How to create a Secret Garden

Hello lovelies!

This is my darling baby girl creating in her Secret Garden.

My backyard has an interesting landscape, full of cedar trees, lava rock and some flat spots.

It is not in my tiny budget to pour massive amounts of dirt to flatten it out and plant grass.

Long ago, I decided to create with what I had.

I made this tiny spot for my wee one nestled underneath a shady tree.

Materials to create a Secret Garden:
Imagination
Inexpensive table and chair

Pretty Statue
Pickle Jar to fill with fresh or faux flowers
Pea Gravel
Mulch
A Shady Tree
Books and drawing supplies
 

Now, turn on your imagination and find a little relaxing safe spot in your back yard.
Gather your secret garden supplies and your little one if you have one to help with this project.
I found the little girl statue in my neighbors junk pile.

She was broken and Mr. Romantic laughed at me.

I glued her back together with E-6000 glue and stuffed her full of flowers that I could not kill.

I found pea gravel in the abandoned lot across from us and used a bit of mulch to make it pretty.

A pickle jar is a suitable vase for an outside Secret Garden.

Stuff it full of seasonal blooms from your garden or faux flowers.

 Let your little one help you choose where everything should go.
Let them know that this is their secret garden to create in.

Tag sales, thrift stores and junk piles are the perfect place to find goodies for your Secret Garden.
I found the little table on the back dock for free at my favorite resale shop.
An old shabby pillowcase makes it magical.
We also have fairies that visit our secret garden, but you have to use your imagination to see them.
My darling baby girl is graduating from pre-school this year.
It tugs at my heart that there will be a day when a Secret Garden will fade and big girl things will be more interesting....

Happy Mother's Day to all of my beautiful friends!

I will be sharing this with
My Romantic Home
and
Pink Saturday

Big Squishy Hugs,
xo
Olivia

I love to use white paint

I am crazy about painting items white!

White seems to soften everything and give it a heavenly feel.

I painted this ladder, frames and chair for my flea market booth.

I would love to keep everything...but then I would be out of business!

~giggle~
In other news, my Shabby Chic hammock picture was featured on the
Stylist Home at the Huffington Post!

I was so tickled!

I will be joining all of my other white lovers at

White Wednesday.

I hope you are having a beautiful and blessed week!

xo

Olivia

Shabby Chic Dining Room

Hello lovelies! 

This is my sweet shabby chic dining room!

I have been working on streamlining the rooms in my home.

My cottage is about 1,400 square foot.

I am a huge furniture junkie, but due to the limited size of my rooms, 

I must resist the urge to overload my rooms with clunky furniture.

The vintage secretary in the corner is simply darling to display treasures in and it also works great for laptop storage and cords!

Ruffles are super popular this season...

my budget is TINY, so I used a $1 curtain panel to create a ruffled tablecloth look.

A Shabby cake stand and pitcher of flowers will always grace my table.

The back of my cabinet is painted pink.

I used plain white inexpensive plates to line the back of the cabinet and accent 

my pretty rose dishes.

My chandelier was a $5 junky brass one that I found at a tag sale.

I spray painted it a cottage white and added crystals.

Mirrors and lighting are my favorite ways to dress up my cottage!

 Lot's of fun playing around in my dining room!

Thank you ever so much for stopping by!

I read and treasure all of your comments!

 I will be joining 

My Romantic Home 

and 

Pink Saturday

Big squishy hugs,

xo

Olivia

Deelish Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

Hello lovelies!

In an effort to adopt a healthier whole foods diet, I have been eating whole oat oatmeal for breakfast.

Over the weekend, I decided to try out the vanishing Oatmeal Cookie recipe on my oatmeal box.

My family LOVES cookies and I thought this would be a great way to have a "healthy treat"!

This is the recipe I used and I they turned out perfect!

Recipe

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2  cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3/4  cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2  cup granulated sugar
• 2  eggs
• 1  teaspoon vanilla
• 1-1/2  cups all-purpose flour
• 1  teaspoon baking soda
• 1  teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2  teaspoon salt (optional)
• 3  cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
• 1  cup raisins

Preparation

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

• Prep Time: 20 min
• Cook Time Time: 08 min

Variations

Bar Cookies: Press dough onto bottom of ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Store tightly covered. 24 BARS. VARIATIONS: Stir in 1 cup chopped nuts. Substitute 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or candy-coated chocolate pieces for raisins; omit cinnamon. Substitute 1 cup diced dried mixed fruit. HIGH ALTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: Increase flour to 1-3/4 cups and bake as directed.

Yield

4 DOZEN

Even my pickiest eaters loved these cookies! 

This recipe makes alot, in two days these cookies had "vanished".

As I transform my cabinets I hope to use whole wheat flour in the next batch.

Thank you for stopping by!

xo

Olivia

 

Shabby Chic Garden

Hello lovelies!

I must say it is going to be a lovely week!

Toward the end of my garage sale, I decided to move my shabby bike and fluff it up...

This is a little garden bed in front of my house.

I love the "cottage look" of a bike with overflowing flowers parked in the yard.

I have never really felt the full peace and joy, that gardening can bring until this year.

The lemon balm in front of my roses is growing like crazy, I cut it back and I am drying it to use in cooking.

My iris has also survived my "green thumb"!

It just tickles me to death that I have stuff "bloomin"!

I found this trellis in my neighbors "trash" pile...

I was not to proud to hop out and load it up...painted white, it is perfect!

~giggle~

 

Thank you for stopping by!

I will be joining 

Cielo at a House in the Roses

for Show off your cottage Monday.

xo

Olivia

Shabby Backyard Hammock

Hello lovelies!

Wow! What a fabulous weekend it has been!

I have been running a garage sale all weekend and I am ready to relax in 

my backyard Shabby hammock!

This is my absolute most favorite spot in my backyard!!!

I made a sweet whimsical chandelier out of a 

grapvine wreath, wedding veil and plant hanger!

Ahhhhhh, bliss is coming soon!

Now, I must whisk myself off to cleaning up my cottage and making some money honey!

Have a beautiful and blessed weekend!

Pink Saturday

and

My Romantic Home

xo

Olivia

My Shabby Chic Flea Market Booths!

Hello lovelies!

I am blessed beyond words to stay home with my kids and run my

 little flea market booths for extra income!

I paint and decorate alot of furniture and what nots!

I am also crazy about Hollywood glamour so, I have added so vintage style black and whites.

My daughter goes to pre-school 3 mornings / week, so that is when I work on 

stocking and rearranging.

I work on projects at home but mostly it's family time.

I adore vintage linens and I use alot of whimsical curtains to decorate with!

 Painted frames and mirrors are an easy sell...there I am snapping pics,

~giggle~

I am working on two more of these chairs and I really want to keep them for my dining room

...I mean really!!!!

I'm not sure the light pink would survive the kids!!!

Any ideas on protecting fabric from lots of little kid eating traffic?

 As always thank you for stopping by, I adore all of your comments!

I will be sharing this with 

Show off your cottage Monday

and 

White Wednesday

Big Squishy Hugs,

Olivia

Shabby Vintage Fabric Rosettes

Hello lovelies!

Inspired by my beautiful roses,
I have started crafting up some pretty rosettes to add to my summer tank tops!I tested the out and they are so cute and light pinned to pretty lacy tank tops.
(I don't like heavy fussy pins, but I do love the romantic look)
I am using vintage linens to create lightweight rosette pins and accents.
Wouldn't it be cute to decorate some totes with ruffles and rosettes!
I think that will be my next project!
I am adding them to my tank tops and selling them in my flea market booths for $4 each!
On a personal note, I am starting a whole foods/gluten free diet to add to my health recovery tool box. I am on day three and I already notice a huge change in my energy levels!
Go to my Chronic Healing blog to read more!

Thank you ever so much for stopping by!
I treasure each and every comment!
I will be sharing this with..

My Romantic Home
and
Pink Saturday

Hugs and blessings,
Olivia