Royalty

Beautiful, 

classic elegant bride

striking sister

and lovely Mum's.

 to the reception

Would love to have been a fly on the wall to hear Prince Harry's toast!

Would you like to make your house a lovely home?

Contact MD here.

Project Monday

All finished

letting settle a bit and ready for planting. Not bad for rookies! Still deciding what will be best, decisions.

OY

Would you like to make your house a lovely home?

Contact MD here.

Easter Blessings

The tomb is empty...Christ came to this earth and did all that was prophesied in the days before Him. He was tormented and scourged, hung to die a lonely death, buried in the tomb and sealed with a large stone. On the third day after the Cross, it was with a great earthquake, the stone rolled away and revealed an empty tomb.  Christ had risen just as He said. God gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not die but have everlasting life.

THIS IS OUR EASTER CELEBRATION

for without what Christ did on the cross there would be no celebration.

May your day be filled with JOY and a time of reflection!

♥♥♥

Project Monday...Garden

 From my garden inspiration mentioned here and here, we are raising a flower bed by building a stone wall. 

This is what we inherited... 

sound familiar?

Mr. MD measuring, leveling, staking, and digging. The yard slopes down so the 'stone man' is going to come and level for us. Mr. MD started the wall where it will be leveled to for phase II, a flagstone patio.

It really is harder to keep level than one might think. Finding just the right width stone to 'fit' next to the other takes such a long time. 

This is what we have so far with about 4 more rows to go.

You see the empty palate to the left?  The 'stone guy' could only drop it in the yard 'so far', so this ole gal got the trusty wheelbarrow and moved every one of that 'one ton' to the pile you see. 

The inspiration...this is mortared and ours is natural. I am itching to get the dirt moved in and start creating!

Do you want to make your house a lovely home?

Call MD for online and in person design!

Savvy Snoot and a Giveaway!

The Savvy Snoot is an upscale consignment store in Atlanta whose catch phrase is

'snooty brands at savvy prices'.

What do you do when you are tired of a good piece of furniture or accessories and don't want to give it away?

Whatever your style, you are sure to find something you'll be happy to take home with you.

I was intrigued by the artwork.

You like contemporary?

Fun piece, no?

SS has their own line of candles.

How about some light fixtures made from tins?

Love this but it wouldn't fit under my arm!

The Snoot will let you take things out on approval, how great is that?

I have a $50 gift card for a give away!

Live in the Atlanta area or planning a trip soon?

Leave a comment and I will do a 'random select' on April 15th!

Do you want to make your house a lovely home?

Contact MD here for online or in person services.

Gardening with Tara Dillard

Continuing with the gardening theme and what my brain is focused on these days I wanted to introduce you to

 Tara Dillard. 

 I met her recently and she is witty, talks super fast  very funny and I thought at that moment we could be great chums.  I had seen her across the blog land waves so it was fun to meet in person.

I picked up one of her books (she has several) and have devoured it.  As I have said before I am not a gardner but I do like pretty and color so I am learning!

She says a garden takes patience (not one of my virtues) and that striving for beauty is part of the design.  I loved that she said that an important part of garden design is simplicity.

While enjoying others' gardens I did not take in that there is a foundation for the garden just as in the home.  Grass is like flooring, trees are like walls, etc.

From Tara's book Beautiful by Design

I love all of these tips because I can see myself loving what is in bloom only to find out that it dies and doesn't come back!

I  mentioned in the last post that Mr. MD and I are raising an area for a flower garden and laying a stone patio.  Tara has some great visual layouts in her book which really help me.

Focal points are very important and Tara likes plinths (new word for me - a base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests wiki) and pots. She encourages us to make our own plinths with whatever we have on hand. Hmmm, I would need a trip to the stone quarry!

She loves a 'Queen's pot' "the most beautiful pot you can find to be a focal point in an area of your garden". (Beautiful by Design, page 18).

another idea to ponder

A home's interior and exterior should compliment one another. 

Outdoor dining tables are a focal point and they should look nice when looking out the window of your home. 

One thing I am working on now as well, is moving the grills (gas, charcoal and smoker...oy) out of view from the back windows of the home.  They are going off of the deck and off to the side where they cannot be seen from any window on the backside. 

Now to find just the right colors that are an extension from the inside to the outside.

I drool over hydrangeas, I have two big bushes but unfortunately they were planted (before we moved in) where no one can see them.  In my new garden there will be some planted where I can enjoy them daily.

Tara illustrated this so well

and here it is 'for real'. It looks like a manicured forest.....love it!

Bird houses as focal points.  I can see the squirrelies having a field day here!

Something aged so beautifully with God's beauty surrounding and growing up through.

These will be my next books!

Be sure and visit Tara's blog and keep up with her and get her great tips!  I love her tagline:

Garden and Be Well!

Do you want your house to be a lovely home?

Contact MD here!

All pictures and information learned and shared are from 

Tara Dillard's Beautiful by Design