Have you ever, wonderful friends, used white marble chips in your planters? When I saw Jenny Komenda, from littlegreennotebook.com, use them for her fiddle leaf fig trees I was hooked.
A big bag is less than $5 from Home Depot and the stark, white contrast of the marble against your greenery really makes a statement. I think it takes your front door or your patio up a notch, don't you? Otherwise, you'd be looking down at grass and dirt in this photo. And that's not so bad, except for less than $5 you can achieve this look instead. I really only used half of the chips for two of the larger planters you see here, plus the little one. The marble is so classy, right?
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I've got a fun new romantic era inspired video for today. No, not that kind of romance! It's just about roses.
Trev and I are on a bit of a rose kick lately. He wants more rosebushes at the house and I want more roses in any form I can get it. All the Anne of Green Gables + rose talk last week got me thinking about the Victorian era, which was quite fancy for the wealthier folks, and is one time period I associate with lots and lots of fluttery roses. Not that long ago we didn't have any of the chemical-laden hygiene products and beauty potions we do now. It was a simpler time. Depending on what you could afford you chose a natural approach... Or poison. For example, Queen Elizabeth the First famously used white lead powder to whiten her skin, and nightshade plant to make the pupils of her eyes look larger, both of which were poisonous and in large quantities could be fatal. However, by the time Queen Victoria hopped into the crown, poison was out and natural was in. Definition of desiderated: Wished or longed for. Growing up my little sister and I spent much of our playtime pretending we lived in the "olden days." We watched shows like Anne of Green Gables and Avonlea on the regular, and from all the period films we devoured I knew that roses had long been cherished as a sign of love and beauty. Antique rose, tea rose, wild rose... Romantic, soft, fluttery roses were the kind imprinted on my mind. There was a single pink wild rosebush that grew on my parent's property deep in the brush. It grew there naturally and I felt as though it were my little secret, going to to visit it, whenever it would bloom. Legend has it that all roses were originally white until one night when a nightingale met a beautiful white rose and fell in love. At that point nightingales weren't known for their melodious song . They merely croaked and chirped like any other bird. The nightingale's love was so intense that he was inspired to sing for the first time. Eventually his love was such that he pressed himself to the flower and the thorns pierced his heart, coloring the rose red forever. Ah, (insert a big, breathy sigh), our enemy called rest. Don't worry, I'm not going to attempt a lecture on it.
I'm not qualified. However, I do know how to make my body and my brain think it's resting. The majority of the steps I take to accomplish this have more to do with NOT RESTING so I'm sure this is something you can do, too. There are 3 parts:
That's all there is to it. April has been really eye opening for me and Trevor and for Clark H&P. April has been full of challenges and choices to overcome them. Let's get into the tangible ways/things that have helped us along through this fine, sunny (and too hot) month of April. In no particular order. . . 1.) Organic Kellogg Potting Soil Trevor swears by this organic outdoor potting mix. It says it's for "containers" but we don't listen to that. We use it straight on the ground, too. The ingredient list impresses Trev because it's simple. . .and we're all about simplifying. Fewer chemical fertilizers and more manure. Just sayin' manure is mighty in your garden. You can find it anywhere you'd buy gardening supplies. How it helped: Saves us the big bucks $$$. This bag costs us around $6. Nothing else compares! Healthy soil is healthy, tasty food. 2.) Self-Inking Stamp This image is being turned into a self-inking stamp. Need I say more? First, Groupon gave me a really good deal. Second, the stamp I already have was carved by me. Yes. Cool, creative, classy but limits the amount of text and clarity I can get. Thirdly, inking a stamp from an ink pad onto many things you want the stamp to appear on is tedious work. I ain't got time, my wonderful friends. This is a business stamper and I can tell you right now my new stamper means serious business. How it helped: I think you know how it helped me. But it will help you, too, if a.) you have many things to stamp or b.) you want a cute stamp to just stamp a few things with. I know, terrible way to convince you. Just check out the cute templates on their website, rubberstamps.com, and you'll see what I mean. 3.) "Use what you Got" Chicken Coop All the ladies are raving. About this chicken coop, I mean! If all the human ladies are salivating over the rustic charm of the salvaged wood coop, then I can only imagine how the hens will react. Trevor had to put in some elbow grease for this one. He pulled the wood from the old dilapidated farmhouse, yanked out all the old nails, washed the wood and, of course, built the thing. How it helped: If you can get your hands on some old wood and recycle it that's a lot of money saved. Also, future breakfast savings. We go through so many eggs. Plus, nothing looks as vintage as vintage itself! |
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