Doesn’t it seem like April has just flown by? Where in the world did this month go?  I think if I am going to show you spring things before summer arrives, I had better do it now.  Oh but wait… I’m supposed to be telling you who won the James Farmer cookbook!  Let’s do that first.  (Otherwise you will just skip all my photos and scroll to the bottom to see who won it. )  The random number generator selected lucky comment #23…

and that belonged to this comment from the original giveaway post:

So congratulations, Judy!  Shoot me your mailing address, and I will get that Auburn grad’s cookbook in the mail to you this weekend.  I wish I could give all of you one, but since I can’t do that, I have made plans for a different giveaway for late May or early June.  So please stick around.

Now let me show you how spring has made its appearance in the house.  (I hope you can see from the photo of the dogwood tree above, spring has obviously arrived outdoors!)  You know by now that I (like many of you) tend to make seasonal changes around here.  Yellow and green seem to be the perfect colors to bring out spring.  Many people add pink at this time of year, but that color just does not work in my rooms.

I added yellow and green books, the gerbera daisy with its yellow flowers, and a few other things to the buffet piece in the foyer. Oh, and there are new lamps in there, too!  Forgot about that.  I kept the shades but changed out the bases.  Thank you Target.  (It has nothing to do with spring…just wanted a little more updated look there.)

The jar of water is useful, and I thought the label was funny.  ”Spring water”…get it?  ha ha.

Even the red candies on the piano from winter are gone  and replaced with sweet yellow lemon drops.

If you read the wicker post, you saw my “spring time” big chalkboard in the playroom.

And here is the small one that also hangs in there. (I love that white ceramic can for some unexplained reason.)

I will have more to show you this weekend…spring in two other rooms around here.  That’s if I survive moving our daughter home as she finishes her first year of college!  I have been frantically trying to finish redoing her room before she gets here, and  I’ve got to hang drapes in there tonight.  Wish me luck!!

Again, congratulations to Judy!

I will leave you all with a question to talk about today:

What is your favorite way to make seasonal changes in your home?

Can’t wait to hear from all of you!

]]> http://www.talkofthehouse.com/a-few-touches-of-spring-for-the-house-and-a-cookbook-for-the-winner/feed/ 21 http://www.talkofthehouse.com/decorating-with-red-in-our-house/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=decorating-with-red-in-our-house http://www.talkofthehouse.com/decorating-with-red-in-our-house/#comments Mon, 11 Feb 2013 01:47:50 +0000 Kelly http://www.talkofthehouse.com/?p=7941 NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized or removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

The foyer is back to having a bit of red after its black and white of January.  It started with these supplies (some leftover from last month supplemented with more)…

They are what I used to make these little Valentine bags of cocoa and marshmallows (and the spoons are disposable in case you can’t tell.)

Then the little bags went into this jar…

which went on the buffet in the foyer – now happily decorated with red again.

Between the foyer and the great room is an old piano.  It was first mine as a child, but then I had to share it with my little sister.  Anyway, that old piano gets a spot of red for Valentine’s Day, too.

You know there are red pillows in the great room, and if you look out the window, you will see the color again on the deck umbrella.

The mantel has a little dose of red mixed in with my collection of vintage cameras (in jars of course.)

I made this Valentine print to use with the cameras and the photograph of the children.

Here is a little closer look at it on the mantel.

And here are the cameras and the red candles at the other end of the mantel.

Across from the fireplace is the sofa – the biggest use of red in the room.  It is soon to be redressed in a khaki linen.

And the last of the red for today – a closer look at the pot of red tulips on the end table (where the blooms are lasting much better than those did in the bedroom.)

I plan to be back again soon with a few photos of the dining room and some ideas for Valentine’s Day gifts. I loved all your enthusiasm for using red from my last post!

So what are you doing special for Valentine’s Day this year?

We’d love to hear about it!

]]> http://www.talkofthehouse.com/decorating-with-red-in-our-house/feed/ 14 http://www.talkofthehouse.com/black-and-white-in-our-house/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=black-and-white-in-our-house http://www.talkofthehouse.com/black-and-white-in-our-house/#comments Mon, 21 Jan 2013 23:59:29 +0000 Kelly http://www.talkofthehouse.com/?p=7430 NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized or removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

I really have a fondness for red, but after the overdose of it during the Christmas holidays, I like a clean slate in January.  So some of the red is put away for a few weeks until it reappears for February’s day of love.  The black and white seems fresh to me after all the holiday decorations.

The dining room table is set with my plain white dishes again. (Farewell Christmas china….)  Plain white cloth napkins are tied with black grosgrain ribbon, and the centerpiece is camellias (cut from the yard) loosely arranged in a white soup tureen.  Such a fresh contrast to the gingerbread houses and the patterned red napkins of just a month ago.

Oreos and sugar cookies fill the cookie jars on the buffet, and dessert plates and napkins get a fair share of black and white here, too.

Black and white bound cookbooks take the place of the red ones in the cabinet in there.  No dab of red is left.  (Don’t get me wrong.  I do love Christmas.  I just need a break from some of the red for a little while.)

Another place where I’ve used black and white is the children’s bathroom.  I don’t think I have shown you that room yet.  Have I?

The chalkboard is the ultimate place for black and white. (Ignore the ghost letters from Christmas behind the words.)

The master bath has a touch of the color scheme in its simple styling.

All the red has also been removed from the foyer with some black and white taking its place.

And of course you have already seen all the black and white in the playroom…

and in the boys’ room.

I’m not going to bore you with the black and white check kitchen curtains since you have seen them enough already.  But I will show you the clothing I have added to my wardrobe in the last couple of weeks.

Yep, I love black and white.  So do you think there is enough black and white around here?

Don’t worry.  I haven’t abandoned all the other colors.

I also purchased these last week…

Red will be making its comeback in about a week with the arrival of February. Until then I will enjoy the classic look of the black and white around here.

Hope you enjoyed it, too.