Front Porch Chairs--Change of Plan

I reserve the right to change my mind.

I've been on the hunt for new seating for our front porch. It's a narrow slab of concrete, but it's long. I knew it would have to be a bench or two chairs placed side by side.

Since I'm getting a fabulous custom bench made from a "found" headboard as a birthday present (Mom and Dad are making this for me and I can't wait!) I decided to go with chairs.

So I had my mind set on two white rocking chairs like this...


Source: Home Depot

Cute, right? They'll go perfectly with our soon-to-be white trim. The problem was that:
a) I couldn't find them in white to sit in and "sample"
b) Even the ones we found in colors were uncomfortable once we sat in them

On Saturday night Brent and I walked into CostPlus to see what they had and we saw this beauty.


Plantation Chair from CostPlus.


Totally not white. Totally not a rocker. Totally comfortable and fabulous!

End of story. Two of them are now sitting on our front porch and they'll look even better once the exterior paint is done. Then I plan to add some accent pillows the same color as the front door. Anyone care to guess what color that will be?

~Karli

My Stylish Wardrobe Staples

The items I consider staples in my wardrobe might be a little different than some of you, but it struck me today how important these items are. I recently wore out my favorite shoes, found a hole in my black tank top and realized just how many things a good blazer goes with.

So here's a round up of the items I find myself wearing over and over again to create my sense of style.

1. Leopard flats
Now I know you may be thinking "Really, Karli? This is your number one item?" Yes, yes it is. I'm on my third pair if that tells you how often I wear leopard shoes. I find them very versatile, almost a neutral, and they give my outfits just the right amount of "funky." 

I found these at Nordstrom Rack on sale! Hooray!


2. Colored tanks
I wear tank tops under lots of things...including my #3 item. Under cardigans, under deep v-neck shirts, or alone...these things are easy and versatile!
 

I usually get a variety of colors from Target.

3. Stretchy one or two button blazers
The reason I specify "stretchy" is because I find that I don't feel as restricted if the material is a softer, less stiff, fabric. I wear blazers with jeans and dress slacks. I wear them with skirts and I also put them on over dresses that might be too bare for work. I have so many colors, but I get the most use out of black, teal, gray jersey and gray pinstripe.
 

My friend Angie turned me on to Olivia Moon blazers from Nordstrom. I love the rouched sleeves--since I always want to push long sleeves up, these work perfect for me.

 4. Scarves
I would be embarrassed if I actually counted the number of scarves I own. I find that I can wear something rather plain, like a black dress, and easily switch it up with a scarf. Given that I look best in brighter jewel tones, the ones I wear the most are green, purple and orange/coral. Mom got me a great leopard scarf that I've worn a lot too (but not with my leopard flats---that's too matchy for me).


I don't own this scarf, but man I love it!

 5. Jeans
I love jeans. I wish I could wear them to work every day. I love that you can easily dress them up or down. I feel like I really could get by with just two pairs. One needs to be a dark wash, bootcut, long enough to wear with, well boots. The other pair needs to be a skinny jean to wear with flats, sandals or tucked into tall boots with a looser top. Easy.



My favorite bootcut jeans are from Lucky and Seven.



I also have Lucky skinny jeans

I just realized that the little shopping trip I had to the discount store today is helping me acheive my style resolutions for the year. How cool?!

What are the staples in your wardrobe?

~Karli

Day Lily Transplant--Flowers From Home

This last weekend we brought Karli flowers from home. She has always loved the day lilies we have growing on the east side of our house. They mean a lot to mean because they were given to me by my dear friend Kathy. So, how perfect to be able to share them with Karli for her new house.

While Karli and I "did" the Tea, her sweet Daddy dug up the flower bed under her family room picture window to make a perfect new home for these transplants. This area had been filled with a cedar tree and several juniper bushes that got removed on Thursday.


The digging begins



I transported the day lilies in this bucket with plenty of water in the bottom. Here's Karli getting ready to plant in the new space.



I hope Porter doesn't dig these up!

Karli and I did get involved with hauling rocks and pulling up the numerous roots and runners from the evergreens.


Adding some potting soil to Karli's clay soil

They are expecting a big snow this week. I know the new day lilies will just love all that moisture and soon she will have fragrant yellow and orange blooms adorning the back of her house basking in the early morning sun. 

She can look at them and always think of home.


I think they grew in the few days we were visiting!

~Kandy  

Kindred Style Duo Hosts a Tea Table

I promised I would report on the tea table that Karli and I hosted at her Church this last weekend. So this is me "making good" on all my promises!

Here we are all ready to go to the Tea.

Karli's yard wasn't "blooming" yet, but it was a beautiful day!

The Tea was a lovely afternoon event with delicious food, wonderful entertainment, and more than 120 ladies in attendance. Each of the tables was decorated in a creative way. Karli and I had fun making ours a little "organic" with the use of all the burlap.



A few shots of our table

We had a white cloth covering the large round table. To that we added a square topper of burlap, with a cream vintage linen cutwork cloth in the very center. We used a large ironstone pitcher from the late 1800's filled with fresh white hydrangeas as our centerpiece. We then scattered several of the burlap flowers I had made. To see how these are made, check out the earlier post.


A close up of the burlap flowers

We used Karl's white dishes, cup and saucers, and white teapots. We added three small pots of green herbs. This touch of green tied in nicely with the green leaves of the hydrangeas. These tiny nests added even more "natural spring" flavor to our table.

The precious little nests with birds and eggs--very spring-like!

Everyone loved the bow details we added to the folding chairs.

 

We tied "recycled" laced (from an old curtain panel) and burlap bows

Even the napkin holders were burlap flowers glued onto burlap ribbon.

The napkins were paper, doily like.

Our table was #7 so I had painted a small frame white, distressed it and covered the inside with what else....burlap. I glued on a small black paper clip to hold our number.


The frame can hold a picture or special postcard later

Karli and I had such a good time planning and hosting our tea table, I am sure we would love to do it again next year. 

Right now I am making plans to "reuse" all those burlap flowers.

Happy Spring,
Kandy (and Karli too) 

Bushes Out, Flowers In

Ok, so the flowers aren't literally "in" yet, but I placed my order for just what I wanted from Burpee.com. I signed up for their newsletter, so I got free shipping on the order. Based on our zone and last frost date, the plants will start shipping April 15th. Mom is headed up here for the weekend with some day lily bulbs that we'll put in the ground right away where the bushes lived along the back of the house.

And because the bushes are being torn out tomorrow (yippee), I'll have the perfect space for a beautiful new front flower garden.  I got my inspiration for the layout and style from BHG.com.

I thought, because I can hardly wait myself, that I'd share my final flower choices with you. All the photos are from Burpee's website.  

Oriental Poppy, Allegro

Probably one of my favorite flowers!



Spiderwort

Noted as being good for novice gardeners. Sounds great!

Clematis, Jackmanii (this will grow up the mailbox post)

Sturdy climber and very hardy.



Echinacea/Coneflowers, Hot Summer

This is a Burpee exclusive. Love the vibrant colors. Will be great to cut and bring inside!



Foxglove, Rose Shades

"Blooms like crazy. Needs no care at all"



Rudbeckia/Brown Eyed Susans, Goldsturm

"Bright, bold and easy to grow"



Solidago, Fireworks

I'll plant this towards the back of the bed



Columbine, Lime Sorbet

These bloom lime and then turn white. I've never seen anything like them before!



Lisianthus, Florida Blue

Apparently these can tolerate lots of heat. Perfect for the front of our house. They're also supposed to be almost like roses--minus the thorns!

I still plan to purchase some annuals locally for planter boxes. I'll do sweet potato vine with purple wave petunias in those planters.

My sweet friend, Angie, volunteered to come over and help me plant. This is a fairly large undertaking, so you can bet I'll be taking her up on that!

Here's to finally having curb appeal at this house!

~Karli