Yard Madness

Looking for a way to destress from all of your reno projects?  I have one recommendation, avoid gardening!   You might think I'm over exaggerating; however, you use muscles you never knew you had when you're yanking weeds, pulling roots, and carrying bags of wet cherry blossom flowers!

Not surprisingly our yard got a bit out of hand during this past winter.  Our yard is full of weeds, dead plants that I can't identify, and grass that reminds me of hay and Arizona.

A juggle growing in the background

After spending the first few weekends of Spring overwhelmed with yard must do's DH and I decided that less is more—less is more time not spent in the backyard weeding!

We out-sourced the mulching, but spent a whole weekend pulling all of the dead plants and grass.  We even pulled out some plants that weren't dead because they require a lot of maintenance and time that we'd rather spend together enjoying the backyard and pool instead of working on the backyard.

Yet another weekend gardening

Don't you love the mulch?!  Yes, that's also dead grass

Do you avoid gardening or do you manage to keep up?

Cherry Blossom Blues

I absolutely love the Cherry Blossom tree in our front yard, for about two weeks out of the year.  Cherry Blossom season has passed and now our lawn looks like it's been hit by a blizzard!

Oh the joys of home ownership

Dressing Up The Mantle

What's great about having an awesome fireplace mantle?  It's not the cozy nights holding your significant other with a crackling fire going.  It's about dressing it up!


Every holiday, every season, I can see this quickly becoming a new obsession of mine.

Source: Pottery Barn Online Catalog

Simple, cost efficient, and colorful!

Source: PoeticHome.com

With one more cat, we're going to need an extra stocking.

Our Christmas Mantle

I absolutely love the Blue/Green combo!  The green has me thinking that we should get drapes with a green pattern instead of blue or neutral.  Excuse the TV faux pas; we hope to get it into the family room addition. 

Our Easter/Spring Mantle

During Halloween, I had an orange candle sitting directly on the mantle and unfortunately, it left a stain.  Now, I place candles in holders.  

Is the bunny too much?

Starting costs for decorating a mantle can be a little high.  When I have more time, I'll try a few DIY projects I can use on the mantle.  For now, I cut costs by buying the bare essentials during year one and then I hit the after holiday sales!  Because I'm surprisingly not the only one who's caught on to the 50-75% off after holiday sales, I try to visit the store the day after a holiday, if possible.  This same strategy applies to lawn and deck furniture!

Dollars and Cents: 

3 Silk Hydrangea: Original Price: $12.99 ea. Sale Price: $8.99 ea.

Green Basket: $12.99

Egg Candle: $8.99

Rabbit: $40.00

Glass Flower Container: $14.00

  

Total Mantle Project:  $102.95 before reward certificate for $75

Yet Another Paint Color

DH cringes every time we walk by our local home improvement store's paint department.  Why?  Well, I—yep, I—have painted the kitchen, sunroom, and hallways twice!  Too dark, too faint, too green, not blue enough.  I've learned a few things along the way, but with so many possibilities, I admit I get carried away.   If painting were as easy as getting a mani or dye job, I would probably be that lunatic who changes room colors every two weeks.  

OPI Russian Navy
Source: Behindthescenesmakeup.com

However, painting is not that easy, especially when I really suck at cutting edges and insist on taping.  

I thought a friend's recent choice in bedroom paint color, Benjamin Moore’s Ocean Floor which looks amazing with her white fabric headboard, was it; however, I then found a new hue of blue while surfing a friend's Facebook pictures— Behr's Silent Tide PMD-55.  

Could this be it??  What do you think?  Why is picking paint color so darn hard?

Hello Spring!

It's only March 12th, but our Cherry Blossom tree has already blossomed!  I can't wait for the warm weather, the tulips, and some early Barbecue!

Source: Moi

What's your favorite thing about Spring?

They're Here!

Christmas has come early for the Dolce Olin household!  After seven months—yep, seven—we finally have a formal living room with all the basics—seating and coffee table.

There were many times when I questioned whether my inspiration board and design lay-out would mesh together, but now, having the pieces physically in the room, I can quit worrying and just trust my instincts. 

Warning!  This post is picture heavy, but I just couldn't choose a handful and you'll see why.

Is it possible to fall in love with furniture?

A shout out to Tweed Fridays

Our new reading area!  All that's missing is a table lamp and window drapes—and the desire to actually want to read.

I chose the chairs, but the fabric was all DH.  I think if he could have, he would have picked this fabric for every piece.  Adding patterned and colorful fabric is a great example of how you can mix traditional and modern.

Absolutely love the detail!  If you want your room to make a statement, I recommend pieces with lots, but subtle, details!  Details make a mass produced piece feel unique and expensive.

Isn't this piece sleek?  And it doesn't hurt that it's also super comfy!

Pet Friendly Fabric...hopefully

Love our oversized coffee table.  The tempered glass over the hand weaved wicker makes this the room's statement piece.

What furniture pieces are you in love with?