Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Update Your Outdoor Furniture 1-2-3




Hello, friends!  Thank you so much for popping in today!  When the weather finally permits and it becomes lovely outside, part of Spring cleaning for me means updating the outside of the house.  Today, I am sharing a super quick and easy idea for updating your outdoor furniture.  I hope you enjoy the post!

I have had my outdoor furniture from Target for some time now.  Over time, of course wear and tear has set in.  Tarnish, water marks, et cetera aren't too aesthetically appealing.  Also, I've grown tired of the black....we used it initially on a deck that was white in color at our other house.  Now that we don't have that, and because my sun deck at this house is dark in color, it looks washed out.  I figured changing the furniture to a bright white looks much better against the deck, and also in the yard.  White is also such a cheerful color in the springtime, it looks so much fresher!  Here is my process.  

Before:  A bit drab, would you agree?


1)  First, I used a power-wash attachment on my hose to vigorously spray the furniture, removing all debris or little buggers (spiders and webs......eek).  Scrub with a scouring pad any stubborn areas if necessary.  Allow to dry completely.


2)  To protect my grass, I laid down a large heavy-duty tarp.


The chairs are made of metal, to sand them, I would have to use an industrial-strength sanding pad for metal attached to a drill and I didn't have that handy.  To alleviate that problem, I used a spray paint with primer.  This particular paint by Rustoleum is good on practically any surface!


3)  In an even motion, I sprayed left to right, right to left, covering the furniture completely.  I allowed for dry time, at least a half hour in the hot California sun, before flipping and repeating the process.  In less than two hours, here is the result.  Doesn't that look much more cheerful?  The white really pops against the green grass and my grape vines!


No matter if your furniture is metal like mine, wicker, or even plastic, you can use the same steps!  Super simple and easy!!  Here's a shot of the updated furniture on the deck.  It certainly doesn't look washed out anymore!  Nice and fresh, so perfect for Spring!


I hope you are enjoying your Spring!!  



If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 
Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

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Thank you for stopping by! ❤


Monday, March 23, 2015

Magazine Monday #2

Hello, friends!!  I am so glad Spring is here officially, at long last, and I am loving this weather!  The wonderful temperatures make me want to head outside immediately!  For today's Magazine Monday, I am sharing a few of my favorite gardens and outdoor spaces from the pages of Veranda, which is also one of my faves.  These are spaces you'd love to enjoy year-round, not just in the Spring!  I hope you enjoy the post!


The following are from Thomas Pheasant's Southampton Cottage.  To see the full gallery on Veranda, click here.

Sublime structured lines!


A gorgeous and inviting space poolside.




I love this garden from Charlotte Moss' East Hampton home.  To view the gallery, you may do so here.

Gorgeous and so beautifully manicured!


A place for a lazy reverie.  Perfection.



At Bunny Williams' gorgeous home in Litchfield, Connecticut, there is definitely attention to detail, but a with a softer hand; combining romance with structured strong lines.  A pretty pond surrounded by loveliness. 

I love the conservatory!  I'm so captured by the romance of bringing the outside in.  Aren't the climbing vines pretty!?  To see the complete slideshow, click here.



If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 
Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

Follow me on Pinterest!!  Please be sure to kindly follow the board guidelines, as it takes time and effort to find fabulous pins across the Internet and Pinterest!  Thank you!  

Thank you for stopping by! ❤


Sunday, March 22, 2015

Happy Spring!


A Prayer in Spring

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here 
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees, 
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.


For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above 
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.


Happy Spring!  ;)

Poem, Robert Frost 
Photographs, yours truly




If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 
Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

Follow me on Pinterest!!  Please be sure to kindly follow the board guidelines, as it takes time and effort to find fabulous pins across the Internet and Pinterest!  Thank you!  

Thank you for stopping by! ❤







Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Set Your Table With Flair--Drinks For Saint Paddy and Me





Top O' the Mornin' to ya!



It be Saint Paddy's Day,


So let us jig and be glad.


Come and join for tea with me and my lad.


I be a sweet lassie,
Who adores things quite classy,


But on this special day,
We will make things his way.


A very stout cuppa, not too frou-frou, you see,
For in Ireland, sweet darlin's, that's how things be.

If Twinings isn't your particular cup of tea,
Please enjoy a simple recipe to you from me.

A café of chocolate and crème de menthe,
On a wonderful journey, your taste buds will be sent.


                     Parsimonious Décor Darling Irish Mocha For Two



Two cups Kerig brewed mochas (I used Café Escapes)
For each cup:
       1 tablespoon chocolate syrup
       1/2 teaspoon crème de menthe
       1 teaspoon sugar
       Green whipped cream to garnish

For the very simple step-by-step guide, please visit the full post on my blog Parsimonious Pabulum here.

Enjoy!  Have a wonderful Saint Patrick's Day!  If you please, also visit these videos.  These two songs are faves of mine, and both fit today's occasion.

The first is by Irish singer Enya off of her album The Celts. It is entitled "The Sun in the Stream," and is sometimes referred to online as "Scotland."  I love the use of the traditional Uilleann pipes combined with piano!!  Absolutely gorgeous!
 

The second is entitled "The Wind That Shakes The Barley."  It is an Irish ballad written by Robert Dwyer Joyce (1836–1883), a Limerick-born poet and professor of English literature. The song is written from the perspective of a doomed young Wexford rebel who is about to sacrifice his relationship with his loved one and plunge into the cauldron of violence associated with the 1798 rebellion in Ireland.

Here, the ballad is interpreted and sung by Lisa Gerrard of one of my favorite world music bands, Dead Can Dance.  It is haunting, forlorn, and yet, very beautiful.



From my collection:

White plates and coffee mugs, Ralph Lauren Club Collection
Flatware, Ralph Lauren Beacon Collection
All linen, green and white, HomeGoods
Shamrock adornments, The 99¢ Store




If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 
Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

Follow me on Pinterest!!  Please be sure to kindly follow the board guidelines, as it takes time and effort to find fabulous pins across the Internet and Pinterest!  Thank you!  

Thank you for stopping by! ❤



Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Set Your Table With Flair--A Spring-y Saint Patrick's Day


Hello, all and welcome!  Thank you so much for visiting me!  It's that time of year again....time to get out your green, dance a jig, and engage in some harmless mischief, for Saint Patrick's Day is just a few days away! 

On this special day, I send the kiddos off to school in their green garb, and usually put on something festive myself.  Do you have traditions this time of year?

I do try to bring fun and tradition to the table.  The tables I set last year were very bold and rich in color, so this year, I want to set a table with a much lighter hand.  It has been an unrelenting winter for most of the country, and we have had our share of torrential rain here in Southern California.  It is gloomy and damp, which makes me long for Spring.  Setting a table infused with light, springy colors is a great way to banish those lingering winter blues and bring in a feeling of Spring.

In honor of this wonderful season and Cuisine Kathleen's Annual Saint Patrick's Day blog hop, today I am sharing a sweet and simple tablescape reminiscent of the Springtime.  I hope you enjoy the post!

I began this setting with a wonderful damask tablecloth in a lovely soft celadon.
 

Closeup of the detail.


Rustic chargers

with intricate detail



were set with simple white plates.


Forest green napkins folded length-wise,

were followed by pretty celadon saucers.

So sweet.  I don't mind the little flaws.  They add charm and character.  :)

At each setting, I placed beige napkins adorned with sheer ribbon in light green.


For a bit of fun, I curled the ribbons with scissors.


To bring more green and a natural element to the setting, I trimmed some beautiful ferns.


 I loved the soft leaves of this fern, which made a nice alternative to clover.


At each setting, the sprig of fern joins a little topiary tree and stemware outfitted in green.






If you would like to view the tutorial to make these trees, you may visit the post on my blog The Crafting Table here.


Silver flatware

Adorned with more sweet green ribbon

joins the cheerful setting.

To build a multi-dimensional centerpiece, I began with floral arranging foam 


held together with wooden skewers.


I love combining real flowers and faux in my arrangements, and I began this one by building a foundation of faux leaves.



I trimmed,


and added the foliage from the center outward.


Fresh poms and freesia from the local grocer

were added along with faux snapdragons and large poms with lots of green leaves salvaged from the spring bouquet I purchased earlier this month.  Closeups of the detail.

The freesia smell wonderful!  Can you differentiate the real from the faux?



At either side of the centerpiece, silver candleholders and white tapers


complete the tablescape.





Love the detail of these sweet candleholders!




Completed tablescape.













A few shots of the place setting.











You may also want to use the centerpiece alone as a festive vignette.  If you spray the flowers with a water bottle, it should keep for a good few days to a week.










From my collection:

Damask Tablecloth, Lauren Ralph Lauren/HomeGoods
Chargers, Pottery Barn
White plates, Ralph Lauren Club Collection
Celadon plates, thrifted
Beige napkins, HomeGoods
Forest green napkins, HomeGoods
Stemware, Luminarc France Emerald Green, local thrift
Flatware, Wallace Antique Baroque Collection, Horchow/Neiman Marcus
Candleholders, Godinger, local antique shoppe




If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 
Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

Follow me on Pinterest!!  Please be sure to kindly follow the board guidelines, as it takes time and effort to find fabulous pins across the Internet and Pinterest!  Thank you!  

Thank you for stopping by! ❤