Creative Garden Planters

With the warmer weather settling in I'm anxious to start gardening. I'm picturing a small urban garden with a few vegetables and flowers--and visiting bees and birds to enjoy it with me. If I had the space, let alone a yard, I'd have a lavish garden; however, I live in an apartment with a small patio which makes gardening a challenge. So I'm looking for creative solutions that will make my gardening dreams come true. Here are some that I found and fell in love with:

I love their use of woven wood planters here. They look like beautiful baskets and add a nice rustic charm.

If you're short on space, like me, this rack could be a great solution. I love its simple design. I found this at www.Recuperando.it along with a few others- located in Italy!

This cute, red plant stand caught my eye, and had to add it to the list.

I love the architectural shape of this pyramid planter. I could see two of these overflowing with flowers, flanking my garden bench.

A planter stand carrying four individual compartments. Makes it easier to add and remove plants when you want without disturbing the neighboring plants.

If you're on the go and need your plants to be too, just add wheels.

I really like the industrial look of galvanized steel, it goes well with the wood.

A creative way to use cinder blocks; 12 blocks and liquid nails to hold them together.

A room divider but also a bean planter. Of course, I'd replace the electrical cord and put a strip of solar panel on top. ;-)

Planters for the wall. Don't they look like art? Love them.

I love this vintage stroller. The green colors contrast beautifully against the white wall, and the subtle white on the rims.

I always see clamp lamps in thrift stores. I'll never look at them the same way again. What a great idea.

I love the look of this old, worn boot as a planter. For some reason it makes me think of garden gnomes. Lol.

I'm scooping up the next shoe organizer I see on Craigslist. I see these under the "free" section a lot.

Have some ideas to share?

Happy Easter

My sister and I spent our lovely Easter weekend visiting our parents in Paso Robles. It was fun, and the weather was perfect--Mediterranean type weather--which I love. On this trip we had a little surprise waiting for us. Actually, it wasn't for us per say but it surprised us nonetheless.

Sitting in my parent's driveway was a Mercedes SLK (my father wanted a toy). He's been a Ford man most of his life so it threw me for a loop, and it's a convertible no less, but I'm glad he did it. It's pretty cool to see my Dad throw caution to the wind, and do something spontaneous. Good for you Dad. :-)

In addition to all the excitement around the car, I also got to see their new terrace that's partially made of railroad ties (very cool!). I love the fact they incorporated old railroad ties for aesthetic, while being green. Who says you can't mix beauty and green together? My parents are awesome!

On my ride back to the Bay Area, I coordinated a pick-up of a vintage highboy dresser I found on Craigslist. It was listed for $80 but they accepted my counteroffer of $30, which really made my day. Here's a sneak peek of it; this is the original picture the past owner posted on CL. I'll take a few pictures (body shots) tomorrow. I figure I'll refinish it in natural or antique white, we'll see. Let me know what you guys think? Was it worth $30 or no?

Today was a great but long day; I'm looking forward to my bed. (Zzzzz) Before I end the night I'd like to add how thankful I am for the resurrection of Jesus, and the forgiveness of my sins. Without him I am nothing. This is what Easter truly means to me.

On a comical note, I wanted to share this cute Easter commercial by Walmart called, "The Hunt."

Be well, be blessed, and good night. :-)

Chippendale Benches Needing Love

Aren't these benches great?! They have great bones. I was in disbelief when their former owner wanted to dump them; no way was I going to allow these beauties end up in a landfill. I mean come on, look at those Chippendale-style backs (swoon). But I'm not complaining, as they say, "One man's trash is another woman's treasure". . . especially when its free (smile).

Unfortunately and fortunately (since I love DIY projects), they're in bad shape and extremely dirty; one even has a broken arm (2nd pic), however, with a bit of elbow grease, sanding, priming, painting, and love, these ladies will sing once more. I can't wait to start this project.

I'm thinking about painting them black and adding an accent pillow for a splash of color.

Or do you think white would be a better choice?