My Salad Bowl

Hello, Sweet Friends! Life has been busy around here, and part of what is keeping me busy is Spring!  I've recently been working in the back garden, so I thought I would show you a little bit of the outdoor nesting that's been going on around here.

Above, is what I call my "salad bowl".  It's full of all kinds of yummy heirloom lettuces.  It's nice to be able to pick a fresh salad for dinner.  There really is a difference in flavor with fresh lettuce.  This lettuce has been really easy to grow, and with it hanging I haven't had to worry much about slugs and snails.  Love. That.

 

Recently I've been picking up plants here and there to get my vegetables, herbs, and flowers going again.  I found a few of my herbs and tomato plants at a garden club plant sale at McKinley Park in East Sacramento.  I love going to garden club sales.  You never know what you're going to find.   

One of my basil plants is called "Goddess Basil".  I got a kick out of the name, so I couldn't resist bringing it home.  Apparently it has a fairly spicy flavor and is considered a gourmet basil.  I wonder if it's the basil often used for "Green Goddess Dressing" ?  I love how there are so many types of basil to choose from.  Check out this fun basil list-- I was shocked at just how many types there are!

I also picked up some low growing plants to refresh my fairy garden.  Winter was not kind to my fairy garden this year, so I'm excited to re-plant and re-fresh my tiny garden.  I think the fairies will be very happy with my choices.  The gnomes, however...

This is just a little peek at my potting bench.  It's just a teaser because I want to make a new skirt for it before I reveal the whole thing.  I've had this potting bench for several years now and although it's very simple, I love it.

Okay, so I love a good Buddha in a garden.  Is this not the sweetest face on this Buddha?!  I know, this is not exactly vintage/cottage style decor for my garden, but I adore him.  I picked up the little aqua pot with succulents at Trader Joe's last year.  I love Trader Joe's for little things like that.  They make great gifts.  This was, uh, a gift for myself.

Soooo... what do you do with a dead tree?  You hang bells and chimes on it!!  Can I call this repurposing and recycling?

This vintage water tank stand has been repurposed into a plant stand with a galvanized bucket and some flowers.  I love repurposing vintage items in the garden.

I love the columbine and ranunculus flowers.  The fluffy white ranunculus flowers remind me of Hagrid's fluffy head.  Oh, that is Hagrid's fluffy head!

I hope that you are all enjoying spring.  I'll be back soon to share more of the back garden.  I've been very busy-- this is just the tip of the iceberg, friends!

Hugs,



Under The Sea

This past month has been a busy one for stitchin'~ all gifts for special friends and family... and friends that I consider family. These two lovelies are going to make their way to Boise, Idaho to two of my favorite people in the whole wide world-- mother/daughter dynamic duo, Debra and Chelsey. Deb, Chelsey, and I have been lifelong friends.

When Chelse-Woman was a wee one, she loved Disney's "The Little Mermaid". She would spend hours in the tub singing Ariel's "Ahhhh... ahhhh... ahhhh...". Those of you who have kids may know that song well, as your little ones probably sang it in the tub too. When Chelsey sang, you could hear her down the hall, and Deb and I would just look at each other and giggle.

Chelsey was a fun, precocious little girl, with gorgeous red hair and an incredible imagination. Chelsey was often in "Chelsey-World"~ dancing and singing around the house in her tie-die leggings, and her twirly-whirly red square dancing slip that her grandma found for her. Seriously, (giggle) I don't think I ever saw her without one or the other-- or both. Chelsey could speak from a very early age, and introduced us to vocabulary we didn't even know existed. To this day, we still incorporate "Chelsey-isms" into our conversations. ("Oh my goodness-- Deb! We need to have a discussment!") Just goes to show, close friends have a "language all their own", right?

Well, Chelsey has grown into an incredible, lovely, talented, world-travelin' young woman. She's an amazing photographer (I love, love, love her photos), a great cook (she can cook Julia's boeuf like none other), and she's got great style (she wears her leggings in solid colors now). And yes, she still has that gorgeous red mane.

However, no matter how grown up Chelsey is now, whenever I see a great mermaid image--I think of her. Needless to say, this was the inspiration for choosing these vintage mermaid embroidery patterns to stitch for Deb and Chelsey. I hope these images will bring back sweet memories, and that they will love them as much as I loved stitching them!

Hugs,