During a recent trip to Home Depot, I found a few fun things and bargains that I want to share with you. Typically, when I think of Home Depot, lumber, plumbing and hardware comes to mind. But in the last few years, Home Depot has become so much more. Here is a list of some of the fun finds and bargains I discovered. Also, this is not a sponsored post by Home Depot, only my personal recommendations.

If you do not get their seasonal catalog, I would highly recommend signing up for it. Here is an online version of their Summer one, which is chock-a-block full of ideas on summer home decor and entertaining. Granted, many of these products are not in the actual stores, but ordering online is very easy.

If you are doing your summer canning, click this link to see all the supplies Home Depot offers.

Unique tile

Recently, I ordered this beautiful green tile for our barbecue backsplash from Home Depot. They have an extensive tile collection on their website. Their stores tend to inventory what is popular or a best-selling item, but if you are looking for something unique and different, try their website. If you missed the blog post on the BBQ project, please click here.

Lanterns

During my latest trip I picked up these fabulous outdoor lanterns. They are 22″ tall. This must be the clearance price, but the cost is $12.98 each. I purchased two and went back and bought the remaining 3. When I first checked, they were available online at the price. But I believe they are now out of stock online. However, you may only get this price at the store level. Check out the inventory in your local store too.

Think of all the different ways they can be used for fall and Christmas decorating!

Even the smaller 14″ lantern sitting next to this one on the shelf, was more expensive (regular price $24.98 reduced to $16.00). Go figure.

Right now, they are sitting outside on the covered porch of the cabin. The battery operated candle is not included, but I have several of those anyway. Isn’t this just a steal? It feels so good to get a bargain!

Halloween Items

In the fall, Home Depot also has the BEST selection of Halloween items. A few years back, I ordered several fun decorations, all done from the comfort of my home. They were ready for me to pick up at my local store~~which now with their curbside pickup makes shopping a breeze. It appears that Halloween items will be available after August 1.

Entertaining

Check out the variety of entertaining items in their catalog! Their photos are beautifully staged and they also include a recipe for Grapefruit Rosemary Cocktail.

With the holidays coming, Home Depot’s prices are so affordable for glasses, dishes and serving pieces. Check out some of the fun items here.

And look how cute these blue and white melamine plates are? Perfect for outdoor use or pretty enough for indoor entertaining too!

I’m not sure how much holiday entertaining any of us will be doing, but check out these sweet oversized red and white dish towels for $2.49 each. Aren’t they ideal for wrapping baked goods or lining a gift basket. The online price is less than the catalog at$18.00 for 8 ($2.25 each).

Another fun find is a set of ceramic dinnerware that I purchased for our cabin. This is the first time I have ordered dishes from Home Depot, and am delighted with this set. Online price is $116.12 for the 16-piece set.

Outdoor Furniture Covers

Finding a good quality outdoor furniture cover is a challenge for me. They are not inexpensive and often, made of plastic, which doesn’t last more than one season. This new purchase from Home Depot is an attractive brown and beige fabric. It’s large size can accommodate a big table and 6-8 chairs.

This cover has handles and a venting system on either end. So far I am impressed with the quality and the roomy construction. Let’s see if it will survive the elements. So if you are looking for outdoor furniture covers, the collection online is rather extensive. Online price for this one is $41.98.

If you click on the links I provided, it will take you to the Home Depot website. If you decide to buy something, I may get a small stipend at no cost to you!

Home Depot’s fall catalog will be mailed sometime in August so keep your eyes open for it. Now with more online ordering and curbside pickup or home delivery, you can truly enjoy the vast number of fun Home Depot items.

This post shared with Thursday Favorite Things #450 with An Artful Mom

We have an old 2 stall horse barn on our property. We’ve never had horses even though the girls REALLY wanted them. I am always so impressed with those that do take care of animals larger than themselves.

Here’s what the barn looked like when we first purchased our home in 1999.

In 2011, my friend Susan and I turned the barn into a base for our business, 2 Connecticut Yankees. Susan LOVES to shop for unique items, which we would offer at a small mark up. The idea was to come to the barn, have a bite to eat, shop and socialize.

We freshened up the exterior of the barn with Ralph Lauren Barn Red paint. New flooring was added and the interior painted a bright white. String lights helped with the dismal lighting.

We had great fun and this venture lasted a few years. But we both got busy with our lives. Most of the items have sold, but the barn is still full of “stuff”.

It was finally time for me to sweep out the cobwebs and see what was behind the barn doors.

As dirty as the barn was, it was fun to find some treasures that I had forgotten about. Here is an old 1894 hope chest I had purchased for my daughter, Elisabeth.

Elisabeth also fell in love with a set of Limoges china when she was a little girl. I finally found the original set of dishes and some linens to match.

Each piece needed cleaning as years’ worth of dust had settled on them.

But slowly things sprang into life.

Here is the barn, all fresh and clean.

Susan and I need to decide what to do with the remaining items in the barn. I personally LOVE this piece I got at Round Top antique fair. Originally a display counter at one of the high end retailers in the early 1940s, it would make a fabulous kitchen island.

You may not know this but my website has a STORE tab with items that are still available. They’ve been all wrapped up and protected. If you are interested in any of them, please email me directly at [email protected]. I imagine that we will try to sell the rest on eBay, once I get my act together!

If you have a big project to tackle, happy cleaning! This was a very satisfying project.

A year ago today, I sent my first blog post of Life at Bella Terra.  It was an intimidating moment, because I thought “who would ever want to read this?”  I don’t consider myself a very good writer and I’m really trying to improve upon that.  But your words of encouragement have brought me back to the computer to post again and again.  If it wasn’t for your kindness and support, it would have been easy to just quit.  Thank you for your loyalty and feedback and comments. Truly. From the bottom of my heart.

Each time I send out an email letting you know I’ve created a new post, I am praying you find it interesting, enlightening or even motivating.  I try to share a small piece of loveliness in hopes that I can brighten your day. As I look out into the world, I believe we each need to find sources of joy and create our own beauty.  Whether it be feeling the warmth from a freshly picked tomato, or the scent of a homegrown flower, these moments of perfection can only help feed the soul.

Blogging for me, is a chance to stop and capture a sliver of time, an exquisite photo or a recipe that bursts with flavor. Plus it is forcing me to attack those cluttered corners of the house or undone projects while showing you my progress. But I can honestly say, I am still a long way from feeling confident about creatively illustrating that to you. But I will keep trying.

So here is a look back at the year and some of my favorite photos and posts.

My very first blog post was about the New York Times Bestselling author, Rhys Bowen and the fundraising English tea we had here at Bella Terra.

And other events we happily hosted here…..

Recipes shared…..

My Renovations and Restorations….

Travel and leisure…..

Decorating and Design…

The holidays….

Cleaning, Organizing, and Updating…

Sharing our home and yard….

My attempt at art….

Flower arranging..

Our pets…

And a few DIYs….

My online store….

There is still so much to learn, especially better photography, writing and getting my watermarks the same size on every photo.  So thank you again for following me and sharing my blog with others.

PLEASE send in your comments~~What area of interest would you like for me to expand? What are your favorite topics? How often should I post (trying to do a maximum of twice per week)? What can I do to be better for you?  My goals for the next year are to do a contest or giveaway and conduct a real survey into your likes and interests.

Here’s to one year and onto the next!! I couldn’t have done it without you.

 

 

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February is the month of romance. I do some limited decorating for this fun holiday-who doesn’t love the colors of red or pink! As with most holidays, I am interested in its origins, its traditions and why we celebrate.  Here are a few fun facts about Valentine’s Day.

1. The most popular theory about the Valentine’s Day origin is that Emperor Claudius II didn’t want Roman men to marry during wartime.  Bishop Valentine went against his wishes and performed secret weddings.  For this, Valentine was jailed and executed.  While in prison, he wrote a note to the jailor’s daughter signing it “from your Valentine.”

2. The red rose was the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love.

3.  In 1537, England’s King Henry VII officially declared February 14th the holiday of St. Valentine.

4. In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who would be their Valentine.  They would wear this name pinned onto their sleeves for one week for everyone to see.  This was the origin of the expression “to wear your heart on your sleeve.”

5. Every Valentine’s Day, the Italian city of Verona, where Shakespeare’s lovers Romeo and Juliet lived, receives about 1,000 letters addressed to Juliet.

6.Based on retail statistics, about 3 per cent of pet owners will give Valentine’s Day gifts to their pets.

7. Arizona became the 48th State on February 14, 1912.

8. In addition to the United States, Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Denmark, Italy and Japan.

9.  141 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine’s Day the second most-popular greeting card-giving occasion.

10. Physicians of the 1800s commonly advised their patients to eat chocolate to calm their pining for lost love. (Now that’s a good excuse!)

For your information:

The colorful painting was done by me last year in my attempt to do a new one for each holiday.

The pets featured above are:  Cooper,  an Akbash (from the Anatolian Shepherd family); Sox, our pocket Beagle; Tippy and Donovan- stray cats our girls found/rescued/captured in the yard.

The heart-shaped ravioli was made last Valentine’s Day from a recipe I found online.  If you have a heart- shaped cookie cutter, it was a relatively easy recipe to follow.

And if you love the wheat-etched spooner holding the tulips, you can purchase it through my online store!

Wishing you a happy and loving Valentine’s Day!

 

It’s been such a learning curve to understand the concept of selling online.  However, we are HOPING that all the bugs have been worked out and that shopping on our site will be easy and fun.  Nearly all of the items are one-of-a-kind so if you love it, purchase it quickly!  To start shopping, please go to the Store tab at the top of the Life at Bella Terra website. If you have ANY problems or questions, please contact us immediately. To see the original story of 2 Connecticut Yankees, click here.

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Here is one of my favorite winter salad recipes (by Pinch of Yum).  Pomegranates grow well here in Phoenix and they are the perfect addition to any dish this time of year because of the vibrant, red color of the juicy, gem-like seeds. Some stores offer the seeds already extracted from the fruit.  If you purchase them this way, make sure they are fresh.  I like getting the fruit and taking the seeds out myself.  If you extract the seeds over a bowl of water, the seeds will sink to the bottom and the paper-like inner fruit membrane will float.  Just skim that off and drain the seeds!

The ingredients include:  kale, walnuts, feta cheese, wild rice and pomegranates.

I like Uncle Ben’s Ready Whole Grain Medley which is a combination of brown and wild rice. It’s pre-cooked and ready to use after 90 seconds in the microwave.  Easy peasy.  Though the recipe calls for baby kale, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen baby kale available here.  I used regular kale and combined the green and red leafy kale for color.  The different textures and colors of the ingredients allow for a beautiful display before tossing.

The dressing is a subtle combination of shallots, honey, olive oil and vinegar.  The only labor is the chopping of the shallots.  The rest of the ingredients are easily combined in a blender or food processor.

This salad would also be perfect with a piece of grilled salmon or chicken on top.  The wild rice makes this a heartier salad that would stand up well with a protein addition. Isn’t this a pretty and festive salad?

We served this last night at an event at our home, along with my turkey chili and cornbread (doctored up with kernels of corn, cheese and diced green chiles). It was the perfect simple, cozy meal for friends. I’m all about easy and simple this time of year!

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:3]

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