whew...

this has been a long week. all of the muck you see above has finally cleared. the pretty snow turned into not so pretty ice. it was nearly impossible even to get to the mailbox. it is definitely interesting to live in a place where snow and ice can bring an entire city to a halt. at the end of last week a bulldozer(!) came and cleared of the remaing ice. very entertaining to watch, and then rain came and cleared all the rest away.

when i looked out of the window this morning it looked like fall again and for a moment i was really confused. the yard is full of brown leaves falling everywhere, because for some reason they do not all come off the trees before winter here. i had that sinking feeling like we had gone back to the begiining and had to do winter all over again! i know i shouldn't complain because after years of living through winter in new york, i have it easy... but it is still hard not to dream of spring!

i can't help dreaming about my big front porch, and imagining being able to actually sit outside and enjoy it! i'm excited about going to the nursery to pick out new trees and flowers to put in the yard. i'll ignore the fact that we actually need new front steps and focus on the beautiful flower baskets, swings, and tables i want to add instead.

one of the things i love about the south is the tradition of the large front porch... an outside room you are able to enjoy most of the year around. as soon as i saw the front porch on my own house, i knew i was in love.

right now we have one sad swing, a lucky find someone was throwing out. i'm going to paint it up and make it nice and pretty. i love the look of the wicker furniture above too, though, and hopefully will find some vintage or at a good price, like the set here.

love all the pretty tables, baskets, plants, and rugs. i like the look of the sisal one above, but also something like this one would be nice...

add some nice rocking chairs, and we will almost be set...

i say almost, because here is the ultimate item on my list!

who could resist that?

all the lovely inspirational photos above via country living. go there to see more.

i took my inspirational shopping trip today in the warmth of my own home at overstock.com. if you would like to as well, they have generously offered my readers a discount code good for %10 off (excluding movies books and electronics). The code is 121745, and doesn't expire. Use this code, 202234, for free shipping on electronics as well.

i do not usually do endorsements on my blog, i have always said no in the past. i figured this would be a good oportunity to offer a cool discount on a website you might already want to use (they have pretty much everything... my favorites lately are faucets and rugs). suddenly i am in a position where i need to buy all this random stuff for my new house (um, do people gereally take all the toilet paper holders with them when they move?) and it's kind of nice to have one place to look. so maybe you could use it too. all the ideas and opinions expressed are my own. i did not receive any monetary compensation for doing this post, however, i was given the discount code.

now back to painting kitchen cabinets... i should hopefully be done by spring;)