Flowers, cards and pretty little trays

What a great Saturday it has been - the perfect mix of productivity and relaxation.

dreamy bougainvillea

Some highlights....

The weather was beautiful this morning which inspired me to garden a bit. My sweet husband brought home a few plants on Valentine's Day, including this birds of paradise plant:

In case you're unfamiliar, here's how they look when blooming (beautiful, right?):

I picked up some bougainvillea while out and about this morning. I've been wanting to plant some since we moved in (about a year and a half ago)... very exciting to finally get around to it! I decided to go with the smallest size, since they're supposed to be fast growers - I sure hope so! The small size also meant a super bargain price, which contributed to my decision. :)

They're sort of itty bitty now (maybe 18 inches)....

But I hope they soon look like this!

I planted them on the two back corners of our backyard, along the fence. The great part is that they're visible from our living room, and of course I'm loving the views of bright pink (soon to be a sea of bright pink!).

Then, while browsing blogland today I came across these awesome business cards from this shop on etsy. (I found them via Abbey's blog.) Thinking of ordering some when the time is right.

I really like the zigzag, but I think an ikat is for me. :)

And I just have to share these seriously adorable trinket dishes which were a birthday gift from a friend.

(apologies for the poor quality iphone photos!)

orange:

and brown:
I LOVE the moroccan-ish design, and I especially love how versatile they are - within a week's time they've already had a couple of homes around the house (although I think at least one of them needs to be a constant staple with the jewelry). :) I love accessories which allow the flexibility to rearrange quickly when the mood strikes and I need to mix things up. This is true for textiles, little dishes/bowls, candleholders, vases, etc.

May the rest of your weekend be full of beautiful things!

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Backyard Beginnings

It's been a jam-packed couple of weeks, so let's catch up on some projects that we've been working on. Lots of time and energy have been devoted to our backyard (HUGE understatement), and it's so worth it! Our lawn, which we dreamed about for years, is finally a reality! And my little garden is slowly springing into existence.

First, here's a glimpse of what it looked like not long after we moved in last Fall...

The lot you see along the side of the deck doesn't belong to us - but the tall weeds you see there actually filled our backyard as well. Eeek! My hubby spent many, many (many, many...) hours/nights/weekends out there, digging and battling the "jungle," as we called it. Once the weeds were gone, there were tons (literally - tons) of concrete to be dug up and haul away. It was definitely a labor of love! So with that very abbreviated summary and skipping ahead several months...

ahhhhhhhhh... beautiful!

first lawn mowing :)

Voila! A gorgeous green carpet fills our backyard, and we're loving it! I came home today to find Tim stretched out on the lawn on a blanket with a book and cold drink - makes the effort all worthwhile. :)

I also planted a garden in the back corner - starting small at first. You can sort of see the patch of dirt in the back right corner in the first picture of the lawn above - that's my garden! This is also something I've dreamed of for years, and it makes me sooooo happy to think about picking vegetables from our backyard. :) Here are some of my supplies....

And a close-up so you can see what I planted...

I planted it about 3 weeks ago and here it is today...

The happiest item you see - sort of center, back - is zucchini. It's really thriving! I need to thin out a few things, since they're growing too close together. I'm definitely pushing it as it is, planting everything a bit closer than recommended - but I couldn't narrow it down to only 2 or 3 veggies... so we'll see how it goes. I also took a risk planting seeds rather than established plants (with one exception - the habanero in front left corner) this late in the season... so I'll keep you posted on their progress. It makes me so happy to see it all coming to life.

This dude is coming over the fence into our yard from the neighbor's, but we'll take it! They're blackberries, and they're in season - yum!

So, there's a wrap-up of our outdoor progress. Lots of next steps on the list in my mind... some type of border for the garden, to give it a more finished look (aesthetics are important to me, after all!), lots of plants along the back fence, etc. etc. etc. I've been scouring craigslist for the perfect deck furniture - I'm thinking something in wicker or rattan (love the texture they bring) with super comfy cushions. Also an outdoor rug and some other accessories. But, one thing at a time. In the meantime, we're enjoying the carpet of green every time we look out the window! :)

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