" Soft and Simple Spring "

Soft and simple

is the motto here in the Dior home.

I love how the simple beauty 

of nature is just enough

to color my world happy and content...

Nature draws me in while

offering me a peaceful surrounding.

The beauty of the neutral palette

is how a subtle color will come alive...

  Together along with other elements...

Creating a softness that calms...

Using a few elements of the sea...

Using some of my lavender that I dry

outdoors to bleach

a soft warm tone that I love for our home...

I'm linking up with my favorite gals in

blog land this week..

Jann's Share your cup Thursday

Debra's Be Inspired Friday #136

 

Have a beautiful and blessed week!

XOXO

" Healing our broken hearts "

Our hearts were broken by a loss we did not

expect and therefore I took a short

blogging break from my weekly posts.

{Gracie and our new adopted sweet girl}

Shortly after Easter we found out that our sweet

American bull dog Lola had cancer that

had come out of no where and it

was causing her such tremendous pain.

Lola blessed our lives

from the day my son brought her 

home from the breeder

at 10 weeks old.

Each month she grew...

and grew

and we loved her more...

She was loyal...

She loved us as her family

and we cherished everyday with her...

This was the last photo I took of her

with my son Christopher on Easter.

We were all so very devastated since she was

only four years old.

If you are an animal lover you know

they are like your children

they are a huge part of your family.

We said our tearful goodbyes while

Christopher and I stayed with her

till the end that day.

The ride home was such an emptiness

in my heart sitting between he

and Gracie while they were sobbing.

As a mother I held them tight

while my own tears were endless.

We had lost our girl...

Each day that passed it hurt so much

to not see her sweet face.

Last week I was sitting outside thinking

about my high school friend Denny

who is always posting about rescuing

a dog through adoption.

Denny is a firefighter and a wonderful family man.

I thought about how passionate he was

through all of his face book posts.

Then I decided that pet adoption

would be our perfect fit.

 adopted from OC Animal Care

As I walked around the volunteer that

helped us named Debbie told us

this sweet girl had been over looked at three years of age.

I asked to spend time with her

and when those soulful eyes looked into mine

I knew she was it.

It tugged my heart just thinking how my mom

adopted me at age twelve and I too had

been over looked by families who

wanted a younger child.

I think that is where our souls connected

and I had to bring her home.

I called Christopher and he drove to meet me there

and as you can see she stole our hearts.

She was a family surrender after

they had lost their home.

I was so happy that we could offer

her a home where she would be spoiled

with endless love.

OC Shelter Dogs

We decided to keep the name

that she was given by her previous family.

This is our new sweet girl

" Guinevere "

She took us by storm in one short week

and we are head over heels in love with her.

Each day with Guinevere our broken hearts are healing.

A heart felt thank you to my friend

Denny who continues to support the shelters

 who find loving homes for these beautiful

animals through adoption.

 Lola girl we will carry the love 

in our hearts for you forever...

" Rescue Me " styled for Spring

This week I wanted to share my latest

Spring style rescue.

You know the stuff that makes my heart skip a beat...

My sweet friend Carrie

found a lovely worn and unloved vintage table by a dumpster

and her hubby brought it to me.

There is great joy when your girlfriends

find you trash that they know you will love.

Carrie is a precious blessing to my heart!

The legs had such beautiful lines

and great character.

We stripped the pieces of the table top

to remove all of the old wood stain.

Mr. Dior built the base and then we salvaged

a few planks to form the top of the table.

I first used a clear wax to seal the wood

then white washed paint over the wax.

The last step I sanded a smooth finish

with 120 grit sand paper and sealed again

with clear wax for protection.

I wanted the table top

to have a farm style look to it.

And now the perfect finish...

I used the same gray white wash technique

on the rescued shutters against the wall.

I added a sea lavendar plant to add a splash of color

during the spring season. I love that it will last

much longer than fresh flowers.

I fell head over heels for this large old urn

that I rescued with a broken base.

It has such a gorgeous patina

that evolved from years of weather damage.

I gathered branches from our backyard

to bring a touch of nature inside.

The small table top urn

I grabbed at my local Goodwill store

for a few dollars. It made the perfect

container for my sea lavendar...

I'm delighted to share

that I am a monthly contributor

 to the fabulous Houzz.

You can view my April idea book

 Spring Storage Trends

and follow along. You can view

my idea books also at the top

right hand corner of my blog.

I will be linking up this week

with my favorite gals in blogland

Jann's Share your cup Thursday

Debra's Be Inspired Friday

Courtney's Feathered Nest Friday

Wishing each of you

a week full of love and blessings

XOXO

" Standing in the Gap "

If you have ever had your heart touched to reach out

to someone who is unable then you

understand great things happen when

you " stand in the gap "

This is our season of grace...

I remind myself whenever I meet

someone, each one of us hold our own story

and my heart reaches out with love.

When this new year rang in I was on shaky ground facing

complications with Lupus that I was quite honestly afraid of.

I thought about where God has seen me through

and now where I stood.

I was staring down at the hard fact that

we had some choices to make. Treatment plans had to be decided

 and life would once again change for me.  As I looked over numbers

of the medical cost and how my kidneys were now affected

 my heart just sank.

The ground shook and so did my faith

for the first time as I was truly weak.

Then something beautiful happened...

Those who love us went forth and

decided to " stand in the gap ".

When you first hear that term you think

"to fill in a space".

That is exactly what took place

 but in such a deeper way.

There was a great distance that had arose

from where I was to where I needed to be.

I pretty much at the start was

paralyzed by my deepest fears.

My best girlfriends who are such beautiful women

 began to hold me up with their love, prayers

and constant reminders of God's promise

that we stand upon.

Then the precious blessing began to bloom

inside the heart of Mr. Dior

These past months I have watched God take my husband

on a journey where he "went to the wall" for me in every way possible.

He moved forward no matter what obstacle

was placed before him. He stayed true to the man

that was committed to fighting for his wife and family.

 Never a word of complaint, never

a word of tiredness or weary,

just his beautiful smile and love spilled over.

Each day he reached a point where he gave

all that he had for us and then some.

Then provisions were given through love

and greater blessings poured out upon us.

As we sat together in church hand in hand

last Sunday tears filled my eyes while

I whispered praises in my heart.

We are rejoicing in the glory

while " grace like rain " is falling upon us...

We are now in a new beautiful valley

where God has so righteously placed us.

I am filled with so much love for this man

and those that I could not imagine my life without.

To my dearest friends, fellow bloggers and readers,

thank you for your love, continued support

and above all for your prayers that

" stand in the gap "

on our behalf.

Photography Frank Salas Photography

Linking up to the lovely

 Jann's Share your cup Thursday

With much love in my heart I wish all of you

a blessed Easter Sunday.

He is risen

He is risen indeed!