This post is sponsored by Sherwin-Williams. Thank you for supporting the companies that help make this blog possible. And thank you to Sherwin-Williams for providing the paint for this project.

After weeks of scraping, sanding, priming and painting. I’m so excited to share with you Dylan’s fresh new bedroom. This is such a good example of the power of paint to transform a space. And you can see already that we definitely had some FUN with paint. And I have some new favorite Sherwin-Williams colors that I want to share with you.

Before I share all the AFTERS with you, let’s go back and look at the BEFORES. And, I need to explain, we bought the house with it this way, we just hadn’t had the time or money to tackle it before now. So, for more then 3 years, Dylan has lived with dingy, army green trim and windows ( and not a pretty shade) that was peeling and chipping everywhere. He definitely didn’t complain, but it wasn’t a room I was proud to show off either.

You can see right away that Dylan’s room is HUGE. We bought an inexpensive futon/hide-a-bed sofa when we first moved in to use as an extra guest bed. He even has space for a TV (because I didn’t want video games in our living room). I’m going to be a little bit of a tease and not show you ALL the room quite yet, because while we didn’t replace everything, we did make a couple of really cool upgrades to the space. And I have to say that this was probably the best timing for a room makeover now that Dylan spends most of his days in here. While he can’t be hanging out with his friends or even attending school, at least he has a clean, bright spot to live in while we are sheltering in place.

Ok, now let’s look at that after again. Ahhhhh, it’s like a breathe of fresh air. Above and below you can see the real difference. This is the same window and trim, but with a brand new look.

Now let’s talk paint and PREP. I can’t emphasis enough how important prep is when it comes to painting, especially in a 100 year old house. When I say I’m going to “paint” a room, the actually paint-brush-in-hand time is really is only about 20% of the time, the rest of the time is spent sanding, tack clothing, priming, sanding again, tack clothing again, taping, painting, maybe sanding a bit more, then painting another coat, and then hours of taking down tape and scraping windows.

So, here’s my process:

• Sand and Scrap
• Wipe down with TSP solution or tack cloth.
• Tape all the windows.
• Prime (if you have an old house, don’t mess around with a cheap primer you may be painting over oil based paint). Sherwin–William’s Extreme Bond Primer will cover EVERYTHING!.
• After I have primed, then I go back and look for areas that might need to be filled with caulk or sanded a bit more.
• Tack cloth again to remove any dust.
• Paint the trim and windows first. I had to do 2 coats on everything.
• Finally, paint the walls.

Here’s the paint sheens and colors I used. NUMBER 1 – only buy the BEST – Sherwin-William’s Emerald. I trust Sherwin-Williams products because for more then 150 years, they have been an industry leader in the development of technologically advance paint and coatings. And if you have ever gone into one of their 4,000 neighborhood stores, you know that you are going to get expert help and advice.

• For the windows, trim and doors, I used Emerald in a satin sheen in the color Alabaster. If I was painting trim in a kitchen or bathroom, I would probably step of the sheen a notch and use semi-gloss.
• For the walls, I love Emerald in a matte sheen. And I used the color Gossamer Veil SW 9165.
• For the Arch Mural (aka the rainbow), I used (in this order) Sierra Redwood SW 7598, Brandywine SW 7710, Alabaster SW 7008, Lazy Gray SW 6254, and Black Magic SW 6991.

Gossamer Veil is my new favorite grey. It’s perfectly soft and even a little warm. I really didn’t want a blue or cool based warm at all. This is actually one of the only rooms in our house that does’t have Alabaster White on the walls. I had a grey and charcoal moment about 10 years ago and stuck with it in our last home. But, when we moved here, I was ready for crisp white walls. Dylan really wanted grey though, so I gave the boy his desire and I’m actually really glad I did. His room has AMAZING windows. And now that they are all white, the soft grey walls really help them stand out.

Now, let’s talk about the Arch Mural. I have know for a good year, that I wanted to do something like this is Dylan’s room. Dyl is 16, but he’s very artistic and I knew he would appreciate it. He has opinions all colors and patterns and really has pretty great taste. We drew up so many different shapes and ideas, but I really wanted a retro 70s 80s vibe for him and you know I have a thing for Arches. We played with lots of color combinations, and finally landed on this one. Every time we added too many colors, it just felt like a rainbow, and we really wanted something kind of masculine. For the longest time, I assumed there would be the color green in this room, but when I found that cute orange lamp last month the whole color scheme shifted.

This really was not that hard to paint. I didn’t even use tape, I just drew the lines on with a pencil and painted in each stripe. I started by making 4 inch wide stripes with a level. I made them all 5 feet tall. Then with a thumb tack, a pencil and a string, I drew half circles to line up with the stripes. It’s definitely NOT perfect but when you step back it looks really pretty great.

I kind of liked the idea of tucking this mural behind the dresser a little bit. I originally thought maybe there should be more to this mural, but once I got it up I decided it really was a bold enough statement as is.

There is lots more to share with this room (it’s a big room). Stay tuned, I’ll be back with more.

The post is sponsored by Ghirardelli. Thank you for supporting the brands that help make this blog possible.

I feel like we need Easter and Spring more than ever this year. A sign of hope and a reason to celebrate is definitely what I need. This is definitely going to be a weird Easter, I don’t know about you, but I want to make sure my kids really have some fun to wake up to Easter morning.

This year I had a lot of fun with my kid’s baskets. I started with their favorite Ghirardelli chocolates and then ran with a monochromatic color scheme for each basket. I took each of their favorite colors and customized the basket and then selected Ghirardelli treats to go with that color. It was really such a fun challenge, and my kids were really excited when they saw their baskets for the first time.

To start, I purchased some chipwood baskets and some fabric dye. And really, dying the baskets took just a couple minutes. I simply filled a large plastic container with hot water and about 1/2 a bottle of fabric dye. Then I immersed the basket in the dye for just a minute to achieve the desired colors. I was pleasantly surprised, because the color actually turned out more vibrant and saturated after the basket had dried completely out in the sun.

Here’s what I used for dye to get the colors I did:

• ORANGE/PEACH – tangerine fabric dye
• TEAL – teal fabric dye
• GREEN – green apple fabric dye

Once the baskets were completely dry, I added a complimentary ribbon around the center of the basket. I’m not a huge bow person, but these basket’s would look adorable with a big bow as well.

And then the fun part began, filling the baskets! I used the bright orange, green and teal bags of Ghirardelli Easter Chocolates to inspire the color of the baskets and all they other treats I added. I started with coordinating paper grass and then layered in Ghirardelli Easter treats and a few little toys and treats for my kids.

My kids are at 3 very different stages of life, so I’ll share some of the gift ideas I put in their baskets. Mostly just some yummy chocolate and then a few items that I know they will use.

THE ORANGE BASKET – Olivia is 8 years old and in 2nd grade:

• Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Eggs (they are in a bright orange bag)
• a stuffed bunny toy
• hair clips and a headband
• nail polish
• mechanical pencils
• a squishy, bouncy toy
• plastic eggs filled with even more chocolate

THE TEAL BASKET – Denali is 18 and a Freshman in College:

• Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Caramel Bunnies (in a pretty teal bag)
• Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Bunny
• a mini stuffed bunny + little wind up chick
• hair clips and a headband
• a scented candle
• mechanical pencils
• mini vase
• earrings

THE GREEN BASKET – Dylan is 16 and a Junior in High School:

• Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Bunnies
• Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Eggs
• leather journal
• mechanical pencils
• cologne
• puzzle
• plastic eggs filled with even more chocolates

And then finally I added some fresh flowers to each of the baskets.

These are probably the prettiest Easter baskets my kids have ever gotten. And I’m actually excited to use the baskets for storage and farmer’s market shopping once they’ve enjoyed all the treats.

One of my goals for 2020 was to really invest in my blog again. The last couple of years I have explored ways to take my work more offline and experimented with a lot more local design work and freelance photography. I’m definitely a 42 year old that is still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. I TRY a lot of things. And one thing I have really discovered after dipping my toes in a lot of different waters, is that I LOVE blogging. I am almost 9 years into this, and I’m not ready to give up on Oleander + Palm yet. I know folks don’t read blogs as much as they did even 3 years ago, but I’m proud of this little corner of the internet that I’ve put so much time and energy into. So, let’s have some fun again, and I think I want to start a new series.

My goal is to share a floral arrangement every month here. I am NOT a florist and definitely don’t think I am an expert in this field at all. It’s just a medium I want to play with more. So, I thought I would take you along with my little creative experiment. Because, who doesn’t like flowers? Even if I mess it up, how can it not be pretty when you are working with flowers?

In the future, I will shoot a lot more step by step for you.

I’m going to do my best to share the “recipe” for this arrangement I put together. I used my favorite vase which has a floral frog top to it. I love this vase because I can get a full, wide arrangement without using floral oasis (which really is not great for the environment).

It’s February, so all I wanted was to add PINK to our home. I went to my local floral wholesale shop and just shopped for inspiration. The sweet peas where the first thing to catch my eye. We got married in the summer of 1998 in Alberta, Canada. For our table centerpieces at the reception, we gathered sweet peas for neighbors yards. So sweet peas feel nostalgic and familiar to me. Sweet peas are delicate and fragile without being too exotic. They are wild and untamed and that’s really how I like more flowers best. And is there really any better smell on earth than sweet peas in a garden? Once I had the pink sweet peas, I just started adding layers of colors and textures that seemed to work together. I like the idea of breaking rules, so adding a protea felt a little quirky. Poppies and sweet peas feel a lot more country garden than the tropical vibes a protea gives off. So, I went with it.

I started off by foraging boxwood stems from our yard. Most arrangements need a base of green foliage to help them look full and alive. This is the part of an arrangement where I feel like you can save some money. Greenery can often be gathered from shrubs, trees and even weeds. I added 6-8 branches of the boxwood to the vase.

Next I placed the Protea just the the right of the center. This is a very large heavy flower, so I kept it quiet low.

My florist had very long stems on the sweet peas, this not always the case, especially when you grow them yourself. But, I kept these as long as I could and placed all 10 stems and started to create the shape of the arrangement. I like one side to be a little heavier then the other.

The Astilbe is a fantastic filler and this blush adds so much color. I kept most of these stems a little shorter than the sweet peas.

Because poppies can have a fun quirk or twist to their stems, I chose to add these right at the end. I wanted them to stand out and add a little architectural interest. And then at the end, I added a few pink roses from my yard. I don’t even know if they really were necessary, but any excuse to add something that we actually grew is fun.

Here’s the flowers I used:

• White Iceland Poppies (10 stems)
• Pink Sweet Peas (10 stems)
• Boxwood (foraged from my yard)
• Protea Ice Pink (1 stem)
• Blush Astilbe (10 stems)
• Optional – Pink Roses (3 stems)

As the week has progressed, this arrangement has just gotten better with time. A lot of the poppies where still just buds when I assembled it, but they have all opened now. I’ve had this arrangement on my mantel for 6 days now and it’s still very pretty. It is out of any direct sun, so I feel like I’ve prolonged it’s life a little.

So, here’s the question, do we like this as a new series?

Sometimes I just get to make fun stuff. And while my spices are tucked away in a cupboard, I was challenged to come up with a creative storage idea for spices for small spaces or someone just looking for something a little more unique. I love a DIY and especially one that is an IKEA hack as well.

IKEA’s Dollhouse is such sturdy, generous sized piece of furniture and it can be used for so much more than just toys. I love that this spice rack can sit on the counter, or you could mount to on the wall to clear up space a little more space. And with different sized cubbies, olive oil and vinegars can easily be stored in this DIY Spice Rack House.

The full instructions for this DIY Spice Rack House is over on Hunker. And while you are there, check out their latest posts, you are sure to be inspired.

Last year I started the year with a full month of cleaning out, sorting, organizing, and purging different areas of my home. It felt so good to give myself that challenge and stay on task everyday. So, I’m doing it again this year! Everyday, for the month of January I am tackling one area or space in our home.

Mostly, this is happening over on IG stories. I’m sharing in real time, each space as a work through them in my home.

We just finished Week 1, but it really isn’t too late to join in. You don’t have to do all the daily tasks, you can pick and chose – no judgement here. I just want to encourage you and help you find a little more order in your life.

I know for myself, my mental health and stress levels are very closely related to the state of my home. If my house is messy, I’m usually feeling overwhelmed in life. And the less stuff I have to worry about, the better.  I really believe a clean and tidy home is where a stylish home begins. And I think a lot of us want to have stylish homes. So before you go shopping, let’s donate a load to your local thrift store and make a little room.

I’ve created a check sheet here for you to print off and keep on track with all the daily tasks. You can done load it HERE.

Now, who’s ready?

I’m pretty much just looking for any opportunity to share cute pics of my kids here! And somehow I didn’t post this year’s Halloween costumes, and I always do. So, we are just going to put this here so that next year, when you are looking for some DIY inspo for your kid’s costumes, this blog post will be here and ready!

This was a weird year – ONLY 2 KIDS! With Denali off to college, it was a little strange to not think about including her. If you are new around here, I’ve always dressed my kids in matching or go-together costumes for Halloween. We love a good theme around here.

Here’s a look at some costumes from previous Halloween’s:

• Napoleon Dynamite
• Jurassic Park
• From the Garden
• Alice in Wonderland
• Famous Paintings
• BLT
• Harry Potter
• Metamorphosis
• And a bunch more

This year we decided on a Toy Story theme and figured Olivia would make a pretty cute blonde Jessie. Dylan is 16 and wasn’t sure if he really wanted to match his little sis, understandably. So, Lonnie and I decided to go as Mr. + Mrs. Potato Head with her. And then at the last minute Dylan asked to go as Woody. And I’m so glad he did. He’s a very handsome Woody and Olivia had a very rough week leading up to Halloween.

If you missed it, we had a bit of a bummer month in October. To make a long story short, the week leading up to Halloween Lonnie broke his hand on a field trip and had to have major surgery on it, our kitty Pumpkin died, Olivia broke her arm and then Halloween morning we woke up to Olivia’s bunny, Pepper, dead as well (we know think a raccoon tore into his cage). Anyways, that just the tip of the iceberg, pretty much everything that could go wrong did.

Needless to say, we wanted this Halloween to be a GREAT one for Olivia and Dylan choosing to dress up with her was a big help. She adores he brother, and Dylan is really a great big brother.

So, literally the day before and the day of Halloween I SEWED! And by some miracle we pulled off 4 Toy Story costumes. They were very simple, but I think they worked.

For Olivia’s Jessie costume. I made her shirt and chaps. I used a long sleeve white T for the base and stitched on some yellow fabric and red rope trim. Because of her cast, I had to add the cuffs of the shirt just with safetly pins, but it totally worked. For the chaps, I lined some cow hide print cotton with white felt to make them a little stiffer and then just attached them to some elastic around her waist and also at her knees. The hat we found on amazon for $6 and she wore her own jeans and boots. We wanted to make a red yarn wig, but we just ran out of time and steam, but I think our little blonde Jessie is still pretty darn cute.

For Dylan’s Woody costume, I just made him a super simple vest with the same cow hide cotton and felt that I used on the chaps. He wore his own jeans, one of his Dad’s yellow checked shirts and my hat and red bandana. You really don’t get easier than that with a costume.

And Lonnie and I went as Mr. + Mrs. Potato Head. I ordered two camel colored sweaters from amazon and then cut out all the face parts in felt. Olivia decided we should wear our faces all mixed up because of the crazy week we had just experienced. Because I didn’t want to ruin the sweaters, we just adhered the felt eyes, ears, lips, etc. with duct tape and everything stuck all night.

Anyways, thanks for humoring me with these very late Halloween pics. I hope yours was memorable. Now, do you think I can get one more year out of matching costumes with Dylan?