Home {On Purpose}

I follow these bloggers that are just incredible.  I mean they blog, they homeschool their kids, they have fabulous homes, their projects are beautifully photographed, they write e-books and they teach e-courses.  I mean really incredible what these ladies get done in a single day.  Me, with children who are grown and a husband who is away periodically, I have trouble with simple things, like pulling together a spring table or dying Easter eggs.  But, I keep trying.  So, when Edie at Life in Grace Blog announced that she was hosting a life on purpose (home edition) link up, I thought I’d look back and see what I had done at home this past month, on purpose.

Color was big for me this past month, especially green.  I loved these flowers that were on special at my local grocery.

I had big plans for this spring table arrangement.  I completed it to a point, but never got around to using the blingy jewelry on the place settings like I envisioned.  I left them displayed in the pink vintage wicker basket with the linens and twine that I was going to pair them with.
Anyway, moving on.

Staying with the green theme, I’ve been doing a lot of vintage shopping.  I’m gradually changing up my accessories.  Gradually because I know how fast things change, and I don’t want to spend money for something that will be very silly looking to me in a couple of years.  I’ve got my eye out for the perfect kicked to the curb dresser to paint and place in the foyer.

I currently have a table in the foyer where I arranged an assortment of spring accessories.

In my living room, I dressed my sofas in their white slip covers and added a few new pillows.  The embroidered pillow is a kitchen towel that I recently purchased at a gift shop.  I folded it in half and sewed it.  I love the bright teal and yellow stripes especially.  The other fabric was a remnant at Joanne’s made into an envelope pillow cover.

This is a picture of a few more remnants and the back side of the kitchen towel pillow.

Here is a peek into the room, bright and sunny for spring and summer.

Now I realize there is not a lot to see here, no beautiful designer eye candy.  But, what I did, on purpose, was to eliminate stuff.  I pared down the bedding to a minimum and added crisp, soothing linens.  I’ll still tweak the combination, but plan to keep it restful. Even the walls have been stripped while I carefully consider what to put in those spots.  I’m thinking about silhouettes of my boys.  I would really like to paint the bed, it is too formal for my taste right now, but I don’t know, it’s pretty wood, and painting over it is a big commitment.

I spent a few days early in the month, freshening up the porch with spring pots of flowers.  My rockers have weathered nicely, don’t you think?  One thing about the new trend in vintage patina pieces, less work.  I’ll paint the chairs when the trend shifts to perfect.  I hope that’s a few years down the road.

Dinner on the lanai is a nice end to the day, even if I’m alone.  I have added some geraniums and herbs in pots in this space.

The art studio went from clean and organized to chaos, but I created a few pieces that I’m happy with.  She is on the cover of an art journal that I learned techniques for in Jeanne Oliver’s e-course, “The journey of letting go”.

I spent some time out at the barn every morning and afternoon.  Some mornings I would take the book, “The Artist’s Way”, by Julia Cameron and read while the horses ate their breakfast before their turn out for the day.

Finally, I purchased this garden bench that I plan to take to Tennessee, but right now it is pretty cute on my side porch. 

This is a photo of my deck that it will sit on.  I was inspired to use green furnishings from the pinterest photo below.  That’s not my deck in the pinterest photo, but it looks so much like it. 

Via Pinterest

That’s pretty much what I did last month.  Some successes, some not, some work in progress, and lots of living in my home, on purpose.  I’m linking this post to Life In Grace blog, and if you want to see what others have done in their Life on Purpose {Home Edition}, click on the following link.