Some of my best memories are triggered by a fleeting fragrance.  Isn’t it true that the greatest scents can transport you to a different place and time ?   I think a welcoming home should include those pleasant scents that always bring that sense of comfort. 

The fragrant wax from the Scentsy bars melts by the heat of a light bulb so there is never any concern about an open flame !  Check out my white warmer melting up a new favorite fragrance – perfectly pomegranate. 

In truth, I’m just so darn forgetful and constantly distracted, so the ability to leave this wickless and flameless wax on for hours completely appeals to me.  

These can sit for hours and hours, filling your home with delicious smell !  I now carry mine back and forth from my office to my bedroom, I like it that much.  No wicks or flames !

Emma Rae is my rep (and yours too) for making your purchase of any of these Scentsy Warmers.  There are dozens and dozens of styles and scents to choose from!

Here’s a few examples of my other favorites in the full size:  the Riviera, the Classic in cream, and the Torino.

They even have an entire set of DIY theme packs like these black flourish rub on transfers for you to create your own design. 

Did you know Scentsy even has a man collection?   Why yes, it’s true.  Perhaps ‘Rustic Lodge’ or ‘Hemingway’ may appeal to your guy. 

This giveaway includes winners’ choice of one of these mid size warmers plus three bars in your choice of scents.  Yum.  Double Yum.  Triple Yum !

Eligibility to Win One of Two Scentsy Mid-Size Warmers

1)  Visit Scentsy and tell us in a comment which one of these scents you’d choose if you won !  Is it Sunkissed Citrus ?  Sugar Cookie ?  Mediterranean Spa ?   Which scents appeal to you ? 

2)  For a second chance to win, post this giveaway on your Facebook profile, then come back and leave the link in a comment on this site.

3) For a third chance to win, tweet this giveaway on Twitter, and come back and leave your Twitter profile and “I tweeted” in a comment on this site. 

That’s all folks !  Giveaway ends Tuesday March 23rd at 8 p.m. PST.  Two winners will be chosen by Random.org. 

Good luck ! 

Years ago when I was A) collecting a real paycheck and B) had no infant car seats and C) hub’s real estate practice was totally booming, we would vacation in Hawaii once a year.  There are Ten Big Reasons Why I Miss Hawaii and am secretly plotting to use my miles to somehow return very soon.

#10  You can wear really loud bright colored shirts and no one, and I mean no one, will dare say ‘Boo’ to you.  In fact, loud floral themed aloha wear is encouraged.  No, let me rephrase.  It’s required. 

#9 The flora is breathtaking.  And smelly – in a good way.  Have you ever known the heavenly scent of a plumeria lei ?   

#8 The sea creatures are right up in your grill face.  

Like this octopus . . .

And this shark . . .

OK, sometimes behind glass, like at the Maui Ocean Center.  Thank goodness, because I’m terrified of sharks ever since my two brothers made me watch ‘Jaws’ when I was nine.  That’s a real brother for you – inflicting terror and all the while laughing at the sight of my horror and fear. 

#7   Mai Tais and other fantabulous tropical concoctions with little umbrellas. 

#6  The many wonders, like the ‘mini’ Grand Canyon of Waimea (Kauai). . .

Spouting Horn (Kauai)

the Oheo Gulch (Seven Sacred Pools, Hana Maui) . . .

the Napili Coast of Kauai

and Big Island lava flow ! 

#5   Keikis in swimsuits. 

#4  Beautiful old historic churches

#3  The Grand Wailea where I spent my honeymoon.

#2  Waterfalls

#1 Sunsets at the beach, but of course. 

Have you ever visited the Aloha state ?  True paradise, right ?   

Wishing you a fantastic weekend, and a very large mai tai. 

Aloha friends   

However, I do like the idea of our dining space being dolled up for holidays or special guests.  After all, it has a beautiful set of French doors and a view that leads to the rear yard.  So a few weeks ago I decided to upgrade by adding some new window panels and a bench for additional seating.  I’m returning to the peaceful calm of white because I find it so fresh and uplifting.  Also, cream and white are such a nice contrast to rich dark wood, so I kept a purposeful neutral palette in our dining space.  I added some taller silk curtains and a transformed Craigslist bench. 

To some it’s plain, to me it’s perfect.

This walnut pedestal table used to be part of a formal set we found at an antique shop when we were first married.  After the kids came along I had a glass top made for it to keep the top from getting damaged.  The traditional seats that came with it were too matchy matchy for my taste, so I like to pair the table with some ‘Couture’ chairs from Ballard Designs. 

I cannot sing the praises enough of these ‘Couture’ chairs !  If I could marry them, I would.  I bought them about seven or eight years ago and I simply change the slipcovers with the seasons.  Latte velvet in the fall, and Ecru velvet in the spring.  I love the flirty but sophisticated pleat detail.  You can usually find them around $39 each at Ballard.  They’re worth it for the perfect fit, style, and durability – I’ve laundered these at least ten times and they always hold up in the wash. 

Kids + sauce = slipcovers.

The area rug is from Overstock and can be found right here.  The wall color ties in with the greens in the carpet – it is Benjamin Moore’s ‘Camouflage’ just like in my kitchen. 

I confess, I’ve gone around and around with the window treatments in this space.  First it was chocolate floral fabric, then a sage linen fabric.  Then I finally realized my previous solutions were too short !  These panels are a foot longer, and I raised the rod above the transom window instead of just the doors in order to elongate the space and make the ceiling feel much taller. 

They were store bought 95” cream lined silk panels from Bed, Bath and Beyond on clearance, plus with a 20% off coupon, so I paid $20 for each panel.  There are four of them, doubled up for fullness.  I repeat.  Cream. Silk. Lined.   True love!  It sounds strange, but to me it’s like I have an elegant wedding gown hanging on my windows.  Call me crazy, but that totally speaks to me. 

I also created a border for the edges.  Do you know how much fancy shmancy decorative trim costs retail ?  Exorbitant !  This liner is simply some chocolate satin ribbon and a discount trim with some robin’s egg blue (shown below) attached via my sewing machine to the edge of the panels.   

I thought it a nice designer touch, plus a good idea for those potentially grubby hands that will no doubt finger the edges of my gown-like silk panels.  Momma’s got to outsmart her munchkins. 

I pinched the tops and sewed the simple pleats with my sewing machine to give them more formal touch.  Then I hand stitched the wood rings to the pleats.  Please ignore the holes in my wall that I have yet to patch. 

Now you know I’m a sucker for white accessories – hence the spring lineup.  The flowers are from Trader Joes – $11 bucks for the whole arrangement !!   Gor.Gee.Us. 

A little wedding-ish, but still beautiful.  If only you could smell the roses and the stock – they’ve got that thick summery sweet scent that is absolutely intoxicating ! 

I just have to show you the white soup tureen that I picked up at the Goodwill for $5 bucks.  Seriously.  Who drops off a perfectly beautiful white soup tureen complete with lid, platter and spoon, and inside the original box at the Goodwill ?  $5 bucks.  Score !  It makes a such a great container for blooms ! 

Oh, and notice the tired and hungry child in the corner ?   Somehow the words “Hold on honey while Mommy adjusts her aperture” did not seem to comfort.  

OK, enough flowers.  And I fed the child a few morsels.  She’s fine now. 

Please note, this space is no longer used for my decorative whims. Rather, it has become a construction zone for tall skyscrapers.   

But see how I did happen to find a bench on Craigslist and give it a little makeover.

I’ll tell you the full story of the bench very soon!  Meanwhile, I’m just happy in this very simple, very white, very neutral dining space.  It’s a great canvas for any colorful tabletop settings in any season.

And that’s probably the last time it will look this clean. 

What’s your theory on white spaces ?  Are they boring or beautiful ? 

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As you can see, I love all hues of this verdant color.  It represents growth, nature, spring, pistachios, mint, margaritas and guacamole.  You know, the good stuff in life. 

Enjoy !

image; candleholders; lamp; vase; sandals; image: via this is glamorous

fabric; image; pillow; mixer; plates; canaries; image: pure style home; image; image

image; image; image; chandelier; bicycle; area rug; image; sugar creamer combo; image; image

  wallpaper; image; planter; chair; area rug; nests; pillow; image; image

 image: chloe sevigny house and garden; pillow; stool; bowl; ring; lanterns; cardigan; image: kelly wearstler viceroy hotel

 wallpaper; shade; image: sarah richardson; storage ottoman; pillow; area rug; image; sofa

Are you now on a green overdose ?    

Okay, I promise, no more green this week !  But for today, I hope you’re inspired to bring just a bit of green into your own home, even if it’s just some fresh herbs or flowers !  

For those who celebrate, have a marvelous St. Patrick’s Day.  What’s your absolute favorite shade of green ? 

Sarah was another lady I had the pleasure of meeting last month at Blissdom.  I look forward to her insight on home decorating every single day, and there’s no power tool this gal will ever be afraid of.  My friends, please welcome my friend Sarah – Ms. Thrifty Decor Chick ! 

“Hello all ! I’m pleased as punch to share my favorite greens with you here at my friend Kate’s fantabulous blog!   Thanks Kate!  

I have a few greens around our house that I love — some I’ve had around for years, some are recent additions.

Our bedroom wall color is one of my faves — I used Valspar’s ‘Tornado Watch’ on the walls. 

There’s a slightly darker version ‘Mossy Aura’ on the fireplace wall.  They are both a deep, grayish green color and are just lovely.   The tile I picked out for our fireplace redo works perfectly with this paint color!

I also tied this green into our bedside lamps, using a stencil and just a tiny bit of the wall color:

To make the make the master bath work with our bedroom, I pulled the same color in on a textured stencil and as well as a lighter version of the color in the tiles:

I recently did a mini-redo of our family room, and really brightened up the space just by layering a couple of new rugs:

 

I bought these beautiful green glass vases at Joann’s and they work perfectly in the new, brighter space!:

 

And it all ties in nicely with the placemat pillows I made last year:

But my all time favorite greens are those I used in our son’s nursery:

They are a fun mix of three different tones of the Apple Green from Lowe’s (Laura Ashley I believe?)  These stripes are getting a redo soon though, as I transform his room into a big boy space.

Green just screams SPRING to me, so I am finding myself using it more and more over the past few weeks!   Thanks so much for letting me share Kate !”

Thank you Sarah for sharing how you’ve incorporated green into your home !  Be sure to follow Sarah’s blog and all her simple, inexpensive ways to decorate your home. 

Tomorrow, I’ve got a roundup of some of my favorite greens to share, stay tuned !   

1. Green Hydrangeas have always been my a favorite.  Its the perfect fresh spring time color (even though I do know that they don’t turn green until summer). 

2.  I’m obsessed with diagonal stripes lately. The stripes keep it simple, the angle makes it fun.

3. My all time favorite lotion and beauty splurge is Bvlgari’s Au de Vert.  Ridiculously overpriced but smells oh so good! 

4. Sweet juicy watermelon.  Enough said? 

5. The perfect shade of green that copper turns after its aged.  I can’t walk by a patina roof without drooling. 

6. Not quite green, not quite gray, not quite blue – Benjamin Moore’s Silver Marlin is the color I wake up to every morning.

Thanks so much to Kate for asking me to participate in this fun series! 

- Mrs. Limestone

Thank you  Mrs. Limestone!  I too adore that BM ‘Silver Marlin’ – it’s a color very close to the paint in our master bathroom and it’s so incredibly soothing – the perfect shade for a relaxing retreat. 

Do you have a favorite green shade of paint?  Do share ! 

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Today I’ve got more featured bloggers for you, so this morning, please welcome the mega talented AnNicole from Our Suburban Cottage ! 

“Hey y’all! I can’t believe Kate gave me control of her “centsational’ blog for an entire day.  Mwah ha ha – the power!   Fortunately for Kate I love all things green, so I’ll stick with the plan and share some of my favorite green things with you.

FLOWERS

I love flowers with a tinge of green to them like PeeGee Hydrangeas, Lily of the Valley, and Snowballs. They’re so luscious I could almost eat them…not really, but you know what I mean.

If you don’t have a great flower store nearby that offers these, try Whole Foods. They’re about $20 a bunch, and they’re fresh, lush and gorgeous.

Image: Martha Stewart

 

Image: Martha Stewart

TOPIARIES

My other love? Topiaries. I fully admit I own way too many, but I’m okay with that. Hey, some women love shoes, I love topiaries…and pillows (luh huh huv pillows – that’s another post). My favorite topiary varieties are olive, boxwood, and moss. And as for the question of real vs. fake, I would definitely have real topiaries if I could A) afford them, and B) afford to replace them when I inevitably kill them. Therefore mine are all beautifully faux.

PAINT

Finally, I love so many varieties of green paint. Although, most greens I love aren’t pure greens – since pure greens seem to either scream Kermit the Frog or remind me of 1980’s forest green carpet.  Therefore I love greens that are mixed with blue, gray, brown, or even gold. 

Here are a few of my favorite colors:

Sherwin Williams ‘Svelte Sage’ (I big fat heart this gray-green color)

Sherwin Williams ‘Artifact’, a gorgeous brown-gold-green as shown in my friend’s powder bath. 

Here also are Ralph Lauren’s ‘Cathedral Gray’ and Sherwin Williams ‘Dried Thyme’

RL’s ‘Cathedral Gray’ is an incredibly soothing green gray, and Sherwin Williams ‘Dried Thyme’ is a perfect darker green with just enough gray and blue in it to keep it calm. I have a friend with this in their kitchen, and it’s lovely paired with distressed and glazed cream cabinets !

Have a great St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow!

AnNicole

Thank you AnNicole for adding your favorites to the lineup !  And speaking of paint, AnNicole is doing an entire series dedicated to choosing the right paint color, so tune in to Our Suburban Cottage for the full scoop !

Stay tuned for more later today, and yours truly is up tomorrow with a list of my favorite greens in decor, including wallpaper, accessories and a whole lot more.  

Cheers friends ! 

Take it away Layla !

“Green is my favorite color to decorate with.  It’s the color of growth, and has such a wonderful way of intensifying a rooms sense of adventure.  I don’t think I’ve ever met a shade of green I didn’t like, but here are some of my favorites…

1. Soft Sage

A clean, colorless background allows these soft sage cabinets to really pop! 

2. Sprout

From the pattern on the window treatments, to the pattern on the bedskirt, I just love how fresh sprout green looks when paired with white.

3. Dusty Olive

I adore the way this old, green door (re-imagined as a headboard) takes this all-white room from okay to out-of-this-world!

4.  Pistachio

This tub just wouldn’t be the same without that petite, pistachio-colored stool snuggled up next to it.

5. Dusty Pear

This pretty, dusty pear-colored floor visually blurs the lines between outside and in by mimicking the green grass just beyond the back door.

 

6. Mint Green

I think the grass green beds up against a mint green wall is magically delicious!

7. Seafoam

I love the addition of seafoam green stripes to white beadboard walls in this kitchen.  Such a fun way to add a little extra charm to this already spectacular space!

A big thank you to Layla for participating in this series !  More featured bloggers coming up tomorrow with their take on this inspiring shade.   

Are you fixated on a favorite green this spring ?  Is is kelly, lime, fern, or celadon ?  Play along in the fun and tell us all about it ! 

I adore every shade of green, from the richness of olive to the softness of sage.  I especially love when green gets social, and mixes with neighboring shades on the color wheel.  Mingle with yellow and green becomes lemongrass, or inject it with blue and you’re looking at teal.  What’s not to love ? 

So in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, and in a very roundabout nod to my Irish heritage, I’ve invited a few of my favorite bloggers to share their insight on the color green in a series called “These Are a Few of My Favorite Greens”.   First up is my dear friend Rhoda from Southern Hospitality, who I met at Blissdom last month, and who shares a love of decorating, thrifting, cooking and gardening !  I always tell Rhoda, I wished I lived closer, cause I’d be in her kitchen sharing her recipes and hopping in her car on the way to thrift stores and yard sales. 

Take it away Rhoda !  

“Thank you SO much, Kate, for asking me to guest post at your beautiful blog. I’m so honored and excited to be here.

When Kate asked me to share my favorite pics all about the color green, I knew instantly that it would be an easy thing for me, since my favorite color is actually green. I’ve had green in my home since the beginning, in one particular shade or another. Green is such a happy color for me and I love having it in my home. So, we’ll get started with my faves:

One of my favorite things to do is yardsale and scour the thrift shops and I picked up this classically bound book, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, and the green cover is so pretty. This is one of my favorite all time books too, so it’s perfect for me to display with its aged green cover.

Several years ago, I began a collection of Bordallo pottery and these bunny dishes caught my eye. First, I love bunnies and this soft green was the perfect complement to them, so there started my collection, which keeps growing yearly. This shade of green is very soothing to me.

When we moved in our house, the laundry room was a big white box and I was determined to spruce it up and make it a happy place. So, I set out with the perfect lime green paint color, ‘Grasscloth’ by Behr and it was, indeed, instant happy. From there, I added some garden accessories and now my laundry room is one of my favorite spaces in the house.

These pears on my living room mantel were collected one at a time and I love their varying shades of green. One of them was bought at TJ Maxx and the others were found elsewhere, one a gift from a thrifting friend and the other from a yard sale. I repainted one of them to enhance the green, but I love how they all relate to each other even though they were found at completely different times. A perfect accent on the mantel.

An apron is something that every domestic diva should have, so I just picked up my very first one at an antique mall. Just call me June Cleaver! In my favorite shade of lime green, the floral print really called to me.

Another favorite paint color in my kitchen, ‘Laura Ashley Olive 4’, has been with me for several years and I still love it. Hanging on the wall is one of my most favored yard sale finds, the primitive painting found for $1. I love the colors and texture in this piece and it works in my multi-colored kitchen, with green as the main color.

Growing hydrangeas in my garden is right up at the top of my fun list and drying them at the end of the season helps these highly prized blooms to linger longer and the soft muted green is just the most beautiful hue.

Another yard sale find, the green patina on this brass armillary grabbed my eye immediately. It’s the sort of piece that just gets better with age.

 

Thank you so much Rhoda for sharing all of your favorite greens – I’m inspired by all of these choices, aren’t you ? 

Stay tuned, later today another favorite blog coming up !  Here’s a clue – she’s a blonde from the south and she’s married to Kevin, reading her blog is a small slice of heaven ! 

So tell us, how much green do you use in your home ?

#19: Nearly Dawn

“You inspired me to put some new herbs in my kitchen window! Doing so required that I finally quit stalling re-pot the bigger plants that previously lived there. It is now my win-win window full of seedlings and more healthy mature plants”

#43 Amber P

“I only grow flowers – never have had a vegetable garden. My favorite flowers are two rosebushes that were my mom’s. I salvaged them before her house sold after she passed away. Now they will be in my garden.”

#129  Jess at Frugal with a Flourish

“So since your last Picnik giveaway I have very quickly become “obsessed” with it! My favorite thing to grow are veggies – cause I love to be able to walk out to the garden before dinner and just pick something to eat!”

Congrats to the three winners – please email me for your codes for an upgraded membership to PIcnik !

Also, please let me take a moment to welcome three more sponsors to this site.

Have you heard of Scentsy ?  It’s a company all about Decorative Aromatic Warmers designed to fill you home with amazing scents, without the worry of a lighted candle.  Emma Rae is my rep (and yours too!) for making your purchase of any of these Scentsy Warmers.  I’ve got a white one, and I carry it back and forth from my office to my bedroom !  There are dozens and dozens of scents that accompany, my current favorite is ‘Perfectly Pomegranate’. 

Here’s a few examples of my other favorites, the Riviera, the Classic in cream, and the Torino.

Please also welcome Lynn of For Love or Funny, a blog all about how laughter is the best medicine !  I tune in daily for Lynn’s real life glimpses at the lighter side of family life – we all need a dose of that !  Hop on over and visit with Lynn – she’ll be your best friend in no time !

Finally, please welcome Color Incorporated, your online one-stop-shop full service digital photography lab, for standard photo printing as well as:

Spiral Bound Photo Books

Gallery Wrapped Canvases

. . . also greeting cards, banners, proof magazines, sports cards, magazine covers and much more !  For a full list of their products, click here. 

All Centsational Girl readers are given this promotion:  25 free 4 x 6 prints with the promotion code: cen10

A big congratulations to the winners of the Picnik giveaway, and a big thank you and welcome to my newest sponsors !

Stay tuned for more great features this week, with a focus on the color green in honor of St. Patrick’s Day – after all, I am Irish !   The series is called “These Are a Few of My Favorite Greens” and some of my favorite bloggers have been invited to participate in the lineup – can’t wait ! 

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