And the light came through!

One of the great pleasures of having an outdoor space is to be able to use when good weather comes around. Not at Maison MY, until now! 

What a difference some light makes!

See it by yourself bellow:

Before:

After:

Peonies are blooming!

And the happiest season of the year is upon us: the peonies season!
With the rain we got over the couple of days, the peonies bloomed overnight. I made a few arrangements with them, and had on an extra one to offer to a fellow stressed mom across the street!

Now that the tree bloomed, I'm waiting for the bushes. Just keep them coming!

How to revive wilting hydrangeas

I count hydrangeas one of my favorite flowers, after peonies. With all the crazy weather we had in Baltimore, most of my hydrangeas bushes are frail and with very little change of flowering like previous years.
This past weekend we celebrated little M 3rd birthday, and being my first toddler party with parents and kids from his pre-school I decided to buy four bunches of blue and white hydrangeas from Whole Foods, but unfortunately, as in previous times, within a couple of hours all of them were wilting…

I have heard about the cure for wilting: hot water, but never came to try it, until today.
I started with the white ones, and these were the steps I used:
1: boil water enough to cover the stems a couple of inches
2: cut off at least one inch of the stem and put it immediately in the hot water
3: witness the miracle of revival!

Some of the stems were revived quicker than others. Some took as little as a couple of minutes while others took at least 4 hours. I should mention that I bought the flowers on Saturday morning, and only did this revival process this afternoon (Monday).

Some of the pics from my foyer and living room during the party:

I'm back...

Hello again… Sorry being MIA for almost two months, but I had my reasons: a baby girl was born just two days after my last post, a terrible flu that went on for almost four weeks, and oh the wonders of living with a newborn attached to your hip!
One of the outputs of a short lived springish weather was to paint an eye sore of a lamp I got for free a couple of years ago at a Fells Point thrift store that was closing down.

The before:

And the nicer after:






Resources: SW trim paint leftover.

Antique Japanese gold screen

Over the mantel of the dining room fireplace, I have a golden tone Japanese hand painted vintage screen. My father-in-law is Japanese, born in Brazil, and even though in my in-laws home very little of Japanese traditions, mementos or decor items are present, Mr. Y and I respect and try to incorporate our cultures into our homes.

If my kitchen were a big bigger, I would install a big screen like this one:

Picture source: unknown, google images.

Wishing for a blue and white spring

Missing the light and tiles of my birth homeland: Portugal.
In the meantime, a bathroom filled with blue and white tiles:

Source:

Traditional Bathroom by Anouska Hempel Design in Wiltshire, England, AD.

Mid-Week cravings: spring shoes

Being in colder surroundings means controllable bloating, but the shoes are what I call "mom-shoes": plain, comfortable shoes.
Wishing for Spring to come soon, and the opportunity to wear sandals and proper fashionista shoes!
Hey, the stroller helps with the 4 inch balancing act!

Photo source: my Dressing room board in Pinterest.