Pepper Design Blog

Curb Appeal: I Spy Spots of Yellow

We’ve had some spring-awesomeness reveal itself over here and, being my first bulb planting attempt, I had to share it with you.

I took a chance last fall (despite not having a green thumb… yet) and planted two dozen or so daffodil and allium bulbs in our front yard. It was my first go, my first foray into bulb planting, so I kept it small and manageable. Just in case project bulb failed.

I actually remember watching my mom plant daffodil bulbs by the wheelbarrow full while growing up on the slightly more fertile, rain-loving northern coast of California. She would literally trowel out holes the size of graves and fill the ground with hundreds of bulbs at varying depths. Come spring, those bulbs would slowly break through and line all pathways leading up our driveway in a brilliant yellow! It was beautiful. It marked the arrival of the season.

My planting is slightly more diminutive.

I was actually pretty sure that come spring (5 months post-planting), little would show for my efforts. So imagine my surprise when these beautiful little stalks began to poke up through that gravel-rich, ultra-dry soil that is our desert front yard.

Oh hello spring!! (in my best Carrie Bradshaw voice) you have arrived!

The allium has yet to make an appearance… but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that just as planting daffodils at different depths will yield different blooming periods, these guys will suddenly pop through and surprise us! Because… maybe they take longer to germinate? At least the packaging promises ‘late’ spring blooming while my daffodils boast of ‘mid’ spring blooming.

Oh please pop through you pretty little puffs.

As for actually planting these guys, last fall I chose four or five special little spots in the yard and nestled 3 or 4 bulbs in each. I hadn’t started the bulbs in water outside of the ground nor have they received special attention since (except for the occasional watering). I planted them about 5″ or so below the soil, but that includes the decomposed granite and mulch that is the ground covering for most of our desert-friendly front yard.

Your average visitor would have no idea my delight in the garden at the moment. But I spot that little yellow welcome sign every day!

Actually, I’m a little surprised that they are already starting to wilt and shrivel up. So much work and anticipation for just a week’s worth of bloom. Is this odd? Perhaps next year (now that I know that I can do it!) I’ll plant layers of bulbs so that just as my mom did so that as one set begins to die down the next will begin to bloom. Kinda sounds like a pricey solution to a month’s worth of blooms though?

In other spring bloom news, remember when the flower pots on the porch were finally planted and alive with color? Well there was one plant that I was a little nervous about…

This one.

The tag from the original half gallon container mentions that verbena is of the half sun/half shade variety, and sure enough after a few weeks of zero sun (well, no direct sun) she looks a little bit more like this these days:

Can you spot the faux plants above? Love that they still look so pretty and green .

Sometimes it’s the small bright spots in our life that cause us to stop and reflect. Thinking of all of those affected by the Boston and Waco tragedies today and offering up prayers of support for the courageous actions of all of those involved.

PS More curb appeal projects found right here.

PPS Talk about unusual art! This artist recently sent over this neat quack-inspired video.

New Nursery: The Wallpaper Has Arrived

Well sort of. The wallpaper samples for the nursery remodel have arrived. I’ve been staring at them for a couple of days now and am trying to imagine how each might look covering an entire 10×15′ ish wall – and I have to be honest – I love them all. I’m pretty sure that any one of these designs would be so perfect in here. Which oh which to choose?

Here they all are up close if it’s hard to see the above at an angle.

Most of these I shared here when I was debating on what direction to take my solo statement wall. Clearly I’m still debating, even when I was sure that ordering my favorites and hanging them up would help settle that nursery quandary!

All of these wallpaper samples are from Spoonflower, an awesome site that lets you design and print your own fabric and wallpaper (oh search thousands of predesigned options by different artists, sort of like Etsy). I’ve used them a ton and they are reasonably priced compared to purchasing something manufactured (though boy does it take a long time to process and ship your order… I have too little patience these days).

I designed the two starry prints (top left, bottom right) which were inspired by this Osborne & Little wallpaper. I spotted the pretty night sky in House Beautiful a while ago and the image sits in the back of my mind. Not happy with any of the colors offered through Osborne & Little, I recreated from scratch and used both a peach (top left) and light pink (bottom right) as the background, while also softening up the stars and playing with the frequency in pattern. The rest of the prints are handmade on Spoonflower by various artists. Clockwise you can find the links here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8.

The pinks are not exact, the fabric examples are still undecided (and will depend largely on the wallpaper) and this is in general a pretty crude photoshop markup, but here’s how I think the bookshelves will work with the space once they’re installed:

Amazing for storage, right? Oh man I can’t wait.

Update: Fabric Warehouse Direct is offering that beautiful Kravet window covering fabric that I photoshopped into the above pic at a steal of a rate right now. 

Ignore the random throw pillows and the other pieces of photo I didn’t get a chance to photoshop out. I’m imagining a dark pink painted backing in those top shelves, hence the awkward block of color at the moment. If you squint you can begin to see it all come together…

Ahhh, it’s all becoming so real!

Wardrobe Style Board: A Few April Favorites

The spring weather here in San Diego is playing games with us… one day it’s hot and sunny without a cloud in that beautiful blue sky. The next is overcast and drizzly and I’m pulling my favorite boots back out of the closet. Today is one such day. I don’t hate cold weather though and I’m okay with the sun hiding for a bit. Actually, with a big pregnant belly sometimes it’s much more comfortable to curl up at my office desk in leggings and oversized sweaters rather than thin cotton dresses.

Anna Kate reports that it is indeed spring (even summer-ish!) in AZ these days though, the weather is climbing into the 90′s and she’s leaning towards soft sweatshirt dresses to stay comfy (sounds like the best of both worlds to me), and I love the accessories that she’s pairing them with.

First, I’ll share a style board that combines a few of my favorite spring staples with a happy coral, mint and mustard color combination:

I haven’t worn a belt in a while (except for here, it’s a rare occasion these days) but I invested in a few wrap belts a long while back and am excited to see that they’re picking up popularity. They’re so easy to throw over a cardigan and jeans, a long maxi dress or as a break between a tucked in shirt and skirt. The lack of a buckle feels a bit more casual and comfy to me. The above is my take on what I’d be hankering for just about now (weather and all) if I could pull one of my favorite wrap belts out of the closet for a day and find my waist again.

I love the idea of pairing inexpensive basics with slightly more stylish favorites, and mixing in a classic white v-neck tee is a great way to do this. I’d throw a mustard cardigan over the top on a chilly day, and pair with mint green as a nod to spring (for when she decides to shine again!).

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Handing the reigns over to AK now as she describes a favorite spring staple!

I’ve been eying this super soft sweatshirt dress for quite some time now. It’s the sort of dress you can wear every day, for any occasion. I would wear it to work or to lunch with friends with flats and a jacket, or slightly dressed up for a night out. The fabric and fit are pretty casual, so I wanted to girl it up a little bit with pink wedges (aren’t they amazing?!) and a sparkly earring. So cute! – AK

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All of the sources, links and pricing for every style board ever posted on the blog is available right here in this nifty gallery (just click on one of the images to pull up the links).

PS You can find Anna Kate anytime over here at Home Away from Home. I especially love her recent blog redesign, and her incredibly honest post on Motherhood. Anna Kate is such a beautiful, busy, awesome mom and I feel so blessed to have her as a guest blogger over here!

PPS Just spotted these beautiful botanical charts deeply discounted here today! About three times as much as the DIY version will run you, but they are stunning and in ready-to-hang form, dowels and all.