I know it has been way too long since I posted something.  Life has a way of getting really busy fast.

Last weekend the girls and I spent a weekend in Austin.  Just let me say Austin runs on its own theme and time schedule.  Very different from Dallas.

I found some Mercury Glass pulls and of course I needed them …..ok more like wanted them.

I think they make a lovely addition to my chest.  Excuse the mess around the chest, that is my project for the day is to clean up my craft room.

I’ve got Granddaughter’s B-day invites to make, birthday cards and Mother’s Day cards to make.

Oh yeah, I’m throwing in a facial too.

I don’t always get a chance to get away to a Museum.

Daughter #2 and I took an afternoon and had lunch and then an afternoon at the Dallas Museum to see the paintings from the 20′s.  We rode in style in her Infinity G37…beautiful car.

I was expecting to see pictures of flappers and the prohibition but it was more about the industrial age and the change in the world between the strength of men and the machine.

Then as we were leaving I found the perfect element to get a quick picture.  She made me feel like #1 for the day!  Thank you Amber for a great lunch and  TXU for the free tickets and parking.  I so enjoy spending time with you.

This was the #1 (parking level we were on).  One of the things that was prominent in the 1920 paintings is the models would hold their face as to draw attention to the face.  I think I nailed it!

I found this post on Skye’s blog and thought I would give it a try.  It is her Patriotic Wreath Project.

 She has step by step instructions and pictures to guide you along the way.

The hard part about this is cutting out all the 2″ squares.

You have 4 sheets of blue, 6 sheets of red and 6 sheets of white.  You will need a lot of straight pin and I will tell you from experience you just need to buy a box of cheap flat head pins.

My first wreath was a green Styrofoam wreath and the second wreath I bought was white….it doesn’t matter.

You need to separate the white and red out into 5 rows of white and 4 rows of red.  

I cut the stars out on my Silhouette Cameo about 1.75″ and used wire and wrapped that around a pencil to get the look that I wanted.

I folded the 2″ squares in half (diagonal corner to diagonal corner) then in half again.  Take the pin stick it in the point of the folded felt and push it in the Styrofoam.

Love the look and it is full.  I didn’t take the rings all the way around so it would have a flat back to sit against the door.

This was Daughter #1′s B-day gift.  Now, I’m going to make Daughter #2′s B-day gift and then I’ll make me one.  Whew, that is a lot of cutting.  The total cost is around $15.00.

This is a great wreath, you can hang it out in May for Memorial Day and carry it through July 4th for Independence Day.

Last weekend was Dallas Flee and my beautiful daughters and I went to check it out.

It was mostly vintage items and then I stumbled across a vendor that had something I wanted! Note I didn’t say need, I wanted.  

This is a huge metal sculpted flower.

This is it’s temporary home.  I’ve got a lot of decorating to do in this little bird sanctuary.

I have all kinds of ideas floating in my head about this metal flower.  I can curl the petals to make them more pronounce, I could heat the metal to make it change colors and I need to find the perfect item to hang it on to get the exact height.

Just saying, there is a lot to be done and now with this little extra nook to decorate I’m so excited. So we are headed to Austin for a girls weekend and another show!

Here is a picture after it was re-done but before it was stained and sealed.

You are suppose to wait for 30 days before you seal the deck and waterproof it.

We bought Olympic 2-in-1 stain and seal (Lowe’s) and proceeded to put it on the deck.  We chose the semi-transparent Redwood Natural.

What a difference, it took 2 coats and about 4 hours to complete the process.  This is a great compliment to the color of our bricks and the hot tub (redwood stain color).

With the rust color cushions and umbrella it completes the “Tuscan” feel of the deck.  The variation in color on the deck is due to the old support wood had weathered.

See the “little house” in the back ground………yep, that is another project.

Here is how you know you did a good job, water beads-up!

I just have to show you this Clematis Vine.  Now it has not bloomed yet but it is well on it’s way.

Back when we had our deck re-done (1 month ago), I had to cut this vine down to the ground.

So, I bought this concave trellis so it would have something to climb up.

If you look at the bottom you can already see that the plant is growing fast.

Here it is one month later and full of blooms.  I love this plant, because it grows and blooms in the heat of the Texas sun!

When the deck was re-done I had to cut my Clematis down, but to my surprise it is coming back very strong.  I know I need to repaint the fire hydrant but that too is another time.

I found the nifty rain gauge when I was at Canton recently and ye that trellis is curved and the Columbine Vine will grow beautifully on it.

I post another picture as it gets up really big and starts blooming.  This was what it looked like before I had to cut it back, can’t wait until it starts producing the flowers.

When you are off on vacation you can do so much and get so much accomplished.  So, usually started my day with a cup of coffee, my awesome hounds tooth speakers (thank you Daughter #2) and some favorite tunes.

Proper tools will make any job easier.

The object that needs to be refreshed.  Sun does a lot of damage and the top is in horrible shape too.

The steps have been a good investment to go along with the hot tub but they need to be refreshed also.

It is great when it is all done and yes we got a new top to finish it off.

The next thing will be to stain the deck after it has cured for 30 days.

Now as you look back from the sanctuary to the deck it’s taking shape too!

New cushions for the old furniture makes it look new!

See the curtain in the back ground that is a painter’s drop cloth.

Since we don’t have a private fence the curtain keeps it private from people going up and down the alley.

I cut the drop cloth down and it is hung using curtain rings from Ikea!  They worked perfectly.

Finished up the deck decor with some new plants.  My favorite herbs, basil, oregano, and some thyme.

As you can see one of the seats on the deck is the perfect one to sip morning coffee and watch the birds.

Edging looking good, tiller to the rescue!

Well, I had a great week for a vacation.  The weather was great and I did exactly what I wanted to do each day.  

So, I started out with an area that needed a lot of tender loving care.

Asian Jasmine - great for shade!

Several trips later to my local Lowe’s produced plants, sandstone for stepping stones and sweat things started coming together.

Spacing the plants out so they will have room to grow and getting an idea how things are going to start working together.

It is beginning to shape up, the Boston Ferns were only $7.50 @ Lowe’s.

I still need to paint the bench and recover the pillows but that will have to wait just a little.

Pretty nice change from the first picture don’t you think?