Moving on UP!

Hi friends! We have moved to our own domain and would love to have you join us there. Just click below, and be sure to add the new address to your bookmarks so you can keep up with us!

The Stylish Nest

Thanks! Hope to see you there!

A more natural home.

I try really hard to use natural remedies in our household. There are several reasons for this, one being that chemicals are icky and cause me all sorts of problems, another is that it smells better to use the natural alternative, and last but not least, our bird. Did you know that birds have very sensitive respiratory systems?

This time of year always brings a lot of bugs into the house. So, I was really excited to see this "recipe" for dealing with spiders. Every now and then we will find a spider in the house. Generally I scoop them up and put them outside, but I'd rather they stayed out. I can't wait to try this DIY spray, from Nature's Knockout. I'm also totally cleaning up our "piles" where bugs could hide! Speaking of Nature's Knockout, I am also very excited to try this facial! I recently met Laurie, who you will see in the video, and she is just as fun and lovely in person! Doesn't this facial make you hungry for chocolate?
 

One more thing that I have been trying this summer is to mulch mow instead of bagging. I'm testing the theory that healthy grass doesn't get as many weeds. I'm also leaving it longer to conserve water. So far, our grass is looking green and lush this year! I think it's working! Do you like to use natural remedies? What are some of your favorites?

Woof Wednesday: the vet

Baby the Maltese has had a lot of health problems in her lifetime. This is because she came from a puppy mill, but luckily she has a great vet who we see every month. Baby's favorite part is that she gets treats when she gets home!

"Treats? Did someone say treats?"

Trailer for sale or rent.

This fun birdhouse has been hanging around our garden for a few years now. It was a birthday gift, and is one of my favorite things in our garden.

Creating a garden is about so much more than just growing flowers or food. It's about creating a space to relax, smile, have fun, and enjoy the beauty around you.

Do you have a favorite thing in your garden? What is it?

June Goons!

My husband and I both celebrate our birthdays in the month of June. Luckily, there are quiet a few fabulous cupcake shops in our city! For my husband's birthday we got an assortment of Coconut, Red Velvet, and Pink Lemonade.

My favorite is the coconut, but they were all amazing. Yes, that's 6 cupcakes for 2 people, but look at them! How could we resist?

Many of my friends also celebrate their birthdays in June. It's a good month to be born!

Welcome Summer

Summertime has arrived in our part of the world. The spring flowers are all but gone, vegetables have been planted, and our city has celebrated Summerfest.

There will be more time spent outside than in, and hopefully some much needed home projects will start to take shape. We need a new roof before the weather turns cold again and the snow returns. We have big garden dreams as well.

Part of me thinks we will be lucky to get anything done at all. There is just something about summer, all you want to do is play outside and relax in the hammock.

Busy Bee in the Garden

It's my favorite time of year. And boy have we been busy getting the garden ready for planting.

The above plant is a Ghost Pepper, one of the hottest peppers you can eat. It has been growing inside for over a year, and finally I felt like it was big enough to harden off into the garden. It didn't enjoy the process much, and no longer looks as full and green as it did in this photo. However, if all goes well, we will have some scary peppers at the end of the season.

So much to do still.

More garden magic!

When you are down on your hands and knees, getting intimately close with the dirt and bugs, you can't help but notice the littlest of things. For example, water droplets. Water droplets close up thanks to my iPhone and Olloclip macro lens!

Click to see any of the images larger.

You know, I have always said "it's the little things", and truly it is.

Woof, woof!

Dogs are the ultimate when it comes to relaxing. Above, Baby shows her favorite position, leg up with tongue out, which of course is an invitation to rub the leg and belly. She isn't shy about asking for what she wants either, that little leg will go up any chance it gets!

We humans on the other hand, well, we could learn a lot from our dogs, couldn't we? Not much relaxing has been happening around here recently. And as for asking for what you want? I'm getting better at that, but still have a long way to go.

What lessons have you learned from your dog?

Currently Blooming

Spring is the best season in our garden, here are just a few of the things that are currently blooming.  What is blooming in your garden?

Flowers at Temple Square

Sometimes it is a lot of fun to play tourist in a city that isn't too far from home. Yesterday I took a trip to the "big city" to take some photos for a project, and of course a trip to Salt Lake City in the spring would not be complete without a visit to Temple Square to see their flowers. Absolutely beautiful!

I also visited the new City Creek Center, which is an amazing shopping space full of high end shops (like Tiffany's) and loads of outdoor spaces to relax and chat with friends. It's really a beautiful shopping mall, if you ever visit SLC be sure to check it out.

And speaking of City Creek, there is a Restoration Hardware store there! Oh my head was filled with inspiration and the desire to spend loads of cash on things for our home (if only we had more space for new things).

What about you? Do you enjoy playing tourist? I love to do it, even in our own city.

Maybe someday!

Source: bhg.com via Better Homes and Gardens on Pinterest

Now that spring has arrived my time is being spent preparing the garden for planting. This means pulling weeds, and what seems to be an endless amount of weeds I might add. So I see gorgeous spaces like this patio and dream, dream that we had a space like it to enjoy. Dream about someday making it happen, and sometimes I even dream that we have a gardener to take care of the weeds for us.

Luckily we do have a hammock, which I think it's high time to put up. What do you dream of for your garden?

Mother's Day Gift Giveaway with Snapfish

This giveaway won't run for long, since we want the winner to have time to create a special Mother's day gift! What could be better than putting together something she will treasure? Family memories!

Snapfish by HP Photo Books (Starting around $5) have special Mother’s Day themed templates—Linen Mom and Letterpress Mom. They are a beautiful way to showcase her favorite memories, and they are a personalized gift she is sure to treasure it for years to come.

We have a gift code for $50 that you can use at Snapfish.com to create something incredible. We love that you can create a customized photo book online for mail-to-home delivery or same day pickup at retail partners nationwide, making it an option for even the last minute shoppers.

Would you like a chance to win?

Stanley Steemer Giveaway

Now that spring has arrived and we are all in the mood to clean house, let's not forget our carpet! And our air ducts, our furniture, and many other sometimes overlooked areas. Stanley Steemer cleans all of these and offers other great services as well (including restoration services). We can't wait to use have them clean our carpet, which really needs a nice deep clean after so many years of use.

And guess what? We have a $100 giftcard to give to one lucky reader so you too can get some spring cleaning done!

Did you know that having a deep clean can help combat allergies? Allergens often get caught in carpet, upholstery, and other fibers. Stanley Steemer’s equipment and cleaning processes remove more than 98% of dry soil from floors, and with over 70 branches and 220 franchise locations in 48 states, Stanley Steemer services 95% of the country.

May the 4th Be With You

Happy Star Wars Day!

Cinco de Mayo

Yes we live in America, and we aren't Mexican even a little bit, but we love to celebrate holidays around here (even when they don't apply to us). We usually eat tacos, drink Horchata, and watch The Three Amigos. However, this year I do believe these adorable pinata cookies are in order!

Source: sheknows.com via Aimee on Pinterest

Aren't they just the most creative and adorable cookies ever? Be sure to visit the original Cinco de Mayo pinata cookies post for full recipe and a video showing how to make them. What about your household? Do you do anything fun for Cinco de Mayo?

The List!

Now that it has warmed up and it seems that summer is here (it was 80F yesterday), it's time to make the list. You know which one I mean, right? The List. The list of all the things that need to be done to the house this year. The big, scary, how in the world will we do it all, list. Yep, that one.

• Patch or replace our roof.
• Repair two sprinklers.
• Replace the shower head.
• Replace downstairs toilet workings (got a dual flush kit that should be fun).
• Fix the light in my office so it doesn't catch the house on fire.
• Replace ugly, icky, 1980s faucet in the master bath.

Phew! OK, so maybe the list isn't that bad actually. One of the upsides of writing it all down is you can see if it's really as bad as what you think it is. Obviously the roof is going to be the largest project, and oh how I wish we could replace our shingles with solar shingles! Of course, the main problem is that instead of doing all the items on the list, I would much rather be daydreaming of being someplace like this:

Source: tumblr.com via Aimee on Pinterest

What is on your house to do list this spring?

Spring Fling!

It's spring, which has me in the mood to fling! Right now there is a pile of books waiting to be donated to the library, a bag of clothing waiting to be dropped off at our local thrift shop, and I am just getting started. Do you get in the mood to clutter clear in the spring? Honestly the clear out bug hits me year round, but there is just something about spring weather that seems to bring it to the forefront!

And if you haven't caught the Spring Fling bug yet, here is a gorgeous room to inspire you. Notice how simple and clutter free it is, yet it looks so pretty.

Source: flickr.com via Aimee on Pinterest

The Anatomy of Refrigerator Repair Infographic

Source:PartSelect.com Click to see full size.

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure the fridge is the appliance in our house that gets the most use of all. So I thought this infographic was pretty interesting. The average cost to replace a part for the fridge is $43.63, and did you know that 83% of repairs take less than 30 minutes. (52% of repairs take less than 15 minutes). Basic tools like screwdrivers and nut drivers are often all that is required and much of the time all you need are your hands!

Have you had to make any repairs to your fridge? Did you do it yourself?

Happy Easter!

Wishing you and yours a very Happy Easter. In our house we celebrate with coloring eggs (so fun, we like to get very creative), an egg hunt, dinners with family, making our traditional bunny cake (36 years and going strong) and of course Easter baskets. Even the pup gets in on the fun.

Do you celebrate Easter? What are some of your favorite traditions?