love isn't made, it's grown

propagation pegboard

I made this last spring for my succulent babies, it houses sprouts at the start of the growing season.

We've been celebrating the warmer weather around here lately! Outdoor projects and planting seeds..the garden is filling out everyday. I was so pleased that my strawberry patch came back! This spring has put on quite the show, so much life everywhere. I recently watched The Secret Garden for the first time in forever..still one of my all time favorites.(dickon was my dude)

It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine, and things pushing up and working under the earth-Francis Hodgson Burnett

Yucca plants have been at the front of every house growing up, love them indoors and out. I got my first fiddle leaf fig plants this fall and I can't seem to get any of them to grow over a few feet. I continue to almost kill them on a regular basis, just can't seem to figure out its formula. Good thing spring always makes things green and fresh again. This sweet three tier vintage plant stand is newly thrifted and perfect for the back entrance.

bun

These shots from the "meadow" perfectly sum up their personalities..

Copper

Baxter

Especially Z.

Lumen

Happy Friday!

spring dreams

Is it so small a thing to have enjoyed the sun, to have lived light in the spring, to have loved, to have thought, to have done.
   Empedocles on Etna

Everything is in full bloom around here, the most wonderful time of the year! We had a huge pear tree in our front yard growing up, I miss those fluttery petals that covered the ground. Magnolia's are my very favorite, the best part about spring. They always remind me of grandma Nola, she told me that her full name was Esther Mag-Nola, just like that. Magnolia? I'm still not sure. She was quite the character.

I'm waiting to see the total lunar eclipse/blood moon. I totally dreamt of an adult summer camp in space last night, I was all set to go when I remembered that I'm terrified of flying and ended up staying home ha! It's the residuals from never getting to go away to camp or school trips. Except that one time I went with grandma to an inner city camp and learned how to do the butterfly dance and make a tooled leather cuff. It was the most fun.

I hope it's all sunshine wherever you are!

voyage of exploration

Piasa

Let's rewind to autumn because I feel like that's where my head clung to the clouds and started dreaming of this place. It's haunted and inspired me for years, there is such a rich history here. Long ago the meltwaters from ancient glaciers formed the Illinois river and its network of snake-like streams. Windblown layers of dusty bedrock created the limestone bluffs that rose from the riversides. It was an Eden of sweeping prairies and dense forests. Rugged wilderness and warfare. Now a protected area, many of the sloping hills and valleys are Indigenous burial mounds. At least six different tribes lived in this place, in a much different time. Europeans first began exploring Illinois while searching for the ocean and met the Illini here at the confluence of two mighty rivers. It's named after the explorer Pere Marquette. 

You know how we all have those weird dreams..I always wanted to travel to pivotal moments in time, and see what really happened. The underlying stories of the people involved, I love imagining history in a different way. Something about this past trip inspired me to really think about it, and learn everything I could. As soon as I got home I started filling up notebooks and over time my imagination created a pretty wild story drawn from the actual events. Growing up Cahokia mounds was just a few miles away and we would take the short trip to see this natural beauty too, some of my favorite places to visit. 

  I couldn't even imagine ever writing anything seriously but it's something that I quite like doing for fun. An experiment in creativity if you will, it pushes me a bit outside of my comfort zone. I think that's what matters anyway, doing something that inspires you. Even if it's a silly dream or things that only you'll appreciate. Have a little fun with your life. This is where my mind has been when I stop thinking of anything else, grab my headphones, and write. Something I do just for me, for no other reason than to create. Usually at 3 am while watching old westerns and period pieces. It's nice to have a little escape from the every day. 

    

“No river can return to its source, yet all rivers must have a beginning”

Movies and books are my first love. Strong willed heroines and tales of heartsick love, obstacles, violence, I'm old fashioned like that. Historical romances, epics, westerns, when I was little I had a Dr. Quinn sized crush on Sully and Willow is one of my most watched movies of all time. Madmartigan?! Val was it. I still play out stories in my mind a la The Neverending Story. That Atreyu effect. I just love the visualization and feeling from seeing it unfold and hearing the music, music is everything. I feel like I know my characters, If only in the movie of my mind.



winter's end

pecan pumpkin 

(dog tail cactus & diy-old deep fryer basket/hanging planter)

I can't believe that winter is finally over! Bring on the blossoms and sunshine. These cold weather months weren't so bad..I vegged out with hulu and Netflix, made way too many treats, tried to keep plants alive, a little antiquing, my 28th birthday, and some big home projects.

Working on building my own butcher block countertops! 

homemade marshmallows

snow cat

It snowed so much here in the Midwest..if ever I complained about the lack of fluffy stuff it more than made up for it this year. 

Like mountains of it.

That meant plenty of time inside to catch up on old books.

And a new amethyst for this aquarian.

Hope your winter was a good one!

hark!

 ♪if i am lost it's only for a little while♪

band of horses-monsters

Hello!

I'm still here.

We've just been hibernating.

Whew! You know how when you don't do something for a while it becomes this thing, and you just don't know how to jump back in or something keeps getting in the way..this is that post. haha

 I totally didn't mean to go so long without an update, work and a polar vortex thwarted my plans. Seriously, I wish I didn't know what that meant. Winter's are always rough for me but it has been the coldest of my life, I swear! The holidaze went by in a flash and I'm still catching up.

We're all ecstatic for the warmer weather!

ladybug

 giant little animals to feed

acorn nose

 cotton candy

I hope your 2014 is going great!