~chippy white in the garden~

Hello everyone!!!

where in the world have I been, huh?

I tell ya.....I don't know!

everywhere, no-where, running in circles,

birthday parties, end of school parties

work, working out, working in the yard

etc...etc...etc....:)

I have seriously missed you all!!!

but my little blog vacation is over & I will

try to be more diligent :)

I had some fun the other day snapping pictures

in the garden.....

when my mom passed away almost 13 years ago,

this chippy white garden chair was one of the things I was able to bring home with me....

I just LOVE it......there's also a matching loveseat

and even though they are rickety & tattered....

they remind me of her & I will keep them forever! :)

there were many summer evenings spent with

her, sitting on these very chairs, out on her deck....

enjoying her beautiful yard & garden....

 we had some incredible rain storms here

in the last 8 months  couple weeks

{shocking I know, eh? ;) hee hee} 

so before they even bloomed....my peonies were 

literally laying on the ground....

even with the stakes & supports.....

so what to do other than cut them all!?

and enjoy.....!

oh how I love peonies.....they are just the best....

wish I had a whole garden full....

really wish they bloomed longer & more often...

once a month would be perfect!

the lovely purple behind the chair is

Walker's Low Catmint....

..... it is c.r.a.z.y.....seriously...grows like crazy!

evidently some Catmint is quite invasive, 

but this type is not supposed to be.....

we shall see....this is only it's 2nd year

and it is quite h.u.g.e. 

but I am loving it ~ it really adds to the whole

cottage feel in my garden...

I have Knock Out Roses behind the Catmint...

and they always bloom like crazy as well!

apparently, all the plants have been enjoying

the extremely wet spring...winter...fall...we've had!;)

I've really been enjoying the 50mm lens I bought 

with my camera....

it's the lens that blurs out the background while

keeping the focal point in focus....

well worth the $ money spent.....

I think we are almost caught up on the all weeding

in the garden ~ finally!!

Mr. T & T weeded for me for 4 1/2 hours Saturday, 

while I was working in the Linen Shoppe!

What a sweetie ~ :)

and his rear end is quite sore from all the 'stiffed legged,'

'non-bending' weeding he was doing.....

he said he didn't want to get his pants dirty ~ 

so the 'stiffed legged' 'non-bending' weeding 

 process was invented, that just so happens to

directly target the hamstrings & gluteus maximus

heehee!

I shouldn't laugh....everytime he stands up... or walks

up or down the stairs.....

cuz that just wouldn't be nice....;)

but it is kinda funny....:)

hope you all have a fantastic week!!!

xoxoxo,

Shellagh

~I am my experiment....~

Hello everyone!!

Happy Monday to you! :)

 We've had quite the run of beautiful

amazing weather here.....it's been in the 70's

and 80's...for about 2 weeks!

unbelievable!

well.....I have been quite busy....

busy with the Linen Shoppe

busy with gardening...rearranging, 

digging up & planting....typical spring stuff...

and busy supervising Mr. T & T painting the patio,

busy with birthday parties, chauffeuring kids, laundry, 

grocery shopping, feeding the family, , feeding cats, the dog,

the racoons, possums & such.....yes there's a story there...:)

and....busy with.....

my experiment....

this is a little clue......

no no no...!

def. not my body!! just in case

anyone should have a moment of sheer insanity

and think this could possibly be meeeeeeeeeeee! :)

(but it is a clue.....)

k, now you want to know right????

you are curious....

I've piqued your interest......

hee hee :).....

ok.....so you all know maybe that

I had a birthday a couple weeks ago....

and waaaaaaaayyyy too much of this stuff....

well and I've shared with you my desire to 

get in shape & I've been running, working out etc...

but not terribly consistently...

and the eating wasn't terribly consistent....

well let me rephrase that....

eating consistently ... yes!

eating the right food consistently....no!

especially if there was any birthday cake in the 

vicinity....

so there was this little gadget at the gym

that I've had my eye on for some time....

and with my birthday & all....

and my sudden laser beam focus

on wanting to get in shape & lose the fat 

really not sure where that came from ~ but

thinking it could be from the fact that I'm not 

getting any younger & really no time like exactly

right now

to get my body back to where I want it.....

ok...alright....my experiment....

this is the cool little gadget...I was referring to...

it's called the "bodybugg"

I think they actually used to wear these on the

Biggest Loser....

well Mr. Ticking and Toile (love him!!)

gave it to me

for my birthday.........and.................it's......

so  t o t a l l y  cool !!!!

it tells me:

how many calories I'm burning all day,

(it has a very high tech kinda arm band thing that apparently is the "most accurate devise outside a clinical setting" for measuring this via all kinds of ways....click here for more info!)

everyday....shows me on a little watch display thingy...

and it comes with a program that I plug my 

eating into....and shows me my calorie deficit...

so you all know....3500 calories equates to one 

pound right? 

at the very beginning when you set it up you tell

it what kind of caloric deficit you want per day...ie..

how much weight you want to lose per week...

(along with a lot of other stuff...like weight, bmi, height,

age etc...) 

and then it tracks for you those numbers, and

what your nutrition looks like.....

so each and everyday I plug the bodybugg 

into the computer

& it downloads my activity, and I plug in what I ate

& voila!  it shows me how good I did!

ok...so...a week into it I needed to weigh

myself....and...

I was literally having a little talk with myself

regarding this little guy...

telling myself ...."ok you know 

muscle weighs more than fat..." 

"you can't let whatever that number says trip

you up"

"your weight can vary at any time 2-5 pounds"

etc.... etc...blah blah blah....;)

but....

according to the bodybugg.....I should have lost

2.3 pounds last week......

so I daringly step on the evil rotten device scale .....ready to see.....

if my experiment on my own

body

is working.....?

~working out 6 days a week~

  weight training 3 days a week,

cardio & abs on the other 3 days....and eating clean...

 relying on my bodybugg....

and relying on the so-called calorie deficit that

I did in fact experience.....

so is it working.....?

................drumroll.................

yes!

I kid you NOT....

I lost exactly 2.3 pounds the first week!....

wow!

crazy!

I'm sold!

and very motivated!

so based on my calculations .....

if I keep it up...no no no...

as I keep going

I will be 37 pounds lighter

by the end of August!

I'll keep you posted

on my progress....

and I was actually.....

almost

almost  

almost

almost

almost

considering starting another

blog to track my progress

and results

and share stuff?!

maybe

maybe

maybe

maybe....;)

anyone interested in this sort of thing?

~*~

and now because I cannot

bear to leave you with absolutely

no 

decorating inspiration

whatsoever.....

here's a little something...;)

have a fantastic week everyone!!!

xoxoxo,

Shellagh

{all images via pinterest}

~patio plans~

Hello everyone!!!

How are you doing???

 I am doing great!

the weather has been totally amazing

for 4-5 days now & expected to

continue for another week!!

are you kidding me?

really?

pinch me ~ please! ;)

75-80 degrees and just perfect.....

I just love this time of year....

sunshine ~ garden is started to bloom

birds are chirping.....heaven!

do you remember last year when I

posted about garden traditions?

.......no? (like I totally expect you all to

remember this....hahahaha)

you can check it out here

I mean if you just can't get enough of my babbling....;)

well we have the fabulous (for me at least!!!)

tradition of Mr. Ticking and Toile

offering his beloved services for

a n y

garden project I've been pining for as a gift

to me for Mother's Day & my

birthday.....

it's my love language.....service....

build me a fence, plant me some roses,

construct an arbor, plant me a tree....

and I will know you love me! <3

the lawn was kinda scraggly

recovering from buckets and buckets of rain

when I took this picture, but you can see

the split rail fence on the right

and the arbor next to the house....

each done a year at a time....to make his wife happy....:)

so these little acts of service are something I really look

forward to each year....but believe it or not ~

I almost forgot about it until yesterday!!!

so this year....Mr. Ticking and Toile is we are

painting the back patio.....woo-hoo!!

we've been wanting to build a deck but that will

be awhile so this will be an interim step....

kinda like the looks of this.....

but not too interested in all the work that would

entail...ya know?

I know you've all seen this picture~

and it is by far my ALL TIME favorite

patio inspiration photo....

aside from highly coveting the amazing table...

I am loving the color of the patio floor ~

even though it's wood & ours is concrete...

you love?

so this is close to the shade I want to paint...

maybe a little more grey....

we have the same kind of ceiling/overhang...

painted white as well....

I think it will really brighten up the space....

so if all goes as planned

we will have a brand new patio (so to speak...)

come Monday....

did I tell you I planted a bunch of lavender all

around it last year????

they have gotten sooooo big

& I

simply cannot wait

for them to bloom!

for me it's all about fragrance.....

ohhhh feed my senses please....;)

I'm really excited to see it bloom......

and really really excited to have a freshly

painted patio...to relax on.... while drinking in

the yummy fragrance..... 

hope you all have a fabulous Mother's day!

xoxoxo,

Shellagh