New drapes finally

I bought new drapes before Christmas. Ive been wanting them up all winter  but I needed my bf to put up the new rods and take down the old stuff. I didn't want to try to remove a vertical blind setup, I figured Id make big holes. And so finally I talked him into doing it. This is where the verticals where, covering a big sliding door to my back deck.

 The drapes are thermal lined with fleece, so there are 3 layers to each part. I didn't realize that when I bought them, I thought they were lined only once.  The big drape however took me well over an hour to iron. It was a monster. I finally had to iron the bottom of it while it was hung up, I couldn't manage it anymore. At least this other window was a bit easier since they were in panels.

And I put rings at the top of the drapes thinking I can just pull them back when I open them. The old ones were a pain. I would close them but they dragged on the rug so each one had to be put in place by hand when I went to bed each nite. And the lights from the church below would come into my bedroom making sleep hard.  After these were hung I realized I couldn't pull the drape all the way back because they had a center support that had to be there (eye roll).

While I cant pull them all the way back, I can move it halfway and that will have to do. However I love them. ....the room is much warmer now. And it helps muffle sounds in the house so its quieter too. And they block out alot of the light that was disturbing us. You see that skinny window there? I have a beautiful lace curtain that was my grammas. Ive been going thru boxes trying to find it, so far I haven't. But when I do I think it will be perfect for that window, and then the room will finally be done.

Some of the latest around the house.....

Its been cold and rainy and I haven't been able to get outside to see much about the garden. Today the sun is blazing so I did. I planted broccoli very late but hey! I went outside and was able to pick just enough for dinner. Some are just starting to turn a bit yellow which means I needed to pick but there's still a lil bit still growing out there so for now Ill leave it. Not sure the amount of plants I have is worth the cost for this lil bit but Ill be starting over this yr so at least I have this.

I put away all the Christmas stuff and I wasn't quite ready to bring out all the Valentine stuff yet.  I just needed girly stuff around me. And so lately Ive been going thru my linens and doilies too, putting some out and freshening up the house. But it wasn't enough so last week I went to the craft store and bought some silk flowers. They didn't have much choices really compared to what I'm used to. And the Dollar store stuff looks so beyond fake. Nobody around here really has much of that so I ended up with some Ivy garlands on sale to make some candle rings with and some purple and white flowers. 

A flame-less candle in the floral ring I made, with the tiny nest I won a yr or so ago tucked in it. Figured it would give it a touch of spring.

Ive decided not to paint purple around here but put some in every room in some way. Could be flowers or pillows or glass, maybe a blanket too. But one color that catches your eye, but it is in every room so it flows. I'm not done yet but I'm working on it. Got more ideas too. But this is the latest stuff Ive done around the house. My poor bf, sure hope he likes living in a girly house.

I found this rose pottery container in Goodwill and it goes perfect with my soap dish. I wasn't sure what I would use it for but ended up putting one of my flame-less candles in it to use as a nite light.

As you can see its sunny today. But this is my living room with all the pillows on the sofa now, some in purple. And my new coffee table. Just need some curtain swags on the windows and this room will be done.

 And finally the wall by the fireplace is done. I bought these boxes down in Depoe Bay when my grand daughter was here. I saw them on several blogs online and fell madly in love with them.

 

They are rough wood boxes with herbs stenciled on them and I wasn't sure exactly where I wanted to put them. So they sat on the floor right there till the other day. I thought they would look great on my back deck with plants in them but then thought.........I wont see them out there very much. I wanted them inside. So I put them up but they still needed something. I remember what some put in them so I wandered around the house gathering stuff. I love it! It is perfect in that spot.

And this is my bed. Are you getting tired of seeing pics of it? I just adore this bed and decorate it for every season. And so the Christmas stuff came down but I decided to leave the glittery ivy garland up there and put my floral one back on top of that. I love how it looks. Can you see my skylight? That's my side of the bed so you can see why some nights sleep is pretty hard to do when its windy or the moon is shining in. 

But for Valentines day I pulled out some of my rose covered pillows in the lighter shades and put a rose printed pillow on top of that. God, my bed looks so girly lol. I love it.........my bf just pushes the pillows over to my side and crawls in........he hasn't complained yet lol. 

 But I just put these stickers over my bed the other day. I found them long ago. They say Always Kiss Me Goodnight. And since we do that every nite ( my ex never did) I want to keep it coming! 

And this is the small window on my side of the bed. Ive put my mermaid statue there and some pink flowers and such. I love it. I'm still trying to find my grandmothers lace curtain to hang there tho. Its a beautiful old fashioned piece and I only have one panel so it will be perfect for this spot.

And this is in my bathroom now. That's one of the candle rings I made. I used a small wicker wreath that the bottom of the candle holder would fit thru. Then I wrapped it with Ivy garland and stuck in flowers. One for each side of the sink. I decided to move my pierced plates in here instead of the basket I had to hold some things. The basket got too dusty from my powder and was a pain to clean. I think this looks much better.

And this is the mans side of the sink. I softened that basket with some lace and put the other candle there. Since I mostly use this during the day, I didn't put flame-less candles in here. I put real ones in so if I get company,  I can make it smell nice.

And finally over his stuff I hung these on the wall. I had that wall pocket filled with pine and holly for the holidays . Now I wanted something girly and in Romantic Country magazine, I saw in the newest issue a woman who puts hand mirrors all over her wall as decor and loved it. I use that one daily but have to take it in and out of the drawer if I want to keep the counters clutter free. So I decided hanging it was a good thing. Its pretty like the other stuff and I can just take it down daily to use. I used brass nails tho so it would look nice too.

Some Halloween decor...

Ive been putting things out now and then but really got into it today. I wasn't able to do this last month. We still had glorious summer days and I couldn't even look at pumpkins and such. Once I get the smell of Fall in the air tho and it starts getting cold at nite, I get in the mood. So today we had a fire going and I dragged out all the boxes.
Found out I have 7 boxes of stuff but part of it is also my Thanksgiving stuff too. Once Halloween is over, then I turn any spooky pumpkins around so they look plain and put the very Halloweenie stuff away. Then I drag out my turkeys and leaves.

But I found all my bags of cinnamon potpourri so Ive put some around with my pumpkin spice candles. Its smells heavenly in here. So here's what Ive got so far with decorating. I may change some things around yet.

I did however buy some battery operated candles this year to use for all my holidays. While I do use real, I have some spots I just can't so this helps a lot.

Front porch -Letting you know the witch is in.

Just a few things so far at the front door. I found the black raven feather wreath when I was home visiting my folks. I thought it would be perfect for Halloween.

Punkins! The big one in the middle is real and some of the small ones too. All the rest are ones I know wont get ruined if they get wet. I may be adding more real ones if I find some I like. This is my picnic table on my front porch.

Living room - A pretty pumpkin dish on a stand with a mason jar battery operated candle.

A glass pumpkin filled with spicy potpourri

Living room -Here's where I leave my broom and hat when I'm not out and about :)

Dining room - Since I don't have a mantle Ill be using this shelf now for my holiday decor and treating it like a mantle. Here's where I needed the battery operated candles since they would ruin the wood here.

Dining room table decor.

This skull gets a tea light in it and this is how it looks when lit.

I usually put this on my front porch but here I can't cuz of rain all the time. So here it is in the dining room , ready to serve Poison from the cauldron.

Kitchen - Things this kitchen witch is offering this season.

Witches Kitchen - Can't put this lil guy on my porch, there's no electrical outlets there. So here he sits on the kitchen counter with some friends and a spicy candle.

The witches bedroom - Here's my bed ready for Halloween

Close up of the pillows on the bed.

Some pumpkins and more black feathers. Doesn't everyone have those in their bedroom? :)

 My bloody bathroom - Some crazy Halloween decor on my bathroom mirror. hehehehe

 Have to have some Halloween elegance right? So some white pumpkins made girly.

Some fall decor on the potty. Now if we need it......we can light those candles to improve the space......they are pumpkin spice hehehe

Guess you cant be a gardener without getting dirt under your nails...

Not my hands but mine looked bad, I keep forgetting my gloves!

Been outside today working in the garden. Its bright and sunny but not as hot as yesterday. So its perfect for being out there. I have things I have to transplant from my back deck to my garden and Ive been putting it off with all the canning Ive been doing. So today I decided to get started.

Its hard tho. I sat outside on my deck after breakfast. Beautiful sunny day, big puffy white clouds (saw one that looked like a dragon!) and deep blue sky. Its warm in the sun and yet there's a bit of a breeze blowing. And I looked at the plants as I sat there soaking in nature and thought to myself. WTF are you doin? lol Things are dying out here, your so busy with everything else your letting your Eden croak!

And so I transplanted the shallots and basil I had in a container to the main garden. Don't know what will survive being end of summer. I did it with the onions last week and they look ok. And the regular basil is doing much better now too. So I figure these will survive. While I was at it I grabbed two bulbs of garlic from my kitchen. I broke apart the cloves and planted them by my pepper plants. Lets see if they grow. I see garden sites selling this now to plant in the fall to get some next yr. Its one grand experiment here this yr. 

 Big planter in front with mint and petunias, coffee mug planter far right on top of pointed raised bed.

I brought the big coffee mug planter out with the forget-me-nots and thyme in it. I was going to transplant it but it looks so pretty . I decided to just put the whole container at the point of that one raised bed to soften it. Not sure it will stay there but for now its nice.  I also planted the large leaf tarragon, it was getting pot bound. I still have some herbs in pots to move around too.

I was strolling thru a website where I buy some things and saw this armillary. (early astronomical device for representing the great circles of the heavens, including in the most elaborate instruments the horizon, meridian, Equator, tropics, polar circles, and an ecliptic hoop. The sphere is a skeleton celestial globe, with circles divided into degrees for angular measurement. In the 17th and 18th centuries such models—either suspended, rested on a stand, or affixed to a handle)

 It was on sale at a pretty good price but I just kept passing it by. I found a 20% coupon tho and went back. It was still in stock so I ordered it. I'm trying to break up the big expanse of flat boxes. I want to add some garden art too. And so I ordered it and it came the other day. Its not as big as I thought but I like it. I had to put a planter in the bottom of it as it was too light and the thing would leak some dirt. And for now I just have some pansies in it cuz that's all I could find. When I get something that will climb, next yr. Ill put it here. I think it will look gorgeous as you walk into my yard, with pretty climbing flowers.

Now if I could just get my dog to pee somewhere else I would be happy. Shes doing it right at the bottom of my front steps and it stinks. Grrrrrrrr So for now I sprinkled baking soda till I get to the store for some lime. I have to figure out how to get her to go elsewhere. Still need some stakes tho for the pea shoots a friend started for me. And some stakes for my raspberries. 

 That's my raspberry bush. Its actually starting to get flowers and raspberries!! Can you see them? Wont be much this yr but it looks like I found a good spot for them. Next yr. should be even better.

The garden is done....before and after.

I moved into this house on a hill and wanted to garden. It was built on rock tho so I had to put in a raised bed garden. This is the picture story of it being built. This is the before of my backyard. As you can see its a steep hill.

This is a shot of the after but you really need to see all the parts to see how its transformed the spot.

This is the shot at the bottom of my front porch steps. My front porch is actually my side yard. Its the only place I have that I can actually use the land to grow. This is before.

This is looking down those steps at the after on this side of the yard. Im just beginning to plant so this yr. will be one big experiment since Im starting so late.

Left side yard, before.

One of the boxes on left side, after. Ill be planting seeds in this one. For now I put a Welcome sign in the dirt.

That gate is the entry into my side yard. Next to the garage door Im going to put a rock border and a plant.

Right side yard. It had a rock base set up for garbage cans before. We built a raised bed/compose bin here now.

Right side yard, after. You see the big split box in the corner now. Several beds have been built going down the fence and the fence is in. The front bed is built to use up what land was left but leave the area where the septic system is open, in case of any problems. I decided for now that bed will have my herbs.

Right side yard, before. You can see whats left of the former garden. I had everything ripped out since the plantings made no sense and were very weedy too. Ill reuse those concrete borders to make some smaller planters near the beds.

This is after where the former garden was. These are some of the beds there now. Thats broccoli and Brussels sprouts planted.

Before, it starts to go down hill at the end here.

Few more beds near the down hill area.

There are pavers and steps that start just past the porch which goes down the steep slope and behind the house.

Not sure you can see it clearly but theres the steps going down. There are pavers off to the right which go to a premade by former owners, flat area bordered by rocks. I decided to put more beds there.

This is the fence and gate after. I thought he would leave it rustic but he made these nice end caps to finish the fence off.

This is looking up at the fence and gate, after. As you can see its a very uneven area so I think he did pretty good.

This is the before of that flat area behind the house. This house was built on rock fill tho and even anchoring the beds was hard because of that. So thats why I did raised beds everywhere.

This is after with the raised beds. This is the sunny side of the house too so for now I put in whatever tomatoes and peppers I had . Nothing may grow cuz its late in the season but I want to see how thing do back there for next yr. The zucchini has grown a few in. tho since that plant was put in.

One more shot of the gate and fence, closed this time. I needed a fenced area too for my dog, not just to keep the critters out.

And here is my Paradise. The fence is only 5ft high which meant I didn't need a permit.  And yes we do get deer around here. But everything past the fencing is a very steep grade so the deer would have to really work at getting in there. And if they do I can still legally add something to the top of the fence if I need to.  So now its finally Home Sweet Home and Garden.