My newest find at HomeGoods

I found this great wooden box at HomeGoods yesterday.  I wasn't even going to go there but something in the back of my mind told me to.  I am so glad that I did.  It was on the bottom shelf and I almost missed seeing it. 

It measures 30 inches long, 10 inches deep, 9 inches high and the thickness of the wood is 1 3/4 inches.  It is pretty heavy.  Right now I have placed it in front of my fireplace.

There are endless possibilities for using this box.  It could be used in a bathroom for holding towels or toiletries.  It could hold flowers or greenery.  It would make a great centerpiece on my dining room table.  It would look great on my deck or porch.  I can see even using it to hold pots and gardening tools by a potting bench.

For now it will sit here until I decide where to use it first.

Linking with
Craftberry Bush,
Chic on a Shoestring
Shoestring Elegance
Pieced Pastimes
Scrapality
Life on Lakeshore Drive
Finding Silver Pennies
My Soulful Home
Rustic & Refined
Dwellings The Heart of Your Home
Coastal Charm
Julie's Creative Lifestyle
Between Naps on the Porch
A Stroll Thru Life
Confessions of a Plate Addict
Celebrate and Decorate
Beyond the Picket Fence
Savvy Southern Style 
A Delightsome Life
21 Rosemary Lane
Have a Daily Cup of Mrs Olson
Imparting Grace
French Country Cottage
The Charm of Home 
Katherine's Corner
Life with Lorelai
Shabby Art Boutique
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

A little bit of gardening done

I have been MIA for a few weeks now.  We closed the shop for 3 weeks and I have been trying to get some projects done around the house.  One of the projects that is completed is the garden on the South side of the front porch.  As usual I forgot to take a before picture.  The picture below is from when we first bought the house.  The quality isn't that good but you can see that there is pretty much nothing there but some ornamental grass and a lot of rocks.

The first thing I did was move all the small rocks out and put them in the front yard by the street since that area was looking pretty barren.  Let me tell that was not an easy job.  I was filling up 5 gallon buckets and had to use a dolly to transport them to the street.  I was using 5 of them and probably loaded them more than fifty times.  I also dug out the ornamental grass. It gets way too tall and is such a mess in the Fall.

Now this area has flowers and mulch.  It looks so much better now.  The next area to do is on the other side of fence.  It is pretty much the same but does have a few daisies planted that I can work with and two more mounds of ornamental grass that I need to dig out.  Here is how it turned out.

Here are a few close ups.

I know it doesn't look like much right now but in a few years this will be all filled in.  As I was taking pictures I notice mama and baby next door.  I tried to get as many pictures possible before they moved on.

How cute is this fawn.

The beginnings of a country porch

Since I have my wicker rockers on the front porch I thought I would decorate it more country for this summer.  I have a few things done but need to do more.  It is a little windy today so I didn't want to put any pillows out.  I also need to make a few flower arrangements.  For now I have the bones done.

I need to repaint the small milk can and add a few more touches around the crates.  I need to find things that won't blow away or I can tie to the crates.

I will be adding some pillows/throws and a nice tall flower arrangement to hide the outlet on the wall.  Also I will adding more decor to the table.

I seem to have a hard time getting good pictures of this area.  There are three brick columns that block the view and most of the time I have to stand in the flower bed to try and get some pictures.

I am not sure when I will get the rest of this done.  We are on vacation for a couple of weeks and I am trying to get many small projects done inside the house as well as the outside.  Wish me luck.

The babies are here

Look what I saw tonight by my garage after taking the dogs for a walk.  When I was coming up the driveway I looked over and there it was.

Isn't that the cutest thing you ever saw.  I have never gotten this close to any of the fawns before.  I didn't see mama around.  I was able to get a few more pictures before it took off.

I was able to get a picture of it walking along the side of our yard before it took off down the hill.

I am not sure how old it is but the back legs were pretty wobbly when it was walking away.  This is when I love the deer in our neighborhood.  Not so much when they eat my flowers.

New wall art for the front porch

I love to hang wall art on the outside of my home.  But it can be tricky with  a brick exterior.  That's when the hubby comes in handy with his trusty hammer drill to make the holes for me.  I found this wood and metal piece at Hobby Lobby.

It looks good all by itself but I also found a wood and metal star hanging that I liked but it looked too small for the porch so I decided to combine the two.

I like this look much better. Here is another look at the first hanging.

Now the after one more time.

Now I need to get the rest of the porch decorated.  First I need to get everything cleaned up.  We closed the shop for vacation for a few weeks so I can get some of my projects done around the house.  I have a long list so I better get started.

Linking with
Life on Lakeshore Drive, Finding Silver Pennies, My Soulful Home, Rustic & Refined, Dwellings The Heart of Your Home, Coastal Charm, Julie's Creative Lifestyle, Between Naps on the Porch, Stonegable, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Celebrate and Decorate