Dolly's Busting Out All Over!

Peonies are sometimes referred to as the Dolly Parton of the garden

Today is a great day in my garden- the peonies are blooming!  I haven't stopped admiring them or sticking my nose in the middle of the largest bloom for good long sniffs.

I may have even lovingly petted the petals a few times!

I have heard that peonies don't like to be moved, so I was expecting them to sulk for a few years before blooming. (I decided to relocate them to sunnier spot in the garden last fall)....

 ...but 'Dolly' has not disappointed me.

I think it might be a few more years until we get to this point....

 ... but for now I'm thrilled to be able to stop and smell the peonies!

Fancy Salad

The other day, one of my favorite bloggers, Melissa, from Melissa's Heart and Home showed us a couple of salads that she enjoys in the summer. They looked so delicious that I decided to show you my favorite summer lunch. My daughter called this a 'Fancy Salad' when I first started making it last summer, and the name has stuck.

I use a premixed medley of baby lettuces and crucifer leaves and then pile on blueberries, strawberries, mandarin oranges, sunflower seeds and sliced almonds. Sometimes I add a chopped hard boiled egg.

My favorite dressing for this type of salad is Renee's Sweet Onion vinaigrette (I should caution you that this dressing is a tiny bit 'vinegary'). Since I eat this salad almost every day in the summer, I have probably used 10 bottles of Sweet Onion Vinaigrette since I first discovered it! I may even be addicted, because I always need to have a spare bottle in the fridge.

 

 I love to mix sweet and savory flavors - you never know what you're going to get next!



 

May and June: The Busiest Time of the Year? Discuss

Are May and June crazy busy months for you like they are for me? There's Mothers' Day, Fathers' Day, multiple birthdays, graduations, school recitals, weddings, showers, the start of soccer and baseball season, tonnes of end-of-year school stuff, gardening....

These are all exciting, fun and wonderful times, but it doesn't leave a person a whole lot of time to get her decorating projects done! Oh well, the projects will wait!

Here's a little round-up of what I've been doing lately.

I've already talked about my youngest daughter's birthday party. I finally found a picture of the girls as they enjoyed the brownie bar I set out for them.  We eat a lot of cake in May and June, so the brownie bar was a fun change!

Then, my oldest daughter celebrated her birthday the weekend after.  She invited some girl friends over for a sleepover. They watched a few classic 'chick-flicks' and laughed a lot! We decided not to venture through the clouds of perfume to take any pictures!

My son invited some guy friends over last weekend to celebrate his birthday with- you guessed it- a sleepover party as well! Mr. StyleBurb took them to a nearby driving range to hit a few buckets of golf balls first. We had a barbeque for dinner (I think my friends in the U.S. would call it 'grilling') and pancakes and bacon for breakfast the following morning.

One thing I'm learning about teenage boys is that no matter how much food you cook, it will never be enough!!

This is our basement the morning after the party- very tidy, all things considered.

In between all the partying, we spray painted some pots...

pots before getting the 'oil-rubbed' bronze treatment

... planted some containers...

 ... leveled the interlocking walkway...

 .... and sanded the back deck so that it can be restained...

Technically, Mr. StyleBurb and my son did the interlocking and deck sanding, however I stood ready to offer cold drinks and helpful hints!  Hopefully, the stain will go on this week, so I can arrange the outdoor furniture and flowers in time for the next few parties. No pressure, though!

So, that's the brief version of what's been going on here- there's still more to do. Yes- we're busier now than we are at Christmas-time!

I know you've all been really busy, too. Tell me, is this your busiest time of the year?