Paperwhites brighten winter days whether inside or outside. A large French Country pedestal urn filled with artificial paperwhites is perfect to transition inside from winter to spring.

The arrangement on the vintage pine table actually began as part of the Christmas decor last December. A large glass plate sits inside the urn and provides a flat surface on which the artificial paperwhite blooming bulbs stand. A fresh boxwood wreath is just the right size needed for adding greenery around the rim of the urn. 

French Lavender Indoors for Spring

What better way to add Spring color inside than with a pot of French lavender? The navy blue bulletin board with blue and white rabbits for Spring and Easter inspiration is still on display at the end of the fireplace. As much as I love the bulletin board arrangement as it was, I love it even more with the addition of a pot of lavender bursting with blooms. 

French lavender on the pine chest at the end of the fireplace is not unusual at my house. Over the years potted lavender inside has added both color and fragrance to the same space since lavender is one of my favorite plants. 

Bulletin Board Inspiration No. 6 | Navy and White Rabbits

A Paper Series Post 

The latest bulletin board inspiration features a gorgeous, fluffy white rabbit in navy and white. Rabbits are symbols of spring, and a clipping of a white rabbit on a navy bulletin board is a beautiful reminder of Easter.   

Bulletin boards often include a collection of clippings without a planned layout, but in my series of bulletin boards, I share suggestions and design principles for creating boards with a theme. Part of each post in the bulletin board inspiration series is how-to information for my boards to help you create your own boards. 

Bulletin boards are an easy, economical way to decorate for each season and/or holiday in the year. As I was creating this latest bulletin board inspiration for Spring and Easter, I began to wonder how rabbits came to be symbols of Easter and why Easter bunnies deliver eggs for Easter egg hunts. 

French Country Spring Kitchen | Blue Hyacinths

Early spring blue grape hyacinth bulbs were an easy way to bring Spring into my French Country kitchen while skies were still gray over the bare trees in the surrounding woods. 

Blue muscari bulbs, commonly known as grape hyacinths, are the perfect blue color to go with the blue walls, upholstery, and accent pieces used all over my house, not just the kitchen. The plants easily fit into a variety of flower pots and baskets, collected over a lifetime, for displaying inside before being transplanted into the ground outside after the blooms were past their prime. 

Spring Gardening With New Flower Pots and Lavender

The call of gardening comes each Spring not only in the form of new bedding plants, but also with the lure of beautiful new flower pots. 

Large blue and white flower pots for alluring blue, pink, and lavender colored flowers fill the top of the pine chest against the stone fireplace that separates the living room and kitchen. 

Handmade Easter Cards | DIY Prints Included

Paper Series Post

Handmade Easter cards are an easy Do-It-Yourself (DIY) with ribbons, card stock, a computer and an at-home printer. Sealing wax stamp and slip-in envelopes make the cards extra special. 

Pin photos to your Spring and Easter Pinterest boards to create DIY cards for future use. 

For lovers of blue and white, there is a print with blue eggs and blue text. For those who prefer traditional colors of Spring, there is a print with green eggs and green text. Links to the two different colored prints are at the bottom of the post. 

French Made Easter Candy Eggs

French made candy Easter eggs were the stars of my Easter baskets this year. Gourmet candy made in Paris, France is world renowned, from small exclusive chocolatiers to large department store maison (house) specialities. French made candy is a treat any time, but French Mèdicis candy eggs are special delights at Easter for anyone who receives them. 

Whether pastel blue, pink, and green Easter egg almonds or pink and yellow Easter jelly eggs, the candies are delicious treats for adults as well as children. 

Easy Blue and White Easter Tablescape

Create an easy blue and white Easter tablescape even at the last minute. Begin with white flowers, add dishes in your favorite shade of blue, include a bunny (or two), and place a cluster of bird eggs (in the same color family as your dishes) inside a pretty white bowl. 

Violà 

There you have it. An easy, last-minute blue and white Easter tablescape. 

Spring Blue and White Basket Arrangement

A blue and white arrangement for spring sits in a basket on the French Country antique breakfast table. After winter storms in February, the blue skies and bright green emerging leaves on the trees outside the windows are welcome sights. And, another welcome sight is the bright sunshine streaming through the sunspace windows onto the beautiful spring basket arrangement inside.  

? Is it spring without sky blue lobelia flowers? Not at my house. 

Blue lobelia bedding plants are part of every spring for me and after starring in arrangements inside and on my potting bench outside, they are planted in containers on the porch to enjoy all summer. 

This spring, the cheerful blue flowers star in a spring basket that includes more small plants, white ceramic bunnies, and blue bird's eggs. 

Spring Cloche Collection for French Country Style

A new addition to a glass cloche collection came just in time to showcase the collection for French Country style this Spring. Less than a week away, Spring officially arrives on Saturday, March 20, 2021 in the Northern Hemisphere, but fresh bedding plants at local garden centers have been heralding Spring's arrival in north Texas for the past two weeks. 

White Johnny-Jump-Ups (violas) and blue lobelias under the collection of cloches brought Spring to my French Country style dining table as the small bedding plants awaited planting outside in pots on the deck. 

How to Get Your Porch and Deck Ready for Summer

Six tips will help you get your porch or deck ready to enjoy all summer long. 

Cecilia of My Thrift Store Addiction invited me to share what has been going on at my house this spring as part of a Spring Nesting Mini Blog Hop. Spring nesting is still taking place at my home this year, maybe even more so since we are sheltering-in-place. 

Spring Nesting Mini Blog Hop

A special welcome to readers coming from Kathleen at Our Hopeful Home. If you have not read her Copycat Lemon and Eucalyptus Candle, be sure you hop over for a great idea to give your home fresh scents for spring. Our Hopeful Home is a relatively new blog to me, but Kathleen grabbed my attention with her recent living room refresh done in French Farmhouse Style! 


You will find the entire list of nine creative spring posts with links at the end. 

French Country Everyday Table Setting

Everyday table settings on an antique French Country breakfast table include white dishes, scroll flatware, and a small blue floral pot with a lobelia bedding plant. 

Nothing fancy for everyday, but still beautiful in its simplicity. 

Spring Porch Window Box Basket

Window boxes are not just for windows. This spring we moved a basket window box from the front entry to a railing on the back porch. 

Reasons for moving the window box basket include a better location to see the plants. The window basket was in the small front entry garden visible to all who came and went by the front door, but was too far away for a good view of the plants. 

After thinking about the possible move, other reasons convinced us the move was a good idea.

French Country Spring Potting Table

The potting table on the back porch has a French Country look for Spring this year. Ivy wreaths, vintage French zinc seed pots, and a wire mesh birdcage remind me of authentic garden tables in the French countryside. 

Morning sunlight reaches blue lobelia bedding plants on the potting table, but the covered porch shades plants from the late afternoon sun. 

Spring Pansies Nestled With Bird Eggs

After weeks of promises of spring only to be winter again, warm weather and sunshine have finally arrived. Spring pansies nestled with bird eggs celebrate coming out of the dark days. 

Sheltering in place at home I gathered violas from flower pots on the porch and arranged them with blue ceramic/clay bird eggs on the rustic coffee table outside. 

French Country Sunspace Spring Update

Along with spring cleaning of the sunspace in my kitchen comes French Country updates. A little rearranging of the shelves on the plate stand and a few new additions add freshness inside to match the new freshness outside the windows. 

The gray metal plate stand serves as storage and display for a collection of white dishes. 

7 Beautiful Spring Centerpieces

Are you looking for a beautiful centerpiece for Spring decorations? One that is unusual and eye-catching for the dining table, buffet, coffee table, or entry table with a delightful appeal? See 7 Spring centerpieces with tips to help you create a similar one for your home this year. 

①  Pink & Yellow Spring Centerpiece 

Shake up a traditional roses and tulips arrangement by adding non-traditional greenery from your yard. Oak leaves and sprigs of mint add interesting shapes, textures, and fragrance. 

Variegated lantana in shades of pink and yellow on the same flower head coordinates with both the pink tulips and pale creamy roses. 

Set an iron bunny tied with peach, lavender, and yellow ribbons at the base of the flowers to hide the flower stems in the vase and to repeat the flower colors. 

Backyard Bluebonnets | Time in Nature Reduces Stress

Relaxing in backyard bluebonnets is one way nature can bring calm to our bodies and minds during stressful times. Research shows spending as little as five minutes outside can reduce stress levels. Plus, even viewing scenes of nature reduces fear and anger, and makes you feel better emotionally. 

If your stress levels are low right now, spend time with my backyard bluebonnets to feel even better. If your stress levels are high, or you are depressed, afraid, or angry, sit back and enjoy a little relaxation in my backyard bluebonnets to feel better emotionally. Take your mind off your worries.  

And get a few ideas for how to create time in nature in your own backyard. 

French-Inspired White Bird Cage for Spring

A French-inspired white wire bird cage has landed on the white shelves in the kitchen sunspace for a fresh look this spring. Previously, the white bird cage sat on a table at the end of the sofa in the living room. 

Why this bird cage and the two myrtle topiaries? 

  

As always, I look for ways to bring more French design into my country house. If you also love adding French Country style or garden style to your house, read on to see how a bird cage and topiaries could bring a fresh look to your house this spring. 

Well House to Tool Shed | Exterior Before

Photos of my old rustic well house in the country may look romantic to those who love chippy paint, but the truth is the building needs repairs. And, I need a tool shed for garden tools, garden supplies, and garden equipment. 

This spring the well house has finally risen to the top of my list of repair projects. 'Before' photos from last spring, during bluebonnet season, show the old well house at its best. Spring green trees and wild flowers soften the views of badly damaged siding and a damaged flower trellis.