Our Pretty Peonies

I love our peonies that come up every year in May! I have to share them each spring! It's been pretty rainy lately, but although the weather can't decide what to do right now, one thing's for sure: the peonies are really doing well!

We have 2 peony bushes now - one in front near the road that's been there for years, and another on the side of the house by the driveway, which we planted maybe 5 years ago or so.

These photos are of the newer peony bush by the driveway. It has really taken off this year! 

This is a photo of the same bush just a couple of years ago when it was first starting to come up in the spring:

It was so little! When I first got this peony bush, I think it was really only one lone peony bloom. At first it would get mowed over, and never really bloomed much. Now we have more pretty blooms like this one in the yard:

It's really similar in color to the one out front. When they first bloom they look like a pretty blush pink. As they open up though, they get white and start to lose most of the pink color.

I think they're prettiest right now, when they're starting to open up. 

It rained today, so they're even sporting tiny raindrops on those petals. They are so nice to come home to everyday! 

Rainy Days and Mondays

So it's not Monday - It's Saturday, but it's a rainy one today! April showers bring May flowers though, right? I'm just popping in while we're at home watching the Cubs game. We were supposed to get our new dishwasher delivered today (I ordered it online from Lowe's a couple of weeks ago, and it just came in), but they weren't able to deliver it until Wednesday. That didn't work for us, because we are both gone during the week working. SO..the plan was to go to town today to pick it up instead.

So right now we're still at home, waiting for the rain to slow down so we can finally pick up our dishwasher. (It's been pouring for hours now) I'm ready to get a new one, since our current one has been leaking every time we run it. It gets the kitchen floor soaking wet, so we have to put a bazillion towels down in order to run it! It's a rollaway dishwasher, too, as is the new one, since we don't yet have a hook-up in our kitchen for one.

Meanwhile, I've also been waiting for a nice day to plant these wildflowers that I got in the mail recently:

Did anyone else sign up on the Cheerios website to get wildflower seeds? It's part of their Bring Back the Bees promotion. I thought it would be fun to do!

Trent's dad just tilled up the garden last weekend for us, but since then it's been pretty rainy and chilly, so we haven't been able to plant them back there yet. I'm still itching to get some flowers for my pots, too. 

Next week, we leave for Ohio on Thursday! Trent will be a groomsman in his cousin Aaron's wedding. We are super excited to see everyone again and hang out for a few days. 

Ok, continuing to wait for the rain to slow... will keep you updated!

Yard Work Has Begun

Hey all! So yesterday turned out to be such a nice day that we were able to finally get a little work done in the yard. It was so nice out, sunny and in the lower 70's.

I got my mulching done in the flower beds. We had 6 bags, which was just enough to get the beds looking all fresh and cleaned up. I also raked out a bunch of leaves from the side yard. I got the job done all by myself, and I was worn out by the end of it!

So afterward, I sat out back on the patio and watched Trent start on his mini project - he's making an outdoor bar out of supplies and reclaimed wood that we already have on hand.

First he built a floor out of some plywood and some boards we had laying around.

Then he took the door frame he built for our wedding, set it on top, and attached it to the floor.

It's going to be kind of the framing for his bar. He's so handy and creative! He didn't even have plans, it's all just an idea he had in his head.

This is where it's at now. He is going to add in the doors and backdrop from our wedding, too.

I love that those items from our wedding are going to be repurposed into something fun for the backyard area. Trent has been wanting a bar back there for a while, so this will be his own little mini tiki bar out there.

There is still some clean-up and more work left to do in the yard. I need to pick up some flowers for my pots and plant them, and we will probably try a garden again this year, even though last year a lot of critters got in there and ate our plants! 

We also have to pick up some small rock to clean up both side yards. We plan on adding rock to the east side of the house, since we haven't done much with that side yet.

Meanwhile though, a lot of our plants are growing back in the yard, and the peony bushes have been growing. They haven't bloomed yet, but they are getting there. And the lilac bush in the backyard is also in bloom. I don't know that I've ever shared pictures of it on here before. But the flowers are so pretty:

They also smell so good, and they seem to attract a lot of bees and butterflies. The bush separates our yard from our neighbors' - it's right in between.

Yesterday was definitely a beautiful spring day and almost felt like summer! It gets me excited to work on more projects around the yard, and work on the house more this year. Because Lord knows, we have a LOT of work to be done!

Springtime Fun

Happy Good Friday, everyone. I have the day off today, so I finally got a day to sleep in and a few extra moments to blog.

I know, I know. I haven't posted at all yet this month! So let me sum it up for you. It's April! Which means spring is finally here, and here in the Midwest it's been creeping up, slowly but surely. We had a couple of weeks of nothing but cloudy skies and rain for a while. But there have been some nice days here and there, and we're finally starting to see the trees bloom and flowers popping up! This weekend is Easter, so we're hoping for nice weather for the holiday.

We haven't gotten a lot of home projects done lately, since we've been pretty busy during the week with work, and on the weekends. Trent was in Cleveland a couple of weekends ago for his cousin Aaron's bachelor party. We're headed to Ohio next month for the wedding, and can't wait! 

His family all got together last weekend for the annual "Run for a Reason" 5k, in honor of Trent's cousin's son who passed away in 2013. Trent and I both walked, and each ended up medaling in our classes! I got the bronze and Trent got the silver!

Even though there weren't a whole lot of people there, we were still proud of our medals. :) 

After the race, we all went out to eat at the Stockade in Galesburg and stuffed our faces at the buffet. There were about 15 of us, with some of Trent's Ohio family even making it down. It was a great time.

Wednesday night, we went to the Eric Church concert at the iWireless Center in Moline. We saw him for the first time several years ago at the fair, when he wasn't quite as "big" as he is now. And now he's "Holdin' His Own" on his own tour! Ha. Ha.

The concert was great. We both loved it and we had pretty good seats. Though, I don't think there was a bad seat in the house! His stage wrapped all the way around so he spent some time on each side, which was pretty cool.

You can tell he is all about his music and he loves what he does. It was a great concert!

Sunday is Easter, and we'll be staying around here again this year. Probably just going across the street to Mark and Sandy's for lunch and the annual kids' Easter egg hunt. It should be another fun weekend.

Happy Easter everyone!

Target Spring 2017 Decor

Have you all been to Target lately? I've been too busy with weddings and clothes shopping (in IA City this past weekend), as well as planning for vacations this summer. But I know I'll need to make it into Tar-jay this April for the new Victoria Beckham clothing line coming out on April 9! Who's with me?

In the mean time, there's always online "window shopping" for a good Target decor fix. I decided to check it out and see what decor they have out this spring.

Here's a roundup of some of my favorite online finds. (Links for all at the bottom) What do you think? Some fun items this spring, I'd say!

Sources:

Floral illustration art

Metal star sculpture

Double-head desk lamp

"The Future Is Bright" wall art

Orb lamp

Pineapple bookends

Glass terrarium

Feather wood wall decor

Planter stand

Farmhouse style lamp

Happy Target shopping, everyone!

Spring Has Hit Our Front Yard

Spring has sprung in our town. Trees are finally blooming, and my peony bush is growing bigger and bigger! Today was an 80 degree day, with tomorrow looking to be just as nice. The weather has been just about perfect this weekend.

Look how green the grass is in the yard! Dandelions are making their appearance, the trees are getting leaves, and soon it will be time for planting the garden and flowers in my flower pots.

Trent's family is here from Ohio for the "Run for a Reason" 5k tomorrow. We signed up and picked up our packets today and plan to join them for the walk/run. 

I'll share more about the weekend's festivities soon. So far it's been spent having bonfires and barbecues, and enjoying the nice weather with family.

Spring is One Step Closer to Summer

This has been an unseasonably mild March so far. A lot of times in the Midwest, there's still snow on the ground in early March, or we get a blizzard. This year, the end of winter has been so nice and springlike! Take the following:

1. We've had 70 degree days and will be getting more next week. 2. We've already been shutting off the heat and opening the windows and doors. 3. The grass is becoming green, and we can hear birds chirping when we wake up. 4. Sunday is daylight savings time, which means more hours of daylight.

I think it's safe to say that spring is already here. Now all that's left is for the trees to start blooming. Spring-cleaning time is about here, guys and gals!

I'm excited about this, because that means we're just a little closer to summer. I'm starting to think about vacations, weekend getaways, and summer sunshine...And boats, concerts, and baseball games!

So many summer memories to cherish. Time for some more!

Spring Flower Inspiration

Happy Memorial Day! We have the day off work today, so I've had quite a nice day relaxing around the house. Since it's still spring, and I've been in quite the flowery mood lately, I'm sharing more flower pictures on the blog today. But I didn't take these, Trent did. He filled in at the Butterworth Center this past weekend, and sent me a picture of a pink flower. Then I told him to take more!

They have tons of gardens all around with hundreds of gorgeous flowers that bloom every year. It's a historic place in the Quad Cities, that unfortunately not enough people know about or take the time to explore. A couple of years ago, I shared another Flower Inspiration post, which included some summery flowers from the Butterworth Center and Deere-Wiman house. So this one includes a little spring garden inspiration, since it's not quite summer yet. Though, some of these flowers will stay blooming throughout the summer months.

I love this combination of colorful flowers and Dusty miller. I'm of course, a dusty miller fan, as evidenced here and here. 

I think I spot some peonies in the photo above. And those purple irises are so pretty. Definitely some pretty spring flowers.

This purple flower looks like some kind of Iris, but I'm not quite sure. I don't know if I've ever seen one like it!

Then there are these pretty daisies. Such a variety of flowers in these gardens. And check out these huge stone planters that are permanently positioned on the grounds:

It looks like lots of easy to grow petunias are planted in them. They should last all summer long.

I'm not sure what those tiny little white flowers are mixed in, but I like the mix of color and scale:

These look like some kind of peony:

I'm not positive, but isn't it gorgeous? It might be my favorite. I actually edited this photo and ended up using it as my new wallpaper for my laptop. :)

I think all of these gorgeous flowers are salvia. I have some of these on my front porch again this year. I had them last year and they did so well that I got more this year. They are great for pots.

And here was that first little flower picture that Trent sent me. I love this one, too. Plus, pink is my favorite color. It looks like an early blooming rose. So pretty!

Hope you're inspired to plant your spring or summer garden!