Official Sheep Dog of Just Shorn!

Just Shorn creates beautiful Dabbieri carpet made with Just Shorn wool. They are based in New Zealand, but their carpet is in stores across the United States. I was lucky enough to see it in person at Alt. and am happy to share with you that Just Shorn is looking for their Official Sheep Dog!

Think of it a bit like Sheep Dog Idol! You can go and check out the dogs and cast a vote for your favorite. When you vote for your favorite sheep dog, you are entered to win a room full of Just Shorn carpet for your home (up to a $2500 value)! Pretty amazing prize right? Plus, you get to see some awesome dogs and handlers.

To learn more about Just Shorn, and to vote for your favorite sheep dog visit http://www.justshorn.com/sheepdog/. Which pooch will get your vote?

Royal Wedding

Apparently there is a royal wedding taking place this month. Though I am not personally that excited about it, there have been a lot of fun things going around the web that are inspired by the upcoming nuptials. This Royal Blue Velvet Cake really caught my eye!

A fun new twist on the usual red velvet! I especially love the blue candy "glass" that is on top of the slice. Are you having a party to watch the royal wedding? I'm not, but if I were, this would be my cake of choice!

Mood lighting.

Lighting is so important for setting the mood of a room. With the weather being gray and snowy recently, the mood around here has been more of the snuggling in variety. This photo from our Home as Art group really speaks to the power that lighting can have in creating a mood.



Looks like a perfect place to relax with a book and warm drink. I also really love the cactus plants and how the light plays off of them.

And of course to show a different side of light, here is a great example of how light can create a bright and cheery mood as well. Imagine eating your morning meal at this table! Surely you would be off to a great start.



Do you use lighting to create moods in your home?

Spring Cleaning!

Even though we had snow this past week, and there is snow in the forecast again, I can't help but have the itch to spring clean.

I have been trying to clean out our closet in the master bedroom. Spring is a great time to clear out winter clothes, since it's pretty obvious which clothing didn't get used the past season. It's not a bad time to take a look at the spring and summer items either.

What about you? Do you get into spring cleaning when the weather starts to warm up?

Growing food.

Growing our own food is something we enjoy doing a lot. You don't need a lot of space, or even a dedicated garden area to enjoy growing your own food.

For the past few years we have used containers, especially our EarthBox containers! We have had a lot of success with growing peppers, and even strawberries, in the Earthbox.



Another thing that we do is utilize the area in our flower beds. We grow pumpkins in our flower beds, not only because of the great sunlight they get in that part of our yard, but also because the pumpkin leaves are quiet gorgeous as a backdrop to flowers. Here is an example of one of our pumpkin plants mixed in with the flower bed:



We have also mixed peppers and flowers in pots, and grown luffa gourds up our old satellite dish.



Creativity, and a willingness to use spaces that aren't traditionally known as "garden spots", is a fun and effective way to get started with growing food. I am already making my plans for this coming season. On the wish list; peppers (hot), strawberries, broccoli, zucchini, pumpkin, beans, and more!

Do you grow food in your garden? What are some of your favorite things to grow?

Refresh Your Nest

Target is having a HUGE Earth Month celebration right now! The major prize being a $50,000 home make over with Target’s style expert for home, LEED accredited designer Sabrina Soto. You can enter by visiting Target.com/Eco.

“From how we build our stores to the way we interact with our guests, environmental sustainability at Target is integrated throughout our business,” said Shawn Gensch, vice president, Marketing. “As part of Target’s ongoing commitment to sustainability, our Earth Month activities are designed to remind our guests of the many ways we can all make small changes, which together make a big difference.”

Earth Month celebrations at Target will include:

• A giveaway of one million reusable bags, made from 100% recyclable Tyvek material, at Target stores nationwide on April 17 (while supplies last).
• An online boutique at Target.com/Eco where guests can purchase sustainable products, receive sustainable decorating tips from Sabrina Soto, download coupons to use at their local Target store and enter for a chance to win the home makeover sweepstakes with Sabrina Soto.

The sweepstakes also will offer hundreds of other prizes, including:

• Eco vacations, including air transportation and hotel accommodations;
• A chance to design your own line of environmentally friendly cleaning products;
• $5,000 worth of energy-smart lighting and/or appliances; and
• Giveaways of top Earth Month products

And, something I didn't know before, but which I am excited about is that Target always offers a 5-cent discount for guests off their total purchase per reusable bag. Did you know that?! Sounds like it's time to get out those stylish bags you have been meaning to use!

Target didn't compensate me for sharing this information with you, I just really love shopping there and was excited about this giveaway and wanted to share it with you so you could enter too! Who wouldn't love a chance to have a home makeover?!

Right Sizing Your Home

Can I just tell you how much I love this book? We got a chance to review it after it released, and I have often returned to it for inspiration and ideas. Lately I have been thinking a lot about it because we live in a home that is somewhat small, and like a lot of people, we have a lot of stuff filling up our small space.

I'm a huge clutter buster, but even with paring down to just the things we love and use, we still have things that need to be stored. I would say that storage, or lack thereof, is really more of an issue than actual square footage in our home.

This is why I enjoy the book. Gale is awesome at laying out inventive ways to maximize space, and she also has a great approach to making sure that you get your goals right in the way you want to use your spaces. No sense making a room look and function well if it doesn't actually suit the way your family uses it.

Right now I am working on our master bedroom closet. I want to maximize the space, and make sure that we can use it in the best way possible. We need to store things other than clothing (extra blankets for winter, and even some bathroom extras like TP and such). I've appreciated taking some of the ideas from this book and putting them to use in my mind as I plot and plan for our closet.

What project are you working on right now?

It's April!

April Fool's day crept up on me this year, and I didn't plan a single prank! However, I am excited that April has arrived, and with it, spring! I love this idea for a project, and to bring a little spring time into the house.

Source: homemadeginger.blogspot.com via Aubry on Pinterest

Anthropology inspired, these blooms look like a little piece of spring!