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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

  • Book
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  • Meet Vanessa
    • Featured

July 29, 2011

Welcome to Inspiration Friday and a big welcome to Joss and Main!

Inspiration Friday Graphic
We are so excited to welcome you to the 25th edition of Inspiration Friday!
We also would like to take a moment to welcome Joss & Main to At The Picket Fence!
Many of you may already be familiar with this fabulous online retailer.  If not, you are certainly familiar with it’s parent company CSN…one of the most popular places to shop online!  Joss & Main is an exclusive members only retailer “that offers private, limited-time sale events on the world’s best brands for your home and life. Each day, members receive an email invitation to exclusive sale events on the best merchandise at prices up to 70% off retail.  New brands and products are added daily by their talented group of buyers who continually strive to find you the best deals on the brands you love.” 
So what are some of the “brands you love” that you can find for rock bottom prices at Joss & Main? Tommy Bahama, Graham & Brown, Rachael Ray, Le Crueset… just to name a few.  After Vanessa acquired her fabulous new steal of a deal potting bench, we were so excited when we saw this adorable line of potting supplies from Potting Shed Creations available starting TODAY Saturday, July 30th, at Joss & Main! Here were just a few of the beyond cute items that caught our eye!
We loved this vegetable planting kit! How cute would this be for a newbie gardener, or a child that you want to interest in gardening?
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We adore the galvanized tin container and the cute little seed tins!

Or how about this Tulip Tree Kit?!

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What a perfect shower gift for newlyweds or a nice present for someone purchasing their first home?  Everything they need to plant a tulip tree is included wrapped up pretty in a burlap bag!

This next idea would be perfect for a child to give to a grandparent or Mom for Mother’s Day! So, so cute!

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These are just a few of the items being offered by Potting Shed Creations at fabulously discounteds prices through Joss & Main starting this Saturday!
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So are YOU wondering how you can join this exclusive online retailer and receive emails for upcoming sales?  Well we want to personally invite our friends here At The Picket Fence to just click on the Joss & Main button below or in our sidebar under Sponsors and you can get signed up lickity split!

Joss & Main

And, if you needed even more incentive to sign up to be a member of Joss & Main…then come back to the fence on Monday for a fabulous surprise courtesy of Joss & Main!
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Now onto our Inspiration Friday Features! Again y’all amaze us with your talent! Here are a just a few of the inspiring links that stood out from last week!
Considering our Potting Bench Creations feature from Joss & Main we couldn’t help but share Debra from Common Ground’s beautiful potting bench with you!
Isn’t it just lovely?! We love the use of the drawer underneath to hold pots and all of the fabulous details are just swoon worthy! Be sure to visit Debra and also join her Vintage Inspiration Friday Party!
On the same potting note, we fell in love with these beautiful French Flower Pots that Laurie from Heaven’s Walk….um hello…made…
…with…Mod Podge! FAB.UL.OUS.!! You will not believe how easy and clever this idea is! Head over and visit Laurie at Heaven’s Walk to see her tutorial..and also be sure to come back here to the fence on Sunday where Laurie will be sharing her lovely heart with us at Simply Sundays!
Now this next Feature, heads in a completely different direction but as moms we fell in love with this idea! Kricia from Palmer Home had a little guy who wanted a “rock star” room! Now we all know that every rock star needs a stage! So, Kricia went to work and designed her own DIY stage…
You can read more about how she created this stage (including Ping Pong ball marquee lights!) at Palmer Home!
And last, but certainly not least…La-De-Da Creations shared with us her fabulous transformation of her grandparents vintage suitcase into the most adorable picnic “basket”.
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We think this is such a fabulous way to honor and remember someone, and this picnic basket could not be more adorable!
If you were featured today (or have been featured in the past) please grab the featured at button located in our sidebar!
Are you following At The Picket Fence on Facebook?  Don’t forget we feature many of your links during the week on our Facebook Page! If you’ve been featured there, grab a button as well! Thank you to everyone who shared so many fabulous posts with us last week!  We appreciate you!
Now it’s time to share with us what has inspired you this week!
Thank you so much for joining us for Inspiration Friday at the Fence,
When you are done linking up head over and party with the other Friday Party Friends
The lovely Courtney at French Country Cottage
Our beautiful friend Alison from Stuff and Nonsense
Stuff and Nonsense
And the gracious Debra from Common Ground
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Now all ya PARTY PEOPLE it’s time to link on up…here’s the rules!

This week’s Inspiration Friday is sponsored by our newest sponsor
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where you can find fabulous vintage home décor!
If you are interested in being a sponsor of At The Picket Fence you can find out more information on our Advertise With Us page.  We are running a 2 for 1 summer special. Contact us to find out more information!

29 Comments Filed Under: Good Ideas, Inspiration Friday, Sponsors

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Vivienne @ the V Spot says

    July 28, 2011 at 8:39 PM

    Thank you ladies! I do like Joss & Main. 🙂

    Reply
  2. Honey at 2805 says

    July 28, 2011 at 8:52 PM

    Hi ladies! Thanks for being gracious hostesses! Have a great weekend!

    Reply
  3. Debbie--https://refreshrestyle.com/ says

    July 28, 2011 at 8:55 PM

    Thanks for hosting! Love your parties! And I noticed the new pic of Vanessa, looking good! Have a great weekend!
    Debbie

    Reply
  4. Kricia Palmer says

    July 28, 2011 at 9:03 PM

    Thank you for featuring my stage this week and for hosting! Great party! Have a great weekend…
    Kricia

    Reply
  5. Shelia says

    July 28, 2011 at 9:09 PM

    Hi ladies and what great features you’ve shared with us. Thank you so much for hosting your fun party. I’m partying with you today.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia 😉

    Reply
  6. Maggie @ Midwestern {Sewing} Girl says

    July 28, 2011 at 9:49 PM

    Thank you so much for hosting, girls!!! Love last week’s features!

    Reply
  7. Debra @ Common Ground says

    July 28, 2011 at 9:49 PM

    Hey Girlies, thanks so much for featuring my potting bench, just linked up! xoxo Debra

    Reply
  8. Poppy says

    July 28, 2011 at 10:13 PM

    Hi ladies, thanks for having us each week and for these lovely features… Laurie’s french pots are truly amazing!Have a wonderful weekend!Hugs~Poppy

    https://withadashofcolor.blogspot.com/

    Reply
  9. Catie says

    July 28, 2011 at 10:32 PM

    Thanks for hosting Vanessa and Heather!! Love the link parties. Soo much inspiration. : ) ~ Catie

    Reply
  10. Karen says

    July 28, 2011 at 10:54 PM

    Great features and wonderful products from Joss and Main. Thanks for hosting.

    Reply
  11. Wendy says

    July 28, 2011 at 11:05 PM

    Cute features! Thanks for hosting!

    Reply
  12. Kim @ Savvy Southern Style says

    July 28, 2011 at 11:06 PM

    Been a member ever since they started and have enjoyed lots of freebies. Thanks for hosting.

    Reply
  13. Jann Olson says

    July 28, 2011 at 11:29 PM

    Nice features! I love the potting bench and pots!!

    Reply
  14. Heaven's Walk says

    July 28, 2011 at 11:31 PM

    THANK YOU both so very much for all of your love and encouragement! You are so sweet and I am humbled by your thoughtfulness in mentioning my flower pots this week! ♥ Hugs to you both!

    xoxo laurie

    Reply
  15. offset printing says

    July 29, 2011 at 12:48 AM

    Oh this is lovely and encouraging. This is a great read and I am going to share it with my folks so they would also have their own “Inspiration Friday”. See, they all look good and the sunflower is so lovey.

    Reply
  16. Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions says

    July 29, 2011 at 1:16 AM

    Thanks for hosting, ladies! 🙂

    Reply
  17. laura@imnotatrophywife.com says

    July 29, 2011 at 3:59 AM

    just signed up with joss and main! thanks for the partay.

    Reply
  18. classic • casual • home says

    July 29, 2011 at 4:08 AM

    I just bought a rug for our bedroom from Joss and Main today. Great price.

    Reply
  19. Emily@LovelyBeasts says

    July 29, 2011 at 4:59 AM

    The gardening kits are too cute. And so glad you liked my weird little anatomy plates. I linked up to make sure everyone can appreciate just how weird they are (and how weird I am) :).

    Thanks again ladies for hosting the best party on the blog block! Hope you had a great day!

    Reply
  20. Courtney ~ French Country Cottage says

    July 29, 2011 at 12:25 AM

    Hi Girls! I have been a member of Joss and Main since they first started up too~Great features- thanks so much for hosting!! Hugs, Courtney

    Reply
  21. Stuff and Nonsense says

    July 29, 2011 at 12:34 PM

    all linked up my friends…love that ‘tulip to be’ kit! have a wonderful weekend.

    alison

    Reply
  22. FlyAwayHome says

    July 29, 2011 at 12:39 PM

    thanks for hosting a great party. I have been trying to link up and it doesn’t seem to be working – just thought you might want to know.

    Reply
  23. CAS says

    July 29, 2011 at 1:54 PM

    Once again, ya’ll are the “hostesses with the mostesses”–huh? Well, you get my point!
    🙂 CAS

    Reply
  24. Diann says

    July 29, 2011 at 4:11 PM

    Thank you for hosting Girls! And have a great weekend!

    Reply
  25. Lynn at Cottage and Creek says

    July 29, 2011 at 5:20 PM

    I’m loving all the inspiration. Thanks for hosting this fun party.
    ~Lynn

    Reply
  26. ⚜ ↁℯℬℬᴵℰ⚜@ Debbiedoos blogging and blabbing says

    July 29, 2011 at 9:31 PM

    Awesome inspiration girls. I have to check out Joss and Main, looks like great stuff.

    Reply
  27. Judy says

    July 30, 2011 at 1:04 AM

    Great features. I am still away at a tennis tournament with my daughter so I don’t have anything to link up. Enjoying the party anyhow. Have a great weekend.

    Reply
  28. Debbie says

    July 30, 2011 at 11:43 AM

    I had heard about Joss and Main one other time but hadn’t done anything about it. I really need to since I love nothing better than a bargain.

    Loved the potting bench. I’ll be working on a turning our old playhouse into a potting shed this fall so it was inspiration.

    Reply
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    August 27, 2014 at 2:51 AM

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    And i am glad reading your article. But should remark on few general things, The
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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!
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