Rainy Day- A "Shady" Affair

We've had some rainy days on and off which has kept me inside.  I needed to catch up on cleaning and putting things away so it's a good thing.  I finally put together an arrangement that I've had on the burner for several months.

Nothing super exciting but you know how it is when you get a vision in your mind you want to complete it.

 I saw these big creamy white magnolias at Pier 1 a while back and grabbed them thinking I'd make up something for the mantel.  A few weeks later I found the creamy white hydrangeas at Hobby Lobby and bought them to go with the magnolias.  Everything sat in my office/storage/work space for a good while.

The container I used for them is an old one from Ethan Allen that I had removed all the florals from.  It was filled with styrofoam that was real hard to poke into (I think it's that kind they pour in and it forms to the interior) so I cut and hacked away at it to remove it.  Messy!

 I always liked it because of the aged finish they gave it so I wouldn't let it go and now I'm grateful I didn't!

I can live with this a good while!

 When I removed the round table by the entry door I found a spot for it in the living room and gave it to Dan for his guy stuff and he's real happy with that.

I only had to move the recliner a little bit so it could open and all is well!

I saw this wonderful faux fern at a store on one of my ventures and picked it up with no idea of what I was going to do with it.  It landed in the big brown demi john style bottle that used to be out by the round table.

 For my birthday my blog designer Linda sent me this centerpiece arrangement.  At first I intended for it to go on the dining room table but one day I decided to pop it up here and found it to be a perfect size and height for this spot so here it will stay for the summer!

Thank you again Linda- I love t!

 I like to sit here and read my magazines and have my coffee or ice tea.  

This antique gold scrolling design candle holder came from Pier 1 too and I just love it's shape.  I love things with flowing movement like this.

Everything is still where I left it a while back.  I've been the most satisfied with this arrangement yet and if you know me you know I've scooted my furniture around a zillion times so this is an accomplishment for me!  A few months ago we bought matching shades for all the lamps in this room.  There are three different lamps but by unifying the shades it made it all  flow nicely.

About that Shady Affair

The shade on the lamp on this wood top had to be changed because….

My darling, adorable, lovable, can do no wrong Teddy (aka the terrorist Cat) knocked over the lamp and the lining of the shade came apart at the seems- literally.  I thought I could stitch it back together..ha ha… I think the lining was acetate and it shredded when I put needle and thread to it.  I ended up cutting away the lining and continued using it for a while until the other lamps shades were changed.  Anyway I adopted the shade that's on it now from one of the living room lamps and it worked out quite well.

So that's my Shady Affair…. sorry nothing very exciting!

I'll part with this- showing the candles lit on the new chest of drawers near the entry door.  It's kind of like having a lamp.  I love these ones from Pier 1 because with the remote you can dim them down so they're not super bright and it saves on the battery a bit too!

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This and That This Week

Last Friday we went to a little nearby town called Beulah where "The Cherry Hut" restaurant is. 

The interior is very retro- feels like the 1950's. The waitresses all wear a cute red and white outfits that definitely feels like the 50's.  The curtains and wallpaper have cherries on them, and there's a small area loaded with cherry jams, table linens, and various other cherry related things.

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They're well known for their delicious Cherry Pie. I read that they sell 25,000 to 30,000 pies each summer!  I always get the cherry chicken salad croissant sandwich and Dan likes their turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy.

Then we went to Frankfort to a favorite garden center called "Crystal Gardens" and I picked up another blue planter  to go with the others I got earlier in May.  I loaded it with several plants when we got home.

On Saturday we we took a lazy cruise heading mostly north to a few towns that I like.  First we went to to Alden which is a super tiny town but has a favorite stop called Alden's Mill House.  They specialize in a line of spices that they create that I've come to use a lot.  

I spotted this cute fairy in purple on a ladder that I just had to have!  The store is chucked full  of kitchen related things and in one corner I found some fairy garden stuff.

There are always some interesting perennials outside.  Since it was Memorial Day weekend there were flags all around including these iris that were blooming.

Further north we stopped in another tiny town called Bellaire.  We always check out this store called Uniquely North which always has some great decorative items for cabin style decorating and more.  Last year I bought two pictures for our master bedroom from their mark down section.

Then we really went north up to Petoskey.  I saw this by a bookstore and snapped a shot.  The name of the store is The Rocking Horse.  It looks like a a carousel horse.

I have two favorite spots in Petoskey now.  One is called Lake Street Design Studio

There is almost always something I find there.  My metal etagere that is in the living room came from here along with the two big white lanterns that are on the fireplace mantel (and several more items).  They often have a special discount being offered on the weekends which ads to the desire to spend! 

The second hot spot for me is the one I blogged about last March where Dan bought me the Lantern/Conservatory which you can see "here".

Monarch Garden and Floral Design

It's a paradise if you like decorating accents and quality silk florals.

Then we made a run over to Gaylord and checked out The Old Spud Warehouse but I didn't find anything to buy this time.  

They have a very eclectic collection of furnishings and deco items.

We had dinner at The Sugar Bowl which is an old restaurant in Gaylord that we like.

 It's just a good family style restaurant and we like it because it's not a chain restaurant.  They also make a wonderful cherry pie that Dan can't resist.

After dinner we headed back towards Traverse City and Dan aimed towards Kalkaska where there is a neat little place called "The Cherry Street Market.  I was worried they'd be closed because by the time we got there it was after 7 pm but to my delight they were still open.   It's set up with an outdoor market loaded with fruits and veges along with an entire area devoted to selling annuals and yard deco items.

Of course I gravitated towards the fairy garden things after wandering through their flowers.

That's where I found these cute little coco-liner hanging baskets.

See the basket on the chain. I also got the metal plant hangers there. See the little butterflies on the baskets- they're just like the butterfly table set on the old tree stump.

I just put together a post on my garden blog that you can see "here" showing my fairy garden in better detail that I worked on- on Memorial Day.  

So that was my This and That This Week!

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Fairy Garden 2016

This past weekend I finally had some time to concentrate on my fairy garden. 

My little cottage has been a central figure in my Fairy Garden for the past three years.

I have a new smaller one I've ordered that will go on this little area I've prepared.  I've added various real plants and some faux for effect.

Each year I disassemble this because of the winters.  I pull off the stones and fencing and put all the fairies away so I end up creating something different every year.  Along this little fence line is some white alyssum that will fill in.

I created a well for under the bridge and used some landscape fabric to keep the blue glass from sinking into the dirt like it's done before.  I added some artificial grass and added stones to naturalize the look.

 Off to the right I put some more faux grass under the arbor and the little fairy garden cart.

 I added some faux stems of morning glory (which I clipped out of some floral bushes I got at Michael's).  I put a little rabbit next to the cart and I added some fiber optic grass in three places.  It will be interesting to see how it looks as it gets larger.  There are random pieces of white alyssum coming up quickly that will fill in the blank areas with white flowers.

All the fairies are gardeners and keep things up nicely.

 I keep reusing the old Ash tree stump with the dining table on top.  The bark is slowly breaking away but I love the character it adds.  I've added violas all around too.

 My most recent find was this cute fairy on the ladder.  She's going to be a busy one around here!

Off to the left is the gazebo which used to be part of my original fairy garden over by the big maple tree out back.

 Taking a little break and enjoying the view.

 Last weekend I found these metal plant hangers and two hanging baskets made with coco liners.

 I stuffed them with faux flowers because they're too small to support live plants.  I also set two clay pots by the entryway and added some moss and yellow daisies.

I did a panoramic with my iPhone which caused it to look like there was a curve in the wall but there isn't.

I'm in love with this frog I got from Pier 1 this year.  He added a perfect touch of whimsy for my garden.