:: sprouts & snow

Happy Monday sweets. Today is quite an exciting day for me. First of all, I noticed that my little seedlings have finally started to sprout...I'm very excited...now I'm just trying to remember exactly what they are. I know, I know, they make markers for these things but I just figured I would be surprised to see what they are as they grow up and I can actually identify them. These are looking a lot like rosemary leaves, but who knows at this point.  I just love how the little sprouts are holding onto these little droplets of water.

    

My other exciting news is that it's SNOWING....I can't believe it. I'm a little concerned for all of my beautiful flowers, trees and shrubs that have already come into bloom. Take a peek at some of this snow covered loveliness. I wish I could cover them all to protect them from the bite of the cold and snow.

Here is my lovely Red Bud tree in full bloom with it's lovely bright magenta petals. It really is quite beautiful covered with this light dusting of snow. As I look out the window it's still snowing.

Here she is against the snowy white sky.... so lovely....

 

Our pretty hot pink Lorapetalum bushes....also in full glorious bloom.

Also in full bloom are all of my lovely Phlox, 

they seem so delicate & tender I hope they make it.

See all of my little lovelies in bloom, some are protected by my favorite little Dapple tree, but others are fending for themselves in this cold and unusual weather.  Just 8 days ago I was celebrating my Anniversary and the official first day of Spring (March 20), Now I'm watching it snow & worrying about all of my sweet little plants....this is just some crazy weather.

12 years ago on the first day of spring in a very Old Castle I married the love of my life and became a mother for the first time to this lovely little lady below....

soon after we added another little sweetie...and then another....

We are all living Happily Ever After.

Thanks be to God.

:: peace, love & hugs ::

Carrie

:: function over form

Well now, I have to say that yesterday started off rainy and gloomy, but suddenly that beautiful sunshine popped out and my day was off to a fantastic start. I began my cleaning in the kitchen as this is the heart of my home, but lo and behold I became sidetracked by some cute but empty terra cotta pots on my windowsill. I have to admit, that I'm often sidetracked when I'm cleaning...which usually involves a little bit of rearranging or redecorating. A few weeks ago I purchased some seed starting mix, so I pulled it out along with my little tin of seeds, and the seed starting began.

I planted a few with this Zinnia mix, and a couple with lavender. I can't wait to see little shoots of green pop up. Well, by now I'm mixing up seed mix with zeal and I'm looking all around for other pots to fill and start with seeds. Once I get started it's hard to stop....oh how I love to garden and play in dirt.

Don't laugh, but this is where the function over form comes in. Unfortunately I don't have a great place to start seeds indoors except my little windowsill, it's the only place that receives good light through most of the day. Sooo, I decided to give starting some seeds outside a shot. I know that it's still a little chilly, so I thought I would create little mini greenhouses with these glass cloches { cheese domes } I had on hand. The middle pot is covered with a glass hurricane. Now I know these aren't the prettiest things, and I didn't do anything to style these photos...this is how they are on my back deck right now. I have some lavender, cilantro, rosemary, and chives planted in these little pots, my personal gardening experiment. I am by no means an expert gardener, but I do like to play around with it like most everything else I do. I'm a dabbler....I love to dabble in a little bit of everything. Jack of all, but master of none.....what can I say.....I get bored easily.

Now I'm crossing my fingers hoping that the weather cooperates and my little greenhouses work and I get to be mama to some little seedlings soon. We shall see.... whatever happens, it was fun getting my hands dirty. I can't wait to get out in my vegetable gardens. I was fortunate to able to clean and weed them this past weekend thanks to the gorgeous weather. 

Tomorrow is supposed to be another beautiful sunny Seventy degree day, but the hubs and I are off to celebrate our anniversary this weekend so no gardening for me.....just some good one on one time spent with the love of my life in the mountains....I can't wait.

Hope you guys have a wonderful weekend....see you Monday.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

{image}

:: peace, love & hugs ::

Carrie

:: sleepy kitty

{ my sweet Cheeto }

It's a rainy blah day here today, and this is what I wish I could do....but alas, there is laundry to be done, floors to be cleaned, beds to be made...and the list goes on.

I started a new workout on Monday, and today is the day I'm finally really feeling it...I could hardly walk this morning when I got out of bed. I just keep visualizing the inches I'm going to shed and the firm butt I'm going to have & this gets me through the pain : ).

I hope you all are having a wonderful morning wherever you are, and hopefully some sunshine unlike me. If you missed yesterday's post, there is a coupon code for Overstock.com for all of my sweet friends. Now I'm off to get some cleaning done....that is if I don't curl up like a kitty first ; ).

:: peace, love & hugs ::

Carrie

:: Chamomile Delovely

Well good evening my sweets. Just wanted to pop in to share what I've been working on today with you, and also offer you a little gift at the end of this post.

Obviously I've put on my interior designer hat today, and I've been working on an idea board for my client & friends kitchen redo. We have already made several purchases for the kitchen which I am very happy about. A new kitchen table from Pottery Barn that I adore and popped into my head as soon as I walked into the space as the perfect kitchen table. I like to mix up finishes dark and light, so we also picked up the perfect little distressed black telephone table which also gives us a great place to store cookbooks.

Here is a photo of the kitchen today...We still have some painting to do so the green is gonna go. Please forgive the quality of this photo also as I took it with my little point and shoot baby. The floors are in, and they look fantastic. Overall the kitchen looks nice, and changing out cabinetry and countertops weren't really the priority here, so we are going for strictly cosmetic changes. We want to get rid of the old bright brass fixtures and bring this kitchen up to date. I adore this Shayne table from Pottery Barn, and if I'm not mistaken it is still on sale. You can't see it in this photo but it has a basket underneath for linen storage or whatever else you might want to keep handy, so cute and perfect for this little nook.

Here's the view into the kitchen from the living room. As you can see she has simple white cabinets and a wood look laminate counter top which I actually think looks nice, and it's in good condition so that's a real budget saver. So I think with some simple updates like cabinet hardware, window treatments and new light fixtures we can give this kitchen a really pretty look and feel. I've made a few purchases here and there for this room as far as accessories go, but it still needs painting and we have to decide on window treatments and lighting etc. Soooo, we'll have to see what she thinks of my idea board and go from there.

I would also love to know what you think....

Okay, so I promised a little gift for you guys and hopefully it will be of some help to you if you are taking on your own projects and updates. 

Overstock has been kind enough to offer a 10% discount on a single purchase to all of my readers. I love Overstock, and you really can't beat their shipping costs....it makes it so easy to update a space & all from the comfort of your home. In fact several of the items I want to use in my clients space are from Overstock.

• Rug - Overstock
• Woven Blinds - Overstock
• Cabinet hardware - Overstock
• Pendant light - Pottery Barn
• Seagrass shades - Ballard Design
• Chandelier - Lowe's
• Fabric -  House Fabric

10% OFF DISCOUNT CODE : 121745 

{excludes movies, books & electronics & can only be used once per email address}

Free Shipping Code for Electronics : 202234

HAPPY SHOPPING!

:: peace, love & hugs ::

Carrie

All the ideas and opinions expressed are my own. No monetary compensation was received for doing this post, however, I was provided with a discount code.?

:: spring renewal

The first cherry blossoms to arrive on my property courtesy of my little Autumnalis Cherry Tree. I love this time of year so much. It is so fun to watch the little changes that are happening around you each and every day....the grass becomes a little greener, more blossoms pop out on the trees, and slowly the leaves begin to appear. Not only is this time of year a time for renewal of our earth around us, but a good time for personal renewal.

As a Catholic, we practice Lent as a time for spiritual reflection and renewal. This is a time of fasting and prayer... a time to give up little bits of our lives to show our appreciation of the greatest gift of life that was gladly given up for us. For me this should be my greatest Lent ever, I am filled with the Holy Spirit and I'm coming into Lent from a completely different place than in the past, and for this I am so thankful. I'm so looking forward to Easter and the joy it will bring.

What am I giving up you ask? Well first of all I am giving up SWEETS, as this is a constant temptation for me, and I know that I can only pass up a cupcake with the help of my sweet Jesus. Secondly, I'm taking this 40 days to deepen my spiritual walk by attending Mass every day during the week...this is not nearly as hard as giving up sweets, because I find that I can't start my day off well without it.  I look forward to Mass and receiving the Holy Eucharist, it is the best fuel for my tank. In fact, on Wednesdays I have to wait until evening mass to receive communion and this is very hard because I look forward to it so much. I definitely have better days when I receive it first thing in the morning. Honestly, the sun shines a little brighter, or the rains look more beautiful when I've filled myself with the Holy Spirit before taking on the rest of my day....everything and everyone looks more beautiful and I am much happier. We are also praying a rosary daily with our children, and it's so wonderful to see how their love for Jesus grows every day.

Are you enjoying the little signs of Spring where you are?  Or are you still in the throes of winter?  

Happy Monday!

:: peace, love & hugs ::

Carrie

P.S. Curious about my Catholic faith? 

You can find answers to questions at Catholic Answers.

Catholic Defined...

Catholic comes from the Greek katholikos, the combination of two words, kata (concerning), and holos (whole). According to the Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, the word catholiccomes from a Greek word meaning "regarding the whole," or, more simply, "universal" or "general." The word church comes from the Greek ecclesia, which means "those called out," as in those summoned out of the world at large to form a distinct society. So the Catholic Church is made up of those called out and gathered into the universal society founded by Christ.

Information found on Catholic Answers