Coffee talk, but with flowers

My name is Ashley, and I am a flower murderer.

I don’t mean to be this way, I just am. And it’s not just the day lily incident – this has been going on since Brent and I bought our first house in 2006. I would plant flowers only to watch them die (most often at a rather alarming pace).

Each year, Brent and I would make the trip to Lowes for flowers, but we both knew what their fate would be several weeks later. It almost became a game to see how quickly they would die. Some people have green thumbs; I apparently had a black one.

How did I murder my flowers? Sometimes with neglect, and other times, I honestly have no idea.

I have no issues admitting that I am flower ignorant. Several months ago, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you the difference between perennials and annuals. Last month, I wouldn’t have been able to point out what a geranium looked like. Scratch that, if it wasn’t a daffodil, rose or tulip – I probably wouldn’t have been able to name it.

This year I am trying something new. Not only did I triple the amount of flowers I bought from last year, but I’m keeping track of what I buy by keeping all the flower labels. At the end of the flower season, I will divide them into good and bad piles. This way next year I can remember which flowers I maintained successfully and keep note of which ones to avoid. I figure this is the perfect solution to the flower amnesia I get each spring.


Okay, enough flower talk – on to the visual evidence.

The flower I am having the most success with is celosias. I think it is the coolest looking flower – it’s colorful, pointy and adorable.
My father-in-law is all about the zinias. So when I saw these for sell at a farmer's market on Saturday, I decided to give it a try. My father-in-law said these flowers are pretty low maintenance and rather difficult to kill – that sounds like a challenge.
Also in my landscape, I have these 2 flower pots as well. In the larger pot are petunias, and sadly, I have no idea what the purple flowers are (I got these flowers sans label).
So far this is my only thing of flowers out front – hopefully, this will be changing before long. I have some Impatiens waiting for some love.

I'm clearly going all out this year, because I'm expanding past flowers. This year I'm also giving my first herb a try – oregano.


I'm happy to report that I've had some of these flowers for more than a month, and all is going good so far.

Landscaping: I finally finished something

I have been working on so many projects these past several weeks (hallway, family room, backyard, art, doors, furniture flip), I was starting to feel like a failure for completing none of them.

With the weather being beautiful this weekend, I decided to suck it up and complete the lansscaping in the back of my backyard. (That's right, there's still the area next to the deck that needs to be addressed).

The weed picking and landscaping took forever, but it was totally worth it.

Before:
After:

It feels amazing to have this done. I find myself coming outside more than usual, just so I can enjoy my backyard. I love it.

Man Cave: Even more bar photos

I know it's been a lot of man cave recently, but Brent is a machine right now.

The keg box insulation has been added:
Once the foam insulation is sanded down, it's about time for the workspace countertop.

April's books

Books read in April: 7
Books listened to in April: 1

Books:
20. “2nd Chance” by James Patterson (Women’s Murder Club #2)
21. “3rd Degree” by James Patterson (Women’s Murder Club #3)
22. “Hush, Hush” by Becca Fitzpatrick
23. “Some Girls Are” by Courtney Summers
24. “City Dog” by Alison Pace
25. “The Organized Home” by Real Simple
26. “Hunted” by PC Cast (House of Night #5)

Audiobooks:
15. “Drums of Autmn” by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander #4)
(Why only one? This bad boy was 39 discs).

Favorite book of the month:
“Drums of Autumn” by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander #4)
This is definitely my favorite book so far in the Outlander series. If you like historical fiction with romance and a hot Scottish love interest, then this series may be for you as well. Basically, it's about time traveling and finding your soulmate in Scotland in the 1700s.

Man Cave: more bar photos

Brent was out of town visiting his parents over the weekend, so I wasn't expecting to have any weekend status photos to show off, but he proved me wrong. Less than an hour after he got home on Sunday, he was in the garage making cuts.

This is what the bar looked like before:
Here's the new after:

The goal is still to have this bad boy finished by Father's Day. We shall see.

In the birdhouse

Me: I think I want to get a bird feeder.

Brent: You don’t seem like someone who would want a bird feeder.

Me: Well, I wouldn’t get a gross, plastic one.

Brent: You still don’t seem like someone who would want one.

Me: So you want the birds to starve?

Don’t worry, I’m not letting the birds starve. I had yesterday off, so my dad and I ventured to Wild Bird Center (yay for 20% off coupons) and the Mission Road Antique Mall (JoCo ladies – did you know a 50,000 sq. foot antique mall existed in Corinth Square? I didn’t either).

As my luck would have it though, by the time I got home from my errand spree – I was feeling gross. I knew it was bad when I took a 2-hour nap and felt worse afterward. I’m doing better though and have been fever-free for 4 hours now. ☺

This morning there was an angry bird outside that kept pecking at my dining room window, which in return, made my dogs go insane. Whenever, I walked to the window the bird would go to the grass and just chill like a normal bird. Then about 20 minutes later the bird would start tapping away again.

I took this bird-drama as a sign that it was time to get the bird feeder up. I’m really happy with how it looks – now if only a bird would visit it.

Mood board Monday

I am excited to be participating in my second Mood Board Monday over at pewter & sage.

For this challenge, we tackled the new line at West Elm, which is very nature-based. Everything in this line made me think sun room, but since I did that for the last challenge – I wanted to do something different.

My inspiration was this pillow:
I love the colors, the lines and the femininity this pillow offers.

Because of this, I decided to design a nursery. That's right, I'm now the child-free girl who has designed a nursery. (But seriously, don't get any ideas).

I wanted this space to have some nursery decor, while maintaining enough key pieces (such as the rug and dresser) that could transition on when the said baby is no longer a baby.

Here's my space:

1. The wall color is Martha Stewart's Calabash.

2. My plan for this fabric would be curtain panels. This is the fabric that ties my color scheme together – greens, pinks, white and browns. The fabric is Patio Stripe by Waverly.

3. This is the bedding I picked – I love how playful it is. It's called Tea Rose by gus & max.

4. I have a crush on this crib; I love the modern look it has. The crib is by Oeuf Sparrow and is $690.

5. The mirror is from Pier 1 and retails at $199.95.

6. I found this Oilo Studio Modern Berries light at Modern Nursery.

7. I found this rug at Modern Rugs. I love the visual impact it makes without being over the top.

8. Like anyone doesn't know this shelf is from Ikea. I thought with all the toys and books kids acquire, a shelf like this would be ideal (once mounted to the wall, of course).

9. I found this doggy touch lamp on Amazon.

10. This simplistic photo mobile is from the MoMA Store.

11. Meet Jasper the Dog. Jasper is available in several sizes, but for this room I'd be going big – the 28x28 it is.

12. This green dresser is from Former Furniture. I am all about colorful dressers right now.

13. Honestly, the only reason I'm showing the changing pad is because I figured someone would otherwise ask about the lack of one. :)

14. It's a nursery, I have to show a couple of toys on my Mood Board – I figured a piggy bank, alligator and Uglydoll were the way to go.

15. These Pottery Barn Kids storage containers were totally made for this space.

16. The pillow from West Elm that started it all.

17. This glider is from Modern Nursery. I love the green piping it has on it. This chair retails for $1,294 (don't judge – this room is imaginary).

18. This Kelly Table Lamp is Crate & Barrel, and retails for $179.

19. This Ully Pedestal Table is also from Crate & Barrel.