Well, I’m writing to you today with four less teeth than I had yesterday!  Yep, at 36 years old, I finally had my wisdom teeth removed.  So, I’ve had my mouth stuffed with gauze and a ice pack wrapped around my head (Jacob Marley style) for the better part of the day, but I’m doing okay.  Thanks so much for all of your prayers, well wishes and tips.  You’re all wonderful. I just took another pain pill, so I thought I would slip in a post while I’m feeling relaxed and very happy! So, if you remember when I took a trip to Wisconsin, one of the shops I visited was Harvest Home in Pewaukee.  I was so inspired by the way Brenda, the proprietress, used plants in her home and shop.  She put plants in just about anything, the expected and unexpected.  Baskets, tea cups, gravy boats, buckets and I even spotted a

As I’ve shared in previous posts, I’ve been working on the exterior of our home…the gardens and the deck, which is our outdoor living space.  Jeff and I have always talked about having a nice outdoor living space with a fireplace, a covered area, maybe even retractable screens.  Our deck is nowhere close to that dream space.  It’s a simple deck with warped and faded boards, no shade, no fireplace, no bells and no whistles. If we were planning on living in this house long-term, it might be worth doing something about it, but our hope is to move to a home with a bit more property in a few years and we don’t want to put much more money into this house. What I can do, though, is make the existing space look the best it can look.  I can add things that will make it feel more like an outdoor

Between traveling last week and our photo shoot this week, Kriste and I weren’t able to get a Design Ramblings filmed for today.  We are getting back in the swing of things next week, though, so you’ll see us next week. A couple of months ago, I decided to buy some myrtle topiaries.  My house was suffering from a bit of “preserved boxwood overload” and some of them, after several years of being on display, were looking a little tired and fuzzy.  I was ready to make an honest effort at caring for live plants. I bought the myrtles from Terrain, which is the only place I was able to find them.  They were definitely an investment and I took that seriously.  I’ve watered, spritzed, turned, trimmed and even given them a pat of encouragement here and there and they have stayed alive and green and happy for two whole months!