Home and Garden Archives - The Hill Hangout

Sping is Springing in the Ham

Posted on March 23, 2011 Written by Ashley Mills Hill Leave a Comment

The girls wanted to eat their lunch at the Botannical Gardens today since the weather was so warm and pretty. So after gymnastics, we took a picnic to Mountain Brook to the Birmingham Botannical Gardens. The gardens are in full bloom and they are breath-taking. There were tulips in so many varieties, and they were all gorgeous! The impatiens, daffodils, cheery trees, confederate jasmine, begonias, and the lorapetalum were all bursting forth in color.

Leaf and Petal at the Gardens is the gift shop located on the Gardens grounds. They have a really eclectic assortment of things in the shop. Occassionally they will also offer plants. I bought several herbs for the planters on my deck. I can’t wait to cook with the fresh basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano, and mint that we got.

Hope you are enjoying spring wherever you are!

Filed Under: Family and Friends, Home and Garden, Places We Go

Sneak Peek at Patterson’s Room

Posted on March 18, 2011 Written by Ashley Mills Hill 1 Comment

My baby is growing up! She has made a successful transition from her crib to her big girl bed. I kept her in the crib as long as I could, mainly because I didn’t want her getting up in the middle of the night. But the crib could no longer hold her, so we made the switch several weeks ago. And now begins the redecorating -changing the look from baby to growing preschooler.

You might remember my post about her nursery. The room is TINY, so we have to be very creative about how to fit enough furniture, while still leaving room to walk and play. I don’t want to repaint the room either. And we have a very small budget for this project. Impossibly mission? I think it can be done.

Here’s a sneak peek at the fabrics:

The yellow stripe, although part of the collection, doesn’t exactly MATCH the rest. It just BLENDS. So it will probably go in the bathroom across the hall. Maybe as the shower curtain?

What do you think? Thumbs up or down? You all know I have a hard time deciding on fabrics!! Help me!!

Love,

Your indecisive, overly-analytical, can’t-make-a-decision bloggy friend

Filed Under: Family and Friends, Home and Garden

We’ve Done A Little Traveling

Posted on March 7, 2011 Written by Ashley Mills Hill Leave a Comment

Y’all, I am beat! Not necessarily the way to begin a Monday morning, but it is what it is. We have traveled a lot of miles in the past three weeks. We have had lots of fun and done some fun stuff. It’s gonna take me a while to upload pictures, edit them, write blog posts and get them published because I have this other thing going on called LIFE. I’m trying not to let the mundane (laundry, grocery shopping, unpacking luggage) get in the way of the fun stuff, but the truth of the matter is, I can’t settle down enough to write creatively until I get the clutter under control. I’d pay big money right now to have someone come over and do it for me. But that ain’t happenin’.

So, you’ll have to give me some time to get the necessities under control around the Hill Hang-Out. Once I can see the floor and tabletops around here, I’ll be back to post pictures of some fun field trips we’ve been on – including a field trip JUST FOR MAMA!! Yeehaw!

Y’all have a clutter-free Monday!

Filed Under: Family and Friends, Home and Garden

Sweet Shot Tuesday

Posted on March 2, 2011 Written by Ashley Mills Hill 1 Comment

The girls and I had friends to play with yesterday. Our friends DeeDee and Emily were in town, and we met up with them at Aldridge Gardens to feed the ducks and fish and to have a picnic. I snapped this sweet shot while the girls were gazing at the lake.

I’m linking this post to Sweet Shot Tuesday on www.my3boybarians.

Filed Under: Family and Friends, Home and Garden, Places We Go

Dana Wolter on Cote De Texas

Posted on December 14, 2010 Written by Ashley Mills Hill 2 Comments

I follow a fantastic decorating blog called Cote De Texas. Joni is an interior designer on the Texas coast, and she always has the most beautiful photos of breathtaking, French-inspired rooms and homes! They all look so plush and expensive, and there are always things I would like to incorporate into my own home (on the cheap, of course!) I was thrilled when I saw that her latest post was about the home of Birmingham interior designer Dana Wolter. I have met Dana a couple of times when her girls were in a children’s theater production with Mary Anneliese. She was always so stylish and personable and I was eager to get a look inside her beautiful home. I knew she has fabulous taste because she has purchased a couple of pieces of art from my sister-in-law to be used in clients’ homes. Hope you enjoy looking around Dana’s home!

Filed Under: Family and Friends, Home and Garden

This Little Lady Got a Makeover

Posted on July 26, 2010 Written by Ashley Mills Hill 7 Comments

This desk was given to us by our sweet Mississippi friend, Carilynn. It was her mother’s desk once upon a time, but after her mother’s death, Carilynn donated it to our church’s missionary house. When the church sold the missionary house and no longer needed furnishings, Carilynn graciously offered it to my little girl. Since then, it has looked like this…

My girl has used it as her art desk and, since she is a boarderline hoarder (honestly, she could almost qualify for the TV show), she kept it packed full of her art ~~junk~~ treasures.

God help her!

Anyhoo, using my executive power as the CEO of this organization we call home, I ~~stole~~ claimed her desk, painted it, glazed it, revovered the chair cushion, and changed out the hardware. Now, instead of being banished to the basement playroom, it has a place of prominence behind the sofa in our den. I was quite pleased with how the old girl turned out. I’d never glazed anything before and found it to be more of an art than I realized. She’s not perfect, but then again, neither am I. All in all, I rather like how she looks in her new digs.