Vintage Silver Succulent Planters

It seems that I'm usually behind the eight ball when it comes to trends.  Something will hit it big, but it will take me quite a while to finally come around to it.  Are you at all like that?

Take succulents, for example....I never was interested.  Thought they were rather, well, blah.  But then, I started seeing them pop up all over the web, especially Pinterest.  Hmmmm, interesting.  Perhaps I could see some potential?  Then I saw them paired with vintage silver.  Now I was definitely interested!

Then, it finally struck me.  Duh.  All that silver plate upstairs in the attic leftover from my parent's wedding--the perfect containers for those little guys!

First step?  Pull out all of the pieces and then clean up the silver, just a bit, since that tarnish adds a bit of patina and interest.

Next, I added some little pebbles for extra drainage.  Succulents are similar to cactus in that they like well drained soil and need very little watering.  They were located right next to each other at the garden store.

After I filled the bottom with the pebbles I added some special soil specifically for succulents.  See above.

Finally, I played around with the pairings until I found a good variation of leaves and color and then popped them into the containers and filled in with the extra soil. 

I love how they turned out!  Now they are sitting up in "the treehouse" (what the Noodle calls our office/craft room because of the trees) in a sunny window.  We're working feverishly to get a few projects finished (another one that uses some of the silver trays) because we're having some family over next weekend.  Perhaps I'll even get some pictures up of another completed room......................

To see another project that used some leftover silver, see here.  Lollie was thrilled to hear that her silver was given new life and wasn't languishing anymore up in the attic.  Ha!

Hittin' the yard Part 2

You can see what our poor yard looked like here before we started tackling it this spring.  Renovations and construction don't mix well with grass, plants and flowers!

Our old house had a small, but well established garden with lots of lush plants. Thankfully, before we moved, J had the forethought to divide and pot up lots of our perennials. At least we had a base to start from.

It is still a work in progress and we're adding to it each day.  I'm thinking about having a neighboorhood plant swap...anyone ever done one before?  Helpful hints or advice?  We're all about the free stuff!

Here are the after shots.  Yipee!  Flowers and green grass (hopefully still more coming in!) and order :)

Iris and our herb garden

Prolific oregano, peonies, iris, hosta and daylily

Hydranga, hosta and a few tiny boxwoods

Arbovitea, hosta and a great big hydrangea I planted back in high school  :)

 

The raised bed in the front was in good shape but we did add in a vegetable garden.  This side of the house faces south and it is amazing how the temperature varys from one side of the house to the other.  It blazes here in the summer.  The veggies should love it!

 

Hello Monday (Father's Day)

We are coming off of a super relaxing Father's Day weekend.  Friday night J and I had a date night (thanks Grandma for the over night!).  There was an awesome concert at church that left us both feeling refreshed and renewed.  When we got home we took our wine down to watch the sunset...it was breathtaking!

Saturday morning, even though there wasn't a little person to wake us up, we still got up early and took our kayaks out onto the lake.  Super quiet.  Super calm.  Great company and conversation.

Then the Noodle came home and we headed out for a train run.  J's dad is part of a train club and it is so fun riding the rails.  It is a Father's Day tradition.

Sunday, after church, we just hung out.  It started off gloomy and overcast but by the afternoon the clouds had parted and it really heated up.  So much so that the Noodle decided she needed to give her new "swimming slippers" a try in the sprinkler.  Good times!

It is a new week and so that means another chance to say hello.

Hello to warmer weather.  Hello to week-long pony camp.  Hello to surgery--Lollie's having her second hip replaced.  Hello to playdates.  Hello to alfresco lunches.  Hello to new books to be read on the porch.

Summer is in full swing and we are taking time to enjoy each and every minute of it!  Linking up with Lisa here.

Hittin' the yard Part 1

Anyone who has ever tackled a remodeling or a construction project knows that in the process, your yard takes quite a beating. Our's was no different. Between the renovation, move and everything else last summer, we decided to not even attempt to work on the yard. This spring, however, we hit it with full gusto!

Here are some of the before shots. Remember that these were taken in March when everything was dormant and nothing was up yet. Pretty bleak!

 

 

First step? To pull out alllll the invasive ivy. What a chore. Back-breaking more like. It still almost completely covers the large tree in the back corner, but we're going to leave that...until later.

Once we pulled all the ivy out, we needed some plants.  lots of plants.  Then, we heard through the neighboorhood grapevine, that since one of the houses was being remodeled, the plants in the garden were free game--rather than be demolished by trucks and worker dudes who have no regard for anything green, we could come pick and choose.  Jackpot!!  I can't tell you how many wheelbarrow treks J made back and forth.  The Noodle and I were his moral support.  Ha!  Here's what we got:

We did end up giving some of the hosta, iris and peonies to J's folks, so not all of these are ours.  But still.  I can't even begin to imagine what it would have cost us to go to the local gardening center and loaded up like this.  The ultimate in recycling!

Check back to see our progress.......

It's the berries!!

The start of summer vacation means strawberry pickin' season.  Yeah for u-pick fruit!  Can't get more ripe, fresh or local than that.

This year we picked 2 buckets full.  In years past I've gone over board and picked and picked and picked.  The problem (if you can actually call it a problem) is that, in my opinion, strawberries don't freeze very well.  Unlike blueberries or raspberries.  Still, there's strawberry jam, strawberry shortcakes, strawberry smoothies, plain strawberries, strawberries on cereal, strawberries on yogurt...I could wax on and on!

Picking strawberries is serious buisness.

Sneaking a few in is even more serious.

The payoff?  Strawberry custard.  Mmmmm delish!!

Kindergartener...nope, make that first grader!

First and last days of kindergarten!  Sniff, sniff.