Painting Class in the Vineyard and a Lampshade Makeover

This past Saturday, I taught a painting class in the vineyard next door to our farm. The Dogwood Trails Celebration is going on in Palestine so we thought it would be good to offer a related activity. Ten ladies came and we had a blast!

I love how everyones' paintings turned out. All different, all wonderful!

Thank you Sabor a Pasion for hosting us. Let's do another class soon!
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One of the first things we made for the farm kitchen was this coffee cup lamp (you can read about it by clicking here). I have loved the way it added some whimsy to my kitchen. Over time, it moved from the corner on crates to the kitchen counter.

But what I haven't loved is its shade...I thought the burlap would be the perfect touch for my farmhouse kitchen. I even added some mini pom-poms to the edge. Cute, right?

Not quite; the burlap wasn't working for me. I've discovered I don't care a whole lot for burlap. It's too primitive for my taste.  It works for a few things but on this lampshade, no. I decided to cover it up with some red and white checkered fabric.

After tearing my fabric into strips, I started gluing them on. All the way around and this is what I have now:

Much, much better! Still has that farmhouse feel, but with a bright touch of color.

This was an extremely easy redo. I didn't even pull off the tiny pom-poms. I just wrapped the fabric right over them.

Excuse the mess and blurry pics. It was late and I didn't
clear the counter off... Just keeping it real for ya! :o)

I have plans for a better location for this lamp. It involves another project I need to work on. Maybe in a couple of weeks? Think cart and  coffee station and you'll be on the right track!

Oh, and the telephone table? The weather is going to cooperate this week and I have the time to tackle it so stay tuned!

See you soon!

Refreshing the Backyard at the City House

This weekend we were in the city. Our backyard is in rough shape from these two:

I don't mind my picture being taken!

Mom! I don't want to pose for a picture!

But how can you be upset at those sweet faces? However, they are now three and seem to be leaving most things alone nowadays. Time to lay a trial patch of grass down so after raking all the live oak leaves up (for those who aren't familiar with live oaks, they drop their leaves in the Spring. So you get to rake a second time. Yay), Bruce roto-tilled a strip along the patio and pathway

Added some fertilizer, and laid down the sod.

Final touch was to string a wire to direct the boys around the grass and water.

Meanwhile, I started digging out my water drain along the fence that had filled in with dirt over the last few years.

Notice the rocks in the lower right hand corner? That's what's under
the dirt. I will need to wash them off and put down landscape fabric
before adding them back into the drain. 

 Our backyard sits lower than our neighbor's so we get a lot of rain draining through. This helps direct it out toward the street. I still have a ways to go but I'm making progress.

Next up is refreshing the patio furniture - it needs new paint, umbrella (sadly this one is torn otherwise I'd just paint it), and cushion refresh (they either need washing or if too faded, I'm going to try painting them). 

This is to the side of the barbecue area. I want to put mulch or rock down.

And I need to take all my plants out of the greenhouse and place them on the patio and around the yard.

waiting on plants

The side yard also needs some attention. Weeds need to be pulled, the birdbath planter replanted (and squirrel proofed!), and the bicycle refreshed.

Inside, I'm thinking of repainting the kitchen and the hall bath. Both need a freshening up. I just need to decide on colors. 

Whew! Spring always brings lots of projects my way. Are you the same way?

Hope you have a wonderful week!

Sharing at these parties:
Make It Pretty Monday
You're Gonna Love It Spring Edition

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Wishing you a very happy St. Paddy's day! 

Happy Spring!

Cecilia

Monday Musings

I discovered something this weekend...

The big fireplace at the farm no longer annoys me.

I'm not sure why as we've done nothing to it, but suddenly the space no longer makes me grit my teeth.

I'm relieved and I'm sure Bruce will be relieved. That's not to say I don't want a different mantel someday but for now I am ok with how it looks.

We had lots and lots of rain last week. The driveway is washed out in areas and Bruce will need to drag the dirt back up the hill.

The pond filled up:

And the creek is running.

I know in a short time both will dry up  but for now I'm enjoying it. The dogs love it too.

They are predicting temperatures in the 90's the early part of this week followed by a cool down into the 60's. Good old Texas weather.

They always say if you don't like the weather here just give it a day or two and it'll change. That's especially true during our Spring and Fall.

We took Bruce's mom to Tyler on Saturday and drove the Azalea trail. They are just starting to bloom. I saw a couple of yards that are going to be breath-taking in a couple of weeks...I have yard envy.

Some yards had lots of tulips blooming:

So, so pretty! They almost looked fake!

Then we spent a hour or so wandering through an antique/collectibles mall. I found this sweet fox:

He's waiting to take up residence in the art studio..I can just see him with a paint brush.

*Love*

At the end of the day, the sun finally broke through the clouds. It made for a spectacular sunset.

Hope you have a great week!

Hugs,
Cecilia

Spring/Easter Wreath and The Bluebonnet Blog Hop

Happy Friday, y'all! Today I am joining my Texas blogging sisters in the Bluebonnet Blog Hop. Be sure to visit all the links for some Springtime inspiration!

Spring has sprung in Texas. The bluebonnets are starting to bloom and with the rain we've gotten this week, I'm sure they will be putting on quite the show shortly.

This Texas girl loves bluebonnet season! There is absolutely nothing like standing in a field of them and breathing in their unique scent!

To say I love Springtime in Texas is an understatement - it makes my heart happy to see everything bursting into bloom, leafing out, and the temperatures up in the 70's and low 80's. It makes me ready to celebrate!

With all the cute Easter stuff out there I have been inspired to create a Spring/Easter wreath.

I started off with a grapevine wreath I found at GW ages ago. It had some faded silk flowers on it I pulled off and ever since it has been waiting to be repurposed. It is really large so I knew I needed some kind of big elements to fill it up.

I was thrilled to find these carrots from At Home:

I tied and glued them on with my trusty glue gun:

Then I added these speckled eggs from World Market:

Next, I added a wooden rabbit I cut out using my scroll saw. I like that the lettering stamped onto the wood shows through my paint just a bit.

I added a bit of raffia and spanish moss and ta-da! Cute Easter/Spring Wreath for the front door!

Don't forget to visit all my Texas blogging friends!

How are you decorating for Easter?
Happy Spring! Hugs,
Cecilia

An InLinkz Link-up

(This is not a sponsored post. I just like to shop in both of these stores).

Cecilia (times 2) and Canton Fun

Cecilia from My Thrift Store Addiction and I (yes, there are two of us!!) went to Canton this past weekend. It was her first time to go - she drove up and met me at my house in Pflugerville then on to the B Farm we went.  (Be sure to hop over to Cecilia's blog to read her take on Canton.)

We got to Palestine by supper time - I took her to one of our favorite restaurants in Palestine, Switch, where we had one of their brick oven pizzas. I love their pizzas but may I just say the mushroom pizza is probably my new favorite? Yum, yum! It was so so good! We left stuffed and happy.

Friday morning we got up early and drove to Canton. Two Cecilias, Canton, and Junkin' = Loads of Fun!

First on the stop was Laurie Anna's Vintage Home shop. Oh my! So much inspiration, so beautifully decorated.

Next, onto the flea area of Canton. Acres and acres of junkin' heaven. Just about anything you can imagine, you can find.

Rusty, crusty things:

Windows and doors:

Glassware:

Cecilia checking out some Jadeite

Linens:

And so much more.

Cecilia looking for treasures

Oh the door, the books in the drawer, that sign! How I wanted that sign.

We shopped and shopped. We found treasures.

We found potential treasure.

We shopped until the vendors started closing down their booths. Happy, we took our treasures back to the car and headed back to the farm. It was definitely a successful trip!

Here's what I bought:
The basket for my garden bicycle, the pulley with the star, a spring, some wooden wheels for a project:

This linen with all the days of the week and cats doing something different on each day (sorry for the less than perfect picture...I'll show it another time after I iron it).

And this green chair for the dining room:

I also picked up this pulley for my friend Susan:

She hung it up on her pergola and plans to use it to hang plants from:

It was really a perfect day with perfect weather to shop. We throughly enjoyed it.

Saturday morning, we took a stroll around the farm. The redbuds and wild plums were in full bloom and the dogwoods are starting to peek out.

Sadly, it was then time to pack and head back. But we left happy with the treasures we'd found and the time spent together. It feels funny saying, "hey, Cecilia! Look at this!" - kind of feels like I'm talking to myself.  LOL. But so.much.fun!

I'm so glad Cecilia decided to make the drive to go to Canton with me. It was a blast!

Cecilia Squared

Be sure to visit Cecilia at My Thrift Store Addiction (click here).