• Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Collaborate
  • Blog
  • Parties
    • Children’s Parties Ideas
    • Holiday Parties
    • Adult Party Ideas
  • Holiday Ideas
    • Christmas
    • Easter
    • Fourth of July
    • Spring
    • Thanksgiving
    • Valentine’s Day
  • Seasons
    • Winter
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Autumn
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Beverages
    • Desserts
    • Main Dishes
    • Side Dishes
    • Soups
  • Project Gallery
    • Crafts
    • Decorating
    • DIY
    • Good Ideas
    • Tutorials
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Bloglovin
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

  • Book
  • Speaking
  • Meet Vanessa
    • Featured

March 13, 2016

Simple Spring Decorating Ideas

Hello sweet friends! I’m so thrilled to be joining my fellow ‘Celebration of Home’ ladies again this month and bringing you some simple spring decorating ideas.

How are you feeling about Springing forward? I have such a love/hate relationship with the time change.

A birds nest on a vintage scale makes for easy spring decor

But, mostly, it’s a love relationship.

wildflowers in white pitcher

Because even though I seriously dislike the loss of sleep and that it seems to take us forever to adjust, and that it’s on a Saturday night which means there is very good chance we will show up at church on Sunday at the wrong time, and that for about the first week I walk around with a coffee cup permanently affixed to my hand, I really do love what it means to spring forward.

Farmhouse style spring decor

I even love that we call it that. ‘Spring forward’…. there’s so much hope in those two little words. I don’t know about you but when I hear them I always picture myself getting ready to launch myself into the next phase of life with all of the hopefulness I can muster up. Like a child crouching down and then, with all of their might, propelling themselves over a giant puddle. Or maybe even purposely landing right in them middle of that puddle with a giant SPLASH!

Vintage olive bucket with spring flowers

Spring really is the season of hope. Not only because, for me, it means honoring the death and resurrection of Jesus, but because it truly is a time of anticipation.

A time that is ripe with possibility.

Chalkboard Easter verse on mantel

Where one minute I hear the sound of pouring rain on my windows and the next minute the sun comes streaming through them.

I’m typically not a person who embraces the unpredictability of life. I haven’t always been that crazy about change. In fact, I used to fight it at all costs.

But, spring reminds me that the only thing predictable about life is that it’s unpredictable.

A lovely spring table vignette

And that’s not such a bad thing. Because I know that I would never appreciate that sunlight streaming in through my windows as much as I do if I hadn’t heard the pounding rain against them first.

If I’ve never experienced the dark and cloudy times in my life, how can I expect to grasp the full value of the sunshine? How can I really, truly appreciate it’s worth?

Birds nest in stack of bowls

So, I don’t know about you, but I’m embracing this whole springing forward business. Not only because I love that it doesn’t feel like I’m driving my kids to school in the middle of the night anymore, but because I know that it brings with it the promise of possibilities.

I’m so glad you met me here at the Fence today! And I hope you enjoy seeing more beautiful spring ideas from my fellow ‘Celebrations of Home’ ladies.

spring has sprung

 

An InLinkz Link-up


 

8 Comments Filed Under: Decorating, Good Ideas, Holidays, Spring

Subscribe

Get the latest goodness straight to your inbox!

Previous Post: « Dreaming in Season
Next Post: Easter Recipes and Table Decorating Ideas »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Debbie @ Refresh Restyle says

    March 13, 2016 at 5:18 PM

    Amen to Jesus and spring! I will love the time change after a couple of days and naps 😉
    Happy Spring!
    Debbie

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      March 13, 2016 at 8:32 PM

      LOL Debbie! Yes a couple of days and some naps are all I need too and the trade-off of having it still light out tonight when we ate dinner makes it worth it for sure. Have a great week friend!

      Reply
  2. Michelle says

    March 13, 2016 at 5:47 PM

    Oh my, when my 21 year old daughter was 2, I stayed up all night making a dress for her. I got almost no sleep, but but it was worth it once she and my 4 year old son were dressed up in their nice Easter clothes for church. It wasn’t until I was headed into town that it hit me that I was supposed to move the clock forward and had already missed church!!! Argh, didn’t have cell phones, etc for a reminder back then! And, if it weren’t for the general crappiness of my life back then, anyway, I wouldn’t appreciate how wonderful my life is now! God is so good!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      March 13, 2016 at 8:34 PM

      He is indeed good Michelle!! Thanks for coming by and sharing your sweet (and funny!) story with us. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Rebecca Turner says

    March 13, 2016 at 8:22 PM

    Sweet pictures!

    I live in Texas; and to me, it’s always felt like we have only two seasons, Summer and Winter. But the past several years we have actually been able to enjoy a true Spring season, and beautiful weather!

    For once, I awoke this morning early enough to make it to church on this Spring forward Sunday, without feeling so terribly rushed. (Although I didn’t actually have time to wash my hair. But neither did anyone else. We ladies were laughing about our pony tails in the restroom. Ha!)

    Usually my church focuses on the somberness of the sacrifice of Jesus at Spring/Easter, but I miss hearing the victorious hymn that we used to sing in my childhood church. It begins on a somber note, but ramps up to the victorious chorus, which is actually fun to sing, and triumphant. When I think of it, I hear my father’s voice confidently singing:

    Low in the grave He lay—
    Jesus my Savior!
    Waiting the coming day—
    Jesus my Lord!
    Up from the grave He arose,
    With a mighty triumph o’er His foes
    He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
    And He lives forever with His saints to reign.
    He arose! He arose!
    Hallelujah! Christ arose!

    To me, all of the Easter bunnies and chicks represent new life, which occurs in nature in Spring. New life, which is brought about through Christ. He is risen indeed!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      March 13, 2016 at 8:41 PM

      One of my all-time favorite hymns Rebecca! Gives me chills every time I hear/sing it and I’m with you that while I know we need to experience the sorrow of remembering Christ’s death, it’s celebrating His victorious resurrection that I really look forward to. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Barb @ The Everyday Home says

    March 14, 2016 at 3:31 PM

    Amen, my sweet friend. It IS a love/hate relationship. For me, it’s because I know the beautiful days of Spring will not linger and soon we’ll be strangled by Summer’s heat. I don’t like Summer’s heat. 😀 But, I will enjoy this time while I can. Lovely words and even more lovely images. Lovely YOU! xxoo, Barb

    Reply
  5. Confessions of a Plate Addict says

    March 17, 2016 at 10:00 PM

    I love your spring changes! Once I am adjusted, I really do enjoy the time change, too! Hugs…Debbie

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Confessions of a Plate Addict Cancel reply

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

Primary Sidebar

Search This Blog

Take the Quiz

Stay updated!

Get all the latest goodness straight to your inbox!

Get the book!

Invite Vanessa to speak at your event!

Must Reads

Recent Posts

  • A New French Country Dining Table February 3, 2021
  • Open Now December 17, 2020
  • Tradition and a Christmas Home Tour December 9, 2020
  • Tabletop Hot Cocoa Station November 29, 2020
  • A New Front Door November 10, 2020

Get all the latest straight to your inbox

Footer

Instagram

I've been watching our cherry trees bloom for 12 y I've been watching our cherry trees bloom for 12 years now and every year I ohhhh and ahhhh over the blossoms like it's the first time I've ever seen them. I gush and I take photos (that look exactly like the ones I took the year before and the year before that) and I make my family come outside and look at them with me which you know they just LOVE to do. 😉 I think that is one of the main reasons why I love spring so much. On the one hand, it's predictable and yet, on the other hand, it still feels like such a surprise after the long months of barren branches.

And yesterday, as I was staring at the gorgeous blossoms for the umpteenth time, I couldn't help but think that I hope this is how I feel when our lives return to some semblance of normalcy.

I hope that the predictable feels special and that the typical feels anything but. I hope that I ohhh and ahhh over the simple things I've realized I've taken for granted. And, most of all, I hope that feeling doesn't go away for a very, very long time! 💗
Are you living with great expectation friends? Bec Are you living with great expectation friends? Because He is risen!

Happy Easter from my home to yours!
Lemon bars all ready for tomorrow! It’s going to Lemon bars all ready for tomorrow! It’s going to be a different kind of Easter for sure but some things don’t change. Have you been baking and getting ready for tomorrow? What’s one thing on your menu that you have to have every year?
If this is Good Friday, why doesn’t it feel so “good”? It all seems backward doesn’t it?

What could be good about the unspeakable pain he suffered? What could be good about the shame and betrayal?

Easter Sunday is so joyful, bright and cheery. Shouldn’t that be the day we call “good”? It just feels so much better!

But, I don’t know how to rejoice over His resurrection, unless I have felt the pain of His death. I have realized that in life the sweetest victories are the ones which were realized after a pain-filled journey.

And, so it is with Good Friday. I know there will be victory over death, but I can’t skip ahead in the story.

Jesus knew what was coming. He knew what he would experience. And he knew why he would go through it. He did it for me. He did it for you.

Do you know that? Have you felt it down in the very core of your soul? 
Sometimes it makes me squirm a bit. Why would anyone do that for me?

Well, because, I can’t do it for myself!

There is nothing I can do to earn that kind of love and mercy.

That is why it is called GRACE.

His grace is freely given. We don’t have to pay for it. He paid the price for us already.

Do you remember that movie from years ago called “Ransom”? A couple’s young son was kidnapped and the parents went to hell and back trying to find him and pay the “ransom” demanded by the kidnappers.

Well, Jesus is our “ransom”. (1 Timothy 2:6) His life was the payment.

Why is it called “Good Friday”? Because that wasn’t the end of the story….
.
…It was just the beginning!
Raise your hand if there’s a table in your house Raise your hand if there’s a table in your house that’s become the landing zone for ALL THE THINGS! 🙋🏻‍♀️🤪 I’ve never been more thankful for our rarely used dining room table as it’s become command central for school books and laptops and games.

Where are things collecting in your house right now?
“Sighing, tears, frustration, anger.” Every si “Sighing, tears, frustration, anger.” Every single one of these emotions has made their way through our home in recent days and, my guess is, they have in your home too.

I SO needed this reminder today from the new book ‘Adore’ by @sarahagertywrites.

Adoration isn’t just sitting at His feet gazing longingly with stars in my eyes. It’s bringing my fears and my sorrows and gray roots in my hair that desperately needs to be colored and my messy house and all of the things that threaten to send me over the edge right now and laying them down before Him, soaking up His word and His presence so that when I stand back up, I am changed for having spent the time adoring the ONE who is... Healer, comforter, peace-giver, deliverer, redeemer.

What do you need to bring to Him today? I’ll share mine in the comments and I’d love to hear from you too!
I’ve always loved evenings, but since this whole I’ve always loved evenings, but since this whole lockdown thing began, I’ve come to appreciate this time of day even more.

It feels the most...normal. Daytime is strange and foreign right now. My husband has taken over our home office, I’m suddenly taking over the responsibility of managing my kids’ distance learning and let me just say that teaching 7th grade algebra to my daughter is hugely ironic since I struggled with math all the way through school. I’m trying to do my own work but it feels utterly futile with the constant interruptions which take precedence right now. In the daytime, I’m constantly reminded of how upside down life feels.

But, in the evening, I cook dinner like I’ve always done and we gather around the table like we’ve always done and we laugh and tell stories and then clean up and play games or go on a walk or watch a show. And that feels SO gloriously normal.

So now I love evenings even more than I ever did before and I’m so grateful for this little chunk of time where the rhythms we established years ago are helping to sustain us now when so much of life feels outside of our control.

What feels ‘normal’ to you right now? Whatever it is, keep doing it. 🌿
When I was in college I would frequently call home When I was in college I would frequently call home and pour my heart out to my mom, sharing with her all that was happening in my life in that completely unfiltered way that you can talk with the person who potty trained you. These phone calls usually took place at night and my mom would patiently listen as I vented frustrations about professors, roommates, boyfriends and the food in the cafeteria. And, inevitably, they would end with my mom saying, “Everything seems worse when you’re tired. Try not to overthink things or make any major decisions tonight, especially when you are feeling emotional.” Dear friends, may I pass along this advice to you today?

If you don’t absolutely HAVE to make a decision right now, I want to encourage you to wait until life gets back to normal. If you are finding yourself over-analyzing relationships and family dynamics, I want to encourage you to remember that everything seems more dramatic when looked at under a microscope. And, let’s face it, being homebound with our loved ones non-stop makes us all feel like lab rats in an experiment.

If you are tempted to quit a job, start a business, start homeschooling permanently, stop homeschooling permanently, move to a new city, buy a farm, quit pursuing your dream, join a commune or make any other major life decision just…wait. Because, if it is in fact the right decision, it will be made even clearer once our lives return to their ‘regularly scheduled programming’. Instead, in this strange season, let’s all just take a deep, collective breath and let it out slowly, releasing the anxiety that threatens to overtake us. Let’s help each other maintain some perspective and not slip into a posture of over-thinking every little thing in our lives. Let’s remember that the enemy of our souls would love nothing more than to use this time when things feel dark to manipulate us into thinking that aspects of our lives are worse than they actually are.

My prayer for you in these days is that you will have the clarity to know what is true and that you will be filled with peace even while we live in this season of so many unknowns.
Raise your hand if you’re doing more baking thes Raise your hand if you’re doing more baking these days! 🙋🏻‍♀️ I’m trying to avoid gaining the #corona15 but my daughter and I LOVE baking together and it does help to pass the time plus it counts as a science lesson right?

If you’re able to find flour in the stores (for the love people please stop overbuying!) and you’re doing more baking at your house too you need to add this apricot bread to your list of new recipes to try!

Normally I’d point you to my blog for the directions but I’m going to do you a solid and leave the full recipe in the comments.

What have you baked so far during this time of social distancing? I’d love some new ideas!
There are a LOT of people out walking in our neigh There are a LOT of people out walking in our neighborhood right now (but still social distancing!) and she decided that she wanted to bring them some joy and put a smile on their face when they pass by our house. Also, the square with ‘say no to coronavirus’ is priceless. 😂 I just love her so much!
Follow
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins
There has been a problem with your Instagram Feed.
Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 · Divine theme by Restored 316

Copyright © 2021 At The Picket Fence