my love for lilies and other pretty flowers

This post brought to you by iBulb. All opinions are 100% mine.

 

you know how much i love flowers. they are my inspiration for many of my design posts. {like here in april and may!} fresh flowers add so much to a space while designing. a well-known tip among designers is that if you want to instantly brighten and freshen a room for very little, add some fresh flowers. need to make your house feel welcome? add some lilies for example, they are a very fragrant flower.

 

since i didn't make it getting bulbs in my garden beds this year, i'm trying planting them in pots! i can't wait to get started on planting my flower beds! i want to have roses and irises, gladiolas, daffodils, peonies, etc! i planted some bulbs last fall in pots on my porch in the hopes that they would bloom. unfortunately, nothing yet! probably cause i didn't water them too well:( 

 

i'm so glad i now know about iBulb. you can buy them anytime of the year, they work for every occasion {mother's day, birthdays, anniversaries...}, and they are soo beautiful! {ok, super side note, i always ask my hubby to give me potted plants instead of cut because then they last! i hate when my beautiful boquet dies. this way, they last!} the best part is that you can by them at the grocery store while you are doing your regular errands. {or in our case, we picked some up at the local garden center while we got mulch and our summer flowers}

 

 

here are the starts of my potted bulbs on my front porch. look at how pretty they will be when they go full bloom!

lilies

lilies

lilies

 

stay tuned for how my final garden beds turn out. i'm seriously soo excited. you can see more of my outdoor inspiration on my pinterest board and on this iBulb board.

 

may inspiration mood board

this month's sponsored by amy of the blissful bee. i have been so impressed by her work over and over again. recently she just posted about her office space update and i'm in luuuve. we share the same {great} taste.

lucky for me i got to work on one of my most anticipated boards...a little girl's room for my not-so-little girl! we are hoping to transform her bedroom from nursery/toddler room to sophisticated chic little girl room.
i've been working on the design since she was born. her nursery wasn't ever really anything but a hodge podge of handmedowns and clearance items so i've been waiting until she had a space of her own i could slowly save up and design the perfect room.

here she is! you know i've mentioned that every room in my house  must have board and batten if possible, and this room is no exception! i plan to diy that myself and then wallpaper the top half with anthropologie's gorgeous peony wallpaper. it's a splurge, so you can bet i'll be scrimping {aka diy} in every other way i can.

she currently has a fun ruffled lampshade, a bookshelf i want to update to be like this, and my old twin bed i plan to upholster myself kind of like this one.

i love the pink and coral with the mint walls so her bedding will be a fun organic pin-tucked duvet and yellow polka-dot sheets, with a couple diy pillows; diy striped curtains too.

i'm also going to splurge on a nice shaggy rug so play time on the floor is encouraged. i want these toy cubbies, and a couple beautiful art pieces. i love this somewhere over the rainbow and believe in yourself print from the fun etsy shop SugarFresh. of course, don't forget some fun accessories {bronze "E" and ampersand} to tie the room together.

i'm diy-ing a tent and hoping to find a sculpted leggy dresser to add to the room too. as you can tell i have A LOT of work ahead of me:) but i'm excited to put my dream design into action.

if this wasn't enough to make you get your design juices flowing, check out the other fun design boards for this month's inspiration!

Hi! It's Samantha...the Designer in Teal. I'm excited to be joining in on the collaboration again this month. This fresh color palette inspired me to create a relaxing spa like ladies restroom. I typically do designs on living rooms, bedrooms and offices so this was a refreshing change. I hope you will stop by to see the details and resources so that you can recreate the look. Also, because I am trying to build a portfolio, you can get a custom mood board from me for free!

Hey y'all! I'm Fletcher from High Cotton Style. I couldn't be 

more thrilled to join in on this months collaboration. 

Hop on over to High Cotton Style to get the scoop on this design board. Stay a while- have a few drinks, and listen to me babble about interior design, recipes, life and who knows what else! All with southern hospitality, of course;)

Hey guys - I'm Amy from The Blissful Bee! I am a designer and photographer based out of Texas and I love to blog about my creative adventures. Make sure to check out my blog if you would like to see more of my designs:) 

contributor post: free printable at sugarbeecrafts

head on over to sugarbeecrafts to get your free may printable! this month, diy typography prints:)

happy designing!

CB2 and Novogratz giveaway #cb2novogratzbrasilsweepstakes

This post brought to you by CB2. All opinions are 100% mine.

my hubby and i both got to serve missions for our church; hubby in brazil, me in chile. needless to say we have a soft spot for all things south american in our hearts. when i saw the launch of the CB2 and Novogratz Collection by design duo courtney and robert novogratz, i couldn't help but looove the bold colors that reminded me of our time spent in south america.

like this pink coffee table. it would go perfectly as an indoor side table or add a fun punch of color to an outdoor patio. pair it with this,

a fun outdoor sectional and you're set to go for hosting your summer bbq get-togethers

 

a tribal outdoor rug. i love love the colors of this rug. for a fun twist, hang the rug on your wall it could double as a great art piece for a fun punch of color and texture.

and this amazingly sweet swing chair! um, duh!

make sure to enter the CB2 and Novogratz Brasil Sweepstakes for a chance to win a one week stay {with three best buds} at courtney and robert's beautiful brazilian vacation home in trancoso, brazil! {there will be 10 other lucky winners who receive the book "home by novogratz" and $100 giftcard to CB2}

you can bet i am entering:) 

may sponsors post

the lovely time of the month {no, not that one} when i share some of the special deals offered to carissa miss readers!

happy shopping

coconut lime pie

I missed last month's dessert challenge because i had family in town but i COULD NOT miss this month's. coconut and lime are the quintessential tastes of summer. thinking about all the things that i love that have coconut and/or lime....brazilian limeade, key lime pie, pina coladas, ooey gooey chewy bars...is your mouth watering yet? we haven't had hot weather yet, but the spring temperatures have been so pleasant. 

i decided to post my recipe for key lime pie. well, it's not technically key lime since i just use regular limes, but you all know what i mean right?

ingredients:

crust:

18 whole graham crackers

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup coconut
{or just buy a pre-made graham cracker crust}

filling:
1 Tbs lime zest
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice {about 12-15 limes}
2 whole egg yolks
1 can sweetend condensed milk

directions:
1) preheat oven to 350 degrees
2) prepare crust by opening pkg. {oh, or if you're making it yourself, make it like the oreo crust i made here.} sprinkle your coconut over the crust. be as generous as you like.
3) in a mixing bowl, combine lime zest, lime juice, and egg yolks. add the sweetened condensed milk and mix until it thickens and then pour mixture into crust. bake for 15 minutes until set.
4) cool and refrigerate until completely set and chilled. {at least an hour!} pioneerwoman inspired

serve completely by itself. {or, if you have to have cream, you can add it. i prefer it completely unadulterated. thankyouverymuch.}

serving size on this pie may be only one...