Be Inspired: She's Got Style

Hi Everyone, Time for Be Inspired!
the place to share what's been inspiring you this week.

And speaking of "inspiration", this Southern Gal "Wows" us each week with her decorating skills and paint transformations. We all know Kim, and love her gorgeous Georgia home where she has created a warm and personal style. Kim has an eye for color combinations and isn't afraid to paint, paint, and repaint, sharing her chalk paint and milk paint creations along the way.

I've been a fan of hers early on, and one of my favorite rooms is her wonderful sitting room/library, where she has recently repainted her walls and changed up her sofa and color scheme. Kim's mix of Traditional and Country French is always beautifully pulled together, and she absolutely lives up to her blog name, Savvy Southern Style.

I love the mix of the browns and blues.

And the piece de resistance...

her amazing antique French Vaisselier.

thanks Kim, for always sharing your home and style with us!

Now, on to some other great links from last week...

Leslie and her dad created a wonderful DIY Rustic Plank Table
with salvaged weathered wood  at Gwen Moss.

You'll want to see how Little Miss Maggie morphed
a ho-hum metal flower container
 into this gorgeous Decorative Wall Basket

Jody and Stan from Rooted in Thyme  have gorgeous gardens in their
California home. Take a peek at their Paris Flea Market themed garden room

Vanessa from At the Picket Fence recently completed a
Staircase and Foyer Makeover that is fresh and bright.

And I love this "Table turned Island"

from Karen at Redoux.

One of my weaknesses is any kind of chocolate...

Doesn't this Guiness Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

from Pattie at Olla-Podrida look melt in your mouth?

thanks gals, for joining in for the party!

And today I'm excited to introduce you to a new sponsor, 

Eleanor Brown Boutique. 

Jennifer and her husband are also the proprietors of the website Santos Cage Dolls, but have now expanded their shop to include even more beautiful items to choose from. Alongside their amazing Santos and Ex Votos, they are now carrying lovely crowns, select vintage items, decor and kitchenware: all with a French flavor. I hope you'll visit their Eleanor Brown Blog, and Facebook page to keep up with new items and promotions.

thank you so much, Jennifer!

OK, time to link up all your inspiration from this last week.
If you can, please take a minute to visit the person ahead of you in the links,
and please be a follower of this blog, Common Ground.
Thank you everyone for always showing up ready to party!
If you've ever been featured feel free to grab the image below.

and while you're out, please check out these other Friday party gals:

 Have a great rest of the week,
xoxo,

Be Inspired Top Visited Links

Hi All, it's Wednesday, 

and time for a look at the top visited links from last week's Be Inspired.

If you haven't checked out these posts you'll want to run by to see

"...the rest of the story."

A new kitchen in the basement?

 Take a peek at this wonderful Farmhouse Glam Kitchen

from Jann at Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson.

Rita from Panopoly 

shares a Lesson from A Master of Making Slipcovers

 with a wonderful chaise that got a makeover from a very talented lady.

Mary Alice from Chateau Chic

shares what happens when you move 

large pieces of furniture from one room to another.

She has such a lovely home, it would be fun mixing it all up again.

thanks so much ladies for joining in and sharing all this inspiration!

See you all tomorrow morning for

Have you missed a post this week?

If so, you can easily check and click with the photos in the header.

xoxo,

Mid Summer Mantel

I know you all have been waiting for the next installment of 

"The Summer Mantel". 

Sort of like how we're waiting for the next season of Downton Abbey...right? (I hope you all know that I'm a "kidder" from waaaay back) I guess that it's safe to say that it's "mid" summer, now that we're into the middle of July. 

And once it's past the July 4th holiday, and those wonderful little Black-Eyed-Susans start blooming, then I have to hold myself back from going Sunflower crazy.

A few weeks ago, on the way back from St. Louis we stopped at one of our favorite Antique Malls, Artichoke Annie's in Columbia, Missouri. It's a real quality mall; big, and full of great antiques. No "garage sale" items here. I saw tons of things I loved but I'm really watching what I buy, so my only purchase was a piece of Majolica; a small dessert plate that would match the other few pieces that I have.

Once I had that new plate,

I had enough to put together a little grouping on the mantel.

I love the wonderful colors of Majolica, 

mine all have the gold and green in common.

Even with chips, it's still collectible and doesn't break the bank.

The colors of the pottery play off the silk Sunflower and Rudbeckia

(part of the Daisy family) that are now in the Wolff  Pottery vases.

A little English Cottage metal doorstop sits in the middle.

These sunny warm colors are my go-to colors of late Summer.

I'm lovin' this Summery display, so it just might stick around 

for the next episode; the "Late Summer" mantel...

And here are a few pics of what's happening in the rest of the Living Room.

And here's my little Italian desk in the corner.

It doesn't make an appearance very often.

Sunflowers have popped up in other places too,

so stay tuned for some changes in the Dining Room.

I'll be joining in for these parties this week:

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Tips and Tutorials at Stone Gable

Inspiration Gallery at Ella Claire

DIY by Design

The Shabby Creek Cottage

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

From My Front Porch to Yours

The Charm of Home

French Country Cottage

Shabby Art Boutique

Jennifer Rizzo

Craftberry Bush

xoxo,

The Marketplace: Etsy and Online Boutique Showcase

Hi Everyone, and welcome to

 The Marketplace!

Let's see some links that caught my attention from last week's party:

Hard to believe that we're into mid-July this week, and mid-Summer calls for some Summer fun with a bright new bag made from vintage fabrics. I enjoyed checking out Lisa's shop with lots of great vintage fabrics and these great Boho Bags

Vintage Fabric Boho Bag

from Poet Charms

White Cake Painting Original Oil on Canvas

The Farmhouse Porch

Leather Messenger Bag

from Epic Linen

Three Tiered Serving Tray 

from Simple Joys Decor

Paris Digital Download

from Cottage Rose Graphics

Today's Sponsor for The Marketplace is

Michele from Glass Bead Treasures
use code paris10 for 10% Off

Welcome to Michele's Glass Bead Treasures! The hand made pieces are a result of my combined enjoyment of needlework, "little" things, sea glass, stained glass windows, flowers, and sparkling jewelry. All of these items are hand stitched and are of my own design using beautiful glass (some of them vintage!) and crystal beads. Also, I have on this site vintage finds found while visiting thrift shops, estate sales, and other fun places that I think others may want and enjoy.

Light Pink Crystal Earrings

Gold Tone Mesh Roses Bracelet

Embellished Vintage Perfume Bottle

thanks Michele!

Time to link up to three of your individual items from your Etsy Shop or Online Boutiques. Please have a direct link to your items if possible. If you have a blog post about your shop or selling site, that's great too. Just make sure this is about your items that are For Sale. You don't have to have a blog to join in on the linky, but if you do it would be super nice to grab the image below to share on your blog with your readers. (not mandatory). 

Remember this link is open all week, so drop back by several times throughout the week so see what new items have been listed.

 Have fun shopping!

On the deck...

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend, everyone. I just wanted to share a few photos from the deck, and show you a couple of new things that I have potted up this week. This space is right off the sunporch and under my kitchen window, so I always like to keep things tidied up out here, giving me a pretty view while I'm in the kitchen. I can't see much of the rest of the yard from that vantage point, so if this looks presentable then I'm happy.

For some reason, I've lost a couple of ivy's inside, so I headed over to the little corner nursery to see if they had any left. I hate going there in these mid days of July, because all the plants are looking forlorn and straggly. They are shutting down next week, so the nature lover and rescuer in me wants to adopt all the poor misfits and bring them home.

I don't have very much of a green thumb, so they'd be taking their chances here with me, but I did find a couple of sweet Pink Ivy Geraniums, and these little pink Petunia-like plants. I put them here in this old wire basket with the burlap ribbon that I painted last year.

This is my super old wicker wrapped chair that my mom gave me years ago. It's protected from the elements out here, so it pretties up this little corner next to the door.

I stuck in a little cream colored tin tray for some added shabby interest.

So far so good with my Impatiens in the old concrete urns. If the chipmunks will leave them alone they may make it the rest of the summer.

The hail storm over Father's Day weekend killed all my Petunias, and did a number on the rest of my plants. We had ping pong sized hail and it tore most of my potted plants to smithereens. I ended up having to replace about half. And speaking of hail, it also finished off our 30 year old shake roof. Everyone in our subdivision is either getting a new roof, or having major repairs. We're hoping we can get a new roof, but that will take a huge chunk of money, even IF the insurance will help out. It's beyond patching. 

The little black wagon was one of the victims of the hail storm,

 so I had to replant it.

The angel vine and mint are going crazy though.

This is a little metal grocery store display rack that's been in the garage, I pulled it out and planted some old pots with Moss Rose, which works well in the heat and sun. The Petunia on the bottom shelf is iffy. It's a little shaded down there on the bottom, so it doesn't get pounded too much. I guess I'm going to have to quit buying Petunias, they just don't like it here.

On the other hand, the Lantana and Geraniums are flourishing.

OK, so that's what's happening on the deck this week...

And an update on the last post about my Antique Mall space, Hubbs and I went over yesterday morning and packed up all the smalls, unscrewed all the doors and took down the gate, so they're accessible now for shoppers. I had lot's of interest in all the pieces while we were there, and a really nice man came by saying that his daughter was getting married and that the large window would be perfect for a backdrop. So I'm hoping it goes to a good home. I know you all were hoping I would keep it, but it's just huge, and I had it stored in my garage for 3 years, it needs to be enjoyed and used by someone.

Joining in with these parties this week:

Blissful Whites at Timewashed

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm

Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House

The Scoop at Cedar Hill Ranch

Knick of Time Tuesday

See you Monday for The Marketplace, 

hope you'll come by and link up if you have an Etsy Shop or Online Boutique.

xoxo,