Backyard Blooms

Passing Notes Today:  Mrs. Gosling


Hello and Happy Spring Ladies (& welcome back this horrible my-eyes-are-on-fire-I-wish-I-could-permanently-plop-icecubes-on-them weather)!

But, I am willing to look past this because EVERYTHING is in bloom.  I mean EVERYTHING!  All of my plants came back after the winter, the hydrangeas are looking strong and that's a good sign of things to come.  This also means that I can start making flower arrangements without the cost (I do still like to supplement with flowers from the store, we will talk more about that later). 

I wanted to share a few quick vases I put together.  I spent about 15 minutes walking around the yard during naptime today and this is what I came up with:





Top to Bottom:  Lilacs, Prairie Fire Crabapple, Dappled Willows

Unfortunately, the tree branches only last for a few days and it does matter when you cut them.  General rule of thumb, I like to wait until the weather is warm (55 degrees or warmer, I cut them when the leaves have already bloomed and put them in luke warm water).  If I feel like jazzing them up a little I will buy a bunch of seasonal flowers from the store and add to the my FREE arrangements!  Which leads me into my FAV stores to get flowers from:

1 - Trader Joes.  Honestly, the flower selection, quality and price are insane.  They last forever and the variety is really interesting and fun.

2 - Weggies.  Shocker.

3 - The public market or local village/town markets.  They are usually on Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday or Sundays.  Right now the Rochester Public Market is having Flower Days - 5  in total.  Great Deals.  Great People.  Great way to support your local vendors and hard working communities. 

So, get out and start clipping away in your backyard (or your Mom's - totally do this).  There are treasures on your own property and the colors are beautiful .... especially this time of year!





Note from Mrs. Kelly:  My favorite is blooming at our house right now...lily of the valley!!  You ARE like Martha and Ina with your fresh cut flowers from the garden.

Ambiance in Bloom

Passing Notes Today:  Mrs. Williams

Hey guys, 

The other day as I wandered around one of my favorite stores, I was inspired for bloom week.  Ambiance is located in Pittsford Colony Plaza, right next to Hadlock's House of Paint.  If you haven't been lately, you should really check it out.  And if you haven't liked them on Facebook yet, get to it!I wanted to share some of the lovely eye candy I spotted on my recent trip.  Are you ready?

I love how the pops of orange and coral make this sofa come alive!  I want that ottoman.

Who doesn't need a little hydrangea in their lives?

This yellow bloom just makes me happy.

Check out the bases on these flowers.  LOVE!

I so wanted to pretend I was Audrey Hepburn in 
My Fair Lady when I saw this amazing flower cart.

Gorgeous blooms for any occasion or any room.

Wouldn't this floral couch be a fun accent piece?!  Orange you glad I took the picture?  Sorry.  Couldn't help it.

Maybe you're more like Mrs. Gosling and are 
fancying blue these days.  No worries...

Brian Williams would look rather smart sitting in this chair, no?

Which bloom is your favorite? 

Guest Post - Lilac Bathroom Remodel

Note from Mrs. Kelly: Hey ladies!  Today we are house crashing in Buffalo, New York.  Allow me to introduce you to my friend, Mrs. Walker (Barb).  Mrs. Walker and I have known one another since college.  I've always been pretty convinced she is good at everything but now that I've seen her bathroom, I know I'm right.  Beautiful, smart, kind...and knows how to grout!  She's a catch.

The Walkers

Check out this sweet bathroom renovation.

BEFORE

Room Remodeled:  Bathroom

Length of Project:  4 weeks

Colors:  Purple / White 

Why / how did you choose your color palette?:  I love purple.  I searched for a shower curtain with a purple theme and I fell in love with a set from JCPenney and it was reasonably priced.  Everything else was based around the shower curtain. 

Approximate Cost:  $3500.  When I had a professional come in to quote me on the job they estimated between $5500-$7000...and my bathroom is the size of a closet so I thought that was ridiculous!  Seven grand can get me a couple of nice vacations!

Where/how did you save money?:  Saved the money by not tearing out all the tile, only covered it with an epoxy paint (which I had professionally done).  The rest of the work I did myself with some assistance.  Tiled the floor, removed and replaced the vanity, painted.  Professionals only were involved in the plumbing aspect and the tile work.  

Biggest Challenge?:  Actually had two challenges.  The tile floor was the first.  Only because I wanted to make sure that it looked perfect. And after it was installed, my "help" dropped a wrench on the floor and cracked a tile right smack in the middle of the floor.  I could have covered it with a bathroom mat, but after putting all that time and effort into it I wanted to make sure it looked nice, so we ended up pulling up that tile and regrouting, etc.  Well worth it.  Although I did end up in tears that night after the wrench cracked it.  It was just so frustrating.  and the thought of having to redo the work we just spent hours on made me shed a few tears!  

The second challenge was installing the vanity.  The one I purchased had drawers that butted up against the existing plumbing.  So while it fit perfectly, and eliminated us having to re-tile some of the wall where the old vanity was removed (because of course when the building was built they only tiled up to the vanity and the rest of the wall was bare) the plumbing did pose a problem.  Thankfully I knew an engineer who was able to shorten the drawers and it now fits in perfectly!  

Check out that painted tile.  It looks BRAND new.  

Biggest Reward:  Honestly, the biggest reward is actually being  a part of the process.  Every single time I am in the bathroom I am amazed at how different it looks and how I managed to do a huge chunk of it myself.  I am absolutely grateful for the help from my contractor friends who gave so much of their time to me but also encouraged me to get my hands in on the project.  It was so amazing to have them give up time from their own families to help me out so that I could save a couple $$$.  I loved going into Home Depot and asking for certain items I needed to for my bathroom project and to have the guys ask "are you doing it yourself" and when I said yes, they seemed so impressed with me!  

BEFORE




AFTER

Advice to Others:  However long you think the project is going to take...multiply that by 3 times...because you always run into a little snag or something comes up that you don't anticipate.  It's ok to shed a tear out of frustration, but know that it is worth it in the end.  You end up with a beautiful space that you can brag about to everyone!!! 

Mrs. Walker

Note from Mrs. Gosling:  What an amazing transformation and nice job - GIRL POWER.  It's amazing what we can accomplish when we put our mind (back, fingers and late night TV watching hours) into it.  Thanks for sharing.  Maybe you will consider another remodel?