Spring Flowers

Because this is National Library Week, my co-librarian and I were each given a beautiful bouquet of flowers by the faculty at our school. I've enjoyed seeing the flowers at work all week, aren't they pretty?

When I brought them home today, I decided that as much as I like one big bouquet, I would like a bunch of little bouquets even better.

I took the whole thing apart and separated the blooms by color so I could see what I had to work with.

Because I can't seem to get enough yellow in the kitchen, I put this one together for the white pitcher. The trick to getting a bouquet to stay together nicely inside a big container like this, is to actually place the blooms in a smaller water-filled glass set inside.

I'm not super crazy about purple, but I kind of like the way the irises look against the blue and green glass bottles.

These mini carnations just screamed to be in a little vase all on their own.

I backed up so you could see all of my entryway. Even though it's not technically a room, and I only spend a few seconds here a day, it's still one of my favorite places in the house.

I've never had flowers on my nightstand before, It feels so decadent and ritzy! I didn't have a another little vase, so I just stuck these in an Ikea drinking glass. I think it works just fine!

For the living room, I had to make something to show off my vintage typewriter table. I really love how all the colors are meshing!

A little close-up action!

This is not flower related, but this evening Brad and I were treated to the view of 14 fawns chowing down in our field. The picture isn't the greatest because we had to take it through the screen, but these little cuties were only about 100 feet from our house.

These are the nights when I love being a country girl!

<3

Hattie

Cheap-o DIY Art

OK, so I admit to having a big, empty white space in my kitchen that I've been mostly cropping out of photos. There it is, right above the white pitcher. Not only is it a sort of awkward empty space, but the wall also has a weird crease in it.

So, I've been working on a solution, and the odd assortment of items below provided everything I needed to create a cute and punchy little piece of art.

I've always liked Andy Warhol's soup cans and thought it would be cute to recreate the look using real soup labels. It turns out that the healthy soup can labels lack the great graphic look of the iconic originals. I'm way too thrifty to buy the not-so-healthy regular soup just for the labels, so I looked around the kitchen for a new inspiration.

As much tea as I drink (3 cups a day!) I'm surprised it didn't occur to me sooner to use my dragon tea bag wrappers. The have a great red and white color are printed with the phrase, "Enjoy life - Enjoy tea."

I bought a shadow box frame at Ikea last week, so all I needed to do to create a little homemade pop-art was use double sided tape to attach the wrappers to a white background.

I have two options for display, with mat or without.

Which do you like better? As soon as I decide, this baby is going on the wall and I can say, "so-long!" to my empty space.

Do you have any ideas for easy, cheap art?

<3

Hattie

Spring Break Mission Accomplished-ish

Even though this spring break hasn't gone exactly as planned with all the cold, wind, rain, and family stuff, we still managed to get almost everything done on the 'ol to-do list. The biggest accomplishment is our newly painted kitchen table and chairs. When it turned out to be too windy to spray paint, Brad picked up a paint brush and joined me in the kitchen. Three coats and four paint-splattered arms later, and . . .

Ta-da!



It's overcast and rainy today, so these pictures aren't the best, but you get the idea.



See that little microwave cabinet in the corner? Oh yes, that is next up for a paint job and some new hardware.



Woohoo! I love how crisp and fresh the table looks. I promise it is not as glowing white as the harsh flash makes it appear.

I picked up the cute little lemon basket in the center for about a quarter at Goodwill today. So, if you count the fact that we already had the paint leftover from another project, and that I found the tablecloth at Goodwill a few years ago, this whole new look cost us about a buck.

Suddenly, I love it even more!

<3
Hattie

New purse!

What girl doesn't love a new purse, especially if that new purse is free? Since I was 15, all I've paid for my purses is the cost of a little duct tape and ribbon. I just finished a new yellow and brown number for spring.

I usually just make a form from cardboard and cover it in tape, but I wanted something a little sqishy-er and bigger this time around. I took an old freebie bag from a library conference, similar in shape in texture to a reusable grocery bag, and cut it down to the size I wanted.

I covered the whole deal with tape and added rivets and ribbon for straps. It's big enough to throw in a book and a snack, so I'm ready for summer!

Once again, duct tape proves that it is good for it!

<3

Hattie

Color Inspiration

Over two years ago, when the roost underwent a little surface remodeling, I got to choose the interior paint colors. I knew I wanted a soft yellow for the living room, but it had to be the right yellow - no Big Bird living room for me! I found my color inspiration in the most unlikely place, a book cover.

At the time, I worked in a public library in Maryland. Part of my job was unpacking the new books as they came in. As soon as I saw the cover of this book, I knew I had found my living room colors.



This yellow was the perfect shade because of how well it blended with the other colors. I
could visualize my cherry red lamp shades, the dark laminate floors, and the blue sofa all popping against soft, sunny walls.

I checked the book out, and carted it home on my next trip back to Virginia. My mom and I were fully prepared to take the book into Home Depot for a custom mix, but luckily, Martha Stewart Corn Silk Yellow was a perfect match.

It just goes to show that you really have to keep your eyes open, because your next big design inspiration could be anywhere - even waiting for you on a library shelf.

Oh, and the book was a wonderful story as well as color swatch!

Spring Break update - day one

Spring break is off to a pretty good start. I decided to begin checking off my to-do list with the thing I've been putting off the longest - cleaning out the fridge.

As you can see from the before photo, the doors were the worst problem. I had way too much crammed in there, and it was pretty common to be hit on the toe by a rouge salad dressing bottle every time time I opened the door. My goals were to:

1. Get everything out so I could wipe down all of the surfaces with a natural all purpose cleaner, including the sticky spots I new lurked in the back.

2. Throw out everything past it's expiration date or that I hadn't used since Christmas.

3. Arrange things so that like items were closer together.

Ta-da! My new clean and organized fridge. I would encourage everyone to take the time to at least pitch out everything past the use-by date. I had no idea how much expired food was taking up space in my fridge. I found old mayo, dressing, jam, cream cheese, etc. Taking the time to note what types of food didn't get used up before they expired is a great way to save money in the future. For instance, we really only use some foods and condiments, such as ketchup, seasonally. Today I discovered that our giant ketchup bottle from last summer was only 1/3 empty, but way past the use-by date. Now I know that buying the small bottle this summer will save us money, even though it cost a bit more per ounce.

Last night we started on our other big spring break project - painting the kitchen table and chairs. I nearly had a break down in Lowe's when we discovered that they no longer sell Rust-oleum Americana spray paint. They had other types of Rust-oleum, but none of them looked familiar. I waffled for a minute, but decided to check Home Depot before we bought anything. Over at Home Depot they also didn't have the Americana line, (maybe it's been discontinued, which is a shame because half of our furniture is painted Americana Blossom White) but they did have the Rust-oleum Painter's Touch line in Heirloom White, which we used last summer to paint a dresser. We loaded up on spray primer, paint, and sealer, so we are ready to go when the weather cooperates.

Here is the table we are planning to paint,

I keep it covered because the bare top looks like this.

This morning I sanded it down so everything will stick better and so the scratches are even with the rest of the surface.

Now, we just need a nice sunny day with no wind!

<3

Hattie

The red in the roost - the kitchen

As you know if you've read my profile, The Little Red Roost is so named because it is painted red, but also because I have a passion for all things red. There is something so vibrant and cheerful about red. If energy and enthusiasm were a color, they would be red. So, in honor of my favorite color, let's take a tour of all the little splashes of red I have around the roost.

I thought I should start with the kitchen, because saying it has a splash of red is something of an understatement. Some people would probably say I've gone overboard, but standing in my kitchen, looking at all the cute, vintage red items, makes me feel happy and inspired.

When you turn the corner from the front door to the kitchen, this is the view you see if you look to your left.

The graphic cookie jar was half price after Christmas and Wal-Mart! My Mix Master and red cow creamer are two of my very favorite things in the kitchen.

Now, take a step forward and look straight ahead.

Little red table from Class and Trash

Ok, now turn to your right

Another piece from Class and Trash. My mom convinced me that framing this empty flour sack would make a great piece of artwork for the kitchen - she was right!

And to your right again.

Turn right one more time and head out of the kitchen

Because the modern gift for a first anniversary is a clock, my parents found this awesome kitty-kat clock for us. The tail even wags!

So there ya have it - a little taste of my red kitchen!

Which room should be next - bedroom or living room?

<3

Hattie