Heather Bullard

Suburban Farm Life

 
Ok. I'm about to tell you something very shocking. Well, it was shocking to me since I'm not a real farmer, just a pretend one on a half acre lot in the big city.
Are you ready for this?

Chickens can lay eggs without shells!!

Seriously this has me completely freaked out! It seems our Lola is under some stress or isn't getting enough oyster shell or Vitamin D or calcium or something because yesterday she laid an egg with no shell. It had a membrane, a yolk and the white and was completely intact minus the shell. And it looked very, very weird to say the least. You could even pick it up (although I didn't) without breaking it.  

 
Why didn't anyone warn me about this? Hello...farmer friends?
A little: Hey Heather, some strange things might happen to your girls like..no shell eggs for instance? Yeah, that would have been nice heads up. I was a mess seeing that egg on the ground. Ready to rush my girl to the vet to see why her insides were broken. Luckily, my best friend Google was there by my side to comfort me and tell me what to do in this emergency situation and remind me that everything was going to be ok.

So for now, I have Lola out in the sunshine, feeding her Vitamin D and a few organic Cheerio treats and playing calm songs for her through the kitchen window. Oh yes, I'm a riot. Go ahead and have a laugh at my expense. Seems I'm a complete idiot at this animal husbandry thing. At least I feel better knowing I've educated a few other unsuspecting chicken owners. Please tell me there's more of you who didn't know?
 Here's hoping she'll be back to her normal self soon.
Will keep you posted on the Chicken Chronicles!

Girls World Giveaway

  
 My dear friend Jennifer Paganelli has written the most charming book entitled Girls World. It's full of delightful sewing projects for girls and showcases her vibrant, cheerful fabrics. I can't tell you how fun and adorable all the projects are and the photos are simply stunning! To celebrate the launch of her new book she has generously donated a copy of Girls World along with her gorgeous Notecard Book and her coordinating Journal as a giveaway to you!

 

To enter to win all three just answer this question in the comment section:

What was your favorite part of your Easter holiday?

Winner will be announced on Wednesday, April 27th! 

Thanks for entering everyone! CONGRATULATIONS goes to:

Linda Bloom said:

My favorite part of Easter was coming home this morning after working three 12 hour shifts at the hospital and taking a bubble bath and sleeping!!! (not in the tub) I would love that book, I sew for little girls! Love,Linda

Good Friday

 I wanted to wish you all a very Happy Easter! It's one of my favorite holidays with the celebration of renewal, gathering of friends and family and the promise of beautiful sunny days ahead. Have a lovely weekend! ~H

Easter Decor

 
 Have you started decorating for Easter/Spring? I couldn't sleep last night and decided that 12:46am was a good time to start. So I pulled out an old divided box and filled a few compartments with straw, eggs and my favorite concrete chicks.

 

Then, in the dark of night, I went out to the garden in my jammies to gather some flowers. The grass was cold and really wet so I quickly picked whatever was blooming....the snowballs and Graham Thomas roses. 
 I came back in, nestled the flowers in a few blue bottles and waited for the sun to come up!

How about you...do you ever get the urge to decorate at ridiculous hours?
 

Small Laundry Room Style

         
 Well, we finally finished our small laundry room project. We actually refer to it as the laundry closet because as you can see it's only as wide as a washer & dryer! We considered knocking out the back wall to extend the room but eventually decided against it...small can be beautiful and functional. Come take a peek!

One of the design elements I struggled with was whether or not to add shelving for all our cleaning supplies. In the end, I felt it would make the room seem very cluttered so we opted for pedestals for our washer & dryer. I'm really glad I did because they hide my obscene amount of Windex.

 
Sometimes, when having parties, we use this room as a coat closet. So I had the lovely Trish from Cottage By Design make simple linen panels to keep the machines out of sight. The antique French coat rack and an enamel sign with our favorite number 15 are both from the Rose Bowl. The old velvet hangers were purchased from Little Byrd Vintage. She has a great shop, go see!

 
The Man made the wood counter top and stained it a beautiful warm honey color. Sorry I don't have the name of the stain, we mixed 4 different leftover ones to get this tone. We matched it to my antique Belgian bread board which sounds a little crazy, but I know you understand.
The clear glass jar holds Oxi Clean and the extra large blue/green one is perfect for tree branches. The iron piece below was purchased at Junk Bonanza last year from my friend Pam. She's also a flight attendant and brought it to California for me in her carry on luggage! Where there's a will, there's a way.    

 

 
I've had this antique box for at least ten years and have always used it for my dryer sheets. Why change a good thing, right? The vintage oyster basket below was a display piece from Anthropologie and I love old blue paint peeking through.

 

 
This mirror is another flea market find and looked rather "newish" when I bought it. So I decided to hang it on my back porch (exposed to the elements) for about 9 months and now it looks perfectly aged. And yes, sometimes he thinks I'm nuts. But again, you get me...I just know it.

 
And I've got a new design crush: Kilim rugs! Finding different ones for all my bare floors has become my latest thrill. This one was scored at an antique store. It was rolled up in a dusty corner and I spotted it like a hawk. It has beautiful earthy tones and no red, which can be hard to find. Lastly, we come to my humble trash can...an old French flower bucket which is just the right size for the room.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the tour of my laundry closet. Small spaces can a challenge to decorate but I'm happy with how our little laundry turned out.
If you'd like to know more...here's a link to my first post, where I address the paint colors, ceiling treatment and such.
Thanks so much for stopping by! Cheers to petite places!

Friday Five

 
Do you take a lot of photos with your cell phone? Most of mine are emailed to friends or associates but I noticed many of them are just something that caught my eye or to capture a memory. Here's my five favorites from this week!

1. Laguna Beach visit with The Man. We sat on a bench like an old married couple sipping coffee. After that we gathered driftwood for a mirror project.

 
2. Flower stand on the highway selling the most luscious bouquets. They had some beautiful bundles with all green flowers and gigantic sunflowers...divine.

 
3. Sprinkles cupcakes from the Newport Beach location. Red Velvet, Coconut, Peanut Butter Chocolate, and Vanilla. The vanilla is my favorite. :-)

 
4. My prop house is getting a makeover! This is one of the glass shelves. I love all the bottles lined up like little soldiers waiting for their assignment.

 
5. My girls have been enjoying all the worms, bugs and new growth in the gardens. Those aren't weeds in the background...it's mint that's taken over the entire section! It's a pain in the you know what to get rid of and the chickens don't eat mint. Darn.

Well, that's my weekly highlights. How about you? Do you ever post your cell photos on your blog? I think I might do this again. It's been fun!

Field Trip: Dana Point Nursery

 
There's nothing like a trip to a nursery to put you in the mood for spring planting. One such fabulous little place is the Dana Point Nursery. Their displays are unbelieveable and the cool ocean climate produces the most amazing plants! Come along and see for yourself...

 
They've been in business since 1947 so it's fair to say they are experts in their field. I wish my succulents looked as healthy and vibrant as theirs. It's like they're on steroids. They have dozens of hanging succulent gardens that are enormous. 

 
 
And small gravel paths to meander while you choose your herbs. I love their broken concrete raised beds. Most of the walls have baby tears and moss growing on them. And notice the small concrete trim cap surrounding the top of the wall? I think it's such a great detail that makes them look more polished.

 
They also have a large selection of terracotta pots in many shapes and sizes. My favorites are the tall narrow pots I use for topiaries and trailing plants.

 
 
Indoors you'll find a small koi pond stocked with some very large fish. They must be trained because they follow you as you walk around the pond waiting for food. You can also find lots of shade loving plants and gifts for garden lovers.

 
Why even the camelias that have fallen on the concrete floor are lovely!

 
May I suggest if you're stuck in a creativity rut....grab your camera and head to the nearest nursery. It might be better than the usual "grab a book and head to the coffee shop". I myself found it so refreshing and inspiring! Cheers to Spring!