Urban Oasis

My hairdresser’s salon is on the southern edge of German Village, a lovely part of town which is described on the German Village website (http://germanvillage.com/about-2/history) as “a historic neighborhood just south of downtown Columbus, Ohio. The area was primarily developed between 1840 and 1914, and settled largely by German immigrants in the mid 1800s. Today, German Village is a model of urban neighborhood preservation and revitalization - a nationally recognized success story. The Village is mostly a residential neighborhood of sturdy, red-brick homes with wrought iron fences along tree-lined, brick-paved streets.” 
The salon is in an old brick home that, if not for committed neighbors, would look out onto a busy street, and beyond a glimpse of the Scioto River.
Last week, on a rare sunny day (rather than the wet, gray ones we’ve had), I drove up to see this:
   and this, across the street:

I left the edge of the billboard in the picture to help readers visualize what this spot would be like if not for my hairdresser’s neighbor, who has done all this by himself!  This is a one-man effort to beautify his city.  As luck would have it, my hairdresser was running a bit late, so I had time to grab my phone and dash across the street and take pictures of all this loveliness.

Oh, and it gets better…

And to think that all this abundance grows without a bit of mulch!

Every rusty, old hydrant needs tulips!  The contrast of such beauty against the chippy rusty surface of this most utilitarian object is lovely.

Then I walked back across the street to his yard, on my way back to the salon.  Notice the chain-link fence—even that feature adds charm and texture to his creation.

Back at the salon, shadows of the bamboo on the porch play against the brick.

A LOVELY spring afternoon at the hair salon!

How is your spring coming along?  Has it arrived, or has it been s-l-o-w to come?  Have you found any spring surprises that have brought you joy?  I hope so!

Thanks so much for visiting.  I hope you enjoyed this lovely example of one human being giving back to his community and bringing so much joy.

I hope you’ll leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them! And if you like what you see a lot, maybe you’d like to +1 this post or pin it on Pinterest too! Thank you! I invite you to follow me. If you’ll let me know that you’re following, I’ll be sure to follow you back. Sundays at The Tablescaper: http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/ Mop it Up Monday at http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com Metamorphosis Monday at  http://betweennapsontheporch.net/ Tuesdays at http://www.astrollthrulife.net/ Thursdays at Home Sweet Home: http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/ Thursdays at No Minimalist Here: http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com/ Transformation Thursdays at http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/ Be Inspired Friday at http://www.Commonground-do.com/ Fridays at Feathered Nest: http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/ Inspiration Friday at http://www.atthepicketfence.com From my nest to yours, ~Zuni

Spring, Are You There???

After Valentine’s Day I was ready to move to blue and white.  Last week’s post was of the old/new china cabinet, filled with blue and white and very few contrasting touches (HERE).  It’s not spring here in central Ohio—in fact, we’re expecting up to SIX INCHES of snow tonight!  So to add splashes of yellows, or oranges, or purple would wreak havoc with my senses!

It took me several days and a few hours of bliss on Pinterest and in blogland to figure out what to do with the dining room table.  No bare tables around here!!  It had to be CALM…preferably blue and white…interesting (not just one thing on it)…. Besides spending happy hours admiring others’ creativity on Pinterest or blogs, those visits help me to remember things I have that I could use.  Do you do that?  Do you forget you have something until you see something similar out there?  That’s a great plus for me!

So, following my home-shopping list I’d made from my virtual trips I settled on a vintage linen runner and a vintage silver tray as the foundation ~

I love how decorating develops and evolves!  I remembered this blue and white tureen that usually sits in the secretary, and the blue and white embroidered bun cozy that I had just put in a “to sell” stack…I think I’ll keep it!  It’s more versatile than I’d thought.  Rather than set the tureen directly on the cozy, I layered the look with a cobalt blue dish and added a sprig of dried blue hydrangea.  It was coming together!

Peaceful.

If you’ve been visiting Chickadee Home Nest for any time at all you know of my weakness for vintage linens.  This piece is actually an oval doily that I added for softness and romance.  And did you notice the rope/nautical detail on the tureen handles?  I love that juxtaposition on it—soft, dainty blue and white, with light orange “rope”!  I bought it at a garage sale years and years ago, with a chip on the edge of the lid, but that’s okay with me—it’s vintage!  Of course it’s going to show some evidence of having been used!

I have the full tea service of this blue and white Bombay Company pattern, but I always forget about it.  The sugar bowl, because of the silver trim on the lid, seemed just right, and rather than pair it with its matching creamer, I used this darling, long-handled silver “server” for the cream.  Dried hydrangeas the color of the pears on the china cabinet continue to coordinate the look between the china cabinet and the table.

Do you know what this “server” is/what it would’ve been used for?  I’m nuts about it, but have never seen one before.  I keep thinking drawn butter, and that it probably had its own heating stand.  What do you think it is?

Notice how worn the finish on the handle is…this sweet thing was actually used in a home!  I thought about “fixing” it for about 15 seconds.

Blue and white candlesticks, to s-t-r-e-t-c-h the vignette beyond the silver tray, coupled with…

…tea bag holders from Bombay.

This precious hydrangea bloom just happened to fall and grace my vignette.  It’s still there!

And then, before my post was up (I’ve had a few problems with Google 2-step verification and Live Writer not liking each other)…spring began its annual tease – a warm, sunny day and Whole Foods’ fabulous Friday sale of 30 tulips for $10!!! 

Tell me, who could resist that?!  I’ve never had 30 tulips around the house at one time!

Tulips and a sunny day in early March gives us hope that SPRING will come.

Hope SPRINGs Eternal. 

(My Lenox Eternal coffee server.)

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you’ll leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them! And if you like what you see a lot, maybe you’d like to +1 this post or pin it on Pinterest too! Thank you!

I invite you to follow me. If you’ll let me know that you’re following, I’ll be sure to follow you back.

I’m joining these fun parties this week:

Sundays at The Tablescaper: http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/

Mop it Up Monday at http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com

Metamorphosis Monday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Tuesdays at http://www.astrollthrulife.net/

Wednesdays at Let’s Dish: http://www.cuisinekathleen.com/

Wednesdays at Wow Us: http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

Thursdays at Tabletop Thursday: http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Thursdays at Home Sweet Home: http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Thursdays at No Minimalist Here: http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com/

Transformation Thursdays at http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/

Be Inspired Friday at http://www.Commonground-do.com/

Fridays at Feathered Nest: http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Inspiration Friday at http://www.atthepicketfence.com

From my nest to yours~

Zuni

Blue and White in the Old/New China Cabinet

I was ready to be done with the Valentine’s red in the china cabinet and go to the more serene and perennial favorite, BLUE AND WHITE.  I’ve also been ready—for a long, long, long time—to make a major change in our china cabinet.  I mean for YEARS.  So after having gone to the Pine Tree Barn for our Valentine dinner, and once again seeing a cabinet/hutch there that I love (see below), I decided that the time had come to take the plunge and give the china cabinet an ALLOVER MAKEOVER.

I’ve been in love with this piece since I saw it last Christmas season.  I love that it’s open, and I love the blue, distressed interior.  It seems like everything displayed in it just pops—even the reds and greens of Christmas.

Lo and behold, when we went to the Pine Tree Barn, the cabinet was still there.  The next day I said (in my sweetest voice), “Sweetheart, could you take a look at the china cabinet to see if we could remove the doors (and the stationary center panel)?”  And before I knew it, I had a new piece of furniture!  Really!  Take a look for yourself and see the incredible difference!  Why, oh why, didn’t I do this years ago like I’ve wanted to?!

So we went from this:

Beautiful, arched doors and stationary center panel, with lovely “domed” glass,

To this:

No doors, no arches, no domed glass.  Ahhhh….so much more open and “approachable.”  I had never been able to “make peace” with the stand-offish feeling of the glass, as if to warn, “LOOK BUT DON’T TOUCH; NOT TO BE USED!  ONLY FOR DISPLAY.” 

What do you think?  A new piece of furniture?  More approachable?

And to the BLUE AND WHITE ~

Like I said, I’m not ready for Easter…I need space/time between holidays.  I guess I could never work in retail.  The jumping into holidays weeks and months before the calendar says they’re here, and jumping from one holiday to the next would wreak havoc with my psyche!  I need a calendar, and I need breaks.

So I was anxious to bring out my BLUE AND WHITE Spode “The Blue Room Collection,” mixed with Bianca Leaf by American Pelier—a fabulous Home Goods find.

A very vintage mustard pot holds my “vintage” hydrangeas from last summer that I love to have out on display.  A bird’s nest brings a hint of spring without stripping my gears as the gray days of Ohio linger and the snow continues to fly.

Hydrangea blooms take the place of soon-to-come robin’s-egg blue eggs.

My beloved Nicodemus chubby robin, and others birdies, are harbingers of {wonderful} things to come—in a few months.

The Bombay Company candleholder (left) once again makes an appearance, along with mini cups (larger than a traditional demitasse), which are a new auction find.

This precious little teapot was a gift from my precious friend Cookie, and the bunny is another Nicodemus piece.  The hydrangeas are real, dried from my SIL’s father’s garden.

And this bunny…well, I guess we’re inching toward spring and Easter—putting a toe out there, in a subdued way, shall we say?  He’s of no particular pedigree—he’s completely unmarked, but I’d fallen in love with him at a local store, Harick’s, and after a particularly fruitful shopping spree there with our friends from out of town, the owner offered him to me for a steal.  I just couldn’t wait any longer to bring him out!

Pears, the color of the hydrangeas, also bring a touch of spring, in the Simplydesignz dish from our son and DIL.

So I need your help.  Now that I’m head over heels with my “new” china cabinet, I’m thinking about painting the inside.  But I’m soooo scared!!!  What do you think?  Yes???  No???

If yes, what color?  White?  Cream? Very light teal (my favorite color, but may be too limiting)?  Blue like Pine Tree Barn’s??

I can’t wait to hear from you and get help from all of you super-talented decorators out there!  :)

~~~~~~~~

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you’ll leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I love them and read every single one of them! And if you like what you see a lot, maybe you’d like to +1 this post or pin it on Pinterest too! Thank you! I invite you to follow me. If you’ll let me know that you’re following, I’ll be sure to follow you back. 

Here’s where I’m going to party this week:

Thursdays at Tabletop Thursday: http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Thursdays at Home Sweet Home: http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Thursdays at No Minimalist Here: http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com/

Transformation Thursdays at http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/

Be Inspired Friday at http://www.Commonground-do.com/

Fridays at Feathered Nest: http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Inspiration Friday at http://www.atthepicketfence.com

Sundays at The Tablescaper: http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/

Mop it Up Monday at http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com

Metamorphosis Monday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Tuesdays at http://www.astrollthrulife.net/

Wednesdays at Let’s Dish: http://www.cuisinekathleen.com/

Wednesdays at Wow Us: http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

From my nest to yours, ~Zuni

Valentine China Cabinet

Valentine’s Day is around the corner, and at our house we’re sure to celebrate—the chickadees are a perfect excuse to decorate for any holiday!  So the red and white and hearts are out!

The china cabinet is always one of the first things to get a refresher.  I had whites and silver there since after Christmas, when our eyes and home needed a “rest,” so I simply added some reds and we were ready for Valentine’s Day.  Little Miss Chickadee likes to go through and see what I’ve added.

The red roses are from the Valentine table (aren’t you always sad to take a tablescape down?  I am!)  You can see that table here.

Isn’t it fun to play with Picasa? I used the Waterford Kinsale vase in the Valentine table centerpiece, but it was hard to see it with the ivy around it.

Would you like to join me for a bit of Bailey’s?  Always a favorite treat.

Before my blogging days (and before Little Miss Chickadee was around or old enough to notice), I didn’t have many Valentine decorations.  This vase is now a favorite.  It, too, was part of the Valentine tablescape—did you notice it?  As were the hydrangeas, which are from last summer.  I find that I keep using them over and over again in different places, because I think they’re so pretty and fragile.

Someday I’ll have to do a post on why I have these cups, which for now I’ll call double-espresso cups, but they are for something much more yummy!  The darling teapot is a gift from my sweet friend Cookie.  I wonder if she remembers that she gave it to me?

The silver sugar scuttle is versatile.  Of course~candy for Valentine’s Day!

While I didn’t have many Valentine-specific decorations, I do have quite a bit of red around the house, because I LOVE red.  To me it’s such a versatile color—I can use it for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, the fourth of July, and just about any other time, which I do!  It’s a great accent color for me.  Do you like red that much?  Or is it too….RED?

  This darling tureen is a gift from my mother which I use quite often as a gravy boat, or for sauces, or even salad dressing when we have a larger group.

Can you believe that a college student makes these gorgeous glass serving pieces as a way to earn money for school?  We visited her booth at an art show while we were vacationing on Anna Maria Island a few years ago.  It’s very, very fragile, but boy, does it have WOW factor when it’s on the table!

The red Tiara glass was originally on the stack of plates, until…

  …the roses earned the coveted spot once they were past their prime and no longer suitable for the vase.  As I’ve mentioned before, I love “old” roses.  You can see lots of them here.

Did you notice that the top was bare in the first picture?  Are you that observant?  After the pictures were taken touches of red and silver were added.

There’s a bit of a love story behind this cruet set.  When I was a teenager, a friend of my mother’s was getting married, and her MIL-to-be gave her a vintage/antique cruet set.  I thought it was LOVELY, and since that time I’ve wanted one, but just never ended up buying one.  So about six months ago this lovely set appeared at an auction…and now IT’S AT HOME WITH US!  So it just took me a few {decades} to have one.  The wait was long enough to make its homecoming all the more special!  Believe me, it wasn’t in this pretty, shiny condition when it arrived, but it was truly a labor of love to bring it to its full splendor. 

Are there pieces like that, that you want but for one reason or another haven’t gotten?  What is it for you?  What is on your WISH LIST?  This is testament to the fact that if we wait, the things we cherish long term will eventually come to us, and the fleeting wishes will disappear.

So here’s wishing you a happy Valentine’s Day around your home.  May your hearts be filled with love for all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you’ll leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them! And if you like what you see a lot, maybe you’d like to +1 this post or pin it on Pinterest too! Thank you!

I invite you to follow me. If you’ll let me know that you’re following, I’ll be sure to follow you back.

Sundays at The Tablescaper: http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/

Mop it Up Monday at http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com

Metamorphosis Monday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Tuesdays at http://www.astrollthrulife.net/

Wednesdays at Let’s Dish: http://www.cuisinekathleen.com/

Wednesdays at Wow Us: http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

Thursdays at Tabletop Thursday: http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Thursdays at Home Sweet Home: http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Transformation Thursdays at http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/

Fridays at Feathered Nest: http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Thursdays at No Minimalist Here: http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com/

Inspiration Friday at http://www.atthepicketfence.com

From my nest to yours, ~Zuni