What Brings Me Peace

Pretty Little Coco

Last week I had to make the painful decision to put my 12-year-old cat to sleep.  She had been pretty sick for the last couple of months, and I knew this day would come.  The vet said she was 100% sure it was time, and I know it was the merciful thing to do.  Yet...the rawness of the loss is still so hard.  It was hard to lose her, and hard to be reminded of what loss feels like.  I wept a lot that day. Prayed grateful prayers that God showed me when it was time.  Hugged my puppy extra hard.

Last week I also had a chance to visit not one but two botanical gardens.  Those visits ended up being like a balm to my hurting heart.  You know what cheers me up?  Flowers.

I took these pictures at the Orchid House at Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens:

I took these at the McMillan Greenhouse at UNC Charlotte: 

Being in the presence of such exquisite natural beauty sets me on a path to peace. I hope my pictures today bring you a little peace, too.

DIY Mini Greenhouse: Start Seeds Using Trash!

Hey peeps!  Here's another frugal idea that digs deep...into the trash can.  Ugh, Michelle, that's bad. But the results are pretty cool!

This is how I started seeds this year:

K-cups (foil peeled off, emptied of coffee grounds, and rinsed) + a Disposable Foil Pan with Cover! You can clean a used foil pan or buy yourself a new one.

Put them in a sunny window and spritz with water every day or two.  The clear lid allows you to see if your seeds have sprouted, and it locks moisture in so you can water them less frequently (remember to keep the soil moist for new seedlings)!

These guys are going through their awkward teenage stage, and have already moved out of the greenhouse...soon they'll be in the garden!

Have fun sprouting your own seeds this spring!

Seeking Beauty...Spring Edition

Hello wonderful people!

It's been quiet around here as I went into party planning overdrive last week. On Saturday my son had a Pokemon-themed birthday party which I will post about later this week.

In the meantime, I realized my phone has been filling up with snapshots of flowers.  For this nature-lovin', beauty-seekin' girl it is paradise out there right now.  So...here are some snapshots from my last week's worth of walks...just because Spring is so darn pretty!

Happy Spring!!!

Random Crafty Stuff and a Free Mother's Day Printable

I am so bad about letting y'all on on my crafty life lately, and so disorganized that I just decided "to heck with it, who needs organization?"  and let's just see what I have been up to in no particular order, shall we?

Glitter Relax Jars and Ocean in a Bottle
Tutorials here and here

L-O-V-I-N-G Spring in my garden!

And I visited our local botanical gardens not once but twice because I am a major flower geek.

Oh!  Best thing ever!  Thanks to my friend Gina I discovered Silhouette Double-Sided Adhesive and I love it!  And no this is not a sponsored post, I truly do just love this product!

(1 million bonus points if you can name that show).

I helped Gina make this cute sign for her preschool class's Mother's Day event:

And!!!  And I turned it into a free printable for YOU!  Admittedly, the printable won't actually sparkle (if you can make your printer do that CALL ME RIGHT NOW)--but it is still a cute little printable for Mom's special day.  Just click on this image:

Have fun and Happy Mother's Day!

Around the Garden

One of my greatest pleasures in life is seeing things grow, especially in the spring when everything that comes up is such a joy after a long winter.  It has been especially fun this year, in a new house.  I have been so surprised by so much that has bloomed around here!

One of the major highlights has been the clematis.

These two vines have put on a straight-up show for us.

We also had incredible azaleas!  I'll be honest, I really don't love azaleas, but these were really pretty.

Here is a picture of more azaleas, along with these crazy bluebells that came up everywhere.

That was Round One.  Now we're into Round Two and getting gorgeous roses.

How quickly and beautifully these have bloomed has been a surprise to me.  I did cut the roses back in February and fertilize when they started growing, but I can't take credit for this gorgeousness.  That's all God.

I used the roses plus oregano from the herb garden for a simple floral arrangement for my Mother's Day Brunch.  It's a trick I learned from the florist at Fearrington House, where I used to work wedding receptions: mix herbs in with your flowers for beautiful fragrance and a natural look.

So, what's growing in your garden?  I would love to hear about it...and I'll take any cuttings you want to give me;)