Through The Tulips Words of 'Wiz'dom

June 21, 2016

Home Again

Filed under: Holidays,Home,Travel — gardener @ 10:54 am

We are back home and recovering from jet lag. It was an amazing vacation filled with a lot of love and celebration. I didn’t have a lot of ‘rest’ time, plus came home to jump back into the swing of things, but the great thing is- I’ve blocked next week for some ‘me’ time to do exactly what “I” want to do. I am looking forward to having that break to re-acclimate myself to daily life, plus to also work on a list of things that need to be accomplished ‘in house’, along with creating a new work out plan and the list goes on.

SO much to look forward to- plus July is my birthday month, so that means celebrating all month long! Who wants to come celebrate with me?

March 27, 2016

Happy Easter

Filed under: Holidays,Home,Life — gardener @ 12:00 pm

Happy Easter everyone!

It has been an Easter of a different sort for me. Marcel needed to work and I also needed to take care of a few things for work- so that meant I spent most of the day home alone. I don’t mind- It has afforded for much quiet time, but at the same time- it makes Easter not really seem like Easter.

My parents had their get together with my brother yesterday. They had the traditional feast and spent time together. Living away always has me aching to be ‘home’ on days like today- when everyone is gathered together, enjoying the time together as a family. I spent a little time today thinking about when my brother and I were children- and how we would hunt Easter eggs again and again. It brings back so many fond memories of not only with my brother, but also the Easter egg hunts we would have at my grandmothers house. It made me smile.

Family, there’s nothing like it.

February 29, 2016

Home Projects Continued

Filed under: Home,Shop til ya Drop — gardener @ 1:48 pm

Marcel and I have been doing some painting in our home and sprucing things up for a while now.   We have had so much on our ‘to do list’ when it comes to the house, but we finally actually decided to make it happen this year.

He’s doing the painting of the walls, but I have had a few ideas and projects on my own brewing.   A friend gave me an old window and frame when she moved, and I have had it stored in the shed waiting for inspiration to strike as to how I wanted to use it.

Once the painting in the living room was done, it hit me that I wanted to hang the window on the wall behind the sofa-   I also thought it would be nice to hang a shelf under it-  and set a few things on the shelf that makes me smile.     Then came the decision on what color I wanted to do the window and the shelf.    Since I love the darker, cranberry red color (or any red, but the cranberry goes well within our home), I decided to order some Annie Sloan chalk paint and paint both the shelf and the window frame with it.   I’ve had that plan for about a month now, but FINALLY I took the step and ordered the paint today.   Hopefully, with a little luck I’ll have it within a few days and can begin on the project this weekend.

In addition, I have a couple of photo frames that I think would look good with the same color-

The ideas and inspirations are flowing, and I can’t wait to see it all come together.     Have you used Annie Sloan paint?  How did you enjoy using it?

February 25, 2016

Color My World

Filed under: Home,Inspiration,Life — gardener @ 10:12 am

tulipsIt is no secret that tulips are one of my favorite flowers.    Right along sunflowers and Gerber daisies, they can add a burst of happiness and sunshine to the most dismal of days.

Last week, my mother-in-law turned 80.   It’s a huge milestone, and we celebrated with a dinner out, together with family and friends.    We had her gift chosen for quite some time, but I wanted to do a little something extra for her.

Since it’s ‘tulip time’-  I thought it would be fun to visit one of the farms who sell their tulips at a roadside stand and buy ’80’ in honor of her special day.    So that’s what we did.   We visited several roadside stands in order to get a mixture of colors and varieties, but we were successful.   She was thrilled and loved the surprise.

In addition to the 80 we got her, I also picked up some for myself, wanting a little extra cheer in the house.   We’ve had a lot of grey days as of late, and even though the daylight hours are getting longer,  the grey sometimes takes its own toll, so color was in order.

This was the tulips yesterday.    Did you know that after harvested, that tulips will continue to grow?  I generally will trim the stems every few days, but this time I chose to let them ‘go wild’ and do their thing-  which meant leaning over the side of the vase- a look that I find to be stunning.

What is your favorite flower, and why?  Also, what do you do to brighten up a dull week and add color to your life?

February 15, 2016

Quiet Afternoons

Filed under: Home — gardener @ 12:33 pm

Marcel is someone who needs some kind of background noise happening all the time.   I am the complete opposite.    In fact, when he’s working- like today, and I am home to take care of my own things-   (like gathering tax information for my business and our personal taxes) I don’t hear anything except for the sound of birds, the occasional bark JJ will let out when he’s noticed birds outside that he doesn’t want near, little things like that.   No Spotify (although I love it), no television, nothing.

It’s golden to me.    There is something blissful about enjoying the quiet time-   soaking up the sunshine, as I was happy to be able to do today.  I tend to get more done that way, unless I’m in one of those moods where I find that loud music helps motivate me for cleaning- to get things done.

What about you?   Do you prefer background noise- or can you enjoy the silence?

 

February 8, 2016

February- the Month of Love

Filed under: Gratitude,Holidays,Home,Life — gardener @ 11:47 am

Febuary is a special month in our home.  Outside of the traditional Valentine’s Day celebrations mid-month-  it’s also our anniversary month (the 2nd to be exact), so it’s a great reason to celebrate all month long.   I am a firm believer that we should celebrate the love in our life-  be it family, friends or partners- each and every day but doing something extra special, always adds a little joy to someone else’s life.   If I can do that any day- my joy rises.

Our home improvements continue this month, and I have been creating some beautiful Valentine’s Day packages for people to order and spread the love with someone that means something special to them.    It brings me so much joy to be able to play a small part in bringing joy to the lives of someone else.

This past weekend, I spent the day- together with friends exploring the sweet world of a chocolate festival.    It was a great learning experience with the bean to bar process and I’m curious about possibly getting my own beans and a small machine to turn them into something special.   It”s an investment, so something I’ll have to do more research on, plus weigh the pros and cons, but I love the idea.   I also love seeing people so passionate sharing products they love.     Since I do the same with my own business, I can relate to their passion, plus it also is a source of inspiration for me.

Next week-   My mother in law will celebrate her 80th birthday.   It will be a special day for her and we’re all surprising her with a dinner out-  It should be a wonderful time together.

It’s definitely a busy month, but one filled with so much celebration, love and joy!

December 5, 2015

Oh Christmas Tree

Filed under: Gratitude,Holidays,Home,Life — gardener @ 12:30 pm

To know me is to know how much I absolutely adore Christmas. I love the decorating, the madness, the festivities- and of course, everything that surrounds the REAL meaning of Christmas, and that’s the birth of baby Jesus.

This year, I went back and forth on whether we were going to purchase a large tree like usual, or if we would go with a smaller one that we could sit on a table and look festive, yet take up less space. In the end- that’s exactly what we decided to do.

Our small tree deserved small lights, so I picked up some of the Central Park LED lights and they add the perfect glow to our little three foot tree. Since it was too small to hold my usual fare of decorations, I went out and picked up a few new little things. It’s festive, and when I think about how joyous it makes me- I smile.

Marcel and I aren’t exchanging gifts this year- We have everything we need and that brings me much happiness.

What about you? What makes your Christmas merry and bright?

September 30, 2015

Brainstorming

Filed under: Gratitude,Home,Shop til ya Drop,Travel — gardener @ 11:12 pm

Part of having mom and diddy here means inspiration flowing for home projects. Painting (finally), window treatments and even the thoughts on building me some cabinets with 60 inch drawer slides for my business supplies.

It’s fun talking about it and sharing it with not only Marcel but the people who gave me birth.

Today though, we travel. Next week too, with much fun, laughter and good times.

Enjoy the little things- as one day they will be the big things.

August 26, 2015

Best Deals

Filed under: Home,Travel — gardener @ 8:28 am

In the midst of vacation planning, I’ve found myself going from one web site to another in hopes of finding the best deals. I love traveling, and one of my favorite things is actually being able to do the planning online and finding my own savings. Not only with travel, but also with gift buying and everything else under the sun.

What about you- What are your favorite web sites to visit and why?

April 8, 2015

Enter Spring Projects

Filed under: Home,Inspiration,Life,Seasons,Shop til ya Drop — gardener @ 11:24 am

The time change and longer daylight hours (and a bit of sunshine) have given both Marcel and I a huge boost of energy when it comes to home projects. We have both been working on various painting projects, plus browsing goods home furnishings best furniture to decide what new additions we would like to add to our home after we get finished with painting.

We are giving the inside a few more weeks before getting started on the painting- so that we can leave the doors open and the fumes won’t take over- but the outside is taking shape and we are getting ready to paint a small area that is our ‘lounge’ space. I picked up some adorable wooden letters today to go along with the pallet sign I bought last week- both will look amazing- and once the plants and flowers start blooming, it’s going to be even prettier- Yes, it’s going to be a great year for home projects, and Spring is the perfect time.

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