spring officially begins one week from today, but i can’t help but share a bit of our garden beginnings. we have a serious case of spring fever so you might just find us outside enjoying these later evenings of light or amid the potato & onion starts at the co-op.
in our garden, we are…
– planting pots full of spring flowers & forced bulbs
– overwintered kale, carrots, turnips, beets, & quite a bit more with varying success.
– watching, slowly, as the garlic matures & grows
– planting rhubarb (!!) for the first time. let’s see what happens…
– cleaning out old pots & stacking them in our garage.
– double-digging four beds in our backyard just in time for cabbage & broccoli starts
– starting seeds & dreaming of the bountiful summer harvests
– slowly putting up that fence one donated t-post at a time
– moving the chicken coop under a beautiful tree for shade & protection from our hawk friends
– adding another bed of strawberries. you really can’t have too many.
– anticipating what more is to come…
what are you doing in the garden these early spring days?
love,
natalie
this weekend we celebrated my dear friend, erin, & the arrival of her wee one. erin is a fantastic lady friend with a serious knack for crafting up just about anything. erin sews, quilts, knits, gardens… a girl after my own heart. so when i heard she was expecting a little one, a bunch of ladies & i got together & created a shower just as sweet as she is.
the decor was a bit of this & a bit of that…mostly just things from around my home or handmade. i purchased the paper lanterns from party city & covered the bottoms with craft paper. i added fun, bright fabric to the circular looms on the wall & made the scalloped bunting from extra fabric scraps.
my sweet sister-in-law made the darling “knitting” cupcakes. i’m not much of a baker, but i know that she used pretzels covered in white chocolate for the needles. i’m sure you could find a tutorial online; this is very similar.
i purchased little brown bags from hobby lobby & filled them with bubble gum & confetti. i adorned the favors with heart-shaped doilies from valentine’s day & closed the bag with a little wooden clothespin.
i was inspired by amy’s birthday flags & created my own with thin, wooden dowel rods & card stock. the little chalkboard clips are from hobby lobby & are perfect for identifying those not-so-obvious party foods.
i decorated the momma-to-be’s chair with strips of fabric & ribbons tied to the top. a little coffee station was just what we needed with the rainy & cold day we were having.
& of course, erin’s not the only one expecting babies…
we brought home seven sweet, fluff-ball babies this weekend, too. more on these precious girls soon. xo.
love,
natalie
p.s. happy birthday to my momma! she brought me into this world & i am so lucky to have her! i love you, mom!
you might be wondering why i am still talking about hand-knits in march when all i can really think of are sandals & skirts without tights, but the honest truth is- i’m a knitting addict. this past fall, i learned to knit in the round. after one successful hat, i kept on knitting. pretty soon all of my friends & family will have their own hat.
this is a keeper, though. i began knitting this special hat at knitting club last week & finished it while we were driving to papa’s service. so many feelings are woven into the yarn- it feels so good to wear it & think of him. i’m calling it my “pa-pom hat.”
the pattern is actually the ribbstickad hat by wiksten. i was immediately drawn to it for it’s ease & simplicity. i chose a lamb’s pride yarn in a robin’s egg blue. i made the pompom by wrapping yarn around my hand. the pattern was $6 & so well worth it. jenny does an excellent job at creating simple instructions for a beginner like me.
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and the winner of today’s happy mail giveaway is jael! thank you so much to all who entered. i was truly amazed by the turnout! jael, i will email you shortly!
love,
natalie