By MARY CAROL GARRITY, Scripps Howard News Service

Celebrate the season of the sun by adding a few inexpensive but powerful accents that will fill your home with the joy and energy of summer. You won't have to invest much time or money to get a fresh summertime feel when you display a few of my favorite decorating tools in key spots. Here's my must-have accessory list.

Wallpaper was all the rage when I was growing up. So in a bold decorating move, my mom papered our kitchen ceiling, which my friends thought was totally cool. Today, wallpaper is back with a vengeance.

Most of us never complain about having too much of these three things: chocolate, free time and spots in our homes where we can display treasures and store everyday items. I can't give you a chocolate fix or help you tame your calendar, but I can tell you about two fabulous tools I use to showcase accents or corral stuff in my home: etageres and baker's racks.

When I was growing up, my mother spent every Sunday afternoon in the kitchen, fixing and freezing our family's meals for the upcoming week so that we could have a healthy, home-cooked dinner every night, despite her crazy schedule at work.

During the summer, I practically live on my screened porch, a sanctuary where I can relax with family or entertain friends. But before I move outside for the season, I give my outdoor retreat a much-needed makeover so it's ready for business. Chances are, your porch or patio has taken a beating this winter, too, and needs to be freshened up. Here's how.

Flip through the pages of any home-decorating magazine, and you'll likely spot a pleasantly plump ceramic garden stool. It may be squatting next to a sofa in an ultra-formal living room, snuggled by a bed in a romantic bedroom or meditating by a fishpond in a lush garden.

I was doing some window-shopping during a rare break from the store during a particularly busy holiday retail season when I spotted them: the set of fish plates that spoke to me.

Each morning, while it's still dark outside, I pour a cup of strong coffee, snuggle into my favorite chair and mentally prepare for the day. No matter how haywire the day goes, it always starts out right, thanks to my comfy chair. Need a chair to help you face all that life dishes out? Here's how to find one that suits your seat perfectly.

Those of us who live in cold-weather climates know how long and anguishing the wait for spring can be. In early February, long before the first flowers begin to grow in Kansas, I start hunting through my garden, pining for anything green.

When I was growing up, the Easter Bunny left me some pretty disappointing baskets. While the neighbor kids got chocolate bunnies, jellybeans and marshmallow chicks, my basket was filled with nutritious snacks. My mom was a health-food nut, and she rarely let us have sweets. In fact, for years she had me convinced those chalky calcium tablets were candy.