Through The Tulips Words of 'Wiz'dom

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!

Honoring Mom

Filed under: Holidays,Life,Shop til ya Drop,Women — gardener @ 8:47 am

One of my life’s greatest inspirations has always been my mom.    Even though life has taken me thousands of miles from ‘home’, I still call her at least twice a day, sometimes more.   Then there’s always Facebook, WhatsApp and other means of interaction.     She’s been my greatest teacher, my greatest cheerleader and supporter, and my ‘go to’ person when I need an ear.   I can not imagine life without her.

She has always put others first, which is one of the many things I admire about her.    This year, I have been talking with my brother about doing something special for her.   I saw some beautiful  mothers rings from joyjewelers.com and thought it would be a wonderful gift for mom.     I’ve sent a few ideas to my brother and I’m waiting to hear his thoughts on my suggestions.   He may counter with a few of his own, but I would love to be able to give her something, that when she looks at it reminds her of my brother and I.   We both appreciate our parents so much and want them to know it through our every action.

What about y’all? What’s your favorite gift to give your mom for Mother’s Day?

January 28, 2016

That Tiny Grain, Teff

Filed under: Food,Health/ Fitness,Things I Love — gardener @ 10:58 am

Being the forever curious I am, I love when something new crosses my path that strikes the core of my curiosity. In this case, it was the tiniest grain in the world- Teff. Back in the day, quinoa had become a huge favorite of mine long before it was as readily available as it is now. To this day it’s my favorite and I buy in bulk. I use it instead of rice in most everything and the nutrition can’t be beat, but I digress- we aren’t discussing ‘that’ grain, we’re discussing Teff.

I had read bits and bobs here and there over the years about Teff, but nothing that really struck me. Last week, though- I was perusing Instagram and came across this Teff porridge and immediately my ears and tastebuds perked.

After pulling out my trusty BFF for all information (Google), I found several recipes that I knew I’d want to make.    I went to my ‘go to’ website for all the healthy grains and other healthy products I enjoy (vitamins, freeze dried fruits, flours, grains, essential oils and more).  I love one stop shopping and I was able to find the Bob’s Red Mill Teff for a great price.  I’m a HUGE fan of the quality of products that Bob’s sells, so I added some to my cart at <a href=”http://iherb.com/?rcode=QJK747″ Target=”BLANK”>iHerb</a> and checked out.     I’ve been using iHerb for years, so I know that not only is the one-stop-shopping amazing, but also that their customer service is outstanding BUT their delivery quick.     All huge reasons they continue to be my ‘go to’ place to this day.

My Teff order arrived yesterday and today I made an amazing porridge with the recipe straight off the back of Bob’s Red Mill bag.     I personalized it a little to suit me, but it was so delicious!

My next experiment will be creating some deliciousness with some Teff flour- that I’ll be ordering soon!

If you would like to order some Teff flour or anything for that matter-  Use the code “QJK747” when you check out and you’ll receive a discount on your first order-   Trust me, it’s worth it.  You won’t be sorry-  plus those hard to find things you can’t seem to find-  they probably have them if it’s relating to a healthy lifestyle.

Enjoy-   and if you’ve tried Teff, I’d love to hear your thoughts about it.

 

 

 

 

January 25, 2016

Momentum

Filed under: Life,Shop til ya Drop — gardener @ 11:39 am

I can’t believe that we’re in the last week of January. Last week we had a tiny bit of snow on the ground and several days of freezing temperatures, but today brought about full sunshine, blue skies and temps warm enough to actually have the doors and windows open. It was blissful.

Despite the beautiful weather, it’s been one of those ‘off’ days. It’s a true Monday if there is such a thing, and I’ve done my best to be kind to me. It’s the only thing we can really do when things seem to be out of whack. We can’t control those things, but we can control how we respond to them.

This evening- I have spent some time adding to my ‘to do’ list of things I need to accomplish in the next day or so. Now that we’ve finally finished painting, I’m slowly taking the time to purge things that I no longer use and we’ve give quite a few things away. We’ve also realized that we’d like to paint the doors and all the trim work- but since we’ve needed to leave the doors open to let the house air out- we’ll wait until later in the year when the weather is warmer and daylight hours are longer.

Tomorrow afternoon I’ll spend making 48 cupcake toppers for an upcoming order. I’m looking forward to it. Once I’m done- and get the other items checked off my to-do list- I’ll curl up with Big Magic and finish reading it- I can’t wait.

January 15, 2016

FitBit Resurrection

Filed under: Health/ Fitness,Life — gardener @ 11:08 am

I spent some time resurrecting my FitBit- which mainly meant that I needed to charge it- add the app to my new iPhone, plus update it, since it had been so long since I’d used it. I have felt inspired and also very much felt energized since I’ve been working towards getting into a regular exercise routine again.

I have to ask myself (and have) why I ever got out of the exercise habit in the first place, and truth is- I don’t know. I stopped making it a priority- along with healthy eating, and it shows in my bootay. ha.. But no blame or woe-is-me here. I’m responsible for my choices- and I’m owning them. I’m not taking my good health for granted and trying to ensure that it continues as best I can.

Play it Again, Sam

Filed under: Life — gardener @ 8:08 am

One of my good friends has a son who has decided he wants to play the trombone in the school band. He loves music, and comes from a very musically talented family, so it doesn’t surprise me that he wants to play some sort of musical instrument. I will admit that the trombone did surprise me a bit. They are now on the hunt for a new trombone and a trombone stand to get him started. I’ll see him a little later on in the year when we go home for the holidays, and he’s already planning to give us a personal concert. I can’t wait.

It’s those little things that they remember and bring us all so much joy.

January 6, 2016

One Month & a New Year Later

Filed under: Food for Thought,Health/ Fitness,Inspiration,Life — gardener @ 12:05 pm

Happy 2016 y’all- Six days into the new year and I’m finding myself on a good track to getting myself exactly where I need and want to be. Where is that, exactly?

Like many people- getting into a regular exercise routine is on my agenda in a big way. Finding balance in the busy and the various projects I have going on is a key for me this year. I really don’t love that discombobulated feeling, and I’m starting with- (in addition to the exercise) creating a schedule of de-clutter and getting rid of unwanted items, and creating a space that will encourage creativity, which I do believe is important!

Scheduling is BIG on my list this year- because I’ve realized that working with a schedule makes things happen fluidly. It doesn’t mean things don’t pop up from time to time, but I know that I’ll be ready to put plan A or B into action if that happens. I do it in my business all the time, but now it’s time to add it to my personal life as well.

This is only the beginning. What about you- What do you have on your list this year to accomplish?

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