Peek at my Week (Jan 17-23)

 It was another emotional week, but I definitely did what I could to make the most of it. 

On Sunday, we met friends for a hike then spent the rest of the day being lazy. 

Monday was Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday (observed) and what would have been my sister's 44th birthday. I went ahead and treated the day as a day off for the most part. After working on a few things, I convinced Pat that it would be nice to ride down to the beach for some salt air. 

It was just what my soul needed.

Back at home, we found the kitties in fairly close proximity. This is the closest they've gotten to one another EVER!

Since Monday was a holiday, Tuesday was spent catching up.

On Wednesday, we spent almost the whole day working and watching the Inauguration.

I stepped away from the television for a bit to focus some of my energy on creating.

In the evening, we stepped outside to celebrate on the swing and enjoy the milder weather.

I woke early Thursday morning with a feeling of positivity. And, I even caught the sunrise.

Since the temperature wasn't too low, I was able to sit on the porch to plan my day. 

I fit in some creative time, finishing up Bead Box 10!

And, Zoe got some belly-rubs.

Who am I kidding though. . . she gets belly rubs every day!

On Friday, I stay focused on getting a whole litany of tasks done.

While a huge bulk of those tasks were household chores, I was also able to fit in some creative time on the craft desk. 

I fueled up big time Saturday morning with a hearty breakfast.

I've never made cheese grits with an egg on top before, but it was something I was craving. And, it was GOOD too. 

I worked on some jewelry-making tasks most of the day.

But, I also pulled out the gel plate late in the afternoon.

I'll share the results of those at a later time. 

We met a couple of friends outside the local brewery for a few beers to finish out the week. 

I feel like it was a fairly creative and inspired week. Here's some inspiration I saved for you.

• Lifehacker shares how Journaling is Much More than Keeping a Dairy.
• This tutorial on making Nail Polish Hearts keeps turning over in my head. At some point in the next few days, I'll likely try it out. 
• I'm quite smitten with this "I Love Us" Embroidery Pattern from Flamingo Toes. 
• Sadie Seasongoods shares how to make Felt Succulents in Thrifted Planters. Those are some plants I can keep green!
• You should see the Works of Art created from old trees by one Italian artist. 
• Aaaand, here's another embroidery pattern. This time it's a Rainbow of Hope. (Perfect!)
• You know I love the jewelry tutorials from Moois Van Mie. She's shared a list of all her 2020 Jewelry Tutorials. 
• Check out this art created entirely from scraps of denim fabric!
• If you didn't watch the Inauguration, you missed seeing Amanda Gorman read her poem "The Hill We Climb". I HIGHLY recommend watching this inspiring woman perform her poem. 
• The surreal art of Ted Chin is mesmerizing. I'm in love with so many of these pictures. 
• Here's a tutorial on making a Love sign from repurposed materials. 
• Go check out these enchanting lightbox scenes! You won't be disappointed. 
• How cute is this Valentine Heart String Art?
• These inexpensive and easy DIY Roller Stamps are a great way to add texture to your art. 
• For those of you working to promote your art, here some ideas on How to Use Instagram to Take Control of Your Art Career. 
• Sculpy apparently has a new granite clay. At Handmade Happy Hour, you can find 5 Jewelry Designs using Turquoise Granite Clay. 
• I've never considered drawing on a leaf, but here are instructions for some Leaf Craft Ideas. 
• This No-Sew Scarf caught my eye as a great idea for gifts next year. Now if I can only remember that I saved it!

That's it for my week. I hope you've found some joy and inspiration in yours. I'm off to (hopefully) clean my craft room and prepare for the week ahead. Here's hoping yours is fantastic!

Peek at My Week (Nov 3-9)

It's been a full-spectrum of emotions kind of week. Let's start with last Sunday. I mentioned the extra hour in the day thanks to Daylight Savings. It made the day feel full of possibilities. 

I had taken a little of my birthday money and treated myself to these Stabilo Woody watercolor pencils that I've been wanting for a few years now. They come organized in a box with their own little compartments, but I found it hard to get them out, so I threw them into this old tin and just love how they look in it. 

Pat needed to take care of a few things up at the recording studio, so I went with him and worked on last week's post while he tidied up. 

From there, we jumped right into "Puppy Fun Day" and took Zoe with us as we went to explore a couple of new locations for disc-golf baskets.

The first 5-basket course was in a little park that has this creek running alongside it. Before we headed to the next course, I had to snap a picture. There were at least five families with photographers up there getting their family pictures done. It was a madhouse, but the beauty of the location is undeniable. The next course was a little less picturesque but also less crowded. It was nice to get out in the cooler weather. 

I realized a few hours later that the time change also meant that it got dark an hour earlier. Yeah, I'm not a fan. But, that also sent us to bed a little earlier and rising a little earlier. So, I decided to take advantage of that and spend some time outside with morning reflections while swinging on my new porch swing.

I've done a pretty good job of getting out there each morning to take in the new day, organize my head, and enjoy the outdoors. I hope I can keep it up. It definitely feels like it's helped me focus on what I want to accomplish each day.

I knocked out my errands and chores on Monday and tested out a new recipe that evening.

This One Pot Zoodles and Meatballs recipe was really simple. And, we FINALLY tried Zoodles (zucchini strips that mimic/replace noodles). I learned that this recipe made far too much for the three of us so I would probably half it and just use ground beef instead of the meatballs next time. But, there will likely be a "next time". So, there's that. 

I was up and out on the porch on Tuesday morning.

I do love that view! 

I finished up some projects and ran a few errands before I realized that I looked like this.

The outfit I thought looked so cute also looked like a Minion. If I hadn't mentioned it, I'm sure no one would have thought of it, but it cracked me up to no end, and I didn't bother changing clothes.

My grandmother had an appointment on Wednesday morning, but that didn't stop me from spending a few minutes outside in reflection and doodling first.

Usually, Wednesdays at my mom's house get away from me. But, I was determined (somewhat) to accomplish something. So, I worked on getting a few videos edited for YouTube.

On Thursday, I made a point of getting those videos uploaded to YouTube so I made a point of heading before lunch to get that done while I sipped a smoothie at a local coffee shop.

Back at home, I started the intimidating task of cleaning and organizing the craft room. 

My pile of tins to be broken down was out of control and made it difficult to get to other supplies. So, I took some time to stack them within each other with the lids off. Then, I stacked the lids within each other. There was something so satisfying about this stack of round lids.

Unfortunately, that was all the photos I took for the week. As I worked on the craft room more on Friday, we heard emergency vehicles heading down our dead-end street. While we still don't know what's happened, we're fairly positive that both of our elderly neighbors are no longer with us. I hope to get more information as the week progresses. 

I had lunch downtown Fairhope with a couple of girlfriends on Saturday before watching the Alabama vs. LSU football game. It was an emotional roller coaster of a game that Alabama ended up losing. I have to remind myself that we can't win them all. 

Today, I'm working on processing the events of the last couple of days and looking forward to a class I'm taking this afternoon. I'm sure I'll have more to say about it next week.

Despite the highs and lows of the week, I did find some inspiration to share:

• I'm kinda in love with these quirky animal Assemblages by Debra Broz. 
• This quote by Kurt Vonnegut shared by Austin Kleon touched me. 
• For a really simple jewelry project, check out this Chalk Painted Statement Necklace. 
• I've possibly shared this Rectangle Hoop Earring Tutorial before as it seems really familiar, but it's worth a look anyway.
• I have to admit that I LOVE wrapping paper. There's something so pleasurable about ripping into a package someone's given you as well as watching someone tear into what you've given them. And don't get me started on the endless pattern choices! But, that kind of wastefulness is wreaking havoc on our environment, and we need to start considering alternatives to paper wrapping and bags. Enter the Reusable Fabric Gift Bag! The tutorial I've linked up is only one option. But, think about the implications and possibilities. There are tons of fabric patterns too. And, you're not only gifting someone with the actual gift but the bag as well! Think about it. 
• Speaking of Christmas, it's time to get those Holiday crafts underway. I love every one of these Hand Embroidery Patterns! The problem is deciding which one to make. 
• This layered pendant tutorial on the Ice Resin blog combines the use of a few materials I would have never considered before. 
• There's science to back up the need to make art. It's scientifically proven!!
• ArtBeads has a tutorial on a Creamsicle Necklace that uses a variety of bead caps to add texture and interest. 

Wow, that's more than I thought I found this week! I hope this past week has treated you well and that the week ahead is full of magical moments. 

Friday Finds #2

I hope my American friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I hope everyone all over has had a great week. It's officially the start of the holiday season! I took some time today to retrieve our Christmas decorations and set a few out around the house. Now, to get and decorate a tree for the first time in many, many years.

Anyway, I'm popping in to share some more Friday Finds. If you didn't see my first Friday Finds post last week, let me clue you in on what I'm doing. I want to share some of the coolness I find in thrift stores, on my property, or wherever.

This time around I simply want to share some of the beauty and awesomeness I found while Pat and I hiked our own property last weekend.

This pink camellia bud spurred the whole hike. I spotted it and wanted to explore. So, explore we did!

Just inside the woods, I spied an old downed log, or tree stump, or some other kind of wood with a beautiful green mossy cover.

On the other side of the log, stump, wood thing was this large critter hole. In fact, we found holes like this all over the property. We've got a serious armadillo problem I think.

Just past the hole was this gorgeous oak tree, with a little magnolia on the side. I've admired it from the yard, but it's even more beautiful up close.

On the way to the other side of the property, we stopped to poke out heads into one of the sheds. Way at the back was this scale on a shelf. I LOVE IT! I had Pat grab it for me, and I drug it over to the barn to clean up later.

As we hiked and explored and checked out old trails at the back of the property, I looked down to see this delicate skeleton leaf. I scooped it up and carefully carried the fragile foliage through the woods as we finished up our adventure.

Before we left the woods, I quickly snapped a picture of the beautiful day we had been blessed with so I could share it with you wherever you are.

What have you discovered lately in your own back yard?

Our New Home | Pool and Property

Over a month ago I shared a look at the inside of our new home. I guess it's time that I show you some of the FIVE ACRES we also bought, including the pool area. He're what I was able to capture on camera the other day first thing in the morning (the lighting was weird so the pictures are a little odd, but I think you'll get the idea). Of course, I also filmed a video if you'd rather just go to the bottom of the page and watch that. This is a little picture heavy, bear with me. I'm excited to show you some of my new space.

The view off the back porch. Pat's already cleared away a bunch of the vines and overgrowth that had been covering that fence.

Also from the back porch you can see this shed. Again, the fence was covered in jasmine that we are slowly working on clearing out.

Taking a left off the porch, there's this little walkway to the pool, and a nice grouping of  banana trees and split-leaf philodendron. 

On the other side of the banana trees is this little area. We've decided to make it a fire-pit area since we found that fire pit in some weeds.

THIS is our pool!! It's kinda large and goes to 8 feet deep. It's also well-shaded which makes for quite chilly water. It'll be perfect during this sweltering Alabama Julys!

Okay, so back in the fire-pit are is this arbor (that was covered in air potato vines- eek!) and a few lampposts. It seriously feels like Narnia out here!

Out past the lampposts is this open area where we plan to plant our garden. You can see the light on the other side of the trees in the back, that's where out property ends and a large farm begins.

Next to the open area is this wide path that cuts through an area of bamboo and the back of the 'backyard'.

The path also cuts behind this pole barn. My husband says it's in better shape than it looks.

The pole barn hold all kinds of stuff that was left on the property - some treasures and some not so much.

Circling back toward the house is this basketball goal covered in overgrowth, I think it really speaks of the rustic nature of our new home.

I'm completely smitten with the variety of plants and flowers we have all over the property (with the exception of the air potato and jasmine). We joke that we've got one of everything. Take a look:

There are tons of gardenia bushes - it's a good thing I love them so!

As well, there are hydrangeas scattered across the property. I actually found this tiny bloom on one of them.

For the most part though, the majority of our hydrangeas look like this right now.

The previous owner had planted some mums. This is one small bunch like you would get in front of the grocery store. However, it's blooming. I don't mind!

In addition to lots of pine trees, we also have a few large oaks. This large, majestic one sits toward the back of the property.

There are beauty berry bushes scattered all over. I adore the color of the berries. Isn't it divine?

Elephant ears are mixed in with all the other plants. These are right outside the pool gate, giving that area an even more lush feel.

Also near the pool are several palms. This is the biggest of the bunch.

We've even discovered a few citrus trees. Though, this lime is the only fruit I've found on them. We think the other plant is an orange. I can't wait to find out for sure!

And that's just a partial look at the property, I didn't take you to the front of the house or the way back. I mentioned that it feels like Narnia out here but we're now joking that it's more like the Room of Requirement from Harry Potter. We've found some many cool items on the property, some we had recently mentioned we needed - like the fire pit. I plan on sharing a bit of a peek at some of the cool items we've discovered, but that's for another time. For now, here's my video tour.

I do apologize for making y'all wait so long for this reveal. It's been a ton of work trying to catch up and unpack and manage the property and enjoy the pool and excuses, excuses, blah, blah, blah. I do hope you understand.