July Garden Update

        Aahhh, the garden. To be honest I had very low expectations. In the past, I've only had raised beds with store bought organic compost/soil. When designing this garden, I knew I wanted to try and work with what we had. That meant planting directly into the dirt we have. We ended being able to get some horse manure from someone so we tilled that into the dirt before planting. Mix that with all the heat, humidity and massive amount of rain, and we have a pretty successful (so far) garden. Albeit, very overgrown with weeds...

Romaine Lettuce

   

Beans 

(we will have enough beans to last a lifetime if I can get rid of the japanese bettles)

Green Peppers (getting bigger every day!)

Banana Peppers

Cherry Tomatoes

These are called Summer Sandwich tomatoes. I got the plant from Lowes mainly bc I was curious.

Beefsteak Tomatoes

Cucumbers

I only planted one cucumber plant this year but it's looking like I'll be able to feed an army with them...

Next year I will give the cucumbers more support and space. I used three metal stakes and some fencing for them to climb, but I didn't make it high enough or wide enough. Hopefully what I have for now will still be able to continue to support the plant as it grows and produces.

Potatoes! They're starting to flower. In the future I will build them some sort of support system to keep the leaves off the ground. This year I'm just praying they don't all rot underground.

Carrots. I desperately need to be able to get out here and clean up this bed and thin these out...

Pumpkin Patch...ugh. The grass is so out of control. I'm honestly not sure how to redo this for next year. But for now, as soon as we have a dry day I am going to try and trim the grass around the pumpkin leaves and then cut garden fabric to put on top. It's a Band-Aid, but hopefully and effective one.

How crazy is it that this was just a few weeks ago?!?!?!

Next year -

1. Box in each bed so there's some separation between the plants, and pathways.

2. Possibly expand the width of the entire garden. The alternative to this would be moving the pumpkin patch to a different part of the property.

3. Build stronger supports 

Here's the garden today. It has rained so much our whole property is sloshy. Mowing, weeding, etc is out of the question. I pulled a big weed out of the lettuce bed earlier and unearthed a bunch of roots. The ground is just too soft to be messed with right now.

Another thing I'd love to do is plant flowers the same depth as the arbor. And eventually we will do more permanent fencing. We just left it like this for now to see if this was going to be the size we like.

Well that's it. All of my garden knowledge has come from trial and error and google. I see these GORGEOUS gardens on Pinterest and Instagram and it isn't hard to feel like a failure. BUT, I keep reminding myself that it doesn't have to look beautiful to produce. 💖 

Mother's Day Gift Guide

 Ok friends. Who needs some last minute ideas on Mother's Day gifts? Either for your own mom or to send to your kids/husbands? I've got you covered! I'm going to give you five things moms really want for Mother's Day.

1. SOMETHING TO PLANT

 Flowers, trees, etc. Hanging flower baskets are always a great idea this time of year. They make any space look instantly more beautiful. Or maybe there's a special tree or bush she's been talking about planting. Japanese Maple, Cherry blossom, Lilac bush, Azaleas...if you're not sure, plan a little trip to the local nursery and let her pick something out...or hack her Pinterest account and see what she's been saving. I'm telling you, you CANNOT go wrong with some sort of flower gift.

2. A DAY AT THE SPA Or part of a day...moms work harder than most people realize. We also tend to put ourselves last. Which is why it's so nice to receive a gift that recognizes our desire to be taken care of occasionally. 

Maybe right now your mom isn't comfortable going to a spa. Or maybe you live long distance. No problem! Hop on Amazon and snag her this massager! I actually ordered this for my husband for Christmas and I use it just as much as, if not more, than he does. 

3. YOUNG LIVING PREMIUM STARTER KIT

Essential Oils are all the rage right now. I personally only use Young Living due to them being the best quality I've found because of their Seed to Seal standard. This kit makes you a Young Living member which means you get 24% off all their products. No monthly fee!! We use their plant based cleaning supplies, personal care products, supplements, and obviously the oils. You don't have to sell (you can if you want but it doesn't affect your membership if you don't). In fact I don't really do the business side, we just use the products. but you're still welcome to sign up through me if you don't know anyone else. I have an amazing team I'm part of that will help you learn all about the products.

• Desert Mist™ Diffuser
• Premium essential oils collection:
• Frankincense, 5 ml Lavender, 5 ml
• Lemon Vitality™, 5 ml
• Peppermint Vitality™, 5 ml
• Citrus Fresh™ Vitality, 5 ml
• DiGize™ Vitality™, 5 ml
• PanAway®, 5 ml
• Peace & Calming®, 5 ml
• Raven™, 5 ml
• Stress Away™, 5 ml
• Thieves® Vitality™, 5 ml
• Valor®, 5 ml
• AromaGlide™ Roller Fitments, 2 ct.
• NingXia Red® 2 oz. samples, 2 ct.
• Thieves® Spray, 1 oz.
• Thieves® Waterless Hand Sanitizer, 1 oz.
• Essential oil display tray
• Essential Oils at a Glance brochure
• Essential Edge News
• Essential Oils magazine
• Product Guide

4. YOUR TIME

Seriously! Make dinner or help in the garden or around the house without complaining. Smaller kids spend time making a special craft. Whatever giving your time looks like in your life and family, do it, she's appreciate it!

5. TIME TO HERSELF

Dads, grab the kids and head to grandma's for a while. Or kick mom out the door for some time outside the house by herself. Ask her which she would prefer!! Emphasis on asking. Sometimes we want time alone to read or watch a show uninterrupted and sometimes we need to go explore the stores alone. 

BONUS

All moms really want is to feel seen. Many of the day to day things we do aren't noticeable and that's ok. We do them out of love not need for recognition. But Mother's Day is a great time to remind the moms in your life that you see them and are thankful for them.  

-buy her those cute pajamas she's been talking about

-plan a get together with her friends she keeps saying she misses

-book a photographer for updated family photos she keeps saying you need

-take her to get a pedicure - sandal season is upon us

-write her a sweet note or handmade card

-help her with a project she keeps saying she wants to do

Don't overthink it. it doesn't have to be hard or expensive. Just from the heart. ❤

Christmas 2020

    

Friends, I had soooo much fun decorating for Christmas this year. We started at the beginning of November, took our time and added things all throughout the month. 

Last year, I had to have my mother in law come over and show me how to put the ribbon on my tree because she's a pro. This year I was able to do it all by myself. Pretty proud moment lol. 

The kids are just as obsessed with a glowing tree as I am.

Our tree went through quite a transformation. Every time I thought I was done, 

my daughter wanted to add more.

Our fireplace does not have a mantle. So this year we got some brick clips and between those and zip ties, I was able to make it look like we had one. Probably my favorite "trick" so far. I zip tied three strands of $5 Target garland together to make it nice and full on a budget. Then just added in things I already had. The wool ball garland is from Crate and Kids a few years ago -

(normally it hangs in my daughters room but I borrowed it) with her permission.😉

I made this bell garland about 4 years ago using a pack of bells from Hobby Lobby and thick yarn. We dried orange slices using Lindsey from The White Buffalo Styling Co.'s instructions. She has a highlight on her Instagram profile. @thewhitebuffalostylingco

We have an outlet behind the tv so I was able to add a strand of lights for some extra sparkle.

Entryway...

Dining room.

Kitchen

We added a tree to our master bedroom. I love hanging out at night all cozy in bed 

with the tree lights glowing.

Those handprint ornaments are each from my kids first Christmas ❤

Kids rooms. As I've said before, I LOVE adding holiday décor to my kids bedrooms. They each get their own tree. This year we kept the decorations on their trees simple.

The chunky pom pom garland is from World Market (years ago) and the little pillow ornaments were gifts over the years from my husbands grandmother.

Felt ball garland on my daughters tree is from World Market. and the candle ornaments we made using @thehomemakingmomma 's instructions. She has the how-to on her blog.

Right before Christmas is actually SNOWED! It was pretty magical.

Thanks for hanging out for the Christmas recap!!

♥♥♥