Tag Archives: flowers
Happy Twin Peaks Day
For those who don’t know, I’m a Twin Peaks superfan. I was absolutely obsessed with the show when it came out. I own 5 or 6 different Twin Peaks books. I even wrote an extensive research paper on it for a media studies class back in college. So yes, I like to celebrate this silly little “holiday” annually.
Last year during quarantine, we watched the show with Jake and Noah, who also really loved it. Since Jake is away at school, Noah and I still decided to do something special! The last few years I’ve been on top of things and had cherry pie ready, but this year donuts and (of course) a damn fine cup of coffee did nicely.
Today I also decided to take the advice of Agent Dale Cooper. This is one of my (many) favorites quotes from the show:
With that in mind, and remembering writing about my February Funk yesterday, I decided to treat myself to some beautiful tulips.
Can’t you just feel the warm air and catch the scent of rain and grass? Ah, spring is coming, it really is! In the meantime, I’ll enjoy fresh flowers as a reminder!
Decorating With Silk Flowers
I received a free product from Silk Plants Direct and CSI Wall Panels in exchange for my honest review.
The sun is shining here in the Hudson Valley, but it is still very cold out. I’m starting to grow impatient for spring, and finding myself wanting to have flowers in the house for pops of color. My cats, however, tend to nibble on fresh flowers, so I enjoy using silk flowers instead.
I was given the opportunity to try out a silk arrangement from Silk Plants Direct and I was happy to oblige! The first thing that struck me was the vast selection of gorgeous silk plants on their website. Whether you are looking for greenery, stems, or finished arrangements, Silk Plants Direct has it all.
I knew I wanted something with lots of color, so I chose this Peony arrangement:
It arrived quickly and extremely well-packaged. The glass vase was very secure and the silk flowers were not crushed. It just needed a little bit of fluffing before I put it on display.
The flowers are incredibly realistic looking! In fact, my mother-in-law was surprised when I told her that the flowers were artificial — she thought I’d purchased the arrangement from the florist!
Originally I had planned to put these flowers on my nightstand because the colors coordinate perfectly with my quilt, but I love it so much it is in my kitchen where everyone can enjoy it
Silk flowers are one way to give a quick update to your decor. Another way is using 3D Wall panels from CSI Wall Panels. These lightweight panels have so many creative uses — if you’re itching for a change, check them out!
In the Garden
Well, this year my garden is overgrown and underwhelming. The one-two punch of some heavy rains and two weeks of crazy hot weather made the weeds go crazy and sadly I’m just not motivated to keep up with it. (Happens every year — I’m a gardener in my head, but not in reality, LOL!) But I figured I’d share a few snapshots of the plants that haven’t died!
First, there’s my knockout rose bush. This is one of the hardiest plants we have in the front! And what’s amazing is that a few years ago, I bought the plant half-head on clearance for $1, just to see if it would take. I love how bright the pink is.
Then there are these Black-Eyed Susans that came from my mother-in-law’s garden.
And the Tiger Lily from my mom’s garden.
Even though Queen Anne’s Lace might be considered a weed, I love having it around the house. It’s so pretty and delicate and when I feel motivated to cut some flowers to bring in the house, the Queen Anne’s Lace makes such lovely filler.
This one is called a Balloon Flower and I think we might have gotten it as a bare-root plant from Spring Hill. We placed an order when we first moved here and while a lot of the plants didn’t take, a few did! The flowers close up in the evening and look like little balloons.
And here’s the Spoon Flower my dad made. This one is pretty rare 😉
I found this spiderweb this morning and I never tire of how magical they look. I left it alone — I feel bad anytime I have to wipe one away. I know it’s silly, but they just seem like so much work and this web wasn’t in a place where it was bothering anyone.
And finally, my hydrangea. I had only one pathetic bloom last year and it doesn’t look like I’ll have any flowers this year (no idea why!). I did, however, find this adorable little toad hanging out on a leaf!
Maybe in September I’ll put out some mums and marigolds and kale… I’ll try to take advantage of fall flowers and pretty things up for autumn. So, how are your gardens doing this year?
counting down to spring break
Happy Friday! I can’t believe that it’s finally spring vacation! The boys have not had a break since Christmas (unless you count snow days), so they’re looking forward to their break, which starts as soon as school ends today. I have some fun activities planned, but they have to remain top-secret. Sometimes I leave my blog up on my laptop and since they both can read… well, I don’t want to spoil the surprise.
Yesterday my parents came down for the day. The boys didn’t expect to see them so that was another surprise. I got so much done while my mom played with Laura! Of course, as you look upon my dirty countertops in the above photo you wouldn’t think so 😉 I picked a few daffodils yesterday to brighten up the kitchen. I figure that if I don’t pick them, the deer will eat them so I might as well enjoy them! And I snipped a few forsythia stems, as well. I love yellow!
Speaking of yellow, here’s the Clapochet I’m working on right now. I don’t know… I think it just seems a little boring. Some of the other projects on Ravelry seem to mimic the original Clapotis a lot closer. What do you think?
Also, as I was cleaning up my work last night I found one huge, glaring mistake. I don’t think I can just come to peace with it and move on (because it looks incredibly sloppy). So, if I’m going to rip it out anyway, maybe I should just try another pattern. I think that the One Skein Summer Wrap might work (and it should hook up quickly). I think I might have to try the Clapochet in a different yarn. I like the pattern, but… the weight just doesn’t seem right.
Well, there are certainly worse problems to have. Maybe this afternoon I can give the Summer Wrap a go and get back with my decision.