Saturday Meanderings - Life at Bella Terra

Happy Saturday and Easter weekend! We are having picture-perfect weather and our house guests are enjoying clear skies, sunshine and 72 degrees. Everything is in bloom and the air is fragrant with the smells of jasmine and orange blossoms. Thanks for joining me for our weekly Saturday Meanderings where we talk about all good things and fun finds on the internet.

Lots of Character

Isn’t this powder room stunning? Such an interesting combination of classic, contemporary, expected and unexpected. Done by Marie Flanigan in a modern Houston home, I love it all. The rest of the home is too contemporary and a bit impersonal for me, but I do appreciate the style of this bathroom. To see the rest of the house, click here.

Before and After

I love a good Before and After and especially when it involves a $7.00 thrifted cabinet find. As featured on Apartment Therapy, here is the Before of the cabinet.

Here is the After. Isn’t this amazing? First of all, how clever to turn the cabinet over and add legs. But what a gorgeous color and flower treatment. To see more about how this artist person converts this junky piece into something fabulous, click here. Wishing I had foresight like this~to re-imagine a piece this way. What a gift.

I Need Your Help

2 Wicker chairs – will be located indoors

There are two large wicker chairs in the pool house that are painted black with buffalo check (black/white)cushions and small lumbar pillows. As is, they are not in keeping with the fresh, updated crisp look in the pool house. So, do I:

Get rid of them (sell or donate)
Re-do them. If so, how?

My thoughts are to paint the wicker a navy blue and find a fun, updated blue patterned fabric for the cushions. They are very comfortable and provide seating to those hanging out in the new kitchenette in the pool house.

I have some of this Blue Radish linen fabric from Radish Moon leftover from the re-do of my son’s bedroom that I could use on the lumbar pillows. To see that bedroom update, click here.

You have such great ideas so I am excited to hear what you think!

Making Eggnog

I know what you are thinking~why are you making eggnog in April? Well, last year we made eggnog in January for our Christmas festivities. We are a little late in doing so this year, but this Alton Brown recipe can be made at any time. But trust me, making it early will provide you with a delicious, creamy and smooth beverage come holiday time.

My sweet husband makes this and the bottles will sit in our refrigerator for the next 8 months. Find the truly fabulous aged eggnog recipe here.

Cute Ideas for a Garden Party

Every spring when our weather is glorious, I dream of having a garden party. It’s yet to happen but this recent post by Michele at Vintage Home Designs has me inspired. Look how adorable this is!

And check out this garden apron which is the perfect place to hold guest gifts or just to add to the garden theme. So darn clever!

To see the entire post on this garden party tablescape, click here.

All Things Decoupage

Who knew you could use napkins to transform a lamp? Well, that’s my friend, Rachel. I bet if I was standing next to her, she would figure out a way to make me into something else! I am always in awe of her talents.

Look at the rather unattractive Before lamp photo:

To this amazing and completely gorgeous lamp:

When you consider all the different napkin (or hand towel) styles out there, think of the possibilities! To see Rachel’s very detailed post on how to transform this $1.00 thrift store lamp, click here.

Such pretty eggs from My Little White Barn

Speaking of decoupage, I follow My Little White Barn on Instagram (@mylittlewhitebarn)and look at these adorable green bunny Easter eggs Shannon makes. And I happen to have the exact same paper hand towels in my powder room right now. If I have time this weekend, I would love to make these. Here is her blog, though I did not see these eggs posted there.

Happy Easter

Today I am making the annual Lamb Cake, a tradition that has been in my family since I was a little girl. Since we are having quite a few people for Sunday dinner, I may make a chicken cake too. Do you know that in my basement I have molds for lambs, a chicken, a bunny and a turkey. Isn’t that insane? But to make it easier this year, I am trying the boxed Trader Joe’s Meyer Lemon cake. They were completely sold out of the Blood Orange cake I mentioned last week.

Poppies are in bloom everywhere in our yard

This week I could go on and on as there are so many things I want to share with you, but I know you are ready to enjoy your holiday weekend. We had a few not so good things happen this week. My youngest daughter broke her foot and it’s been very challenging finding a doctor who has an open appointment. She’s in a boot and on crutches so we are awaiting the prognosis. But she’s young (21) and will heal quickly.

Cooper, our 9 year old Akbash (a big white dog), isn’t feeling well. The diagnosis is not good, but we are praying that he stays with us for as long as possible. It’s hard to even write about it without crying, but we are keeping hopeful.

Wishing you a blessed Easter and a joyful Spring weekend. We feel blessed that all our children (and their friends) will be spending the holiday with us. It’s all about family, isn’t it? Thank you for sharing your time with me today. I truly appreciate it.