more golden.  It is Olympic's zero VOC paint in "Cracker Bitz."  It is the color of Ritz crackers so that's probably how they named it.  We tried to save money by using the same paint that we used in the kitchen, and it is semi-gloss.  I would prefer matte finish for the dining area.

We've been enjoying our kitchen since we moved in before Christmas, and we haven't been doing too much to the rest of the house lately in favor of smaller organizing projects.  However, that changed tonight because Jeff hung the angel in the front doorway.  I love it!

I'm so glad that he did this for me.  One less box taking up residence here, and one more in the recycle bin:-)  It was kinda funny while he was working on this--I was on the phone with a good friend and Jeff held the peaceful angel in his arms while he was uttering curse words.  It was a stark contrast, and it made me giggle.  Apparently the hanging holes on the back of the statue were too small for the screws,  so he had to be creative and modify it.  Jeff rocks!

Now all we have to do is paint that wall and add a new front door and arched molding around the archway into the adjoining room... a neverending list:-)

I Ruined My Granite Counter

Two weeks in the new house and I have already ruined my new countertop.  I decided to display a pretty bottle of infused olive oil, and was unaware that a tiny slow leak had formed in the bottom of the bottle.  This oil, of course, leaked and I didn't know until it was too late. 

I'm hoping the stain will eventually evaporate itself.  It started out black, then it changed to a dark gray and it is still fading.  I just wish this didn't happen.  I will have to contact the manufacturer for a poultice if it doesn't disappear.

Moved In:-)

We had to take a break from setting up house for the holidays, but we're back in action today for a bit.  We have finally moved all of our things out of the rental, and we gave it a good cleaning.  Jeff decided it would be nice to shampoo the carpet there before we left--but the shampoo machine malfunctioned.  Fixing that took the entire day:-(  But I'm glad Jeff is smart enough to fix things.

It feels good to be done with that chapter of our lives so we can truly focus on the new life ahead of us in our new home.  We still haven't hooked up our TV yet or set up the living room.  We decorated just a bit for Christmas, and I baked cookies (which Jeff ate as quickly as I could bake!).

 


I was hoping to get a tree up and trimmed, but there were just too many boxes waiting to be unpacked.  Jeff discovered an evergreen volunteer in one of my flower pots--a tiny 1 1'4" tree.  It's so cute!  On Christmas eve I decorated it with tiny stars.  Jeff thought that was so funny:-) 

We managed to get the downstairs hallway clear of boxes. 

And I got to organize my lazy suzan full of dry goods.  I love the pretty basket that I use to store potatoes.  I managed to find one that fits.

This week we are focusing on getting the living room set up and making the space for the bunnies to run around.  They still aren't used to the new house yet, and we have a bit of bunnyproofing to do.

I put a few personal touches up in the kitchen--some of my favorite photographs.  My violets are on the sill now soaking up that great Southern light.  Unfortunately the one that was planted in the pot that read "Dream" has died:-( 

As we were placing the new china cabinet, we discovered that the glass shelving that was to be delivered with it never arrived.  Jeff took care of it:-)  They are sending us the shelving and even sending someone out to hook up the lighting for us.  I am so glad we didn't have any problems with that. 

We're Moved In!

Just in time for Christmas, Jeff and I are moved into the new house.  The move was quite grueling, but I had the help of family and friends.  At one point during the move Jeff, Tom, Scott, and Chris were moving my dresser.  The door on the front sprung open and all of my bras came flying out all over the lawn in a lingerie trail.  That was pretty funny.

It feels so good to be living in our own home.  It feels good to own something again and be able to say, "This is ours."  If we want to paint the walls, we can.  We don't have to ask anyone.  I have the kitchen all set up now.  Today I even baked Christmas cookies:

There is so much that I love about this house!  It's so quiet here.  I have never in my life had more restorative sleep than I have had here.  I am in love with the new appliances--I can't even hear the dishwasher.  Jeff knows how much I hate extraneous noise, so he researched to find the quietest and most efficient machines and I couldn't be happier.  And I love, I mean LOVE my new kitchen.  Everything I need is right at my fingertips.  We still have to complete the backsplash, but it looks and functions amazing.

It's been a long, long road, but I am so glad it has led us here.  I just know we're going to have a happy life in these 4 walls--so much more than I ever imagined. 

Still Moving...

I woke up today feeling achy all over and very defeated.  I really wanted to wake up in our new home today, and not to wake up with boxes blocking every walkway and no phone service.  I took some ibuprofen and washed it down with a little determination and we got more finished.

Unfortunately, Jeff has to pay a $50 charge to the moving truck company because he lost the keys.  They had to re-key the lock.  Jeff discovered that the keys were in his pocket the entire time.  Moving makes scrambled eggs of your brain apparently.

We did move some boxes over to the house and I cleaned the inside of the cabinetry of any remaining construction dust.  I managed to unpack the spices and spice holder and organized the spices where they go.  And in alphabetical order, too, which was my little act of defiance against chaos while championing order.  It felt good:-)  At least I have 2 feet of organized space in the new place.  It's something, right? 

I love having a huge drawer just for my seasonings!  While I was in my domain, Jeff spent some time organizing the Fios wiring in the living room (which is still unpainted and unfinished). 

Tomorrow the contractors will be installing the ceiling medallion and doing any touch ups.  I'm going to finish stringing crystals on the living room light:

Later, I was trying to make Jeff's lunch for work.  With most of the food already moved into the other place, I had little to work with.  I made him a jelly sandwich since peanut butter was nowhere to be found.  Then was the dilemma--what do I put these sandwiches in?  The reusable green containers we usually use were packed in some box in the great cardboard abyss of boxes.  I managed to find some wax paper and then sealed it with the only thing I could find--duct tape, which I cut with a kitchen knife because the scissors are missing:

LOL.  You gotta have a sense of humor while moving.  Even as I chuckle, though, I am resolving never to move again.  Ever.  With all the blood, sweat, and tears we've put into this home, it's going to be so lovely one day soon.