Plants for a Mid-Century Style

I've been researching houseplants as inspiration for the mid-century home we're remodeling. I thought it would be fun to hunt down similar plants as those popular in the 1950's - since it respects the home's era. To my delight, I found the old fashioned houseplants are trending quite heavily this season and all were easily found at the local plant nursery.

Once inside, I found a wonderful variety of exactly what I was looking for:

1) dracaena, 2) southern maidenhair fern, 3) caladiums, 4) impatiens, & 5) wax begonia. 

Oh, included in my purchases was a Boston fern. What home in the 50's didn't have a Boston fern?

This little project was such a delightful lesson in old-fashioned houseplant varieties. When I actually saw them in person, it became difficult for me to pin down just a few. I wanted them all. But pin down I did, and now the home is filled with a wonderful array. 

Appreciating the antecedents of current houseplant varieties and has given me the opportunity to remember the lives of my very own antecedents. When my research was done and my inspiration board set, I unexpectedly found that it looked very familiar. I soon realized that each and every one of the plants I selected were plants which my grandmother cultivated in her gardens in south Florida. Oh, sweet incidents! They happen so rarely.

If you're looking for inspiration for your mid-century home, take time to research the various plant varieties of the era. There are many to choose from. And if you're lucky to have a well versed plant nursery in your area, you'll more than likely find them in stock.

Alt For Everyone {and a Little Shopping in Between}

This weekend was the Lakewood 400 Antiques Market in Cumming. I find this market often to be a hit or miss. This month was a hit ;)

I picked up several unique treasures like this old leather suitcase. I love it so much that I'm considering it for myself. And the very old pair of child's boxing gloves stuffed with horse hair - wouldn't these would be perfect in a little one's room?

Do you see the little set of Jell-O molds hiding in the back? Do they take you back to your childhood?

And I finally found a air plant. Yay!!! I have been looking for one since last season. I have the perfect vessel for this little guy I'll show you soon. But for now, here's a few highlights of the show.

The very nice piece of Copco  was too cute to resist in happy yellow.

I actually did a post on the history of Copco last year (Do You Know Copco?) and have sold several pieces. But I've never kept a piece for myself - so I'm excited to test it out! As much as I love to cook with cast iron, Copco should be right up my alley. Besides, it'll be pretty to look at as I happily stir...

  Here's another piece I purchased which I'm seriously considering keeping for myself {if I can find a spot}. I haven't had a chance to do any research, so if you have any info on it - do tell! I know it's a mid-century piece based on the quality of the heavy steel tubular frame, but there is no mark. Still, I love it!

Okay, i really wanted a trio of the nautical floats, but at $65 a pop, that wasn't gonna happen. I also like the galvanized tub they were placed in; but, once again, not at the price. But a girl can admire!

Sorry this isn't a better shot, but this little mid-century bird cage was so adorable. At $45, I hope someone took home a very sweet piece.

And just because they were cute, these sweet vintage linens from the 1950s.

I never knew so much Pyrex existed!

So that was my weekend, shopping at Lakewood. Oh, and there was this little thing called Alt For Everyone hosted by Alt Summit. It was an amazing, peeps! These courses were packed full of informative tidbits. If you're a blogger, I highly recommend you look at the courses offered on their site - it's a truly talented group of ladies that host. Yes, they know their game and aren't afraid to show it! Amazing, for sure.

What were your weekend finds?

 #thanksbing, #thanksalt

Mason Jar Luminaries

Hello & happy Friday!

This weekend is filled with all sorts of goodness including some fast & furious courses at the Alt For Everyone. I'm taking away some great information, and am so excited to put it all to use on the blog soon!

But in between classes, I was busy working on a little project

Isn't he cute? Seeing all the Mason jars of late, I could resist no longer and was compelled to put my own spin on a Mason jar. With mine, I decided to create a fresh + modern dotted design. (don't you think he'd be handsome sitting on a round white kitchen table, or on a color block credenza.)

What you need is:

Glass jar
removable adhesive labels in design of your choice
Paint of your choice
glass floral beads
votive candle

I used labels from the office supply store to create my pattern, making sure they were securely attached.

Apply several light coats of paint (do as I say, not as I do and spray paint with the jar upside down to prevent overspray inside the jar - lesson learned).

With the modern dotted design, I opted to use Rustoleum's Universal in gloss white. But if you want a more rustic look, chalk paint would be a good alternative.

Once the paint is dry, very carefully remove the labels.

Then add glass floral beads or sand to the bottom. This helps protect the surface underneath from heat damage if the candle burns for a long period of time.

And here's my finished product. I love the graphic of the dotted design.

I can't wait to put this little puppy to good use - I think I have the perfect spot!

Happy weekend my friends!

CB2 & the Novigratz Brasil Giveaway - What's Not to Love? #CB2NovogratzBrasilSweepstakes

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of CB2. All opinions are 100% mine.

Have you seen the latest collaboration between CB2 and the design duo Bob & Cortney Novogratz? It's a beautiful partnership that offers an eclectic island design inspired by the duo's vacation home in Brazil. It's based on a colorful aesthetic of both modern and vintage that's full of personality with a twist of well-traveled {and you guys know how much I love that}.

The CB2 and Novogratz Collection is chic, stylish, and family friendly - true to the Novogtratz's style - while being at a price point that's attainable for most any budget. And I love the long-term commitment this collection offers with its versatile design allowing for plenty of mixing & matching. Here are a few of my favorites from this latest collection

i love the playfulness of the robert and cortney bookends (49.95)

Speaking of play, check out the playful Figueira Swing Chair (149). I totally want this!

And what's not to love about the modern lines of the Soneca Pendant lamp (149)

Oh, there is so much to love about this collection! But my biggest love is the sweepstakes that CB2 & the Novogratz's are hosting - a one week sleep-over at the Novogratz home in Transcoso, Brazil that you and three of your closest friends have a chance to win! Yep, it could be yours! Just go the the CB2 and Novogratz Brasil Sweepstakes to enter.

And if a slumber party isn't in the cards for you, don't dispair, because CB2 is also giving away $100 gift cards along with a personally signed copy of the book "Home by Novogratz"  to ten other lucky winners. Entering is easy - just enter via the cb2.com/sweeps @  CB2 and Novogratz Brasil Sweepstakes. Sweepstakes run May 2nd through June 3rd.

I've already entered. But if i don't win, I want it to be you!

Floral Arrangements from the Garden

Part of last weekend was spent catching up in the garden and reaping the rewards of all my hard work by bringing some blooms indoors.

This is what makes all the hard work worth it.

These simple stems of water iris are set behind a potted fern for a woodland display.

One of my favorite annual blooms are from our rhododendrons. So full and lush and so Southern. The grey chair is the perfect backdrop for this lavender blossom.

But this arrangement is my favorite only because a precious two & four year old helped to arrange it. Such talent! I can already see the gardening potential in them both and will do all in my power to encourage the tradition!

When trying to decide on a prominent spot for this bouquet, I was instructed by the girls to placed this arrangement in the kitchen window in front of the sink because they said I stand there all the time. I suppose that was so that I could enjoy it while doing one of my least favorite chores washing the dishes. Sweet little imps! ;)

What's blooming in your gardens?

linking to savvysouthernstyle

Sweet Revival - Upcycling the Better Half

Ha! Clever title, no? Wouldn't we all love to upcycle our other half at times? But I digress...

I was hanging at a local auction the other Saturday evening, 'cause that's just how we love to spend our Saturday nights now days. But that's, once again, another story. So, up came the decrepit upper half of a old secretary. It had nice lines, but was in awful shape and was painted in the darkest of brown. Still, I was intrigued and my mind began to whirl around ideas. Add legs to it & make it a bookshelf? Marry it to a lonely lower half? Oh! How about as a hanging potting shed - because I'm all about creating an interesting potting shed for myself right now. Yes! A hanging potting shed for my garage or back deck. Perfect!

{bid, bid, win}

And here's what I came home with

She is a dreaded mess, isn't she. No worries, a coat of paint is just the ticket to make her into an interesting workhorse. Since she was to be garden related, I was thinking a can of green would work nicely.

But she wasn't having any of it. She let out a heavy sigh as I contemplated my collection of brightly colored spray paints. No, she wasn't feeling a bright happy shade of green, so I went to the next easiest option - I slapped a coat of chalk paint in Paris grey, with the standard distressing.

Fitting. And because it would be in a semi-outdoor environment and I was too lazy to wax it it needed good protection, I applied a protective coating Rust-oleum clear coat.

I love my Rust-oleum!

But now that she's all painted, she's just too pretty for a utilitarian purpose such as housing dirty garden tools. {Wait a minute! Clever little secretary, she knew exactly what she was doing all along.} I think I've been dupped.

Okay, secretary, you win. But what to do with you now? I immediately thought of storage for my bathroom. I have a bare wall in dire need of embellishment. It might be perfect. So I lugged her indoors for a visual. 

Picture the piece on the left - attached to the wall on the right.

Just my luck, it's too deep to fit. Well, since I already had her indoors, I decided to have some fun and decorate her up a bit.

Oh, so pretty & such a tease - why don't you fit???

 See just how lovely it could be hanging in someone else's bathroom? And so functional, too - you guys know I love me some dual purpose furniture.

Yes, a potting shed would have been an injustice to this beautiful piece.