Vibrant Bistro Chairs

Check out these great new vibrant colored bistro chairs new at Dwellings this season.

Aren't they fabulous?

My favorite is definitely the citrine color.

Check out Dwellings on Facebook.

Shop Dwellings in historic downtown LeClaire, Iowa.

Looking for the perfect Midwest weekend getaway?

Dine.Shop.Stay.

LeClaire, Iowa.

Carrie

paticipating

Miss Mustard Seed

Mother's Day Centerpiece

A Mother's Day Centerpiece.

Are you entertaining guests for Mother's Day?

I thought I would share how I took my simple Spring Centerpiece,

to a perfect casual centerpiece for a Mother's Day brunch, lunch or casual dinner.

First I filled my white pitcher overflowing with these fresh green Snowball Viburnum.

 I added a smaller container & filled them with a pop of purple from the clematis from the trellis.

For a casual get together I like to place stacked plates for easy access right in the center of the table.

I think it sets the tone for your guests that it is intended to be a casual occassion.

The silverware I placed in a third small pitcher.

I think this table setting makes for a casual comfortable environment when guests arrive.

It also saves you a little time as the host.

When the meal is ready, you don't have to spend time setting the table or getting out the dinnerware.

White dishes are a must have for me.

I love white serveware, dishes, pitchers, platters...you name it.

You can never have too much white serveware in my opinion.

White is a staple you can use in a casual or formal setting

The best part about this table setting is I did it all without spending a penny.
By using the basic essential dinnerware I had & basic white pitchers
all that was left was taking time to cut some fresh flowers from the garden.
Once that was done a few more minutes arranging the pitchers & done.
Simple. Casual. Beautiful.

What are your Mother's Day plans?

Carrie

Participating
Home Stories A to Z
Savvy Southern Style
The Shabby Creek Cottage
The Shabby Nest
Remodelaholic

Spring Centerpiece

 A Spring Centerpeice

Classic.  Simple.  Elegant.

The perfect simple Spring Centerpiece for any occasion.

I love to add floral inside my home whenever I can.

I think it really adds an extra special touch to everyday living or entertaining guests.

A simple floral bouquet puts a smile on my face every time.

It also lets your guests know that you took that extra little touch

to make them feel special & welcome.

Remember the Snowball Viburnum shrubs I shared with you?

If you haven't seen them yet, you can take a peak here.

Well, I couldn't resist bringing some inside for little pop of Spring for the table.

I used a white pitcher for a vase, a staple you must have in my opinion.

I filled the pitcher overflowing with the Snowball Viburnums just sweetly spilling over.

{Tip}

If you cut your stems at and angle before placing them in water

& prune some of the extra green leaves you will get a little longer life out of your blooms

I did that here & my centerpiece lasted about a week.

Now, I did not add any extra nutrients for the plant to the water.

You could also do that to extend the life of the bloom a bit longer.

Planning on entertaining for Mother's Day?

You may want to see how I transformed this simple Spring Centerpiece

into a casual Mother's Day table setting click here.

Carrie

Participating

Between Naps on the Porch

Home Stories A to Z

Simply Sunday ~ Snowball Viburnums

Welcome to Simply Sunday at The Corson Cottage.

The day of the week that we take time out to appreciate the simple things in life.

This Sunday I wanted to share one my favorite Spring blooms with you.

This is a view from the garden in my Mom's backyard

a little piece of heaven my Dad left behind for us.

{The Snowball Viburnum}

Snowball Viburnums are a classic flowering shrub that graces

us with her breathtaking blooms every Spring anywhere from April into May.

Aren't they simply magnificent?

The stately flowering shrubs can grow anywhere from 12 to 20 feet high and across.

With blooms from 3-8 inches wide.

I love the Chinese Snowball Viburnum probably because they remind

me of another of my favorites, Hydrangeas.

The great thing about the Snowball Viburnum is they actually give two types of blooms.

In early Spring when the blooms first appear they are the perfect lime green color.

As the blooming season continues they open to the large full  luscious white blooms you see here.

The large scale flowering shrubs make for a classic border in any yard.

Once their blooming season is done they begin to take a back seat and provide a

nice hearty green border for the remainder of the summer.

I hope you have a simply wonderful Sunday & remember to slow down

& take time to appreciate life's simlple treasures sometime today.

Carrie

participating
It's Overflowing
Between Naps on the Porch
Savvy Southern Style
The Shabby Creek Cottage

Our Renovation ~ Demolition

Demolition has begun!!!

Well truly, demo began back in the beginning of March.

We have been so busy, that it is difficult to keep up on my renovation posts.

Let me begin to catch you up to speed.

If you missed Our Renovation befores take a look
here and here.

Come on in & we'll show you what we've been up to!

All in a day's work.

No...literally Travis & a buddy did all of this demo on a Saturday.

Seriously...

I was absolutely blown away amazed!

I had no idea demo would go so quick.

The Living Room.

Bet you've never cleaned a mess quite like this before.

That disgusting pile is about 1-2 foot deep.

The Living Room Ceiling

From the Living Room looking into the Dining Room area.

He has spotted a treasure in the  upstairs to show me.

Let there be light.

There is 120 year old door upstairs that serves the purpose of a window.

Do you suppose the house originally had a balcony?

I would love to find out.

This is really some of our first glimpse of what is upstairs.

The upstairs had been completely closed off.

Because it is an old home the upstairs appears have been originally

almost loft like.  The ceilings are not full height.

There are two seperate rooms. Maybe at one time they were bedrooms.

There are no remaining stairs to access the second floor in the house,

 though we can see where they once were.

Because of the ceiling height we are not planning to remodel this part of the house for now.

Although, that totally bums me out.....

I think it would make the perfect reading nook or look out tower with great river views.

But, it just was not in the original budget & that is something we have to stick too!

Travis also said that without completely rebuilding & raising the roof line,

we would have to drop the ceiling height on the main level in order for those

rooms to be full height.....NO WAY!  I LOVE the tall ceilings on the main level!

Another down fall was that we would have to reconfigure the entire floor plan to

accomodate stairs leading to the second floor. 

 Stairways eat up a lot of square footage quickly in a smaller home.

So, again we wayed the pros & cons & he won....for now....

The kitchen & dining room

This is the existing addtion / bedrooms.

Which we plan to remove & rebuild.

Bedroom

Bedroom looking into the other bedroom & addition.

I think at this point some folks think we may be a bit on the crazy side.

Not us!  Dreams are coming true here for us!

It has been truly amazing to be back in our home town.

I can not begin to tell you how many visitors & guests

we have already had on the first weekend at the new house. 

All of our friends & family have stopped by to see the progress & lend a hand.

I really don't think we had a free moment to spare for at about the first two weeks.

I can't remember a time when we had guests & my house was this dirty...

Thank you so much to all of you!!!

It means the world to us both.

Keep checking our progress!

Lots more to come.

Carrie

participating

It's Overflowing
Between Naps on the Porch
Savvy Southern Style

The Shabby Creek Cottage
Remodelaholic

It Worked!

Thanks so much to Diane from Blue Ridge Gal who helped me out

we now have a pretty new blog header all situated in the center

where it was intended to be all along.

She was so sweet,she actually resized my header & fixed it all up & sent it me to upload.

Sometimes it really is amazing how kind the blogging community can be:)

Thanks Diane, you're the best!!!

Carrie



I Need Your Help

As I'm sure you may have noticed I have been giving my blog a little TLC lately.

Just as I try to DIY things in my home, I thought I would try to teach myself a little about my blog.

So, needless to say , I have been DIYing my blog layout the whole way.

Slowyllllly....but surely.

But folks...

I NEED HELP!!!

Does anyone know how to get that cute little header up top there centered???

I can not figure it out for the life of me...

I have googled...binged...no luck.

I have tryed inserting the code I find in my searches, but it never works.

I may just have to break down & find a blog design company to help me out.

Any suggestions would be sooo much appreciated!

Carrie



Custom Invitations

Yesterday I shared pics from a wedding shower I recently hosted for my soon to be sister-in-law.
Haven't seen the shower pics yet, click here to take a peak.

When planning the shower, I just knew I wanted to find custom invitations on Etsy.

Here is what I ordered.

What do you think???

I think it turned out super cute, right?

Well, I wanted to introduce you to the cute little Etsy shop where we found

several great custom invitations to choose from.

Nicole from Designs By Nicolina is so creative & talented I just love her work.

She was super sweet, helpful & efficient with our order as well.

Thanks Nicole!!!

Of course, I was in a hurry (aren't we all) & she helped to put a rush on my order

so we could get our invites out in time a few weeks before the shower.

Here are a few of my favorite invitations in her shop now.

Stop by & check out her shop for your next party.

 

Preppy Grey & Black Chevron Stripe

Retro Dandelion

Love Birds

Chevron Ombre Banner

After ordering the last few invites I have needed from Etsy shops,

I really don't think I would go any other way in the future.

Nicole's prices were all very reasonable & you just can't find

invites that are so creative anywhere else.

The level of service from a small business is remarkable as well!

Thanks again Nicole!  We truly appreciate all you did for us.

Ordering Custom Invitations?

Here's a couple tips to get you started.

{Tip}

When ordering your next invitations.

Go custom!

Try Etsy.

Most shops are small businesses & are all about the customer.

I have had great experiences & would highly recommend it to anyone.

Some sellers will even help you to create a customized invitation all your own.

Be sure to ask them if they do so, some shops charge a small fee too.

{Tip}

If you try Etsy some shops will do the printing for you for a fee.

Other shops will provide you with an electronic image to have printed yourself.

Which is what we did in this case.  We were on a tight schedule & did not

have time to allow for custom invites to be printed.  So, once we received the

image of the invitation we headed off to Kinko's to have them printed.

We could have gone to a local print shop & had them done for about $30.

All together we spent about $40 for super cute custom shower invitations.

Carrie

linking up to

Home Stories A to Z

The Shabby Creek Cottage

 

Hosting a Bridal Shower

Last weekend my aunt, cousin & myself hosted a bridal shower for my future sister-in-law.
Katie Crane will be marrying my little brother Matt in June.

Our guest of honor.

We had a Sunday brunch on a beautiful Spring day in downtown LeClaire.

Katies' family made the trip from out of town & several local family

friends & family members attended as well.

The shower was held at the local Civic Center.

This space has a history with for our family, so it seemed the perfect place to hold the shower.

My Mother & Father actually held their wedding reception in this location over 40 years ago.

All of our family showers are hosted here as was my bridal shower just 2 1/2 years ago.

Of course we had to put Katie on the spot a bit & ask her a series of questions about her groom.

She was a great sport & I hope she had a little fun too:)

Their wedding colors are a marine blue & fuchsia.

We made these tissue pom poms for pops of their wedding colors.

The tables were decorated with these simple Hydrangea bouquets in clear glass vases.

Welcome to our family Katie!

We had a great time coordinating & hosting your shower!

Both you & your family were so gracious & kind.

Wishing you all the best as you begin all of the fun details leading up to your big day!

Carrie

{Tip}
Here's a tip for hosting your next shower.
I think added touches of fresh floral help create a soft touch in the space.
Try to find a fun and whimsical way to set the mood through the atmosphere for your guests.
Creating a warm & inviting space makes helps everyone relax & enjoy themselves.
Here we used the pom poms to brighten up this room & add a little fun.
Note: Less is More in this case.
We were actually planning to hang more pom poms, but as we began hanging them.
We decided it would have been a bit too much. 

linking up to

Between Naps on the Porch

Home Stories A to Z

Savvy Southern Style

The Shabby Creek Cottage

{Happy Easter}

Happy Easter!

Hope you have a wonderful day.

Carrie

Restoration Hardware ~ Does Blue

You know how I feel about blue.

This may be my interior design heaven.

Living.

Dining.

Bedrooms.



Bath.





Have you received your Restoration Hardware Bible yet?

Carrie