Backyard Tour! Get ready to Drool!

I recently came across this amazing home and couldn't wait to share it with you. Lynne's dream is to have her home published and I think the world needs to see the amazing job she's done. I want to see more!

I could sit here all day. The trees are so big and beautiful!

Are you kidding me? Lynne, pool party at your place? I'll bring the cupcakes and adult beverages.

From Lynne's blog about the outdoor shower:

"This mosaic has a bit of a story.  I didn’t know how to draw a mermaid.  I stood in the shower stall and had my Mom trace me.  I did advice her to draw me skinnier with bigger breasts.  It is a mermaid with a sense of humour.  I also DEFACED Canadian pennies.  Confession time again.  It is ‘kinda’ against the law to glue pennies to a wall, isn’t it ? Ooops.  I did it in the name of design."

We feel ya Lynne, we feel ya.

This is my favorite thing!

All images courtesy of Lynne's blog, Design the Life you Want. Go here to see more pics of her home and read all about it!

Have Friday lovers!

Lounging, Poolside

It's unbeleivably hot here in Dallas, temperatures are above 100 degrees with no releif in sight. All I can do is dream of lounging by the pool or ocean in one of these fashionable places and wasting the day away. I grew up by the ocean but I have been living "inland" for 7 years now. I still miss seeing the water on a daily basis and I really miss being able to go to the beach at the drop of a hat. These will have to do for now!

Beautiful pool plus english country estate equals bliss of epic proportions!

All I can say is "I want to go to there". I hope you are having a wonderful week and managing to stay cool!

What Makes a House a Home

I missed this yesterday due to a virus on my computer but I'm determined to share this with you so here goes.

Last week A Perfect Gray posted an adorable growth chart from her home. It's things like this that make a house into a home. Not the perfectly styled vignettes, beautiful rugs, and spot on wall colors. Although we all love looking at those things we should get real with each other and show what makes our homes truly special. I have to admit this was a bit of a challenge for me for several reasons. I have only lived in my home for a little under 10 months now. I'm making the rough(and expensive!) transition from apartment decor to home decor. But more importantly I'm building a home with my husband. We will be married a year on April 18th. So for now at least, this is what I feel makes our house a home...

This is our back patio. With the beautiful Spring weather this is where I spend my afternoons decompressing after a long day at work. My husband and I like to sit here and watch the dogs play and the cat roll around in the dirt and talk about how our days went. It's truly lovely to have this outside space I desperately craved after bouncing from apartment to apartment for the past 7 years. I didn't style this picture whatsoever. This is what it looks like all the time (depending on the days events). Sometimes the pillows are in the yard due to the wind or certain other four-legged companions treating them like a toy. But for today, it's my sandals, Scott's crazy vibrams shoes and the new Anthropologie catalog. What makes your house a home?

*Edit: I forgot to mention another reason I like this space. My mom made me these pillows from discarded window panels I got at work and I had them along with the loveseat set up as a lounge area at my wedding. So cute!

A Place to Hide

See more of this amazing apartment design here.

What is it about tiny spaces that is so appealing? I feel like with a good book and a hot drink I could curl up in one of these places and stay the whole day. A nook is going on my must-have list for when the hubs and I build our dream home from scratch one day. Along with hidden rooms and spiral staircases...

Well Hello Beautiful

I had a super duper productive weekend house-wise. I got the following accomplished;

Bought this dresser...

...and this mirror thingy from my former boss who is moving back to NYC for $200. Best. Deal. Ever.

Got my dining table. I am now searching for mismatched chairs of pure awesomeness.

Replanted the flower beds in the front and backyard (with a lot of help from my mom and MIL, they are greatness). The hydrangeas are going to look so pretty outside my kitchen window when they get big. Also got a super cute birdbath as well. Live long and prosper plants! My husband also completed several critical projects as well but they aren't pretty so I won't bore you with pictures of that. But he did work on the bainofmyexistence hump in our backyard and partially fix the sprinkler system that busted right as winter started last year. Yay us!

Spring Has Sprung!

After a freakish snowstorm last weekend Spring has sprung in Texas. See evidence below...

Little branches I picked off my neighbors tree in cute little bottles on my new Liberty of London for Target tray!

These sweet yellow flowers (daffodils?) popped up in my front flower bed. This our first Spring in the house so who knows what else will pop up! Probably not a lot since I gutted most of the flower beds a few weeks ago. They were pretty heinous so I wanted to start over. My mom is coming this weekend to help me buy all new plants for the garden. She has a green thumb like nobody's business. I'm so excited to do a little gardening. I want to use mostly native to Texas plants.

It Snowed Today!

Unfortunately I only got to enjoy it from the window of my office building. Hopefully next time I will get to have a good play with the dogs in some snow. Lovely!

Project Plant Stand

One of my purchases from the Round Top antique fair was this metal shelf for $15. It has a nice oriental feel to it and I thought all the different levels would make it perfect for my potted plants. It was a brassy gold color with minor rust areas but I knew it could be really cute. Last weekend it was finally warm and sunny enough to repaint!

Before:

After!

I'm not really sure what's up with the plant in upper right, it looks sad and I haven't been able to get it to perk up...

This was my first redo-type project so now I'm really looking forward to more! I will have my eye out for some things that need a little TLC next month at Canton Flea Market.

Can I Nap Here Please?

Both from Stylefiles

I could curl up with a book and a tasty beverage in late afternoon and nap after a few hours of reading. Where is your favorite nap place?