Pickin' Wildflowers

There's a sweet little farm here in Buena Vista called Weathervane that grows absolutely beautiful wildflowers. They allow pickers to come reap the benefits of their hard work at $5 for 25 stems. At that price, who could beat the untamed beauty of a wildflower bouquet?

I grabbed a friend of mine this week and we picked up a pair of shears and cut away. Here are the fantastic results of a well spent afternoon.

My dear friend Lacy choosing a lovely bloom

This is a good example of why you should always snap multiples of people. Silly Lacy blinked. She claims my skirt was tickling her leg;) But isn't the farm a floral wonderland?? swoon...

Ugh...drool. Is that turquoise ball jar not delicious?

That big purple one is my fave.

Bella thought they smelled lovely

I think this one's a framer...

I really love this one too...she's so perdy.

Now you can see what I've been doing with all of my time (not crafting:\) Oh, but what sweet memories!

A Night Out

Oh what a night! Some of our friends decided to take a trip to Silverthorn on Monday to eat sushi. While we have a great sushi restaurant here in town (I know some of you are holding back gasps of surprise...yes there is a sushi place in teensy mountain town, CO.) rumor had it that this particular chopstick wielding joint was running some irresistible off season specials (50% off a good portion of their menu).  I actually got a sushi roll for $4 people!! Now that's a deal. And it was good to boot.

Here are a couple photos of the evening...

That's right. Be jealous.

Excuse the blur. This was such a fun group!

Mmm, mmm, good. The Tempura (fried) ones in the front were my fave. I think it was called "The Shredder". Give it a try when you go. You won't be sad.

Isn't this appletini cute? That's our chef in the background. He rolled an egg around on the grill and called it a Japanese Eggroll:) 

Oh the wonder.

Moral of the story is, give Nozawa sushi a try. I even got Robin (the king of simple, boring food) to try a tempura asparagus roll with a good result. (the man had never tried sushi, but he loved it!)

What a fun night out.

Latte Art

This is a subject that amazes me. I was a barista for 5ish years and I never learned how to do it...it's a complete shame because I think I could be good. Just look how fantastically delightful this latte is.

It's so beautiful.  I actually think it's kind of a mind trick. If it's pretty it tastes better...you think I'm crazy, but I'm completely serious.  You totally want to get a latte now dontcha, dontcha? (I'm secretly a spokesperson promoting consumption of espresso beverages;) 

anyway, I had the pleasure of sitting in the BV Roastery yesterday with a wonderful book and this yummy latte.  Talk about a pleasant morning. 

Now go support your neighborhood barista.

A new direction

Hi guys! Those of you that were following me on 'My Grass is Always Greener' are probably wondering why I've started at this new address!

I have decided to go in the direction of a 'design/decor/DIY' blog. I loved the old name, but without the back story (the turf) I just didn't feel that the name was fitting. So welcome to the shabby tulip!! I will be primarily focusing on design with a splash of life thrown in.


I would love it if you would follow me here as I won't be posting on MGAG anymore. Thank you so much for your loyalty and thanks for continued readership!!

The Many Planking Attempts of Jerianna Lynne Pikul

This is my sweet little sister Jerianna Lynne (Jeri for short) Pikul. Yes, in case this is new information, my maiden name is Pikul (pronounced pickle). Let's just say I wasn't too disappointed about the name change. Anywho, this is Jeri:

I love hanging out with the girl. She is stinkin hilarious. She and her friends (shout out to Meredith Wink) are some of the funniest people that I have ever had the pleasure of being around. I know, Jeri, that you now have the warm-fuzzies:) Her 20th birthday is actually in a couple days, so I just would like her to know that she's special to me. 

So you're probably wondering about the title of my post. Have you heard of planking? Apparently it is the new thing to do. I think, as Jeri described it to me, the object is to "lay down on something and get really stiff". Um, can you say lol? 

I think some people were just extremely bored one day and one friend said to the other, "Whadoya wanna do today Bob?", "Uh, I don't know Larry...why don't I just lay face down in the dirt and you can take a picture? It'll be great!". Seriously. Google planking. You'll see. (ps. the usage of the names of VeggieTales characters was completely coincidental.)

So after hearing her describe this to me, I decided we needed to try it. Here are a couple of her best:

This is Jeri trying to figure out how to get up on the roof...it didn't happen.

And for the finale:

Yes. That is my sister PLANKING my fence! I don't care you ya are...that's pretty amazing. She's a well-oiled machine. I guess it helps that she plays college basketball.

It did take her a few tries...

And I think she may have bruises in a few undesirable places...

I strongly suggest trying this if you'd like a few laughs. Love ya Jer!!

House Remodel

Well, Hello!! No, I am not dead, did not stop blogging, did not run away and join a convent, and, No, I did not fall in...

I have just needed a break, I think.

Updates! We "finished" our upstairs remodel!! You may be thinking, "Why is 'finished' in quotations?". If any of you have attempted a project of this magnitude, you realize that "finished" will forever be in quotations. It's never "finished".  :) That said, I have a few pictures for you! Keep in mind, the decorating has only just begun!

Our living room. Yes, that is a headboard behind the couch:)

I feel like this is 'Where's Waldo'. Only the much more obvious version. Bella sneaks into a lot of my shots...

My credenza being put to good use. The chair in the corner will be getting a makeover...just haven't decided what fabric to use yet. Ideas?  Oh, and if any of you have a good color to replace the gawd-awful tan devouring the potential of my living room, please do share!

My Craft Corner. What? That's right. My own little corner.

Don't you love the desk? I am in lust with it. I like to stare.

My Sweet dining set. Thank you to my dear friends Kirk and Brenda for the gift. We will think of you every time we eat/spill on it. 

See the AWESOME vintage camel-back trunk my mother-in-law gave us? Thanks Lisa!!

And this is the Love Nest. Ha. Nowhere near decorated, but it's a nice start...

My new beautimous bedding from Target! I LOVE having white bedding. No those curtains aren't the shams...ppshh. Who would do that? (um, someone who likes to take the easy route--ie. NO SEW:)

A close up of one of my gorg milkglass thrift store lamps. And I found the sweet shades at the Family Dollar. Who knew?

And the view from our bedroom window...not too shabby if you subtract the pole.

So, the moral of the story is--we still have a long way to go! But man does it feel ultra-fantastic to have come this far!!! If you would like to see some before photos, refer to THIS POST.

Don't forget to hit the 'follow' button if you love me. Because I love you. :)

Yes, We're in the Mafia

Last night I threw Robin a birthday party. My good friend Traci's birthday was yesterday, so we made it a joint party! It was also kind of a house warming/summer kickoff type event. And you know what that means!? Our house remodel is done!!!  You have no idea how much of a relief it is:) I will be posting pictures soon of the transformation! Now to the good stuff.

The party was Mafia themed. That's right. Here are some great moments captured on camera.

The Ladies.

With the addition of a few late comers and...Steve? Steve. You're attire isn't feminine enough to qualify you for appearance in this photo.

Robin, Luke, and Kyle. Luke is making me a tad uncomfortable...

Nate (wearing his best dress shoes:), Charlie, Robin, and Steve. Again with the leg lift...they were taking too many pointers from the ladies.

The whole crew. Yep, we're cool like that.

My attempt at hurriedly decorating a birthday cake. Luckily Traci and Robin were both turning 27:) And those are roses. Not blood. Don't judge me.

Me, Leslie, and Traci. Don't you love our guns? This is probably the only time you'll ever see Leslie holding one...that's because it's of the water variety:)

One more smile for the camera to end a great night!

About 11 or so, we decided it would be fun to go down to The Rope (local bar pretty much in my back yard) and shoot some pool. You should have seen the looks we got when we walked in.  Everyone loved it so much that they started playing swing music for us to dance to :) It was quite fun. I definitely recommend a costume party. Consider our house warmed.