Last fall I found a lone chair at a garage sale for $5 around the same time I found these thrifty finds. It was in rough shape but I thought it would look great with some tlc and new paint.

Before:

I took inspiration from a Martha Stewart article on modernizing a traditional chair. I love the bold choice of colors and patterns. The first step was to sand and prime the chair. Then I reupholstered the seat using a vintage upholstery fabric I had found on Ebay a couple years ago.  I decided to watch a quick video on how to reupholster a chair to make sure I was doing it right. Finally, I chose Behr Yellow Gold paint to finish it off.

After:

  

I think the fabric and paint color worked better than I had expected! It was well worth the time and effort to have a unique chair that is a perfect addition to our home.

I love the look of a raised garden bed. Not only that, but they are a more efficient use of space.

So we  (as in my husband) built a 4×4 box, 12″ deep.

Next, we filled it with nutrient rich soil and compost. This is another benefit of a raised bed, you can ensure top quality soil.

Finally we transplanted our plants, added some lettuce, radish and carrot seeds, plus a strawberry plant for good measure.

but we couldn’t just stop there…. we then decided to put an herb garden next to it.

 

Basil, cilantro, oregeno, rosemary and thyme. We love fresh herbs!

 

So there they sit.  It’s like Christmas morning for me everyday when i go inspect the daily growth. So exciting.

Isabella told me she is so proud we are growing our own plants.

I must say, i am too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since the new year, I’ve been taking the boys to story time at the library. It has been like no story time I’ve ever experinced in the past.  It’s one hour, once a week and the ongoing theme is called “in the garden”.

The teacher is amazing and week by week she has been building a garden with the kids.  so fun!

It has been quite facinating for both the boys and myself, so we decided to make a garden of our own at home.

We started our seeds about 6 weeks ago. We planted sweet peppers, tomatoes, basil, cilantro, and corn.

Then we waited and obsessed over them, checking them many times through out the day ’til finally, something appeared!

Here they are at about 4 weeks.

We also planted some flowers.

 

I’ve been reading Sunset magazine lately and I LOVE it! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you should pick up a copy and I promise you will be be inspired. This month is focussed on yards and gardens.  Check out some of their  gardening tips and ideas here

Next up….our raised garden bed.

Sweet Paul

The second issue of Sweet Paul is a Fall edition full of my favorite things – great food and decorating ideas.

The Picnic in the Forest recipes make me want to dust off my wicker picnic basket and try the Chevré and Honey Open-Faced Sandwich. I’m always up for trying a new soup recipe so the hearty looking Butternut Squash and White Bean Stew is now on my list.

There are so many delicious looking recipes but this salted caramel chocolate cake is calling my name and singing happy birthday to me. (Yes, I believe in making my own birthday cake.)

If you are like me and finding it hard to admit that Christmas is around the corner, take some time to enjoy this Fall edition now. Then dive into the Holiday issue out on November 15th with promises of crafts, cookies and candy to get you in the holiday spirit.

~Vanessa

I just recently started reading Emily Henderson’s blog. I’ve been loving her Flea Market Mondays of things she has found over the weekend. As Lynnette mentioned – there is nothing like the thrill of the hunt!

I found a few pieces recently and thought I’d share my mid-century modern finds. First it was this end table:

Nothing fancy here – wood veneer and probably not worth much but perfect for my son’s play room. Eventually it will be a side table for his big boy bed when the day comes.

Then recently at a community garage sale I was heading back to the car a bit disappointed when I spotted the legs of this beauty:

They only wanted $5 and it needs some tlc but it will be well worth it.

Then today I found this lovely side table at a thrift store:

I thought she looked pretty great and then took a peek underneath and saw the words ‘Made In Denmark’. Jackpot! Turns out it is a Danish made solid teak Vejle Stole table. It has fueled my determination to keep rummaging!

~Vanessa

red pajamas {home}

Recently I made a wonderful discovery: e-magazines. And specifically decorating magazines. While it is hard to replace a physical magazine like Blueprint or Domino (sniff, sniff), this at least gives me a little fix.

To celebrate the opening of our new red pajamas {home} shop we’ll be blogging more about ways to enjoy our homes. I’m looking forward to sharing with you some of my favorite e-magazines over the next few weeks. My first is Lonny. I just finished skimming through the Oct/Nov issue which is great. They have a section on gift giving which includes this one featuring Etsy shops:

There are also lots of great photos of interiors like these ones:

There is something so intriguing about seeing how other people decorate and live, don’t you think?