Year of the Yard: First Time Homeowner Yard Work



House with no bed trim.




Did I tell you that this year is officially dubbed "The Year of the Yard"? Because, it is.

We spent the past year and a half painting the inside, slowly arranging furniture (Still doing this!), getting rid of excess (Still doing this too!), learning to take our garbage out on time and do dishes regularly...now, it is time for the yard.

Beds with boundaries!

A few weekends ago, we planted hostas in the front east bed to match the large one that was already there, we planted new azaleas between the old ones to fill them in eventually, we put bushes and flowers in the back bed, and (my favorite planting move) we put peony bushes on the west side of our house in the back. Sigh. I love peonies. Someday: hydrangea bushes, zinias, dahlias...more roses. Things I can enjoy outside, but also clip and bring inside to add beauty our home.

The most recent work we did and why I even thought to bring up "The Year of the Yard," was our yard work the past few days.

Our front flower beds did not have a trim around them. This was especially bad on the left larger bed because there was no distinction between the bed and the yard. Ryan suggested we use bricks because they match the house and are the most affordable. He dug a little path for them along the beds, and I snuggled the bricks into a nice line. Wonderful!

Another thing we did was use a low flat pot to keep our hose neatly wrapped up. It is so much cleaner than leaving it out or piled.



Look how awesome those bricks look! Nice idea, Ryan!



Ferris Bueller's Day Off...Cameron's House for Sale

Maybe I was googling "Danish Modern Santa Fe" and somehow stumbled upon this amazing blog post by the Mid-Century Modernist. Apparently, Cameron's house in Ferris Bueller's Day Off is up for sale. That awesome, mostly glass, wide-open space of a house.

Strangely enough for several years straight in my childhood we watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off during the holiday season while baking Christmas cookies...and now the movie has extreme (well, at least a warm and familiar) sentimentality for me.

Oh, this home is amazing. I love living spaces that are so open to personal interpretation.


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Danish Modern Chairs, Welcome!

I told you we sent our new Danish Modern chair cushions to be reupholstered. They are back! And beautiful.Thank you Midwest Upholstery!

 The big question now is...what pillows belong on them? Should I try to make my own?

Something inspiring?

Knife in the Water's Shop

We all know putting a bird on it makes anything hip

B. Poetic Home

Clean and direct.

Plush Studio

Reminds me of the decor in a writer's commune in Santa Fe.

Sukan's Shop

Can we do herringbone next to our wall? Too much or does it carry on a motif?

Dede Etsy Shop

Because it's hilarious. Judge me. I like this humor.

Sew English

This is elegant indeed.

Elegantouch

Finally, perhaps my favorite, is this vintage find. I love the quilting.

Hindsvik's Shop

Danish Modern Chairs

We bought Danish Modern chairs two weekends ago at Mod50s on 15th Street in Tulsa. You can see a photo of the before chair below with its seriously bright and fuzzy cushions.

This chair on top is what we hope our chairs will look like once they come back from the upholsterer.

The chair with my perfect dog Walter on it is one of two identical chairs we are replacing.

I cannot wait to see them and have them! I'll take photos to show you the transformation. I am mostly looking forward to the cleaner, sleaker, more airy feeling of our new chairs.

I will however miss the old chairs...they've been through a lot with me. College...first home, not to mention all those years in my parents' home growing up.

***I've been absent lately due to very taxing tasks at work, so that by the time I am home, there is not one ounce of me that wants to be on the computer.

[Top Image: Pigeon Toe Ceramics]

Welcome new chairs!

We have new chairs! Teak Mid-Century heaven all around our dining room table. And, yes, that is hand painted screen printed fabric. We found the chairs at Retro Den on 15th Street in Tulsa, OK. It was our first time in there, and we loved it. We regularly go to Joz which is also on 15th to just check out the inventory. I LOVE looking at vintage furniture. The lines and shapes or Mid-Century things just make me feel nice.

Plans to remove the old chairs...sell or give them away. We are on the final look out for some end chairs with super style to round out our table seating.

I'm pumped and possibly motivated enough to hang up the art we've had waiting around to be hung in the dining room.

Lovely Finds

Hello stunning mother of pearl bracelet, glossy-centered bowl, handmade miniature ceramic cranes, twinsy lamps (Heart of my heart! I love matching lamps.) amazing cow art. You'd be perfect in my home.

Living with Less

It's been quite the snow day for us! We got 14 inches here in Tulsa. I'll post photos of Walter in the snow soon. Meanwhile, I read this lovely thought in Lonny Magazine today. It was in the letter to the editor portion.

"I'm often asked to point out trends in home decor, and my simple advice for 2011 is to figure out what you really love and donate everything else."

Michelle Adams, Editor in Chief
Lonny Magazine

I've been trying to clean out my closet and living spaces for the past 5 years. I used to keep so much, and I am trying to learn to live with less. It makes me feel so much lighter. I got rid of at least 12 trash bags of clothing over those years. My sister-in-law recently said she does the three week rule: "If it's in season, and I haven't worn it in the past three weeks, then it's out." Sara Daly, I bow to you. I really envy efficiency and well-edited lifestyles.

(image from a trip I took with Mom during a summer in college.)

Mondays, New Office and Vignettes!



Mondays can be a bummer, even if you love your job. I find myself looking forward to work more now that my office is all put together. I'm fortunate to have had the resources and support to repaint my office a nice quiet yellow. 

My mom screen printed the piece on your left. Ryan and I call it "Earth Mother." The center piece is a photo Ryan took, and I painted the flower on the right. Don't miss the turquoise lamp! Sometimes colors just come into my life and choose me. Turquoise has done that lately- I own two turquoise lamps. The same thing happened with peach/salmon, especially chairs. I had until this past week seven orangy/peachy chairs. I recently sold two that I really loved, but just didn't fit in our house anymore space-wise. I'm trying to learn about living in the space I have.

On a particularly busy set of days last week, I set up a nice desk vignette for me to enjoy-- wedding photo, flower from a bouquet at home and a rockin' mini-chair. I feel so pleased when I glance over at it. (Apparently vignettes are a thing these days.)



Finally, I have a coat hook in my office now! Everything has it's place, and that feels good.

New Desk and Goodbye Perfect Table Friend

Some really handsome boys (Ryan the husband and Adam the friend) made my new desk just the right height. It meant drilling new holes and buying a fancy wrench.

It also meant saying goodbye to this lovely lovely table as my desk. It is square, and it just isn't functional as a desk for me. I'm going to sell it on Craigslist, I think. I'm heart-broken, but I am also proud of myself. It's like Ryan says, "It's just stuff." And this table, although one of the loveliest pieces of stuff I've ever touched, is a sign of me choosing a calm and efficient working environment. Breathe in the feeling of progress, Ashley. It is just stuff.

 *Update: My mother-in-law is purchasing it. I am so glad it will be in a happy home!


*Photos to come of the new office space.

Here is the table in my first apartment as a grown-up lady. It was the dining room/breakfast/work-station table.

Diningroom Updates





(Chair from Goodhousekeeping.com)


• Walter scratched away the edges of the top of our dining room table when he was super young and curious. This blogger shows how to decoupage fabric to the top of the table; take a look before you roll up your nose like I did when I first read the post title. It actually looks quite nice. We've also considered sanding and coating it with lacquer. Of course, Ryan has also offered the possibility of building me a table with shiny metal legs from an office furniture resale warehouse and a very clean, crafted top. I'm just ready for an update!
  
• Speaking of the dining room, our chairs in that room need new seat fabric ASAP. I watched this video, and it hit me how easy this fix is. I'm grabbing Ry and going to JoAnn's Fabric pretty soon to pick out a new look. Oh! and here is a blog post about re-doing dining room chairs. We could totally do this!

Everything about writers

I love writers. Love them. It is brilliant to draw houses of famous writers and sell them as artwork.

M + E's website, where you can buy these renderings, says to buy their artwork "because you're too old to buy artwork from Ikea, because flowers plus artwork make a room, because our cats speak in human voices..." All excellent points.

Thank you, Cup of Jo for introducing me to these lovely people (Emma and Mike)!

Chair! Take Your Skirt Off! Please.

Oh friends, I have a brave idea...what will Ryan think?

We have two chairs in our living room that my parents gave me a long time ago and have been around since before I was born.

I googled "remove chair skirt" and I found this diy post from The Brick House...I think it could work. I need to look at the chair leg situation. I don't know if ours screw off, and if not what our plan would be.

From The Brick House Blog. It's been done before!

I'm so excited. I need an update on these dear old friend chairs. While I am dying to spruce them up, I recently fell more in love with them after Ry and my trip to Bartlesville's Price Tower. Frank Lloyd Wright not only designed the building, but all the furniture that went into it. These chairs were a project with furniture manufacturer/designer Henredon.

Look how they are the exact peach/salmon/orange of my chairs! Oh my heart and Frank Lloyd Wright's design work! Removing the skirt would make them even more like Wright's and definitely clean up the lines.

My chair will become like Frank Lloyd Wright's chair. Living the dream.

Whitman Mural

I forgot to post this with our anniversary trip photos. It's a mural in the front entryway with bits of Walt Whitman poems. It's painted in gold. While you are here, look at those fabulous triangle light fixtures. So much detail was imbued in buildings at that time (1954-56).

Herringbone Wall!

Ryan and I saw this blog post on DesignSponge, and decided this project belonged in our home. I've been dying to share this with you...please enjoy our new herringbone wall!

We decided to keep the design the side of the wall closest to the front door so as to define an entryway space for our home. You walk directly into our living room from outside, and this wall is the best one for television placement. I kept feeling grumpy about people walking in and seeing the TV first. Now, you walk in and see the welcoming presence of herringbone- a nice shout out to strong patterns of the past with an updated size adjustment.

Thank you, Ryan, for all your work! You make home owning so much fun!

Potential House Updates

While I was out perusing the yard sales of Tulsa, I saw this stunning porch ceiling. Love the glossy sheen!

p.s. Ryan and I have started the taping off for this project in our living room. We are using varying shades of gray and white. Photos upon completion.

Magnetic wall in my future

I want to make a magnetic square on my wall that looks like this wall...I'll hang inspiring things on it and buy magnets that are friendly to hold up potential dreams.

(thank you little green notebook for your post)

Googled magnetic wall, and it looks like I just need to make a trip to Lowe's tomorrow...

Yes, the amazing gold framing is a part of this vision.

Around the Web

Here are some pretty spots on the web to enjoy, my friends. Hope your Friday was lovely and your weekend is even better.

• This etsy store, Ampersandity (LOVE the name!), makes address stamps to die for. I could be talked into being a better pen pal if I had this stamp...maybe I will get it for myself for Christmas. Also, what a cute house warming gift to someone who just moved into their new home!

• Beautiful Online Magazine Rue. This magazine has colorful pages, interesting lay-out and stories that include website links to stores, blogs, etc.

• Speaking of Rue Magazine. They did a story on the author of blog Habitually Chic. I'm now a follower. Can't wait to get more ideas and images of gorgeous home design into my mind. If you soak yourself in style, it might just start oozing out of you. That's the dream.

• This necklace makes my me smile. I'm pretty sure that heart in the middle of Oklahoma is mine.

Shoe Shelf!

Ryan made one of my life dreams come true. Don't judge me too much that I have always wanted well-organized footwear. Ry hung up some wire racks in the bottom of our closet, and I now have my shoes either on it or in plastic tubs underneath it. It is so refreshing to have my shoes all lined up asking politely to be the final touch to any ensemble. I even left a bit of room for some of Ryan's shoes.