Nasturtiums

NasturtiumsOctober 7, 20007When we moved here in June I was not expecting any edible plants so I was quite pleased to discover strawberries and parsley. A few weeks ago I noticed the greens of nasturtiums. When they began flowering I was elated. I had planted nasturtiums a couple of years ago in my old gardens. For some reason they did not reseed so I planted them again. With the move, the

~* A Few Of My DH's Favorite Things *~

I was inspired by Melissa's post to show you a few of my dear husband's favorite things in our home. My dh grew up around horses and has always had a love for them and all things western...I think he dreams of being a cowboy!

One of my dh's favorite horse pictures above our mantel.

Our most recent Montana Silversmith figurine purchase. (Becky do you see the glass container that is similar to yours?)

A curio cabinet filled with Montana Silversmith horse figurines.
An old lasso and spurs.

Our living room lamp with another pair of spurs.

So you see dear friends, my dh does have some input into the decorating of our home.

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Thank you dear friends for your very kind comments about my powder room redecorating. It did upset me that my favorite find of the day had gotten broken. Next time I will try to be more careful with my precious cargo!

Happy Gardening!Garden Gnome©2007

Real Estate 101: Top Tips to Improving Your Home

If you are trying to sell your home, you will want to take a few steps to improve it in order to get the best price possible. By following these simple tips, you will be able to get a great price and to sell your home as quickly as possible.

Tip 1: Getting Natural
One of the quickest and easiest ways to improve the look of your home and to improve its value is to add a few flowers. Even if you are not an avid gardener, you can add a few flowers to make your home more appealing when homebuyers visit your property. Flowers are relatively inexpensive, easy to add and provide immediate results.
If you don't want to dig up your yard, you can simply place some flowers inside planter boxes. You can then place them on the porch, on the patio, in windowsills or anywhere else a little color would be a good idea. Some flowers that are quite attractive and easy to care for include:
Alyssum Marigolds Pansies Petunias Snapdragons These flowers are also pretty inexpensive and can be bought in trays. In fact, you can create an entire planter box - including the planter, soil and the flowers for less than $20. What's even better is you can take the planter boxes with you when you move, so you can dress up your new home right away!

Tip 2: Create a Grand Entrance
The entryway will be the first thing most people notice, as this is what leads them into your house. Therefore, you should give this area a bit of attention when improving your home. Your landscaping and outdoor design should make it clear where your front door is located and should help encourage visitors to move in this direction. Sometimes, simply painting the front door a different color is enough to boost its appeal. Many designers prefer to paint the front door a bright color and to place a large welcome mat in front of the door to help it stand out a little more. Creating an "outdoor foyer" of sorts can also help draw attention to the entryway. A strategically placed bench or potted plants can do wonders where this is concerned.

Tip 3: Update the Kitchen and Bathrooms
You don't have to completely gut your kitchen and bathrooms in order to get a great look. But, you should take steps to make sure they are both updated, because these rooms are the two biggest selling points to a home.
One way to quickly update a kitchen is to reface the cabinets. This is less expensive than installing completely new cabinetry and can provide great results. If your budget allows, you might install more up-to-date appliances as well. Changing the cabinetry or installing interesting lighting in a bathroom can go a long way toward improving the look of this room as well.
Making a few simple steps to improve your home can go a long way toward improving the value of your real estate. Even better, by making a few smart choices, these improvements do not have to cost you a great deal of money. Yet, they can help you dramatically increase the amount of money you receive when you do sell your home.-by Kinan Beck

~* Powder Room Redecorating *~

I've been doing some redorating. The top of my yellow cupboard was a little boring so I decided to do something about it. I found the little artificial plant at Goodwill for .69 cents. (In person it almost looks real!) I love words so I couldn't pass up dream that I found at a local country decorating store.

I also added a few items to this cupboard in the powder room.
I found this great little pitcher at Goodwill yesterday for .99 cents. I thought it was so adorable. Would you believe that when I got the bag out of the vehicle I dropped it and it broke. I was able to salvage it and get it glued back together. However, there are two small holes on the other side of the pitcher that couldn't be fixed. I didn't have the heart to throw it away (I'm only showing you the good side). Unless it's picked up you wouldn't know it was broken.

This is a picture of my dear Mom when she was a little girl. I found this frame at a thrift store almost a year ago and didn't know what to put it in. I have another frame exactly like this one. I'm going to put a picture of my dear Dad in it from when he was a little boy. The old books were yard sale finds.
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It was so nice to hear from Esther, Lynda, Julie, Wendi, Manuela, Brenda, Kari and Kijsa, Dena, Terri and Bob, Heidi, Robin, Becky, Linda and Penny....thank you for leaving me a comment!

Go Fly A Kite!

The American Kiteflyers Association is in town this weekend. There's over a 1,000 people down on the beach. Here are some pictures I took.

~* My Chalkboard *~

Heidi wanted to know what I was going to use my chalkboard for...at the suggestion of my dd, we are going to put quotes on it.

The quote I have on it right now was found in one of my Gooseberry Patch books. It says:

Give us Lord,

a bit o' sun

a bit o' work

and a bit o' fun.

Give us all,

in the struggle and sputter,

our daily bread and a bit o' butter.

It has been fun looking for quotes to put on the chalkboard. If I really like the quote I'm going to leave it up for at least a week.
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I hope you're not getting tired of me saying thank you for visiting me, but I really do appreciate it. I've been trying to catch up with all of you on your blogs. For some reason when I visit Robin at Bittersweet Pumpkin I cannot leave a comment on her blog. It comes up with a message that Internet Explorer cannot display the page. Robin, if you're reading this I just wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten about you. I was going to contact you by e-mail but couldn't find an e-mail address. I just wanted to let you know that I'm praying for you and your family. I also appreciate the concern you showed to me when I was under the weather.

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Also, to Jenny, you wanted a plan of our farmhouse. Could you please contact me by e-mail? Thanks!