Heather Loves Winter

My friend sent me these photos of her local heather bushes thriving in the winter. It seemed appropriate to post them here to go along with our winter theme. Thanks to the mild weather, these plants must be feeling almost as if they are growing in Scotland.

This heather garden is in the middle of New York City! Isn't that hard to believe -- on the Upper West Side.

Enjoy your day!

One More Thing

Sunday lunch was pretty good.....

.....even if we were all hungry several hours later.

Random Things

It's a sunny Monday here in the Midwest. I guess the Superbowl took place here this weekend but funny enough we never really saw any signs of it! Another school week has begun and more to-do lists.

Christina has been stitching up the cutest fingerless mitts lately. Aren't they adorable?! She'll have them available in her Etsy shop soon.

We celebrated my Dad's birthday in late January with his favorite -- pineapple upside down cake. I even made a gluten-free version which tasted so delicious!

My primroses are hobbling along at the end of their blooming life. I'm hoping to plant them all in my garden for perennial cheer.

Laura is as busy as ever, slowed over the weekend by a high fever and a nasty cold. New words come tumbling forth everyday. My new favorite: "I'm sorry."

I like to cut my poinsettias when they begin to fade. They make for pretty cut flowers without the scraggly leaves. (You have to cut the poinsettia stem and immediately seal the end with a flame before plunging into water.)

The boys turned some cardboard into a cool castle.

And now I must go rescue Little Miss Muffet from her nap and see about the rest of my to-do list. Downton Abbey is awaiting on the horizon one of these evenings....as well as a bunch of sewing. And Valentine's Day is around the corner!!!!!

Embracing Winter: Pamper Yourself

It's becoming harder and harder to convince myself that it is winter. Our temperatures here in the Midwest have been ranging between 45 and 58 degreesF which is about 20 to 40 degrees above what it could be right now. And as for snow....I think we've all forgotten what that looks like. But, we certainly don't want to complain!

Winter is a wonderful time to change up your skin care routine. Buy a new scent of handsoap. Ask friends what their favorite moisturizer is, and maybe take time out for a long bubble bath.

Brighten up your bathroom by using a bar of delicious-smelling soap set in a little china dish. Bar soap may seem so last-century, but did you know that dermatologists recommend it as the best thing for your skin? (Of course they want you to stick only to Dove bar soap and I don't really want to go that far....)

Trader Joe's has some heavenly bar soaps. I know they might cost up to $3.50/bar but I also know that they can last up to 6 months and their natural perfume is worth it! I just finished a bar of their Lemon Verbena and am now going to try their Ginger Almond Oatmeal.

It is a real treat to have Bath&Body Works foaming soap by the kitchen sink when you want to wash your hands. I just happened to find a sale recently!

And good old Yardley is always an option -- our dollar store sells these bars in the beauty section.

See the pretty cut glass jar with the silver lid? That was a little gift from my uncle who I think found it at a thrift store and polished it up for me. It makes a perfect container for putting hand cream in and leaving beside my bed or on my dresser.

You've already heard me suggest buying yummy-scented chapstick, and I don't mean flavors like Rootbeer Float or Bubblegum (unless those happen to really make your day). Tiny bits of loveliness sprinkled throughout the day do add up to something.

Every once in awhile rub some sugar into your hands along with your regular moisturizer. Rinse in warm water and notice how soft and smooth your hands will feel. I must go and do this.....

Remember that taking time for beauty, and time for nourishing your soul, will bless you as well as those around you.

Books and Yarn

I thought I would participate in the Yarn Along over on the lovely blog "Small Things" (where everyone is sharing their current knit/crochet and reading).

This is my latest project. I got the idea in my head one evening over the weekend and by the next afternoon I had it finished. It is SO easy! Just 8 granny squares sewn together with a little gather at the top via a crochet string.

I saw the idea in this book but didn't have it to look at when I made this so I'm not sure if it is the same or not.

I've been enjoying my reading lately. We've been on a Tasha Tudor kick so I picked this up from the library to learn a bit more about this eccentric and inspiring person. It is written by Tasha's daughter and filled with lots of photographs. Lovely to read.
I'm hooked on this series, set in the Irish countryside in the 1950's or 60's. This book is set back in the 30's though and I enjoyed the word pictures of Dublin since it would be a bit like Glasgow at the same time. It's an easy-read novel about a doctor in medical school.
I'm reading this just for the fun of seeing what advice there was for economizing in the 1930's. Ha! It's good for a laugh and interesting to see that some things never change.

I decided I just couldn't send this book back to the library without reading it again. I love it and must put it on my to-purchase list. The Gentle Art of Domesticity.....
And now I must return to cleaning the house and making chicken soup. Michael is doing better today, just looking different with his swollen face. The rest of us are trying to get over our colds.

Up To Something

We were working on a new project today. It involved cake, which was good.

And other pretty things.

I just love this little vintage purse.

And Christina's lovely knitting.

More pictures to come sometime soon......

In the mean time, Michael is recovering from having his four wisdom teeth removed -- hopefully this will not affect his preaching (in more ways than one). Andrew is in bed with the side-effects from this nasty cold, and I'm still working on getting rid of this two-week fluish cold. But, who can complain about 63-degree weather in January!!!! Very strange if you ask me.

Embracing Winter: Bring Nature Inside

One of my favorite ways of beating the winter blues is to bring nature inside the house. It is amazing how frequently Europeans buy flowers for their houses. But, they know that the money spent on flowers is well-invested because of the joy it brings to otherwise dark and gloomy days.

I know most of us don't have a flower budget, as much as we'd like to have one. Keep your eyes open -- you may find some good bargains like these primroses, on sale for 99 cents each this week at Aldi. They make me happy everytime I look at them!

If there are no flowers around, think about sticks! A stick tree is fun and you can leave it plain or hang anything you like on it -- birds, popcorn, valentines..... I even put water in the vase in hopes that the branches might actually bud one day.

Get everyone drawing: draw winter scenes and spring scenes, animals, flowers, winter skies, winter food, garden plans.....

If only I had thought ahead I could be forcing bulbs right now! I am on the lookout for hyacinths about to bloom -- they are one of my favorite smells!!! I had also hoped to buy an amaryllis but none came my way. These flowers are thanks to my mom and sister.

Make flowers out of tissue paper. Here is a good tutorial.

Sewing flowers brings me so much joy! I love, love, love to do it! (Okay, once in awhile after sewing dozens and dozens I do need a little break.) There are so many types of flowers to craft and you can even google food flowers and be inspired to make flowers out of all kinds of edible things.

What joy nature gives to us! God is the ultimate artist and we are silly if we do not spend time enjoying what we have been given.