Quince, Of Course {+ Other Garden Developments}

In the last week, our garden has erupted in color as flowering bulbs, shrubs and trees awaken to the spring. I wish we could take credit for each one, but we are the lucky beneficiaries of a previous owner's choices, which include a mature pink magnolia, a star magnolia and two coral quince.

This weekend the quince buds opened and, despite their thorns, invited me to snip some for display around the house.

In Progress: The Living Room Carpentry Projects

Hi, friends. This post--appearing promptly on Tuesday morning--was intended to be a Monday morning post...can you tell I'm a little out-of-sorts? After a week at my new job, I'm slowly settling into a work routine and trying my best to balance all of the things I have to do with all of the things I want to do; perhaps you know how that goes, too?Acknowledging my late start, I'm happy to share the progress that was made on our living room carpentry projects last weekend.

Let's get to it!

Karl Blossfeldt Botanicals

In honor of the early spring weather I've enjoyed this week, it seems completely appropriate to dedicate a post to today's topic: the well-before-their-time botanical photographs of German artist Karl Blossfeldt.

Peeks into Our Finished Basement Changes

Remember all the way back in January, when spring sunshine seemed like a million years away, when I shared my DIY tasseled curtain project? At the time, I planned to share a sneak peek of the changes we'd started to make to our finished basement...but the sub-zero temperatures kept me from the space entirely.

Now that the weather's more cooperative, I snapped a few pics of the basement that I wanted to finally share!

Replacing Ugly Outlets {For Highly Particular Homeowners}

I'm a really particular person. If I was a parent, I'd be one of the "choosy moms" that those peanut butter commercials love to talk about. One of the things I'm super particular about are the electrical outlets in our house.

I especially hate the old round, bisque-colored ones that are throughout each room. But just this week, I made it my mission to improve the appearance of the outlets on one floor of our house (the finished basement).

Good Things Happen to Those Who Wait

The day has finally come when I have some positive news to share about my job search: I have one!

My New--but Antique--Rug

I'm off to a late start this morning--potentially good things are a-brewin'--but I had to make time to share my recent purchase: a beautiful and well-worn antique rug now living in the den.