Palette Path

We have some of our veggies growing in pots by the house.  The area is, well, blah!  So I grabbed some palettes from my Pop and set to work.

So there ya have it!  A quick weekend project spruce up!  Hope your weekend is rocking!  Off to hear my brother play at a music festival by the river!  Cheers!

blooming and baking

Blooming...

 my new addition...False Indigo

Tiarella "Spring Symphony" (Foam flower) 

 grasses, sedums and yarrows are coming in

 Solomon Seal

 

 Bleeding Heart and potted Begonias in the shade garden

 I can't remember the name of this dwarf shrub in the front garden but I am inthralled with her blooms!

Anemone Sylvestris

our peas

And a pot of happy up front! 

Baking...

We have been busy baking for Mother's Day! These are our go to coffee cake blueberry muffins.

(One of my helpers thought I wasn't looking!)


Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins

-recipe adapted from Barefoot Contessa-

Ingredients 
12 tablespoons of butter (at room temperature)
1 1/2 cups of sugar
3 eggs (at room temperature)
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/2 cup of vanilla yogurt

2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups of blueberries

-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place paper liners in your muffin pan.
-In your mixer beat the butter and sugar for 5 minutes until fluffy.  With your mixer on low slowly add the eggs, vanilla,  milk, yogurt, and sour cream.
-Now add your dry ingredients and fold your blueberries in with a spatula.
-Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Have a wonderful Mother's Day everyone!  

Linking up with Sarah's and Tootsie Time...Flaunt your Flowers

 

kids

Kids don't need much.  Really.  Just hand them a hose and some dirt and they're content for hours.  Simplicity Parenting is one of the best "parenting" books that I've read to date.  Kim John Payne's philosophy is simple.  Less is more.  "Using the extraordinary power of less to raise calmer, happier and more secure kids." The idea of less stuff and less screen time for kids is something that I'm very passionate about.  Why am I passionate about this?  As a former teacher turned mama, I hate the idea of children being exposed to too much too soon.

                     The good news is there are many people that feel the same way and they're using their creative talents to get the message across.

Elfin Trail is a beautiful shop filled with whimsical handmade toys for children.  My friend Amber at Mindfully Green is hosting a giveaway on her fantastic blog for a voucher to Elfin Trail. Here is part of Amber's recent interview with Ange from Elfin Trail.

2. I love how all of your items evoke imagination and keep the child deeply rooted to the earth, this makes your items so unique and individual. Was this your intention?

Absolutely! I’m passionate about childhood, protecting that fleetingly precious time of wonder, imagination and play. I find it heartbreaking - the current culture of rushing kids through childhood - educating them faster, filling their time with adult-directed, scheduled activities, bombarding them with marketing messages and adult concepts and facilitating hour after hour in front of a growing range of screens. In my own small way I’m trying to remind people that imaginative play is profoundly important to children.

Peg Doll Kit from Elfin Trail

In a world moving at great speeds, it is always refreshing when you find those people who take it slow and cherish the simplicity that comes with childhood.   I do hope you will jump over to see what these amazing women are up to!

quick combo

Golden Variegated Sweet Flag & Rhododendron "Karen" 

~both sun to part shade~

Linking....Fishtail Cottage & Rooted In Thyme

a new hobby

In an effort to get all of my work accomplished in the garden, I have taken on a new hobby....

night gardening! 

My neighbors just laugh when they drive by and see me out with my shovel!  But for a gardener with 3 beans under 4, I have to find creative ways to get it done.  All I need now is a headlamp!  With warm temps for the last several days the garden is FINALLY waking up!

Our fairy and gnome house is now settled in the rock garden.

My Lamium and Lungwort are starting to spread and stretch between the rocks in the shade garden.

The Hellebores are blooming.

And the beans were able to paint their bird house.  My little man is a bird lover!  As he was painting he said, "Mom, the birds are gonna love this!"

Here is to the new garden season and all the beauty it brings!

  

It feels good to get back in the dirt!

flood updates

I wanted to thank everyone for your kind comments about our flooding situation.  It has been so uplifting to receive such kind words throughout the day as we are trying to put our home back together.

We updated our 1967 split last spring after we decided that this was where we wanted to stay.  {More about tweaking our space here} It is the first and last house that we will ever have. The thought has always been to live small and travel big with the beans.

The two areas hit were our basement and the lower level family room.  The basement housed our playroom, laundry, and my temporary studio.  Down the stairs everything is out while in the family room all of our new floors will need to be replaced.  Darn water!

In staying positive, I have begun putting together design ideas for both spaces that will protect us in the future if any water dares to pay a visit again! The carpet in the basement was here when we moved in 6 years ago but new carpet will NOT be going back in.  I found flooring for both lower levels that should last a lifetime and is also cost effective.  It is tile that is created to look like wood.  

Some white washed inspiration

 vía Real Simple

via Gardener and Marks

vis Southern Living

As the ringing of fans and dehumidifiers sound throughout the house we are very close to being dry.  

Hmmm...what have I learned from this...

1~less is best

2~nothing is permanent

3~kids are resilient 

4~my hubs rocks

5~this is our home

Have a great week friends!!!!!!

looking for the silver lining

We woke up this morning to water pouring into our house.  It is a helpless feeling as you are scooping water up with buckets, just to watch more rush in.  Roads and schools are shut down around us due to the massive storms that have been tearing through our area since yesterday.  And with more on the way, we have had to jump into action to protect our home from further damage.

Yes it is hard to lose all of your stuff.  Hey, but that's all it is.  STUFF!  My kids are healthy and we are blessed.  Needless to say, I will be focusing on getting us cleaned up around here as we are probably going to have to take out some walls.  Who knows, maybe we will end up with something we like better when all is said and done!

I hope to be back with some serene garden photos and projects in a couple of weeks but until then, life is calling.  Peace

Praying for Boston