Last month, HP sent me my very own Sprout, and I've been having so much fun messing around and getting to know it a little more each day.

I picked up some awesome tulips at the grocery store last week and thought it would be really cool to use them to create a new, springy background for my phone. I took some photos of the flowers and then hand-wrote something from one of my favorite E.E. Cummings poems, which I've included below. I read it almost weekly during the spring time.

“in Just-
spring when the world is mud-
luscious the little
lame balloonman

whistles far and wee

and eddieandbill come
running from marbles and
piracies and it’s
spring

when the world is puddle-wonderful

the queer
old balloonman whistles
far and wee
and bettyandisbel come dancing

from hop-scotch and jump-rope and

it’s
spring
and

the

goat-footed

balloonMan whistles
far
and
wee”

— E.E. Cummings, [in Just-]

This post is sponsored by HP. Thank you so much for your support as I continue to work with advertisers!

Photos by Joshua Vasko for Freckled Italian.

Disclosure: Ace Hardware has provided free paint samples. I was also compensated for my time and this blog post. All opinions and positions expressed here are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of Ace Hardware.

I think it's worth mentioning that it's March and we have absolutely no plans to move anywhere. Let's pop some champagne! After several years of packing up every August, this spring feels so different--so rooted and exciting! I'm hanging things on the walls and buying furniture for the patio, and there is nary a cardboard box in sight. It feels so good to not be planning the next move, and instead just be looking forward to spring and summer (and then fall and winter again!) in Charlotte.

So when ACE Hardware asked me to participate in their 31 Days of Color campaign by painting a wall in our bedroom, I was like "Why not? I've got no where to go!" I was assigned Green Citrine, which somehow manages to be super bright and yet still pleasantly neutral, and it's adding quite a necessary burst of freshness to our all-white bedroom that's just perfect for spring.

We're still on the hunt for the perfect headboard (either in grey or white) and some new lamps to replace our old ones, which we got from my parents' basement; but for now I'm rather fond of our bedroom--especially with a statement wall providing a new pop of color. I love that the master is big enough that we were able to create a little office corner for me and my desktop computer, since Rob's lives in the guest room and I like my big white desk a whole lot more than my old one that I gave to him after a couple of years. I thought I wouldn't like working in our bedroom because it would interfere with my work/life boundaries, but instead it forces me to keep our bedroom clean and I get a lot of light because we have a whole wall of windows to the left of my desk. It's a win win.

Take a look around, stay a while, and let me know what you think! I absolutely love the way the green wall makes our white furniture seem even brighter than before. I kind of want to paint the bathroom to match!

Do you have a statement wall anywhere in your home? Stay tuned for my next Home Tour blog post--we're working on our patio and I can't wait to share it with you guys!

Going to The Paint Studio at Ace is like going to your neighbor.

I am surprised and proud to tell you that last week, I built something! I did a little IKEA hack and turned our KALLAX storage unit into more of a wine rack. I love the way it turned out.

Rob was nice enough to help me out (it did involve a little bit of math, which is always scary for me) and now we look like we really know what we're doing when it comes to wine storage. And all you need is a couple pieces of plywood!

For this tutorial, I used wood glue, because I'm not a professional and when it comes to DIYs that involve lumber, I usually try to find the easiest way to make it happen. The wood is light enough that the glue is sturdy (plus you're putting it in a cubby afterward, so the whole thing gets supported by the shelf). It's all very technical.

If you're looking for a simple weekend project, look no further! It only takes a couple of days (you have to let the glue dry overnight) and then you're good to go. Let me know how it turns out if you make one of your own!

This post is brought to you in partnership with La Crema. For my IKEA Hack tutorial, visit their blog today and get the full instructions!

Photos by Joshua Vasko for Freckled Italian.