Plants Over Flowers

I believe in the school of thought that plants win over flowers any day of the week.

I picked up these two beauties yesterday for $2.99.  (If you're local, check out Aldi.)  They're tropical plants that like bright sun and warm temperatures, something that we're not seeing much of these days. 

For that price, less than a cheap bouquet of flowers, they're totally worth the money.  They make the statement of freshness without the doom that they'll only last a week.  While I don't expect them to last too long, I'm still happy to have them while we can.  Plants over flowers any day!

Bacon

Bacon. Happy National Pig Day. Bacon. Go ahead and let out a squeal, there's only one way to celebrate. Bacon. Want to laugh about the truth about bacon? Click Bacon.  Tonight we're getting some pork BBQ and talking about all the similarities my dad has with this pig farmer. Bacon.

Decorating Evolution

Starting in elementary school, I used to lock myself in my room for a few hours.  I would clean everything, roll up my rug, put my furniture on washcloths  and rearrange the furniture.  I would stand at my dresser and organize my creamer collection and other knickknacks until they were just so.  The process took two to three hours, and I would emerge out of my room, high on decorating and having my own space my own way.  For Christmases and birthdays I asked for things for my room.  Over the years, I received a desk, bookshelves, carpet, a stuffed chair and ottoman, mini TV, my own phone, a large mirror, and a white comforter.  {I remember shrieking when I opened the comforter.}  I had my little room and I liked making it my own.  Even if the combination didn't work just right, I loved the process of it learning myself in that space.  The change was good, even if it didn't last long and even if it I switched it back to the best way my little room worked.  And it most certainly had a best way.  It was 11 feet by 10 1/2 feet, and I crammed a lot of stuff in there.  I made it work. 

Now, I like to do the same things.  I don't change things just for change, but I do let things evolve.    I've figured out the best flow for some of my rooms: my master bed will always be where it is, my living room sofa can only fit on one wall, the dining room table will always be in the dining room, I think.  The living room (the first room in my house) is a great example of how things are evolving.  While some would say they are getting better, that's not accurate.  What's happening is that it's changing with me.

Below is a picture of our room the way that it was shortly after we moved into this house.  That was almost seven years ago.  The couches and chairs are in the same spots, but most everything else has changed.  Again, I would not call them improvements or bettering the room.  It's evolving.  It's becoming more me, and more us.  

This room has seen some changes.  While a few of them can be considered improvements, I would say that most of them are things that evolved to fit our needs and our wants.  Here's the list:

We scraped the popcorn off the ceiling

We sawed our bookshelves in half to fit on the half wall

We added a coat rack

We built a $20 computer desk and file cabinet

I spruced and I still spruce

I painted some wallpaper

Those things have transformed the room into what it is today.  It's a little more happenin'. There's more life, because there are more lives here.  Take a look below.

Here's the thing: it's not that different, but it's really different.  I've stayed true to the things that I know that I like: natural elements, bright, calm.  But, I've let it become more of who I am.  Less knickknacks, more pictures, little layers of color, plants.  I like doing that.  I do this because it's fun and it's how I've always lived in the space that I've had.  

It's not about styling.

It's not about striving.

It's not about making it better.

It's not about completion.  

It's not about getting it right.

It's about having fun and being free in our space.

A Winter's Day In The Woods

Mama's happy.  I packed up the kids and got a hit of quiet, woodsy mother nature today and it did a body good.  "Packed up the kids" makes it sound like it was a ton of effort to go for a little adventure.  That is misleading.  It is really as much as hoping in the car and going. There was a mental switch that I had to do shortly after having Burl and again after having Fern about leaving the house.  It doesn't have to be a huge production.  I don't have to make preparations similar to those if I were going on an overnight trip, which I used to think.  I keep the car stocked with diapers and wipes, and the rest I consider luxuries. Change of clothes, sippy cups, a day's worth of food, toys...as if!
When we've gotta go, we.have.got.to.go.  

Today I had to go.  I've been hankering to head to this park for a while now.  We've been there several times before, and it's always good fun.  Today was the perfect combination of time available-good weather-and go get 'em attitude.  

If it's rained enough, there is a babbling brook just a few steps from the parking lot.  I didn't even get out a stroller or baby backpack for this.  Sixty seconds of walking and we were there.  It's perfect for throwing rocks.  I snapped pictures, taught Fern how to throw, found big rocks for Burl, and soaked it in.  

After a while, I got tired of holding Fern back from getting in the water.  Give it a month or two, and we will be all about splashing, but for now it's just too cold.  I let the kids laugh and run and act silly on the bridge until Fern started to try to jump off, then we were off to our next stop.

I loaded the kids in the car and we drove the loop to our next stop.  Picnic area #3 is picturesque.  It's this little grassy spot with a few little trails leading off.  I don't know why I love it, but it's just gorgeous.  We sat right at the beginning of the trails and the kids did their thing.  Their thing is the same whether they are at home, the church nursery, a playground, or in the woods: They play with what they got. 

Fern started digging at pebbles, rolling in leaves, and picking at bark.  Burl found a wonky branch and started raking leaves. I sat there and got calm.  It was so relaxing.  While we were there, a guy from the newspaper pulled up.  He got two huge cameras, walked over, introduced himself, and asked if he could take some pictures of us.  "It's a slow news time" were the exact words he used.  We made an agreement that he would email me some of the pictures.  We talked a little bit.  He was younger and had never been to this park before.  He asked simple questions, but they got me thinking.  Between "you probably have your hands full and want to get out of the house," "do you come here often," and "do your kids like it here" questions, I realized that he was trying to figure out what the heck I was doing in the woods with a baby and a toddler.

Here's my full length answer: I need it.  I need to play with them when I'm not surrounded by my house and yard and the the upkeep it takes to maintain them.  When I'm in the woods, I just sit and watch and engage.  I don't think about the laundry that I should switch out or the grass that we can't grow or the projects that I would like to do in our home.  I'm just there, sitting on the ground, being quiet and still, and watching my kids.  

Also, I feel so much more excited to see my children play imaginary things and explore new things while we're outside than when we're at home with their toys.  Fern loving and hugging her doll is adorable, Burl sorting and stacking his toys is great, but there's something special about them playing outside.  There are two parts to it.  

First, I think their little senses love it.  If nothing else, feeling the textures of the different elements is great for them.  {Sometimes they play in their food at dinner and I always take that as a sign that they need to touch more than their plastic toys.}  They were busy and dirty and happy.

Second, playing in the woods is simple.  It's a great reminder to me that they don't need all the stuff that I think they need to be happy.  They're happy and flourishing right there in the woods.  

I'm sure there are books and studies and information about how good it is for kids to play outside more than inside, but I don't have any of that science on it.  I just know that it feels refreshing.

 As we packed up and drove away, Burl told me that he wanted to come again.  Fern was bouncing her head back in forth happily.  We saw two deer.  I took those as signs that skipping a few hours of laundry day was a good decision.  We'll be making this a regular thing!

I hope that you all find big and small adventures to go on with friends, family, kids, or solo.