Forcing Forsythia Branches

It is getting to be that time during Winter 

where I am a tad tired of it all.  

Now granted, we have had a mild winter 

and even had temps in the 70's yesterday. 

So, I am not complaining.  

OK, well I AM complaining just a little.  

I miss green grass and blooming trees 

and flowers in the yard. 

So you can imagine how happy I was 

when we were at Costco the other day 

and I saw Forsythia 

branches in their floral section.  

Mr. Beaux was across the aisle and I happily declared 

"Forsythia!"  

He looked at me all quizzical 

and so I said it again as I held up the branches.  

"Forsythia"  

He thought I was saying 

"For Cynthia"  

He thought I had lost my mind (very possible) 

 and that I was now referring to myself in the third person.   

And using my formal name to boot!  

I explained that I was excited about the 

For-Syth-ia 

branches that I had found.  

He looked at the bundle of branches 

and then at me and then back at the branches...  

Yep, he was certain that I had lost my mind!  

"Why would you want to buy some sticks?"  

I had to explain that they would bloom 

and little flowers would emerge.  

The Costco worker up at the checkout 

had the same thoughts as Mr. Beaux...  

"Nice sticks you got there"  

"Don't you like flowers?"  

They both teased me the whole time we were checking out!  

Well, who will be laughing a week from now?  

Oh who am I kidding, guys just don't understand 

but I know you DO!

I put them in my new Pottery Barn Vases 

on either side of the fireplace in the Hearth Room. 

I used a clear vase with water on the inside of each pot.   

You can see a few flowers already blooming.

Ahhhhhhh, Like Spring indoors!  

I can't wait for all of the flowers to bloom!

Google

If you are lucky enough to have a Forsythia bush 

now would be a good time to bring in a few branches 

to force inside.  

Make sure that you pick a day that is above freezing 

to clip your branches.  

Place them in a bucket of warm water 

and cut the stems about an inch while they are under water.  

Let them soak up the water for a few hours 

and then change the water.  

Put some floral preservative in your new water 

and cut them again about an inch.  

Now just watch them bloom 

for a bit of Spring Inside!

Until Next Time,

Beaux R'eves

XO

Linking up to:
 Kim at SavvySouthern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays  

 Judy at DIY by Design

Roeshel  at DIY Showoff    

Stone Gable  Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits 
 Courtney at French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
Heather and Vanessa at At the Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday
Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
Sherry at The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday
Jen at Tatertots and Jello for the Weekend Wrap-up Party

          Donna at Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special

Ballard Botanical Print Knockoff

Happy Friday!  

Goodness, where has the week gone?  

I've been really busy with my mom here visiting 

but here is a project that I knocked out or 

"Knocked Off" 

I should say... 

Ballard

After all the Christmas things were put away I started to take a good look at the house and what I wanted to change.  

The walls in the Kitchen Hearth Room were looking a little busy to me and I knew exactly what I wanted to do.  

I love Botanical Prints and I had spied these on the 

Ballard website.  

I thought they would be perfect for the space 

above my built in's in the Hearth Room.  

Here is how the room looked at Christmas time.  

See all of the plates on the wall?  

Yeah, a little busy.  

Especially with the other things happening in the room. 

My thought was that two of the prints stacked on each side would be perfect!  

Oh, but wait... $150.00 each?  

Maybe not.  

Well, I'm always up for a challenge 

so I remembered a Botanical Book that I had been saving 

to cut up and I went hunting for it.  

Hmmmmmm, It is an awesome book but 

I thought that the prints were a little too small 

for my project.  

So I kept looking.  

I took a trip to the Mission Road Antique Mall 

with my mom and Miss Beaux on Sunday 

certain that I would find exactly what I was looking for.  
Nope, too expensive and too small.  

But I did find other fun things that I will show you later.  

On a whim I went to the half price book store 

near us and scouted around.  

No Botanical books but I did find this awesome 

Audubon Birds Of America book for $7.99.  

Next to it you see my botanical book.  

I went ahead and bought it just in case...

It has really great pictures in it!  

I know that there are FREE prints that you can print off 

but I wanted prints a little larger 

than my printer could print off.  

Here they are if you are interested. 

I found these on Honeyandfitz blog on a Google search.  

The website is http://botanicus.org/.  

OK, long story short, 

I found pictures in the Audubon book 

that were a mix of botanical and birds.  

So, I took off to Michaels in search of frames and matting.  

I found 16X20 frames that were on clearance for $19.99 

and I had a coupon for 15% off which helped with the rest.  

I double matted the prints because 

I wanted to use the largest frames possible.  

The larger vanilla matt had a gold edging that I took out.  

And here is the end result.  

Sorry for all of the glare!  

I think they look pretty close to my inspiration 

at a fraction of the cost!

And here they are on the wall 

courtesy of Mr. Beaux and his precise hanging methods.  

 And the other side...  

The shed antlers were purchased at the Antique Mall 

for $15.00 each.  

Everyone was oooohhhhing and awwwwwwing 

at the checkout at my bargain hunting skills.  

Thank you, Thank you!  

The Urns were a Pottery Barn purchase with my gift card.  
Oh how I HATE paying retail 

but I really wanted two identical things for this space 

and I wanted them NOW!!!  

I know you can relate!

And the wide shot.  

 I am very happy with the balanced, more minimal look.  
Especially at a fraction of the cost of Ballard.  

Until Next Time,

Beaux R'eves,

XO

linking up to: 
A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday
  Kim at SavvySouthern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays  

 Judy at DIY by Design

Roeshel  at DIY Showoff    

Stone Gable  Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits   
 Courtney at French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
Heather and Vanessa at At the Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday
Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
Sherry at The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday
Jen at Tatertots and Jello for the Weekend Wrap-up Party

          Donna at Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special

A Vintage Guest Room

Happy Monday Morning!  

I am so happy that today is a holiday, I needed the extra sleep!  

I have been working tirelessly on getting the house ready 

for my mom's visit.  

I'm sure she doesn't care whether or not my Tupperware 

drawer is clean or not but I do!  

Besides, it gives me an excuse to get some of these things done.  

I made some changes to the guest room 

while I was down there painting the bathroom 

that I shared with you last week.  

I am embarrassed to say that the inspiration for the changes 

came from some things that I found in the guest room closet

under a pile of linens.  

I had forgotten ALL about these treasures 

that I found at an Estate Sale a while back.  

Getting old and forgetting things really stinks.  

Or on a positive note, 

I guess that finding them under that pile of blankets 

was like Christmas all over again!  

Come on in and take a look at the changes that I made...

Can you guess where my Estate Sale treasures are?  

Yep, the florals over the bed.  

The painting in the middle is a beautiful piece 

that Mr. Beaux's grandmother Irene painted.  

I have had it forever and I adore the colors.  

The other two are hand painted still lifes in chippy old frames 

that I stole for under $5.00 each.  

When I hung these three painting up over the bed it led 

to a lot of other little changes.  

Isn't that the way things always go?  

I added the Ralph Lauren long ticking striped pillow and the vintage floral pillow to the bed.  

I switched the lamp shade out from the Paris black and white 

to this subtle toile shade that I found at Lowe's.  

I hung the large hand painted platter centered over the end table.  

On the dresser side of the room a few things changed also.  

This little lamp was also in the heap of lost treasures.  

It had an icky yellowed lamp shade that I switched out with this simple burlap shade.  

It wasn't quite tall enough for my liking so 

I elevated it on a couple of books.  

I added one of my favorite teacups and a fresh smelling candle.  

I love the color of these blue bottles.  

The candle holders remind me of driftwood.  

Paired together they seem soothing and calm like the ocean.  

I lined the shelf on the opposite wall 

with some of my favorite teacups.  

I conferenced with Miss Beaux 

(translates to I drug here into the 

guest room several times to ask her opinion) 

to make sure that I wasn't getting too Granny like with all of the florals and teacups.  

She either liked it or just wanted some peace and quiet...  

Hmmmmm, I am still not sure but it is easily changed.

The dropcloth slipcovered chair makes a nice spot 

for reading in the corner of the room.  

I made sure that there were a lot of magazines 

to peruse for my guest.  

I put them in this black and white bag that 

I spotted at Home Goods.  

And as a good hostess, I made sure to put out some amenities that would ensure that my special guest felt very special!  

A soft throw for chilly nights 

and a basket full of goodies in case of a snack emergency.

I think I might just sneak down here and pretend to be a guest!  

Until Next Time,

Beaux R'eves

XO

linking up to:
  Susan at Between Naps on the Porch
 Kim at SavvySouthern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays  

 Judy at DIY by Design

Roeshel  at DIY Showoff  

Stone Gable  Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits 
Gina at The Shabby Creek Cottage for Transformation Thursdays

 From My Front Porch To Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday

   No Minimalist Here Open House Party     
Courtney at French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
Heather and Vanessa at At the Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday
Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
Sherry at The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday
Jen at Tatertots and Jello for the Weekend Wrap-up Party

          Donna at Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special

Refreshing the Guest Room Bath

I'm still really excited about my new blog design!  

I feel so Fancy!  

Besides my new blog look and my organizing 

(yes, I have more of that to tell you about), 

I have been busy, busy, busy getting ready for company.  

My mom is coming to visit this weekend and she will be staying 

for a few weeks.  I can't wait!  

I love spending time with her and look forward 

to lots of lunches and shopping and some sewing 

that I might be able to talk her into. Wink, Wink!  

If you remember last year I redid my guest room in the basement.  There is an adjoining bathroom that never got painted or re-done.  It's not that there was anything major to be done 

but it did need a fresh coat of paint.  

So, while my boys were having a "guys" day at the movies, 

I got to painting! 

I LOVE painting!  

Call me crazy but I would rather paint than do just about anything!  I put my headphones on and start taping and spackling 

and get excited when I open that can of paint.

OK, here is what the bathroom looked like before.  

It is your basic builder grade bathroom with a small vanity, 

bisque cultured marble countertop and the walls 

were painted a Khaki color.  

It didn't relate to the guest room at ALL.  

But, because it is downstairs it was easy to ignore.  

It is a nice size with a shower/tub combo and has 

slate looking tiled floors.  

OK, here is a funny thing.  

I had edited out the switch in the other pictures.  

It always makes me laugh when I see this switch on the wall 

above the paper holder.  

My builder, bless his heart, thought this was the most convenient place to put the fan switch.  

It was too late to change it and now it just makes me giggle.  

That is the difference between men and women I guess.

 This is the view into the common area.  

There is a door into the bath and a door into the guest room.  

We actually have another powder room in the basement 

so this bathroom barely gets used.  

On to the painting!

Ahhhhhhhh!!!!! I barely spent ANY money on Refreshing this bath. The color is the same as the guest room 

Steamed Milk Sherwin Williams 7554.  

It really lightens up this room and makes it feel very spa-like.  

You have seen these vintage painted frames before.  

I used them in my Fall post in my dining room.  

I love using white towels in all of my bathrooms.  

Whites are easy to take care of and when they get too ratty 

they go to the rag pile for cleaning.  

I did buy these pretty new hand towels 

to add a bit more of the aqua color.  

I purchased the basket at Tuesday Morning 

and put together the silver tray~towel holder 

with my Estate Sale finds.  

I had intentions of buying a NEW mirror for the vanity.  

I went to a few places to scout out mirrors but I was unwilling 

to pay $80.00 for something 

that I really didn't like that much.  

So, out came the spray paint!  

I think it's perfect and for $5.00 it's really PERFECT!!!  

The accessories and the shower curtain remained for now.  

But they look like they belong now in this spa-like bath.

I saw the cutest idea on Pinterest a while back...  

Someone in blogland had made a towel holder with the silver trays and a bottle holder.  

I always find little silver trays at Estate Sales for 4 or 5 dollars (or less on half price day).  

So, when I saw this simple bottle holder at an Estate Sale for $1.00 

I figured I would get that idea up on the wall.  

I hope Mom like her new digs!  

More to come on the guest room refreshing!  

Until Next Time,

Beaux R'eves

XO

sharing at:

Kim at SavvySouthern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays  

 Judy at DIY by Design

   Roeshel  at DIY Showoff  

Stone Gable  Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits Gina at The Shabby Creek Cottage for Transformation Thursdays
 From My Front Porch To Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday

   No Minimalist Here Open House Party     
Courtney at French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
Heather and Vanessa at At the Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday
Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
Sherry at The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday
Jen at Tatertots and Jello for the Weekend Wrap-up Party

          Donna at Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special