.things I learned this week.

.My mother-in-law has the most beautiful hydrangeas. We uesd these to make arrangements for my niece's Christening. Just add starfish & roses and you have a centerpiece.

I learned a few things this week:

1) Qaid is a good Banangrams word because you don't need a 'u'. Qaid is a Muslim tribal chief or senior official. AND Qat which is a leaf of the shrub Catha edulis. Right. Of course.

2) Hydrangeas change colors based on the color of the soil and the aluminium content. AND you can change a pink hydrangea to a blue hydrangea and vice versa, but you cannot change a white hydrangea to either blue or pink. Read more here.

.summer sunset.

.beautiful clouds at sunset on the Newport Bridge.

.boats.

.boat in front of Castle Hill in Newport - best bar in town!!.

.cool boat outside our house this past weekend...

.full bloom.

.{miss winnie}.


.{not sure what this is...it's a vine of some sort}.


.{rhododenrons in full bloom!!}.


.{bees}.


.{peonies}.


.{peonies}.

.My mother-in-law's garden was in full bloom the other day!!!!!!!!

.stroll.

.it's an incredible day in Rhody...finally warm enough for our 1st stroll.

.WEM.

.Baby Meyer!!!.

.she arrived last night at 3:16am on her due date!! So prompt.

.lamp for Wensley.

.I was just telling my mom today that I want to get a blue lamp for baby Wensley and I found this post on Odi et Amo!!!. LOVE IT!

.wonderland.

.I bought these frames at Pier 1 and am doing Alice & Wonderland sketches for them. I have 8 frames in total that will go above Baby Wensley's bed.

.sunday.

.writing thank you notes on my porch on Sunday. While I loved living in the city, I really missed not having an outdoor space.


.herbs from Lindsay.


.wind chime from my Aunt Nancy...elephants!!

.sunshine.

.looks like we are going to have a beautiful weekend. Don't forget about the DERBY on Saturday!!!!.

.PLASTIC.

{photo credit: Blue Hydrangea}

.Here is a table I found at CB2 which is Crate & Barrel, $249.00.

.It says it is 0.5" molded acrylic, which begs the question, what is the difference between Lucite and acrylic?? Well, per my Google search - NOTHING! Lucite is just a brand name - Lucite International - which is a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Raylon, which markets Lucite for domestic use & fashion accessories (source).

.I L.O.V.E. Lucite for some accessories, so by loving Lucite, I guess I also love Plexiglas, acrylic glass and any other name by which PMMA (polymethyl_methacrylate) is marketed. Hmmmm. You learn something new everyday!!.

.tabletop ideas.

.black & white striped table cloths - LOVE it. Want it.

.while I might sub out the orange for green or maybe pink, I L.O.V.E. this idea. I need another party to plan and someone else's budget.

.IKEA bookshelves.

.Dan and I bought these at IKEA and I LOVE them. For once we finally have a place to put all our pictures, books and other items. $300! Can't beat that price!.

.new chairs.

.SAVED from the Salvation Army, $44 each! They desperately need recovering, but they have nice "bones" and a retro look to them, so I bought 'em! They are also very comfortable.

.rainbows.

.some of those houses had docks before the storm...so sad.

.last Thursday I was greeted by this awesome rainbow. This is looking out from our deck.

.Calling Jamestown.

.i found this image on Caitlin Creer.

.What a fun thing to do for a party. MAX & SARAH - Why can't you be in Jamestown??? I want to string up balloons overlooking the water and play Bocce ball and drink ritas!!?!

.WIP.

.My living room is a WIP - WORK IN PROGRESS - and a few things that I have been thinking about are white leather arm chairs for by the fireplace, horizontal striped curtains (black & white) and a burl coffee table. This may seem a little crazy, but I do have a master plan.

* Black & White Stripped Curtains - not sure where to find?? I found this DIY version at Little Green Notebook.

* Burl coffee table...I might make this myself with iron legs.

* IKEA white leather chair $549

* Desi stool as a side table?

.spring SHADE planting.

.I really need to plant a few things before the baby comes. I have a partial shade deck and a sun deck and I think this arrangement from White Flower Farm will work well for the shade deck (going clockwise from the top left):

* Heuchera Dolce (Key Lime Pie)

* Ipomoea (Sweet Caroline Light Green)

* Sanchezia Speciosa

* Impatiens (FanFare Fuchsia)

* Coleus (Merlin's Magic)

* Begonia (Fireworks)

.May 7th.

.May 7th can't get her soon enough.

.countdown.

.May 7th is getting REALLY CLOSE.

.H20..

.This is my new view.... We have several swans and ducks that come by in the morning. So cute. I love being back on the waterfront.

.and THIS is the leftovers from the flood on the Pawtuxet River here in RI. I took this picture in the Shaw's parking lot.

.The Mayo.

.Just arrived in Tulsa, OK. The city streets are eerily EMPTY at 11pm on a Sunday night, but I guess most places are like that, especially when there isn't much downtown residential living.

Staying at The Mayo Hotel. Neat, historic hotel in the heart of downtown. The pictures online were true to the hotel's character. Modern bathroom, plush bed with LOTS of pillows, ridiculously HUGE flatscreen TV and a really good looking carpet that could also be a great pattern for a chic coat. The view, however, not so sweet. It looks like an IRS office next door. Cubicles. Bleh.

.Okay...big day tomorrow. Need to get some shut eye.

.moving soon?.

.We finally get our place looking nice and now we're hoping to move. It's crazy how these things work out. But who can resist a water view? I CAN'T!!!!!!!!!!.

.PPS WINTER BASH 2010.

.I don't think my pictures do justice to the event... After setting up ALL day I was just too tired to really try. Nevertheless, here they are!.


.these brazziers were on loan from Barnaby who is the man responsible for Providence's Waterfire.

.my hanging sticks in the evil garden - cheap but effective!!

.can you see the brazziers now? They looked so cool....WHY didn't I get better pictures???? This is the evil side.

.the white garden!.

that's my friend Lindsay on the left there....she was a HUGE help and an integral part of the design.

.our glowing orbs were constantly changing colors. We put them on these cylinders filled with purple/blue water which were lit with floralytes.

.these are the same chicken wire light balls from last year. This year we hung them over the VIP areas.

.chandeliers from Martha Stewarts entertaining collection...

.our friend from Plantasia let us use her beautiful palms (as well as several other asesome things!!) and we also hung our white chicken wire balls in this area.