~ Pottery Barn ~

Check out this AWESOME trencher from Pottery Barn!....one is 5 feet long for $199 and the other is 3 feet long for $149....notice the metal "repair" on the one pictured in the foreground, wow!....I'm gonna have to add this to my wish list!....I have always enjoyed looking through Pottery Barn catalogs, love their clean classy decorating ideas, and they always have a few really great pieces that work so well with primitive country.

Also, I have this "thing" for fake plants, go figure!....I know they're a decorating no-no, but I love buying artificial greenery and putting it in a crock or basket and I especially LOVE topiaries!....Pottery Barn has 2 new really cool lookin' rosemary topiaries and a potted lavender (another weakness of mine) that I am also adding to my wish list!....I got so excited when I saw this stuff that I just had to share!

Click on the pictures to make 'em big!
Have a glorious Friday!!

~ Look What The Mail Lady Brought Me ~

I made a few purchases recently....one thing came yesterday, and the other two arrived today!....first is this FABULOUS turned wood candlestick from Pat at Olde Bittersweet Farm ....oh my goodness is it ever WONDERFUL!












I just put it on a sideboard I have in the dining room but what I'd REALLY like is another just like it so I can have both on the mantle!

Next there's a FANTASTIC ditty bag filled with LAVENDER, oh my!....it was made by Angela of Olde Raggs USA ....she is on ebay too and that is where I got this one....it is hand sewn from an 1800's calico in old red, black & cream, it's FABULOUS!

I hung it on my primitive stepback along with a cute little candle hanger I sell in my web shoppe.

Lastly, I purchased this cool crock jug bottle thingy on ebay.
I'll bet you'll never guess where I put it.

I put it on the very top of my wall cupboard!....I swear, no matter how many times I try, I just can't get the "Simplify" thing down!....I absolutely LOVE the look of how "Red Door" Linda decorates so sparsely and everytime I try to put just one or two things somewhere I find myself feeling like it just needs more!

Oh and while I was taking pics, I took one of the wall cupboard done for now, I think I'm leaving the black plate :)

~ Still Tweaking ~

Well I'm still playing around with my wall cupboard arrangement and it's fun for me to get everyone's opinion, thank you for your comments!....I hope it's not going to drive you all crazy but I am concentrating right now on two of the shelves....I moved stuff around and can't decide which plate looks better, the black one or the mustard one??

~ Which One Looks Better? ~

I've been doing some playing this weekend with the wall cupboard husband made me a couple of years ago. I've had it basically the same since I first put the stuff in it except I change what I have hanging on the doors with each season and just a couple of the items inside. I'm thinking of starting to change it up more when I redo for the change of seasons and I wanted to rearrange it since I received the cute wool bunny and the stitched pin keep that I purchased from Lisa of Black Sheep Prims, aren't they the cutest? Anyway, I changed a couple of the lights and the stuff on top and tweaked each shelf but now I can't decide if I made it better! LOL....what do you think?....the before is on the top, the after is on the bottom.

~ April / May Country Sampler ~

Have you received your latest copy of Country Sampler magazine yet?....mine just arrived in the mail....I always look forward to receiving it, it's always been my favorite magazine because of all the great pictures!....I have an ad for my web shoppe in this issue, check it out on Page 129....it's the Potted Purple Pansy, Grubby Little Bird, and the ABC 123 Sampler....I wasn't expecting them to also place the Pansy and the Bird on the front page of their Craft Fair section, that was a nice surprise!

~ American Idol ~

Since the poll thingy won't let you remove a name after a vote has been cast, I will have to start a new one each week so there it is....before I had it so you could vote for more than one person but now that it is down to the Top Ten I figure we should just vote for one!....I was disappointed with the results this week, I enjoyed Alexis Grace....I don't think she would have won but I certainly wasn't ready for her to leave just yet, and what a shame that she won't be on the tour!....well, it is what it is, and Danny is still my favorite!....who's your's?

~ Last Night's American Idol ~

All I can say is WOW!....is it just me or was last night's show really great?!....I thought almost everyone did FANTASTIC!....Danny is still my favorite and I enjoyed his performance the most but I gotta say that I was really impressed by the performances of Kris, Alexis, Lil, Matt, Megan, Michael, and even Anoop!....poor Megan oh my goodness you could tell she didn't feel well at all but her performance was really good and she looked absolutely gorgeous!....I almost wasn't distracted by that tatooed arm! LOL....I thought that Allison just did ok, that Scott was kinda weak, and I completely agreed with Simon on his critique of Adam's performance!....it will be interesting indeed to see who goes home tonight!....that's my take, what's your's?

~ Happy St. Patrick's Day ~

Even though my paternal grandfather was born in Ireland and I have a good chunk o' the green in me, I'm afraid I don't have anything special I've ever done on St. Patrick's Day except that I've always made sure to wear something green!....so I am envying all of you who have such charming traditions!....enjoy the day!

~ Pie Safe Before and After ~

I came across this pie safe several years ago....a local cabinet maker had placed some of his wares in a little country gift shop nearby....the price was so reasonable that I couldn't pass it up as I was in need of a place to store all of my jar candles....I have always wanted one of those awesome antique pie safes that you see in pictures but that is something that has been cost prohibitive for me....it is however a goal of mine to own one someday!....but back to this little pie safe....the tin panels never looked quite like they should and recently, while browsing the Irvin's Country Tinware web site, I saw they had some tin panels that looked like they'd be perfect and they are!....the size was exact and I was able to choose a finish (blackened tin) that is exactly what I'd been looking for!....so I ordered them, they arrived a couple of days ago, I installed them and wanted to share....I think it looks so much better now, don't you?

~ Picture Trail Updated for Spring ~

I spent some time going around the house photographing all of the spring decorating I've been doing and have posted new pictures on my Picture Trail....I do not have a primitive home and just a few authentic primitive pieces of furniture, would love to have more though!....I am stuck with mauve carpeting until it wears out and we can afford wooden floors, plus I still like color on the walls so I'm not sure I'll ever have a truely primitive home so for now, it's my version of primitive country decorating....I absolutely LOVE the elements of primitive style and always enjoy seeing pictures of how other's decorate....I just can't seem to get the Simplify part down though, I love the look of just a thing or two perfectly placed but no matter how hard I try it just doesn't happen for me....I guess I just have too much stuff!....here's the link to my Picture Trail: http://www.picturetrail.com/underthewillow

~ Do You Have A Favorite Yet? ~

For those of you who watch American Idol, do you have a favorite contestant yet?....I absolutely LOVE American Idol, it is PURE entertainment!....my personal favorite this season BY FAR is Danny!!....who do you like??....I added a poll over there to the right just for fun!

~ SNOW!!!!....FINALLY!!!! ~

We FINALLY got that snow we've been waiting for all season long!!....woohoo and it was a good one!!....not quite sure what the exact correct measurement is, I measured in two different spots on the driveway and came up with different amounts....either way, it's a winter wonderland, YAY!!....I went out into the street and took a pic of the front of our house and then one of the back yard....it should be fun driving to the Post Office and to Fedex today! LOL!