Hello pretty star flowers….

I picked up a bundle of these from Hobby Lobby over the weekend and I'm head-over-heels in love with them. They are tee-tiny dried flowers in my favorite color scheme…creamy white…and in my opinion have "french farmhouse" written all over them.  LOVE them!

I'm feeling more and more inspired with regards to finally decorating my house…after 4 years of pretty much nothing.

I've got more of a vision and direction in my mind AND…the energy to actually take on some projects.


So...my first SIMPLE project this weekend was to fill this pretty pitcher I picked up from HomeGoods.

I also found these Halloween napkins and cute wooden box that unexpectedly fit my napkins perfectly!!

It looks like it's an enamel pitcher but it's really ceramic. And again…it looks completely French Farmhouse to me….which if you didn't know is my decorating style.

I have fretted over exactly what to put on the island in my kitchen for nearly 4 years now. It sounds ridiculous, right? I've tried everything from glass apothecary jars to oversized pieces of pretty pottery. All of the things I've tried have either been too tall…too short…to bleh…or just plain impractical. I'm in the kitchen A LOT and most of the time our dinners are served straight from the island so I needed something I could easily move to accommodate dinners.

That's how I came up with the tray idea. I picked this one up from JoAnn's a couple of years ago.
I have loved it. But I haven't necessarily loved the items I've put on it. That is…until this weekend.

When I spotted the bundle of star flowers at Hobby Lobby I was concerned they wouldn't quite be right for the pitcher. But I decided to try them out anyway. I'm so glad I did. The stems are super thin but stiff so because they were originally too tall for the pitcher, I took my garden shears…stood over the trash can and easily cut them down to where I wanted them. I cut the whole bundle of stems at one time. Easy peasy.

I think what I love most about the star flowers is that as much as they are perfect for fall right now…they really adapt to every season - and that makes me happy knowing I'm not going to tire of them or be forced to change them out with every holiday. I'll only need to swap out the candle scent. And honestly…I'd burn pumpkin spice year-round…and anything with cranberry! I just LOVE those two scents. Actually, my two older daughters have me hooked on the scents that have a "fireside" smell to them. We LOVE bonfires and roasting marshmallows…so it only seems natural to gravitate towards those smells.

Anyway…this new flower-filled pitcher and candle makes this island my absolute favorite spot in the house right now. I'm not even kidding. I must've said to Clara at least three different times, "You have no idea how happy this makes me." while dreamily staring at the island and breathing in the pumpkin spice scent. I also told her if I was bride I would totally just carry a bundle of star flowers just like this. That's all I would need…tied with a pretty ribbon.

Once again…sticking with simple makes me the happiest. A pitcher of pretty flowers and a $5 Heritage Target Candle. Done. Not too tall. Not too much. Easy to move for meal prep. I can't stop staring!

The only problem now is I think the pitcher would look really pretty on my farm table…and in my living room…or on my mantle…or on the side of my tub…or in my bedroom.  Ha! And to me…that's a good thing because that confirms even more that this was totally the right choice. *wink*

I'm wondering if this new-found inspiration and energy are a direct reflection from the Whole90 I've been doing? Maybe? Regardless…I'm on Day 72 and I'm feeling good. So I'll take that.

If you love the French Farmhouse look too…you'll find MORE inspiration on my Farmhouse Love pinterest board. 

KEEPiNG iT REAL
All of these photos were taken with my iPhone because I'm too lazy to get out my real camera.
The top one is pretty awesome because there was actually sunshine this morning when I snapped that one! However, the other two are from this weekend when it was raining. They are okay - but blurry.

I went back to Hobby Lobby and purchased a 2nd bundle of these dried star flowers because I love them so! (I've got the Hobby Lobby App on my phone and used my 40% coupon for both purchases!!)  Not sure if I should add more flowers to the existing pitcher or place them in spots all around the house. Still deciding.

LIFE | My search for the elusive Tendregris

I've just started the early steps towards making over our Master Bedroom.
It's been something I've been thinking about and putting off for a long-time.

My process for transforming this room started with selecting the wall color.
I pulled out the "Country French" magazine I've been keeping for years as a reference for a color
I've been searching for ever since I saw it mentioned in the pages.

"In France, the ubiquitous color called tendregris (soft grey) is everywhere. It morphs to a green or blue depending on the light and the season."

I decided THIS would be the color for the Master Bedroom.
The fact that it morphs into different colors depending on the light/season is perfect for my personality...I'm that person who tires of things quickly and is always rearranging furniture for a new look.

With about five different paint samples...

Ella and I began the process of elimination last week by putting up some swatches of color on all four of the existing "Viva Gold" walls in the Master Bedroom.

The paint colors I gravitate towards are typically very neutral.

So you can imagine the shock to my system when we walked into this home for the first time as potential buyers.

Not only was the outside of the home painted a "pumpkin" color...

almost every single wall in the interior of the home matched the exterior! *gasp*

Want proof?

Here are some of  the "before and after" photos I shared with you awhile back...

I much prefer the various "creamy white" colors I chose to paint over the gold, don't you?

So with the rest of the interior walls of the house painted...

our master bedroom has been the only room left to officially banish the viva gold from our home forever! It's been a painful wait, trust me!

After a few days of looking at the color swatches on all four of my walls...

I have made a decision!!

It's clean, fresh, soft, pretty and something different than my standard "creamy white".

Colors Swatches from Top to Bottom:

Sherwin Williams - Blue Hubbard - perfect - I'll take this one!!

Behr Ultra - Lime Light - really like this one too - a little less color than Blue Hubbard!

Behr Ultra - Pensive Sky - too blah!

Behr Ultra - Contemplation - too dark!

Behr Ultra - Light French Gray - too grey!

I almost went with the Lime Light until I remembered I had a paint sample in the garage from a previous paint project.  It was meant to be! It turned out to be just enough added color to bump the "Lime Light" out of the limelight! *wink*

The Blue Hubbard is a discontinued color by Sherwin Williams.

I'll be having Behr match the color and mix me up some Ultra!

My hopes are to get the room completely painted this weekend!!

I'm not sure that's going to happen though since my sweet Ella has been sick this week with the cold she caught from me.  I'm still not even 100% with a super annoying cough I can't seem to get rid of!!

Stay tuned for more details about the pillows I have found for my bed!!

KEEPiNG iT REAL

Although I don't recommend getting a terrible cold and being confined to bed for 3-4 days as a way to really put thought into the color swatches on your walls before making your decision...

I do have to say it worked out pretty good for me. Ha!!