Dumpster Diving at It's FINEST

Last summer someone threw this lovely in the dumpster at the golf course. It was love at first sight. I'm sure my sons were beyond embarrassed when I asked them to help me load this baby in the truck. But I knew she still had some good years left in her. She sat on the deck with some clearance cushions all summer and this year I decided it was time to make her beautiful.

I'm obsessed with spray paint and not afraid to use it on ANYTHING!!!
I cleaned her up and used Valspar outdoor paint in peacock blue and treated her to brand new cushions from Target.

SO HAPPY with how she turned out. Now all I need is warm weather, a glass of wine and a good book.

Space for two

Hubby recently told me that he really didn't like being at the other end of the house when he was paying bills or on his computer. I think his exact words were " I feel like i'm in timeout". Okay then!

So now we needed room for two people to pay bills, work on computers, and one very messy scrapbooker. 

This is hubby's corner. He says its perfect. Yes, I will change the pink fabric on the chair but he doesn't care and he can see the TV from here so its all good.

As soon as I find someone to build custom bookshelves this one will be replaced. 

I want floor to ceiling ones  for more scrap albums. ;-)

 The hubby made the metal top for my two $5.00 cabinets. Great idea.

I have this "thing" for glass. I can NOT throw it away. Hey, it makes great storage for all kinds of stuff.

Fresh flowers, pugs and chocolate. What else is there????

 The LOOONG corner desk is from Pottery Barn. Cost way more than we wanted to spend but was cheaper than having something custom built and there is room for work and scrapping.

A better pic of the two $5 cabinets with the metal top. Hubby is so talented.

I LOVE this room now. And hubby loves that he doesn't feel like he's in timeout anymore. 

Happy hubby, happy wife..... happy wife, happy life. Right?

A New Ruler of the Nest

We are so happy to welcome Jett into our family. Uncle Travis is already in love. I'm sure he will teach Jett all he needs to know about playing black jack.

No doubt he will be dressed to the nines with Aunt Jade around.

Cousin Veronica came from Tx to welcome baby Jett

ADORABLE!!!!

Great Grandma Mimi ready to help spoil him

4 generations 

Uncle Paul sure thinks he is something special

The new LOVE of my life.. OOOh that face!!

Great Uncle Rudy and cousin Jackson stopped by to say hello

And this picture melts my heart. BEAUTIFUL!!! Kate did a  fantastic job bringing this little one into the world. Jett is a lucky baby having Curt and Kate as his parents. They are so in love with this little man and will be amazing parents.

This picture says it all.

Welcome little man, welcome.

Jett's Baby shower

Several friends and family who could not join us for Jett's shower have asked to see pics. I never got my camera out. I know I know!!  Katie had a friend come take pics but I don't have those yet so thankfully Mimi got a few shots for me to share.

This banner was ADORABLE!! Thanks Chrissy with Chocolatetulipdesigns I had St. Louis (for daddy) and Ranger (for mama) cookies made. Can you see them?

Jeff out did himself with the pork and brisket he smoked. SO GOOD!!

Lots of cold drinks on hand. IT WAS HOT!!!  We handed out mini bags of sunflower seeds with tags that said "thanks for making our shower a home run". yes, chocolatetulipdesigns did those too.

Cardinal and ranger mini sunglasses for the little ones.

We asked everyone to wear their favorite baseball team shirt. Check out Gigi's.

Our poor little mama. You can tell how hot it was by her face in this pic. Everyone had fun tho and I have some pics to scrap. Thank you Mimi.

No More Washout

Our land is anything but flat. We have hills, hills and more hills. And that means a lot few washout areas with a heavy rain. So we decided to put a flowerbed on the other side of the sidewalk to help this area.

Normally I dig and put in the beds myself but I knew this was going to be a big job and would require some gravel and extra work to stop the washout so I called in the pros.

The guys from Riddle ( a local nursery in sand springs that is like crack to me) did a awesome job and worked HARD. The dry stacked rock will help with the problem of washout and looks great.

My nephew Brant aka Bubba was home from college looking to make some cash so with his help we put all these lovelies in in just a hour. Yes, we did!!!

 I'm loving this little purple flower. Check out that star bud waiting to bloom.

 Every flower in this bed except the" burning bush" is butterfly friendly.

Love these beauties too. So I now have ANOTHER bed to weed. But totally worth it.

Making it pretty

This little area beside the garage needed some love. It was a wet muddy mess.
We had the retaining wall done recently to stop the hill and our neighbors from washing away.
I really didn't want to put plants here BUT thought a place to put a potting bench would be nice.

30 bags of pea gravel and a cute little potting bench that I have had my eye on for months did the trick. I think the guy at Riddle sold it to me just so I would stop asking. ( It was a display table and I asked several times before I got a yes) Ya, never know. Hubby put my soil in a big metal can and all my garden tools are stored in the stacking boxes with lids. Extra rock is kept in the red can. I even have a place to park my wagon now.
The side garage door is just to the left of the bench so I can unload my car, fill my wagon and take whatever I need anywhere in the yard.
Gardening life made easy!!!!!!!

New Arbor

We have been busy at the Sparks Nest. Every year I add something to the yard.

One of the things we added was this beautiful wood arbor. 

We used to have a metal one here but this one really changes the look in front.

We also add several new plants to the beds every year.

The mums were from last fall and I was surprised to see that they are already blooming

I have no idea what the yellow flower is but it is beautiful. And these beauties on the deck draw the butterflies every day all day.