In summertime, we spend many evenings eating or entertaining in our rear courtyard.  I wanted a shelving unit where I could store linens, citronella candles, and melamine plates, ready to set at a moment’s notice.  Our California home is French Country in style, so I knew I could get away with painted wood shelf. 

Last week, I found a shelving unit at the local thrift store, and transformed it with outdoor paint for my unique purpose.  In a cheerful shade of pale yellow, this baker’s rack style shelf fits my needs perfectly. 

I was inspired by this blue shelving unit I saw at Crown & Crumpet

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There is a special farm in Sonoma County, California that receives visitors from all around the world.  When visiting the Wine Country, many make a stop at the Lavender Bee Farm, an all natural, organic farm where owners Rich and JoAnn Wallenstein tend their crop of lavender, their orchard and vegetable garden, and their fifty bee colonies.  This farm is a magical spot, and I had the privilege of a private tour over the weekend. 

The farm is planted with four kinds of lavender:  Grosso, Spanish, Provence, and English.  The word lavender comes from the Latin word “lavare”, and means “to wash.”  One cannot help but feel cleansed walking among the fields of lavender at the Lavender Bee Farm.  

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Thanks to the generosity of our friends over at Cymax Stores, I was honored to choose a giveaway item from their product line.  So now one lucky reader will be the recipient of this fantastic DeLonghi Retro Panini Grill. 

Do you dream of oozing cheese melting in a freshly toasted sandwich?

  Are you tantalized by a specialty meat and gourmet cheese medley?

Do you crave the crispness of grilled toasted bread combined with your favorite ingredients?

Does the word “panini” just make you hungry?

Do you want to give a special Dad a great gift for Father’s Day on June 21st? 

Then this is the giveaway for you ! 

Here’s how to qualify:

1. Visit the Cymax Stores website
2. Then In a comment, tell me which one of their products you would consider purchasing for your home or outdoor space. 

That’s all folks!

And if you have a great panini recipe, then please share it with me. 

The deadline for entry is 8 p.m. PST on Sunday June 14th.  The winner will be chosen by Random.org and announced Monday morning. 

Have a most relaxing weekend. 

Y’all know I love the hunt for treasure at the local thrift store. Lucky me, I happened to find two complimentary crystal lamps for my master bedroom at two different thrift stores. Obviously, the reason they had been donated was because of their brass trim. But as you know from last week’s post, brass does not frighten me one bit.

The lamps had to be completely disassembled, including cutting the wires, then painted, and finally reassembled with a “make-a-lamp” kit. Along the way, I picked up some electrical lingo and taught myself how to make a lamp. Here’s how it all went down.

First, take a look at the ‘Before’ and ‘After’ for the lamp for my side of the bed.

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Welcome to Phase One of my front porch makeover.  It’s really a lovely little porch, with white columns and benches, divided pane windows, and hydrangea bushes that thrive nearby in their happy spot.  But in my opinion, the porch was still lacking a bit of elegance, so I began the process of sprucing it up. 

I spent yesterday afternoon redoing some basic fiberglass urns I bought from Home Dept for $39.  I love bronze, but up close, these had an orangey coppery detail that simply did not compliment my decor.  So I decided to give them a more formal and elegant look with the use of (non other than) spray paint. 

Before and After:

I’ve painted plastic planters before with good results, and realized that the same product can be used to paint fiberglass. 

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