Home » Bricks 'n Blooms Weekly » Bricks ‘n Blooms Weekly 122

Bricks ‘n Blooms Weekly 122

Hi there!

I hope you had a great week!

(Posts on stacyling.com may contain affiliate links. Click HERE for full disclosure.)

Random Things Happening Behind the Scenes at Bricks ‘n Blooms

What a week it was!

In last week’s wrap-up, I mentioned that I painted the upstairs hallways. Well after two full days of painting, it looks a gazillion times better!

I painted all of the second floor on my own, but Chris helped me finish the third floor. There were a lot of out-of-my-reach places to paint and it went a lot faster with his assistance to wrap it up.

Project complete!

At some point I’ll share more of it in a later post, but here is an in-process shot so you can see just how dark it was!

painting over red walls i the hallway
In-process hallway renovation painting over red walls with white

My daughter Shana came home from school for spring break, so it’s been nice spending time with her while we regrouped as a family.

My youngest daughter Tori celebrated the end of her swim career with the annual swim team banquet. She has been swimming with a team since she was about 5 years old. So it’s truly the end of an era.

And she did double time this week as a make-up artist for the school play, Cabaret, which ran the last few days and was a huge success.

Suffice it to say, it was a busy week here!

close up of seniors from swim banquet 2023

I wrapped up the seed starting for my snapdragons AND at the last minute, decided to sow a few foxglove seeds too. I am super excited to grow these from seed this year too.

Every year I try to grow them and haven’t had a successful return rate, so I’m going to start the seeds and see if they’ll take better. I planted some last year and see some growth where they were planted so hopefully, those are coming back.

The crocuses and some daffodils are in bloom now. And the hellebores are all just taking off too! Have I mentioned how much I love those? I’m hoping to add a few new varieties here this spring around the front pond.

purple crocuses - the first of the 2023 blooms

Oh and speaking of the gardens, Chris started working on the raised garden beds for the potager garden with his buddy Mark.

It snowed a little here and dampened some of the efforts, but at least we got it going yesterday.

And one of the beds is already built. They did such a great job with it. And I can’t wait to see how it looks when its all planted up! Because it looks beautiful already.

the workspace to build the raised garden beds and new garden arbor from gardeners supply.
First new raised garden bed in the potager garden.

We are also repairing the arbor on the fence that leads to the front yard pond. It was disintegrating as we speak, so I ordered a new arbor from my favorite Gardeners Supply and here it is!

We didn’t install it yet, as I’m going to paint it green to match the rest of the fence. Once it’s painted and installed, we’ll need to do some surgery on the lonicera that is currently climbing the existing arbor.

Since we didn’t get a whole lot of snow here this year and I haven’t posted many snow pics, here are some photos from the latest snow we had earlier in the week. It wasn’t much but still quite beautiful!

snow in the potager garden
The potager garden
snow by the front porch on a beautiful day in march
In just a few months, we’ll se more flowers here by the front porch.

What I’m Shopping For This Week

It was a quiet shopping week for me. I was a little busy behind the scenes but here are some fun items I found this week.

  • My daughter was telling me about some hairdryers that are easier on your hair but a little pricey in my opinion. This one is a little more reasonable than this one but the reviews sound amazing!
  • I love this cozy throw for spring. The color is so pretty!
  • I’m shopping for outdoor area rugs for the porch and am between two. This one and this one.
snow covering my tulips and daffodils emerging from the ground that overlooks the valley
If you look closely, you can see my tulips peeking out through the snow!

What’s Happening at Bricks ‘n Blooms

It was a fun week on the blog!

This week, I shared some Easter decorating inspiration together with some friends. From Easter flowers and front door wreaths to table decor and centerpiece ideas, this post covers it all.

In addition to Easter, we chatted about purple coneflowers. Are you growing them yet in your garden? If not, you should!

They are so easy to grow. Not to mention, they look amazing in mixed borders and cottage gardens too. Learn how to grow echinacea purpurea here.

And finally, we talked about how to create an outdoor living space you’ll never want to leave. From furnishing to adding the final touches, this post will inspire you to cozy up your backyard living spaces this season.

close up of echinacea in my cottage garden -15 Mistakes New Gardeners Should Avoid

Amazing Inspiration from Around the Web

I love finding cool inspiration from around the web and wanted to share some of what I’m loving right now.

My good friend Jennifer from Cottage on Bunker Hill shared her tips for styling a fresh grocery store arrangement on a budget.

And the bouquet couldn’t be more beautiful!

grocery store flower arrangement from trader joes by cottage on bunker hill

My good friend Rachel from The Ponds Farmhouse shared the sweetest DIY Easter wreath that looks so easy to make!

The supplies are not hard to find and it takes minutes to make too!

I love how this one turned out and it looks beautiful on her porch.

My good friend Kim from Shiplap and Shells shared her early spring refresh in her cottage-style home and it looks so pretty!

From all the flowers and vintage style touches, Kim’s home looks ready for spring, doesn’t it?

And here is some more inspiration you’ve got to see!

These hutch decorating ideas for spring.

These tips for decorating with green and white for spring or summer.

I love these tips for styling an Easter vignette.

This recipe for roasted carrot soup.

view of our 1850 farmhouse in hopefully the last snow of the season.

If you enjoy these posts, you can find past Bricks ‘n Blooms Weekly posts here.

And… If you’re catching up on blog posts you may have missed, be sure to sign-up to get my newest posts via email to stay up to date with everything that’s happening here on the blog and more.

About Me

Want to learn more about me?

Get the inside scoop about my background, education, and experience, as well as why I started blogging.

stacy ling cutting dahlias in her garden
Home and Garden Blogger Stacy Ling cutting zinnia flowers in her cottage garden with wood picket fence in front of garden shed

Sign Me Up!

Sign up for my free newsletter to get blog posts, seasonal tips, recipes, and more delivered straight to your inbox!

Plus, get free VIP access to my Resource Library where you’ll find insider freebies not readily available to the public.

Thank you so much for following along.

Enjoy a beautiful day! xo

Let’s Connect!

If you like this post, please follow me @bricksnblooms on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Subscribe to my YouTube Channel. Or join my Facebook Group.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

16 Comments

  1. Can’t wait to see your Potager garden and what all you plant! Thanks did sharing your favorite finds this week.

  2. Stacy
    I’m so glad you got spend some quality family time with your girls. Your raised beds are going to be amazing. Thanks for sharing my Easter wreath. Have a great Sunday.

  3. I have been starting seeds in the greenhouse and thinking of you. I’m so excited to have my hands in the dirt again. I’m so excited for spring.

  4. Great roundup of your week.

    I hope we don’t get the Nor’easter I have been reading about. They’re saying Monday or Tuesday.

    I’m getting the house ready for spring too

    1. Good golly Cindy I hope not too! We’ve had like 3 or 4 storms in the last week already! It’s spring! My clock says so! LOL. Thank you! xoxo

  5. I can’t wait to see…all of it! The gardens and the white paint!! I’m in the ‘seriously considering’ stage of painting our great room and my mud room (which happens to be brick red also)

    1. DO IT!!! I actually love that red and had it in my former home at one point. But it’s too dark and when we moved here, it weighed the house down and distracted from all of the other beautiful features. I love the lighter vibe now.

  6. Oooh, that raised bed is gorgeous!! The garden is going to be amazing!! I can’t believe your crocuses are flowering already. I’m getting my snow boots ready up here.
    My pick is the 1st area rug if we are voting…

    1. We’ve got daffs blooming too! The beds are going to be amazing – wait until you see the ones he is making. It’s going to be a cool design! xo

  7. Stacy, those snowy photos are so pretty! Our weather has been crazy too. It’s 60 one day and 25 the next! Sigh…I am so ready for spring. Thanks for the tip on the purple cone flowers. I have a few empty spots on my back bed that need to be refreshed with a low-maintenance plant so I think I’ll try these. And thank you for sharing a link to my Easter vignette.

    Happy Sunday!

  8. I can’t believe all the snow on the ground, Stacy. It’s crazy! I’m sowing foxglove this year too. I can’t wait to see how they do! I can’t wait to see the Potager garden after Chris is done building your planters. Thank you for sharing my tour post!