Crazy Plant Lady

I've become a little obsessed with plants lately (even though my track record isn't the best).

I blame Instagram and Pinterest.

Images of eclectic, bohemian-esque rooms with greenery everywhere are suddenly speaking to me. It's probably because I'm changing up the vibe in this house.  It might be because this house has such great natural light.

I could also use the excuse that I have a difficult-to-style living room.

This room is huge.  It really has two different sitting areas in one large rectangular space.  It's tricky.  Soooo plants to the rescue.

My first purchase......a fiddle leaf fig from a local nursery.........

Not a cheap plant.  Especially if you're good at killing them.

Anyway, as you walk into this monstrous room, straight ahead is a large wall.  That large wall is home to our TV stand.  The only outlet is about three feet away from where the TV has to be (because of the configuration of this room).  Two huge cords hang from that outlet to the TV.

I was dying to cover those cords. But another piece of furniture just didn't make sense there.

That's when I decided I would try a plant grouping next to the entertainment center!  This would cover the cords and help fill that open space.  I bought two more plants and thought putting them in baskets would add texture.  I thrifted the outer baskets and found the middle basket at Target......

Mission accomplished!?

When I open my front door now, I'm greeted with greenery instead of a blank wall with a string of cords.  It makes me happy.

What would make me even happier?

Keeping my fiddle leaf alive.....

Give me alllll the advice you've got, people.

My fiddle leaf is begging you.

Vintage Rug Dreams

Have you ever scared a FedEx driver by doing a little jig on the porch as he walked up your steps with an extra exciting delivery? It's possible that happened here a few months ago when my vintage Turkish rug was delivered.

Yes.  Months ago.  And I'm just now showing it off?  Yep.  For a great reason.  I could not find a rug pad in this town that I deemed good enough for this antique baby of mine.  And without a rug pad, the rug was bunching and shifting a lot.  So I rolled it up and put it away until recently......

More on the rug......when we got our new furniture, I knew I wanted a rug to anchor the space.  I knew I wanted a vintage kilim. And after lots of online searching, I found the perfect one via the Turkish Rug Man!  I loved the design and colors, and of course, it was just the right size!

But, like I said, it wasn't staying in place on slick hardwood floors without a rug pad, since vintage kilims are thinner than rugs tend to be nowadays.  So the day it was delivered, I went to - no joke - FIVE STORES in town to look for a rug pad.  All I found in each store was a pressed plastic pad, which I'd had no luck with in the past.  Which tend to smell a little chemical-esque. Which I feared would damage the rug and possibly, the hardwoods too, which are original to our house!

There was no way I was putting a plastic pad under this vintage dream of mine.

Enter the Rug Pad Corner who completely saved the day!  They make pads that are 100% chemical and glue free.  This meant, no strange smell coming from the pad.  It also meant that my rug and floors would not be damaged.  Annnnd they are made in the USA!

They had a few to choose from that would work with hardwoods floors.  I decided to go with one called the Ultra Premium. The Ultra Premium rug pad is everything I'd hoped for.  First of all, when I opened the package, there was no scent to the pad at all!  No chemical smell whatsoever.  Next, the pad flattened out immediately!  I didn't have to wait to throw the rug on top! The felt side went against the rug and held it in place.......

Since vintage rugs tend to have odd dimensions, another feature I love, is that they are made and cut to be custom to your rug! They cut mine to be just a tad smaller than my rug, meaning no pad peeks out!

During the short time I actually left the rug out - pre-pad - my rug would shift a lot, especially with my rambunctious pups. Once the pad was underneath, my rug has not budged an inch.  It would also bunch up under the coffee table before.  Now there is no bunching, since the felt seems to adhere to the rug, and the rubber side grips to my hardwoods nicely......

The pad also adds a little depth to my pretty thin rug!  It's about 1/3" thick, which is the perfect amount of cushion underfoot!

To say I'm happy with this pad is an understatement.  For any future rugs I purchase, vintage or not, I will definitely be using a pad from the Rug Pad Corner.  And you should too!  Use the code REVIEW15 for 15% off your purchase!

Good thing I wasn't home when the rug pad was delivered.  I would have scared the UPS driver too!  I was so excited about finally getting put the rug down for good, I might have tackled him!

*I received this rug pad in exchange for an honest review via the Rug Pad Corner!*

The Backyard

With summer only NINE school days away, the backyard has been getting all of our attention!  I wish I'd taken before photos! We've done so much that I didn't think to document......

• A huge brush pile had been left behind, so we took a trip to the yard waste center.  
• We've also gotten familiar with the city dump, since we had to take a huge trash pile that was left behind.  
• Then there's the pea gravel that covers about half the green space.  We are slowly hauling that off.  
• Lastly, two raised garden beds took up a huge portion of yard near the house, so we removed that in order to eventually add a patio area.

It's starting to feel like a blank canvas!  

We did stage a sitting area up by our sun porch.  I've always dreamed of hanging string lights, so that was my first addition to the backyard......

My second addition was for our sun porch!  We found a vintage table and chair set on Craigslist for that space......

Nothing a fresh coat of paint can't fix.

So finished or not, I'm ready to have some backyard gatherings!  Some lazy summer nights under the string lights.  A little fire in the chiminea.

And, of course, food!  Always food.