Simple Flower Bed { for renters! }

We are so, so happy to live in seminary housing.  Seriously, we couldn't be happier to live in a community that understands EXACTLY what you're going through financially, spiritually, emotionally, etc.!

If you've rented before, though, you understand some of the not so exciting aspects.  I so wish we could paint our walls... I dream of updated cabinets and hardware... and most recently I despised our 'landscaping'.  (No before pictures, unfortunately!)  Imagine with me... scraggly boxwoods, half-dead, broken off, weeds galore, good ol' Mississippi clay not conducive to life except for moss...

I literally encouraged the neighborhood kids to jump on and break the bushes in hopes they would just die completely!

My sweet, sweet hubs helped me fix my sad little flower bed a couple weekends ago, and I'm so happy to share it with you!

After pulling our bushes out with our car (Hubs wrapped straps around the bushes, connected them to the car, and yanked them right out!), we broke up the clay a bit.  We were fortunate to have recently had rain so the ground was still soft.

Using pallet wood and stakes, we formed our raised box.  The front view (it's hard to tell...) is about 3 or 4 pieces of wood.  We added compost and topsoil to the dirt and mixed it up.  I chose all perennial plants so they will (hopefully) stay/come back again.  There's something about having flowers that will die after their season that makes me sad.  Don't get me wrong, they're beautiful!  I just wanted to start out with flowers and plants that I would get to enjoy for awhile!  I may plant some annuals in some pots I have on the other side of my door later...

After planting everything, we laid down some mulch.  We were fortunate to have a neighbor just outside of our townhouses that had a tree stump ground up just a day before we needed mulch.  She was so sweet to let us grab as much as we wanted!  Though mulch is not very expensive, it's always exciting to save a little bit!

Finally, I added a couple fun details.  The plain wood was bugging me a little bit, so I painted an alternating triangle pattern along the front of the box with acrylic paint.  Though the paint won't last forever, I look forward to the natural distressed/aged look after rain and sun do their thang.

I also added a chicken wire frame behind my ivy so it has a somewhere to climb!  I'm probably most excited about my ivy!  I LOVE the crawling look of the viny plants.

Walking up to my front door is SO much more exciting now!  My plants are still little and wimpy, but I can't wait to watch everything grow.  I'm excited about tending my little garden... I just hope I can keep everything alive!

For our whole project, we spent around $40.  And most of that was for the plants!  Not too shabby!

Thanks for letting me share my little garden with you, friends!

-Jess

P.S.  We are all okay after the storms yesterday.  We are so grateful for God's protection in such a scary situation.  I know others were greatly affected... Praying for restoration and peace in Mayflower, Vilonia, Tupelo, Pearl, Tupelo, and some towns in Alabama.  

{ Spring Centerpiece }

Spring has sprung!

Although my nose and sinuses are suffering, I'm so happy Spring is HERE!  The colors, the sun, the warmth, the general HAPPINESS.  I LOVE SPRING.

I decided my table needed a taste of Spring.

My sweet Mother-in-law gave me some empty spaghetti jars recently (Recycle, Reduce, Reuse, peeps!) and I knew it was time to whip out the spray paint.  I used Krylon's Pistachio, roughed up the paint a little with sandpaper, wrapped some gold string around the jars, and put some (fake) Hydrangeas in them.  DONE. 

Now I have some pretty spring colors to make me happy!

Thanks for reading, y'all!

Jess

Mason Jar Holders { For Sale! }

UPDATE:  ALL MASON JAR HOLDERS HAVE BEEN CLAIMED! Thanks for your support!

You have all seen the mason jar and pallet crazes, right??

I'm right there with ya!  My eyes are drawn the rustic-ness like a gnat to balsamic vinegar (weird comparison, I know.. just the first thing I could think of.  Anyone else have crazy gnat problems this summer???)...

If you are interested, I'm currently selling a few of these babies:

Given the fact that we are currently packing, selling a house, keeping 2 crazy toddlers from tearing down the house, a big family wedding in two weeks, the list goes on... I am limited to 10 Mason Jar Holders!

First come, first serve!

How this will work:

Leave me a message in the comments section with your NAME and E-MAIL ADDRESS, and I will contact you for payment process and other important details!

As most of you know (like pretty much our entire readership...) the 'of Dwelling and Dress' sisters live in two different towns.  

-Those that live in the Jess' town will obviously have no issue with 'shipping!  We can arrange pick-up after claiming your jar holder.

-For those that live near Rox and Aly, we can arrange pick-up in 2 weeks as I will be able to bring them to that area!

-If this doesn't apply to you or you have no idea if you live near us, we can arrange shipping!  Claim a jar holder, and we can discuss details after!

Remember I'm only selling TEN so grab one up before they're gone!

Thanks so much for the support y'all show us by taking time to keep up with our blog!  We appreciate y'all so much!!

-Jess

Guest Post: Paint-Dipped Plant Stand with Cyntia!

Y'all are in for a treat today!  We have the lovely Cyntia here to share a fun project she recently did.  I love, love her fun style and am always looking forward to her new posts on her blog!!  So, without further adieu...

Hi there! I'm Cyntia and every once in a blue moon I blog over at Cyntiae.blogspot.com. I'm currently in the middle of planning my wedding & getting our newlywed home ready so when I was asked to share something, the only thing that came to mind was my new "nesting" hobbies. 

I have been lucky to find great deals while trying to fill the new space. Read "great deals=free". I am forever grateful for anyone who offers any of their treasures! My parents were getting rid of a stool they had in storage and of course, I snatched it! At first I thought I would recover but after my new plant obsession I decided to make better use of it.

My inspiration came from pinterest/instagram of course and all of the paint dipping trends. My resources came from a trip to Lowe's where I found a glaze that can dry to look like different metal textures. They have different kinds, but I chose the stainless steel one. I applied many coats because after all it is a "glaze" and had to wait 24 hours for the coats to dry. I wanted the black to be really matte so I used some leftover chalkboard paint that I've had for way too long(so thrifty). After I finally got it to look the silver I wanted, this is what it ended up looking like!

I love my new plant stand! I made a goal to add more green to my next home when I moved in April simply because it's pretty and because instagram seems to think it's the new hip thing to do... Let's be real here. So far I have had a mint plant that didn't make it through the move...or me not watering it. So then I went with succulents. I'm still new at the succulents and my mom gave me the vine plant that is hugging the stool leg over Memorial Day weekend so...it's still early. Here's a pic of my succulents on an ottoman that I recently found at Target. Just for fun. Hop on over to my blog and check it out sometime. I can't promise there will be anything new but I will definitely try. 

PS, I have known the Of Dwelling and Dress sisters since we were eight years old! Love these girls and love this blog :) Thanks for having me. 

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Thanks, Cyntia!! We love you, too!! I LOVE the plant stand!! I pretty sure I need one now..

Thanks for reading, y'all!!  Remember to leave Cyntia a little love by visiting her blog or leaving a comment below!

Rugged Planter Box {from pallet wood}