Boxes and More Boxes

Hey everyone!  Yes, I'm back after being MIA for over a month...maybe "once-a-month blogging" is my new normal.  Who knows!  

You might be wondering from the title of this post, if we are moving.  NO, we are definitely not moving!  So what's going on?

                  

It was a sofa delivery!  Not exactly the normal way to receive a new sofa....well, not normal unless your sofa is coming from IKEA!  Box after box came through our front door....a total of 7 large and 3 small ones.  We are now the happy owners of the EKTORP Sectional in Lofallet Beige!

The instructions were quite good, and everything was well labeled.  It kind of goes together 

like a puzzle.

Even ironing the slipcover was not bad...this fabric is so nice and the wrinkles just melted away.

It only took about two hours, start to finish, to put this sofa together!

TA-DA!

The Man and I are both so happy with this color.  It took some effort on my part to convince The Man that this was not too light, but now he is as happy as I am.  Light is good, but white would have looked terrible in here.

We also really like that we can buy another slipcover in a different color, should we 

want to do so.  Oh, the slipcover is washable, too!

We also purchased two of these EKTORP ottomans.  I put glides under the feet of both, so they can be moved around very easily....great storage inside, too!

This room had been very awkward for furniture arranging until we decided on this sectional sofa.

We are so HAPPY!

Even though we are several hours from the Pacific Ocean, I still like to add some beach 

elements to my Summer decor.

This is pretty much all I am doing for July 4th this year.  

I'm actually quite pleased with this mantel arrangement and will probably leave it up for 

most of July!

Complete change of topic here, but I promised several months ago to let you know whether I like this foundation or not.  The answer is YES!  I wanted to give it a really good try before I said anything.  It has felt great on my face during cool-dry, hot-dry, and very hot-dry weather....we will have to wait and see how it holds up during our Monsoon season!  It's available at ULTA for $38 here in AZ, but I just recently bought a backup using a 20% coupon...YAY!

Now, just for the "cute factor."  Miss Abby had a urinary tract infection recently and was on an antibiotic for two weeks, and this is what we had to do to give her medicine.  Yes, a kitty burrito!  The Man would wrap her up and hold her while I squirted in the meds; and then he would just hold her like this for awhile....I think she actually liked this part, too!  Good news, she is all well now!

Thanks so much for stopping by and for not giving up on me.  No promises that I'll be posting often, but posting when I have something to share.  Hope everyone is having a great Summer.  Can you believe this year is half over?  Where does the time go?  Don't waste it!

Hugs,

Carol

I hope to be joining some of these lovely ladies this week:

Cindy at Dwellings--The Heart of Your Home for Amaze Me Monday

Maria Elena at Our Home Away from Home for Tuesdays at Our Home

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life  for Inspire Me Tuesday
Kim at Savvy Southern Style for WOW Us Wednesdays

Suzy at Worthing Court for The Scoop

Carol at The Red Painted Cottage for Share Your Style Party

Richella at Imparting Grace for Grace at Home

Hippity-Hoppity Happening

Can you believe Easter is less than a week away?  I thought I'd better get my tush in-gear and share my Easter/Spring decor.  Life has been and continues to be rather busy around our home, so it was now or never....well, probably not never; just much later!

The Easter Tree in all it's fluffiness and fun!

 

 I've been adding more pinky-blush and love how fresh and calm it feels.

There's been some paper-crafting going on....there are tons of free patterns on Pinterest for making flowers of all sizes and types!

 I'm loving these pink cherry blossom stems!

A birdcage filled with old book pages tied together and a bird and bird nest 

equals simple Spring perfection.

These two show up every Easter, often with a re-glued ear!

 This sweet scene on the foyer table welcomes one and all.

 Love hydrangeas!

 More paper (cardstock) flowers...so much fun to make!

This is a FREE printable from Anne on Sutton Place.  It was part of my

St. Patrick's Day decor, but I love this Irish Blessing, so it's staying for awhile!

 MAY YOU ALWAYS BE BLESSED

with walls for the wind,

A ROOF FOR THE RAIN,

A warm cup of tea 

by the fire.

LAUGHTER TO CHEER YOU,

Those you love near you,

AND ALL THAT YOUR

HEART MIGHT DESIRE.

I had some fun decorating my breakfast nook buffet!

I'm feeling the lure of live plants, like these orchids, above and below.  Got them at our grocery store (WINCO) for $7....I know, right?  Fingers crossed that I don't kill them!

 Perfection....God's handiwork.

Very simple mantel.

Well, there you go....my Easter/Spring decor.  I kept things fairly simple this year, except for my Easter Tree, which is just wild and crazy!  I'm really enjoying the pretty pastels and could easily keep this look going through Summer.....probably, well, not very likely!  Bloggers have to change stuff...nothing stays the same for very long.  I do hope to keep this look at least through April, but we will see!  Anyway, hope you enjoyed this photo-heavy glimpse of Easter/Spring around our home.

Wishing everyone a very Happy Easter!

Hugs,

Carol

I hope to be joining some of these lovely ladies this week:

Cindy at Dwellings--The Heart of Your Home for Amaze Me Monday

Maria Elena at Our Home Away from Home for Tuesdays at Our Home

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life  for Inspire Me Tuesday

Suzy at Worthing Court for The Scoop

Carol at The Red Painted Cottage for Share Your Style Party

Richella at Imparting Grace for Grace at Home

I've Been Fallin' Around!

Hey everyone!  I hope you are all having a great start to your week.  I had a "super-surge" of energy between Saturday morning and Sunday noon (then I crashed!), and pretty much finished up my Fall decorating and some cleaning projects, too!  Before I finished "fallin' up" my kitchen and family room, I cleaned, re-sealed & polished the granite and cleaned my refrigerator from top to bottom & inside & out...I was on a roll!  It's not feeling very Fall outside this week, with temps in the 90's, but the air is on and there is plenty of Fall color to see inside.  Come on in!

You all know this is one of my favorite places to decorate for the seasons,

and I love having my cute aprons so handy!

The wood blocks say "Welcome."

I love this island, but it is such a "junk magnet!"  Getting it all cleaned, polished and looking so pretty, will keep it junk-free for awhile....I hope!

The colors of Fall make me smile.

No chocolate-chip or oatmeal raisin cookies in this cute cookie jar, but it is filled with

biscotti-goodness!

These are from Costco and are so good, but I limit myself to no more than

one-a-week....lots of calories!

Sooo true!

Nothing much has changed on top of the cabinets...I'm not allowed on the "BIG" ladder any more!

The same goes for over here.

This little wood veneer, battery-powered leaf swag was a recent purchase from our new

Home Goods store that is only 15 minutes away....uh oh!

So sweet at night with their warm glow.

I'm still crushing on this gallery wall of our travel photos.  Do you see Abby?  Just pretend you cannot see her, because she thinks she's invisible when she faces the wall...shhh, don't tell!

I'll be back later this week to share how I made the leaf & book page garlands and a delicious

Fall soup recipe!

I adore this little plate (HobLob a couple of years ago).  It reminds me of heading to the pumpkin patch with my children when they were just a wee lad and lass!

I'm calling this a wrap for the kitchen and family room, but you know there is always "tweaking" to be done....heehee!  I do hope you enjoyed your visit.  You are always welcome here.

Warm hugs,

Carol

  I often party with these lovely bloggers:

Monday
 Cindy at Dwellings--The Heart of Your Home for Amaze Me Monday

Maria Elena at Our Home Away from Home for Tuesdays at Our Home

Tuesday

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life  for Inspire Me Tuesday

Wednesday

Suzy at Worthing Court for The Scoop

Thursday
Jemma at  At Home With Jemma for Thoughts of Home on Thursday
Richella at Imparting Grace for Grace at Home