This post contains affiliate links.
Spring is here, and it is beautiful! We’ve had the windows open to air our the house. I love fresh air in a house. The fresh air and sounds of birds singing are some of my favorite things about spring.
Iris, tulips, and daffodils are blooming in my white garden. I’m sharing several pictures of my gardens this week over on Instagram. As a few more flowers open in the garden, I’ll be taking more photos to share here as well.
I’ve cut some iris from the garden to put on my entry table. The table was a gift from my parents (an unsold item when they retired and sold their business). The vase I found last spring for $5 at a garage sale, and the mirror I also found last spring at a garage sale for $20.
I recently went through my kitchen cabinets and drawers and whittled down the items to things we are actually using and put anything we weren’t using in a garage sale. I also got rid of the two knife blocks on our kitchen counters; one I sold at the garage sale and the other was donated to the thrift shop. I realized our most used knives were not the ones in the knife blocks except for the steak knives, and I had purchased these steak knives a year and a half ago (mine didn’t come in a wood block, which was fine with me). We had only been using them for special occasions, but I had been wanting to use them every day, so now they’re in the silverware drawer and the knife blocks are gone.
All of the organizing of items that mostly weren’t seen in the drawers and cabinets left me itching to decorate the counters a bit for spring.
I brought in Meyer lemons from the garden into the kitchen. I made two lemon meringue pies with some of my lemons. Pretty soon I’ll be zesting and juicing the rest of the lemons so that we can use the zest and juice throughout the year. The trees are covered with both lemons and flower buds, so I expect that we’ll need to make lots of lemonade all summer to use up our juice before the new crop of lemons starts to ripen in late November.
The scale is one that belonged to my grandfather; he used to weigh his tomatoes with it. The blue and white jar, the glass container and the framed picture are all garage sale finds from the last couple of years. The pie plates and the vintage cookbook were from my grandmother; she shopped at garage sales too and was always finding kitchen items that way.
I brought in this orchid from the bathroom to go next to my desk. It’s one my parents bought and gave to me last year when it was done flowering. I actually had never seen the flowers on it, so when it opened up a few weeks ago, I was surprised! I keep unflowering orchids in my bathroom, where they get humidity, diffused light, and cooler temperatures in the winter, which helps them to reflower.
I recently changed around the things on my desk when I replaced my computer. It’s a bit more crowded in some ways, but that is inspiring me to keep it cleaner! My new computer is smaller (and faster than the old one was before it died!) Since I moved things around, I can put an orchid and/or some fresh fruit on the counter now where I used to have some of my desk items.
We had a colder spring than usual, which delayed my daffodils by a few weeks, so they’ve been opening slowly. This is the second time I’ve cut daffodils for the table. I have a second type in the garden that is just now starting to open up, which means we’ll enjoy flowers over a longer time. I bought these bulbs a decade ago and they come back every spring. In a warm climate, you need to choose smaller-flowered daffodils that don’t need as many chilling hours. I make sure mine are marked to zone 8 or preferably 9, which is our zone. I purchase bulbs in bulk to get the lowest price on a large number of flowers.
The table runner and flowers stay on the table all the time, and I really like the way they look between meals. They smell wonderful, too, and everytime I walk by they are a breath of springtime.
Fabulous photos! Thank you for sharing them. And I don’t see a speck of dust! You must have been crazy busy to get everything in perfect order and dust free. :). (We live in Phoenix and the minute I finish dusting, I turn around, and see more dust, so it is amazing not to see dust on your surfaces since I believe Vegas is equally dusty.)
It’s very dusty here! I think you can write your name on furniture in just 2-3 days and get dust bunnies in a week here! We dust some part of the house every day.
Lovely home! It’s very inviting. 🙂
Beautiful home. Thank you for sharing. It still amazes me how much you get done during the day and still find time to cook 3 meals a day!
We have leftovers as often as possible 😀
My cabinets have the same space at the top as yours. Over the years, I’ve put different things up there but I’ve never likes them up there. Yours all empty look so nice, I’m going to try mine too. Thank you for the inspiration
Your pictures inspired me to cut some of my hellebores and bring them in to put on the table. I learned, though, that they are poisonous. And since our cat likes to chew on plants (my Peace Lily is torn and tattered, though he doesn’t bother with the orchids and African violets), I took them to my room where they (and hence the cat), should be safe.
I absolutely love your bookshelves in the library. Where did you find them? Looking for something likes this for my living room. 🙂 Thank You!
They’re the Corsica collection from Parker House (Parker House is the manufacturer). I found them at the trade show in Las Vegas in their showroom. At the time, my parents’ business was still open and I was able to order through my parents. I ordered one side one year and the other side of the room the next year. They should have a way to find a distributor on their website. They make several other styles as well, and you can custom get the pieces you want for the space you have. They are surprisingly much less than you would expect. We looked for bookcases for years and not only did I love these, but they were SO much less than anyone else.
Your home is so lovely, and inspiring! It deserves to be in a home and garden magazine. Thank you for sharing.
Would you mind sharing the vintage cookbook you have displayed? I love that idea!
Thanks as always for spreading cheer and loveliness.
Brandy-
Always such a joy to read your posts. You are so inspirational. Where did you learn to take photographs? You really could turn your talent into a full blown career! I would love to learn such technique!
It’s an old Betty Crocker cookbook: Betty Crocker New Picture Cook book from 1961. I had one from the 50’s as well but I like this one better and use it more often.
Yvette,
Lots of practice, studying others’ work, and online tutorials and classes. Creative Live offers all kinds of photography classes. When the classes are live, they are free to watch. Afterwards they can be purchased. You can search Pinterest for online tutorials to get you started.
I grew up with this cookbook and I love it. I bought 2 off of eBay a number of years ago, and the spine has come apart from the covers, but I keep on pulling it out.
I am curious as to who your internet provider is, and if you are pleased with the service. I’ve had nothing but trouble with my current provider (it’s one of the big ones). Do you have any recommendations? Your home is lovely; I’ve been hoping you’d photograph your home interior. Thank you.
We live in northern Arizona and the dust here on our furniture and floors can be measured. We call it suede furniture and anyone caught disturbing it’s perfect nap has to dust it all, so it isn’t so obvious. I dream of it staying as clean and beautiful as this for more than a day.
We don’t have a lot of options here. DSL is too slow. We have cable modem, and there is only ONE provider here, and that is Cox. We have the very slowest internet speed. It’s on their website, but if you call they will not even mention it as an option. It’s even slower than what they say (we tested it just last month) but it is still fast enough to watch shows online. We don’t bundle with cable tv; we just have internet.
I was smiling at your “vintage cookbook” because I got married in 1961, and that is still the cookbook I use most often, although a few recipes are committed to memory by now. I did buy a second copy at a yard sale because some of my pages were missing–the ones I use the most! I have a 50’s one too, which was my Mom’s everyday cookbook, but I didn’t take hers–one of my sisters did. I got mine from my daughter’s father in law’s house when he passed. I have a few newer BC ones too. Actually I probably have at least 200 cookbooks in my collection at this point. I haven’t really counted them but they range from hard covers to product phamphlets. I am into “variety” and really USE a lot of recipes.
Technically it does fall under the vintage definition 😀
I had a more recent Betty Crocker one that I got rid of with the 1950’s one earlier this month. Neither sold at my garage sale, so they both got donated to the thrift store. My grandmother wanted every woman in the family to own the 1950’s one; she thought it was the best one. I prefer the 1961 version.
Very lovely indeed Brandy, thank you for the tour. We are starting Autumn here in NZ so it’s always fun to see the contrast in the Northern Hemisphere. Happy Spring to you and your family! Warm regards, Wendy
You have a lovely home and there is nothing better than fresh flowers in the house. I don’t have much of a green thumb and often help plants meet their demise, but I do buy them from the store every once in a while to enjoy. While I own several vintage cookbooks, the one that I use the most is a small Wesson oil promotional cookbook from 1955 and it has the best cake, pie, and cookie recipes in it. It is falling apart and I have it stored carefully away now, but I used to have it on display like you do. Thank you for sharing your beautiful home.
Beautiful! It looks like you have a large kitchen to work in, something i’d like to have again, some day. I love the drawers!
I absolutely love your kitchen countertops and cabinets!!! Actually, I love your whole house and the floors are so beautiful!
Brandy, this was such a pleasant surprise and it cheered my day. Everything was lovely and perfect. It gives me hope I can someday get my house back in order. As I look across my living room, there are stacks of Reese’s moving boxes, piles of clothes to be donated, three boxes of pasta, my quilting frame in pieces because we needed more room for junk (no time to quilt anyway), a broom against a corner with a pile of dirt swept from so much walking in and out, a dog snoozing on the couch after he woke me at sunrise to go outside, and the list goes on and on.
Thank you for inviting me into your home this morning.
Jeannie @ GetMeToTheCountry.blogspot.com
Your home is beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing.
You mentioned all the lemons you are getting. I noticed in Martha Stewart Living this month, there are directions for making preserved lemons and using them in cooking. Have you ever done this?
We made a lot of changes to the house after we bought it to give me more counter space, which has proven invaluable in cooking from scratch. There used to be a desk where the fridge was, and there was a set of double ovens right next to it. Now I have a counter on which to make bread and do all my baking.
I haven’t ever made them or used them. I will freeeze juice and zest as well as dry zest. It takes a cup and a half of juice to make a pitcher of lemonade, and I make two pitchers at a time to have enough for everyone, so I will need to freeze a lot of juice to use throughout the year.
Brandy, your home is stunning! I love your decorating style and hope to eventually get my new home to look like yours! Thanks for the photos!
Spring has been fickle here — we went to mid-eighties and then dropped back into the low 30’s at night with days in the 60’s. So many of our Spring flowers already bloomed in February, when it got hot, that our March has been rather dull.
I like to bring flowers inside at Easter — when I have them — and I hope to be able to do that this time. I don’t normally keep flowers in the house, thanks to an inquisitive cat who is also a real klutz.
Isn’t it nice to have the house neat, the air fresh, the birds chirping, and sunshine that isn’t too hot? I treasure those days, however few, when I have them, too!
Absolutely gorgeous! You have such a green thumb. 🙂 It’s already getting up in the 80s here in Texas; spring is so short here! I’m living it up by working with the window open and spending as much time outside as possible!
Brandy is ur table placement in the Kitchen, or a separate alcove attached to a living room? It looks really nice and clean! Especially to someone who has been sick for 3 weeks.I love ur bookcases!
I have collected blue and white pieces also. They are always a classic touch. Love them on ur table.
Thank you for inviting us into your home Miss Brandy, I enjoyed it very much!
As an aside, I wanted to ask if you minded me sharing your blog on mine as one of my recommendations of a favorite blogger. If you prefer I not, please let me know and I will remove it. Thanks for everything! ~TJ
Very pretty. I’m wondering how many bedrooms you have and how you’re fitting the kids in. Growing up we had 3 girls in one small bedroom and 2 in a smaller one.
I’m standing in the living room to take the picture facing the table (with the photos of my family on the wall above the table). There aren’t alcoves; the living room, kitchen, and dining area are all open to one another.
I’ll definitely look into them, thank you for the info!
Brandy, your home is lovely. I love the lighting fixtures that is posted along with the hardware on your cabinets. I am curious as to if the door knobs hinges are all this same color. I have steadily replaced my light fixtures to one’s similar to yours. My gold door knobs and hinges drive me nuts. Thanks lilli
We have my MIL’s “vintage” Betty Crocker cookbook from 1969 ourselves. I always make chocolate chip cookies, snickerdoodles, and homemade frosting from that book.
Bonjour, c’est toujours avec plaisir que je lis votre blog depuis déjà un moment. Bien que nos modes de vie soient différents puisque je suis française nos objectifs sont communs.
Votre maison est resplendissante et je suis vraiment admirative de tout ce que vous accomplissez chaque jour.
Prenez soin de vous de votre futur bébé ainsi que de toute votre famille.
PS: je sais que vous apprenez le français j’espère que nom mot ne sera pas trop difficile à lire..
Amicalement. Isabelle
Thank you for sharing pictures of your home with us. It feels so elegant yet so homey! I especially love your family portraits – as a long time reader, I’ve seen your children literally grow up as the frames get updated.
I enjoyed the spring tour of the house. Brandy, what is the piece of furniture reflected in the mirror? Is it a phonograph or a Reginaphone? When I was in college a friend’s grandparents had a Reginaphone and it was very pleasing to listen to…a giant music box.
It’s just the shell of a phonograph; the guts are not there. We use the bottom to store our current school books and I keep birthday banners in the top part.
Brandy how do you keep your kitchen cabinets so clean? What do you use for cleaner and sponge?
Thanks
Too funny; after I took the photos I noticed all these spots I had missed on the cabinets!
I use washcloths with hot water and a little dish soap for the cabinets and counters (usually just water on our counters, unless there is something greasy to clean up). I buy the Great Value brand of dish soap in the large container at Walmart.
I just found your blog. Love it!
Welcome! I’d love you to join in on how you saved money this week on next week’s post!