Bamboo Friday - Beach Edition

I went to the beach last week. 

It was fabulous. 

I had a folding canvas beach chair I bought at Goodwill.

No complaints. 

But, then I saw this .

I now have #beachgoals.

I saw this on IG @elizagranstudio

Originally from@condenasttraveller

Summer Memories

A bamboo shelf.

Blue and White.

Shells.

Coral.

Inherited seascape oil paintings.

Photos of beach vacations through the years.

A glass float purchased in Charleston.

Hand painted bowls from mission trips.

A few of my favorite Summertime memories.

School's Out For Summer!!

In our area school will get out at 12:30 today and it is officially SUMMER!!

I love. love. love Summer and it seems to take longer to get here every year!!

#hurryupsummer

This is what I would like to do ALL Summer!

Are you a beach person or a mountain vacation person?

   

This year's beach hat is fro the Dollar Spot at Target!

I'm Team BEACH all the way!

We are not sure where we are going yet!!

I can't believe I just wrote that! 

We have been waiting to see if perhaps, just maybe, our condo that was flattened

 last Fall by the hurricane might, just maybe, be ready by July.

Nope. 

I'm headed out to spend my June 

living out of a backpack on Mission trips but believe me - Mollie is on it!!

She is a researcher extraordinaire and she is determined to find our little July spot

 in a paradise somewhere. :)

We are going to (practically) throw a dart at Florida, 

find a place to hang our (beach) hats 

and have an adventure!

Maybe it will be as funny as the one I talked about here.

Where are you going this Summer? 

Like, I really want to know! 

I want to know about great places to visit!!

So dish!!

Bamboo Is Best.

Bamboo Is Best is the title of one of my most popular Pinterest boards 

and my design mantra as well. 

I think Dorothy Draper said every room needed a touch of black.

 I agree, but I think every room needs a touch of bamboo.

 Or in my case - more than a touch.
 I like my bamboo in big doses.

And it turns out I'm not wrong about this.


Vintage bamboo, reproduction bamboo, faux bamboo and new styles of bamboo furniture are everywhere these days.

It's really timeless.

Our first flatware many, many years ago was bamboo. 

And here we are still using bamboo flatware.

via

Bamboo is so versatile.
 You can use a room full of bamboo furniture or mix in a touch of bamboo into traditional, contemporary and rooms of every style. 
Inside and outside.

More formal

via

or relaxed and casual.

via

Bamboo works in every room and with every style.
It's the "neutral" of furniture.

So, here's a little bamboo eye candy as we breeze in to the first weekend of August.
 It's still Summer in my book 
(I do not care what the Metro Atlanta School Calendar says)
and there's plenty of time to enjoy some tropical bamboo accents.
For this "Bamboo Friday" I'm focusing on natural bamboo pieces:

This bed from Anthropologie is perfection.
I wouldn't be mad if this showed up at my house.


Or this entire bedroom set up from One Kings Lane:




If not a whole bamboo bed then a vintage rattan and bamboo bedside table
 adds warmth and another texture to this pretty bedroom:

via
(And I'd like to point out that her toddler created the b/w modern artwork!)

Bar carts are another place I like natural bamboo tones:
This one is styled up in Amanda Louise perfection:



I have a couple of bamboo bar carts and I use them for anything and everything!


More styled to perfection bamboo bar carts here.

(Stuart Membery)

This gorgeous dresser came to live in my family room at the beginning of the year. 
It was too gorgeous to paint.

(I'm not a fan of big, black TVs from a design standpoint 
but they are a reality and the bamboo dresser takes it up a notch in my opinion.)

Bamboo dressers are being used in every room of the house these days.
Gorgeous, repurposed storage.





Everything about this powder room with it's bamboo dresser turned vanity is fabulous!

 via Chinoiserie Chic

We think vintage bamboo is so fabulous that we started a business finding and selling what we can bear to part with :)
See what that's about here and here!

I love bamboo so much that maybe "Bamboo Fridays" should be a thing!

From My iphone 5/2017

Some randomness from my phone.

It's a mixed bag for sure!

This one pan ( read 5 minute clean up) recipe is turning into a major favorite around here. I've made it for my parents when visiting and they are big fans too. The original came from Waiting On Martha but I have tweaked it slightly. 

I have switched WOM's green beans for the asparagus. 

The timing still works perfectly and we love it.

It's in the rotation!

I bought tickets to see India Hicks speak at a garden club fundraiser.

 I have been a fan since an article in a magazine decades ago. She's my hero - she ran away to  small island and lives in a big white house. What more do you need??

She was delightful.

Go see her if you have the chance.

I'm loving these two chinoiserie fabrics currently.

Where, oh where, can I use them?

(I've used this fabric before but in a different colorway. This colorway is growing on me!)

I posted pics on IG and on the blog of a blue version
of these hand stamped anthro knock off curtains. 

I printed the pink version for my One Room Challenge.
The details of how I went about it and what I used are here.
I will tell you that for the blue version I used old sheets, laid them out on a table and eye-balled the layout. You can read why time was a major factor.
For the pink version I was printing on IKEA panels and I laid them out and used painters tape and a t-square to create a registration process for the hand blocked layout. It didn't take much longer to do the measured registration if you feel the need for more definite order. However, when the two different treatments were hanging I couldn't really see where the more precise layout made any difference. So if you are pretty sure handed and can eye things then you may not feel the need to register the block printing.

Then I felt the need for a pink pagoda pillow. The example I found while making my Olio Board was $91.00. So you know what that means? I had to make my own! I used a white pillow cover I happened to have, some of  the gorgeous Sherwin Williams paint - Ruby Shade- I used for my block printed curtains, and a small flat brush and painted it freehand.

 I like it. 

I am currenty obsessed with the Watermelon Mint Lemonade at Chic Fil A.

It is sooooooo good!

Where have I been??

I just discovered @blueandwhitehome on IG. 

Great feed!

Look at this porch. I want to be there. Sipping Watermelon Mint Lemonade!!

I'm also loving this blog right now!

I fell in love with their room on the One Room Challenge that I just participated in and now I'm reading the blog like a book!

J and J Design group.

This room!!!!

And school is out here. 

So we are putting together a Summer Bucket List and getting ready for FUN!!

For us that means lots of porch time with friends. Grilling. Relaxing. Chatting!

BTW, Chloe is more excited than she looks!

Time on the Boules court...

And maybe an umbrella drink around 5 o'clock right here on the shady chaise!

 

Happy Summer!

PS. I love to see pics of fabulous backyards to hang out it.

Tag me on IG if you post your backyard hang out spots!

On Garden Pond...

Remember when I was pondering a few months ago?

These are the ugly 'befores."

We had to move a pond due to another project 

and I was definitely  not  "all in" on the work involved.

My husband reallllly wanted a pond at this end of the porch still 

(there's another little one at the other end of the screened porch)

where he could hear the trickling water sound from "his" chair on our beloved porch.

So I grumpily began moving the liner and pump from the previous location.

I was determined to use what we had laying around.

After a few changes in layout plans I hit my stride and it went together very quickly. I had to build a small 'retaining wall" from some pavers we had hauled home years ago when a house nearby was having a concrete driveway poured to replace the creamy gold pavers that had been there for over 40 years. 

They gave them to us and we have used them for so many projects.

Then I filled the area with dirt left from the Boules Court project (here)

and here (the lights make it!)

I used the pavers from the previous pond and a firepit project. They are not exactly the same color. As soon as it cools off a bit I will paint them with a buttermilk concoction

 and try to grow some moss on them. 

I love moss in the landscape and I think it unifies different finishes and things that look too new.

I had the two large pots and the one in front hanging out in my potting area. I divided some hostas and a few other plants and started planting.

I also bought a few plants from the  clearance area in the Lowe's garden Center. (No sponsorship here. Just a tip that they mark plants down to a dollar or two and all they need is some water and maybe a little fertilizer)

I bought the butterfly bush from in front of my Kroger for $4.99 and put it in the largest pot. It has doubled in size. 

I couldn't plant until I got back from my mission trips and things have filled in quickly.

#gooddirt

So this pond barely cost a thing to install.

Bargain plants filled in with some TLC.

And the trickling sound is relaxing when we sit on the porch.

So if you are pondering installing a small pond, I say go for it!

National Thrift Shop Day!

I saw on Instagram earlier that it is #nationalthriftshop day.

That's a holiday I can get behind!

So in honor of the day I decided to post about one of my "newest" vintage finds.

 My husband actually found this wicker couch. 

In perfect condition.

 For $45.00

He sent me a picture and I loved it and then I said don't get it.

 I really didn't have a spot for it. It's big and solid and heavy.

 The cushions needed to be recovered. 

You can't keep buying fabulous vintage wicker if you don't have a place for it - said no one ever. 

But I did. And then I was sorry all night!! I won't do it again. 

#pinkypromise

I told him I made a mistake but it wasn't meant to be because I'm sure its gone. 

Trying to be philosophical and self - soothe. 

(Didn't really help but I was trying to be an adult about it.)

But he went back the next morning, it was there and he got an over 50 discount so- tada!! 

It was mine for under $40.00!!!!!!

Then last week before we had a large group over I decide to stay up half the night 

and make some slipcovers for the cushions 

which were in good shape foam-wise but the fabric covers were not good at all.

Here's a pic taken at 11 p.m. as I was getting started. 

Porch light is all the light to be had for the photo op!

So it was late, last minute and, oh yeah, I don't sew.

I'm a sewing faker. 

#truestory

#confession

However, we have the internet and I found this amazing tutorial and I followed it.

I used a drop cloth from Sherwin Williams that I had on hand - cause, you know, midnight.

I couldn't believe how amazing the tutorial was.

 It was quick

 ( I still have to go back and finish the handstitching on the back. A few still have "temporary" safety pins. It was midnight on Thursday before we had forty people for dinner on Saturday, so... pins) and I think they look amazing.

And worked a lot better for me than the $45.00 plus fabric quote I got per cushion when I started pricing "real slipcovers!" 

And then since I was in a major time crunch I decided to pull down my "stash" and make envelope covers for some IKEA pillow forms I had on hand!

#thisishowiroll

This vintage beauty is big - stretch out and nap big. 

Don't worry- I sprayed the cushions with wrinkle relaxer before everyone came over. :)

#thisishowiroll

Thank you Thrift Shops for existing!!

I'm glad you got your day!!

PS. Can you spy Biscuit in a couple of pics??

He is our porch dog. He loves it out there!!

more from my iphone...

If you need us for the next two weeks...

We have our feet propped up, fans blowing straight at us 

( It's been over 95 waaaay too often), 

appetizers made and the Olympics on the porch TV!!
(and, yes, the cords are unattractive but necessary to get Rio on our porch!)

This IG account has the most colorful, fun, eye candy posts!!

#porchgoals

Trying to stay out of politics and controversial world events 

but maybe if we all practiced this quote everyday then things would be better. 

And I might add, if you don't think you see something beautiful to mention about a person then keep quiet!

Went to a cool burger place the other night with these three beauties. 

Girl talk and catching up.

Moxie Burger, if you are in Roswell or Marietta, is delicious!!

And they have GF buns and a turkey burger!!

Major props on that.

(And can I just say that the young lady on the left is wrapping up an internship at the CDC and the young lady on the right is on scholarship to College of Charleston? And they both took a week off from studies and summer jobs, etc. to do a week of mission work.)

And Mollie graduated a year ago in July. Wow!! Time flies.

The reminder showed up on FB's Time Hop last week. 

We celebrated with a Low Country Boil. 

We are gearing up for another one when it cools off a bit because I bought shrimp when I was in Charleston a few weeks ago!!

And the Boules Court got lights this past week so things are looking up in our backyard.

 I blogged about the early stages and it wasn't this pretty!

We've already had a ton of fun on it - our Honduras Mission Team had a reunion Saturday night and the court got plenty of play and the porch was full of fun people and good food. And it was hot ( like Honduras hot!!)

(Isn't the ladder an attractive touch? We have a little  somewhat large roof/storm damage issue going on.

 UGG! Two steps forward, one step back!)

I finally got my pelican print framed. I've had it for ages... I like big shore bird pictures. 

What can I say?

It has ended up in the Black is Back Library - for now.

 I intended it for another spot but we are liking where it's perched for now.

And I found a fabulous bamboo dresser for a steal on a thrifting app on my iphone. 

 It got a little cleaning and a glossy coat of paint last week. 

And last but not least...

A copper flamingo punch bowl!!! 

WHAT????

Talk about coveting something frivolous!!!

I can't stand how awesome that is.

Oh, the frozen punches I could serve out of that!!!

#excusetopartyeveryweekend

Let The Games Begin....

... or in this case, Let the Boules begin!

A year and a half ago my parents rented a cottage on Omaha Beach, Normandie, France and took all of us on an amazing vacation. 

The cottage was a converted gatekeeper's cottage from an old, large estate! 
We toured the D-Day beaches by day, visited the local markets for delicious food to have at "home" in the evenings and had so much fun playing on the Boules court in the backyard of our cottage.

From this viewpoint ( picture above) you look through the fence and over the rolling hill to hedgerows that are still thick and standing. If you remember WWII history the hedgerows in France helped to stop German tanks. It really was an amazing place to visit. So many stories came to life ... all the history class lessons and movies and books through the years. My family lives in Bedford, VA which is home to the DDay Memorial. The "Bedford Boys" are a very famous part of the story of DDay and the liberation of France. My brother in law grew up in Bedford with some of the Bedford Boys who survived DDay.

We had such a great time drinking delicious French wine and eating fruit and cheese from the markets that we wanted to replicate the fun at home!

So last Fall we began our Boules Court believing that it would be ready for Winter fun.
We have a sunken firepit off of our porch and we thought wine, cheese, firepit fun and Boules sounded perfect.

But like all outdoor projects in Georgia, it begins with leveling the rolling ground :)
Last fall. Dreary and gray weather.

It gets ugly before it gets better!

We had most of the timbers and we had to transplant a few things to make space.

And  we  my husband dug and dug. 
And then we seemed to be responsible for causing the rainiest Fall
 in recent Georgia weather history.
We couldn't get a dry day or the ground dried out to dig.
So the project just sat in it's half finished state through the Winter.
It happens. #unfinished projects!

And then it warmed up and we got productive in the Springy weather!
We just do better when it's warm and sunny.

So we started digging and leveling and hauling stuff around.
The Mother's Day crab boil with friends became the new deadline.
And we made it!! Barely.

I mean barely!

It's a construction zone!

If you look closely you can see saw horses

and ladders leaning where we worked on the small pavilion

 that has Adirondack seating on it.

Propped up lattice and the "burn" pile from pruning around the court..
Generally a mess!

.

The only thing we really had to purchase was a truckload of finely ground granite.

In this picture it is newly laid and leveled and still not compacted.

It has become very firm over time and we have a bin of loose granite that we can sprinkle and level the court with as needed.

( Wheelbarrow and dirt pile still at the end of the court on Mother's Day.)

The construction mess did not keep us from having a ton of fun playing Boules

 (Bocci, Lawn Bowling - choose your country!)

Our court is not the regulation 91 feet. 
The one we played on in France wasn't regulation either and we had a ton of fun. 
We made ours as long as we had space for, added some seating and in just the few weeks we've had it we have had a ton of laughs out back!
We still want to add some lights and a holder for the balls and a sign with the rules.
Maybe I'll have pretty, blogworthy pics by Summers' end.

But we haven't let that or the lovely dirt pile and unfinished landscaping keep us from enjoying our Boules court with family and friends!

Having a boules court in the backyard?
C'est magnifique!



Linking up:
Savvy Southern Style