My back patio garden

I've never been quite happy with my garden until now.  It still has a loooong way to go but I finally feel like it's going in the direction I want it to be going in:  structured yet a little wild. 

{We recently removed a bunch of daisies from the side area - transplanting them to the cutting garden along the fence- and put roses, peonies & foxglove in their place.}

When we first bought our house -in the Spring two years ago- we were looking at this:

...And I can't find a photo of it from the first year but I added a bunch of zinnias & random flowers that I was given by family & friends.  I loooved having these free-flowing/ wild-looking  flowers but they didn't quite work around the patio.  Last Fall we added dwarf holly around the patio for that structure I was craving and we moved all of the flowers to a new side cutting garden along our fence.  (And now I'll feel no guilt when I bring them inside!) 

And here is is now:

{It still has a lot of growing in to do- and mulching!- but it's finally getting to feel a bit like I've always wanted it to feel.  And yes, my child is pantsless.  It's how we roll around here early AMs and more than I'd like to admit!}

This morning my three year-old is sleeping in so Justin (my 17 month old) and I took a little stroll and he helped me take pictures:

We looooove smelling these roses.  This is a Chicago Peace rose.  I kill plants, but at my old townhome I did manage to keep a few roses alove, so fingers crossed for this beauty!

Love the small of the yellow ones.  I already forgot their name though:

Hard-to-kill succulents usually work well for me:

And I've put out some of my magnolia pillows.  They're not outdoor fabrics ( they're linen) so I'll have to be sure to pull them in before it rains. 

{I am hoping to get my online store up within a month for the fabrics!!  They're being photographed in late May.  It's been a little nutty lately so the fabric line has taken a bit of a backseat.}

And we added a vegetable garden around the side of our house.  Loooove having lettuce!!

{Before you think I'm good at gardening I have to tell you that I bought it this way.  Yes, I know, it's ready to eat & doesn't have much more growing to do but picking lettuce from my garden makes me happy :)

mm mm good!

 And the tomaters should be good this year!!

I planted lavendar around the drawf holly bushes.  I'm hoping it will do well but I've heard it's tempermental around here.

{Smells so good!!}

And finally, I'd like to thank my stylist, Justin Liess, pictured here:

{He knows just where those boots ("shoes!" as he calls them) need to go!}

I love you my little "Tunia:"

My kids get new nicknames almost weekly:

For a while he was "Petunia" .. don't ask, I don't know why

Then it became "Tunia"

Sometimes "Tunes"

And now the poor little guy is getting called "Tootaline"

I hope the scarring isn't permanent ;) ;)

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Better Homes & Gardens Shoot

Yesterday a team from Better Homes & Gardens Magazine photographed my DC Design House room for an upcoming issue!  Art director Shelley Caldwell flew into DC to direct the shoot done by photographer Helen Norman & her assistant F.J. Hughes for the day.

{Shelley & FJ}

Like all good photoshoots, props were brought in to make the room feel more lived-in.  They brought in some things that I would have loooved to have taken home with me incuding some cute bags.  :)

They took my picture in one of the madhatter wing Chairs & it was pretty hysterical because my man hands kept getting in the way. 

Dave (my husband) came to help me undo the room after the photoshoot and it was crazy to see the showhouse room almost empty again.  We loaded most of the room back into our cars and headed home.  Very bittersweet, but onto the next thing!  :)

 

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Last Weekend for Showhouse!

For anyone in the DC area who was interested in going to the DC Design House to support Children's Hospital, this is the last weekend to do it!

{the desk view of room I designed.  Painting in the photo by John Matthew Moore, desk by Edelman Leather, Chair from John Rosselli Antiques, lamp by Stray Dog Designs, sisal rug by Stark, and grasscloth wallpaper by Seabrooke.}

I've had such an amazing time getting to know the other designers & the supporters of Children's Hospital,  making some wonderful new friends!  I'll never forget this experience.  The stories I've heard about children whose lives have been saved by Children's Hospital are incredible & moving.  So if you do have the chance today or tomorrow, head on over!!

I won't be there today (I have pink eye from my 3 year old- arrggg!!) but am hoping it clears up by tomorrow so that I can be there on the final day.

Also,  Better Homes & Gardens Magazine is coming to shoot the room on Monday!  I'll be sure to take some behind-the-scenes pictures to post this week. 



If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Again, thank you to the amazing team of people who donated their services to help create the showroom:
 I use these businesses & people on most of my projects and stand by their work & appreciate being able to do business with them. I cannot say enough good things. They're THE BEST so if you need any local recommendations, here are mine:


Carpet Installation & Custom Carpet fabrication: The Carpet Customizer: (410)299-4380

They can really do anything & are adept with installing/ working with natural fiber rugs & do beautiful seagrass installations. They are on top of their jobs, are super-friendly, and keep in great contact with you.

Workroom for curtains & pillows & other soft goods: Paul David Designs
Paul & Nancy will take care of you and are amazing to work with. Their work is beautiful & fast.

Builder/ Contractor/ Electrical: CarrMichael Construction: They do it all from building beautiful homes to managing smaller projects & electrical work. Mike at CarrMichael Construction is friendly, dependable, organized and does exactly what he says he will do.

Wallpaper Installation: Michael DiGuiseppe. Everyone says he's the best in the area and after this insane segrass install, I definitely agree!

Painters: Blue Door Painters They're on-time, dependable and fair. (And I went to high school with the owner! :)

Green Eggs, No Ham

Green Eggs & Ham is one of my favorite children's books.  For years I've been meaning to do a green eggs & ham breakfast, but have never gotten around to it.  (I wanted to do this even before I had kids... I know, I have issues.)  I imagined putting a few drops of green food coloring into the eggs until I had THE BEST green eggs & ham at the Hyatt.  They used pesto in the eggs for the green & it was Heaven!!

A week or two ago we decided to try our own minus the ham.  (Because we didn't have any.)  My three year old Christian got the book out to read it & enjoyed helping me make the pesto.  I didn't add enough pesto to really get them as green as I wanted, but they were green.  We used them for hair on Christian's face plate:

{I know how gross the eggs look in this pic, but I promise they were good.}

I love making food from kids' stories because the little guys just get so excited.  They help and they eat every last bite. 

My dad watched this whole situation take place and when I broke the camera out & said I might end up putting it on the blog, he said "wow, you must be strapped for ideas."

hahahaha  ah vell, I guess it doesn't float everyone's boat. 

...Now that I'm looking at the picture in the book above, I wonder how you'd get the ham green???

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.