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Get Linked! What I Am Loving Right Now

 

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Today, I choose to focus on what’s wonderful in my world. Just like all of us with homes and clothes and food to eat and family and friends, I feel blessed with abundance. Over and above that, there are those little things in everyday life you seem to take for granted, and suddenly one day you realize how fabulous they are? Maybe only in a tiny way, but it all adds up. Here’s my list of things that were fabulous from this week. 

#1  My markers! Restarting my creativity is moving along, part in thanks to this Color Your Year calendar I picked up at our local Barnes and Noble. Half-off after Christmas, of course because that’s how we do it. Hubby and I both use digital calendars, he Outlook and me Google Calendar, but we like having a paper calendar hanging in the bathroom. Sounds weird, but it is helpful. (Also in the bathroom, a wall clock, sticky notes, and a pen. Essentials.) Meanwhile, back at the calendar, I’m using my art markers, and I found both my Tombow Dual Brush pens (markers) and my Memento Dual Markers make the job extra fun because they are brush markers that actually act as a brush. Both are water soluble, but the Memento dries water resistant almost instantly, and they mean resistant; I’d call it water-proof. Both are widely available; remember to support your local businesses before you click that Amazon add-to-cart button, just sayin’ :) 

#2  This gardener! She’s cheery, she’s smart, she’s cute, and she can talk as fast as I can. And as for creative… well, you have to watch a few of her videos to see the amazing things she does with plants big and small. Laura of Garden Answer is not hesitant to heft the biggest shrubs or finesse the tiniest baby succulent into stunning planting beds, containers, and other less obvious choices! I especially like some of the fairy garden creations. Plus, she does stuff like this… 

 

A photo posted by Garden Answer (@gardenanswer) on

#3  All the new stuff announced around the end and beginning of the years! Tuesday is the Housewares Design Awards, and this video of the nominated products shows some cool stuff. There is a Roomba-style automated mopper that definitely caught my attention. The awards are announced during the Las Vegas home furnishings market. You really do want to scroll to the bottom of that page and click on that “First Look” pdf. Wow!

#4  The Kitchn in my Facebook feed! I have clicked through to more articles of The Kitchn’s than any other page I follow and that’s saying something because I’ve been unfollowing things right and left for irrelevant postings. The Kitchn is on trend without being extreme, offers great ideas without being impractical, and the writers are like … real relatable people! Look — there’s a Weekend Prep for Whole30 Meals article. The Kitchn is part of the Apartment Therapy group, only it’s all kitchen

photo Gina Eykemans, What I Prep on Sunday for Whole30 Meals

#5  GREEN! Specifically, Pantone’s 2017 Color of the Year, Greenery! I imagine that almost anyone would guess that I approved of this year’s choice. I mentioned my love of green in my blog bio (which needs some updating, but not the parts mentioning green, haha!) “Green is nature’s neutral” is what they state, and I totally agree. Although their color pairings don’t make a lot of sense to me, I can tell you that almost anything looks terrific with it — it’s almost the same shade as my family room. Aaah, how I love the room being this color :) Remember this? It’s a bit more lived in, with curtains and wall decor now though.

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#6  This graphic gem! If you are thinking about painting any rooms in your house, here is a special blog post from a UK store, Farthing, that I would love to visit. Until I can, I’ll content myself with looking at (dreaming about … ) their tempting vintage home decor finds … Hmm? Oh, yes, the graphic! Heaped with color psychology and guidance for matching paint color with a room’s function, it will prepare you for that trip to pick up paint chips. How about an orange exercise room? Hey, look! My green family room is right on point!

#7  Snow!!! Did you know I’m crazy for snowfall? Although I have had quite a few snow events in my area as compared to the average year, only one of them might have required snow boots. But it was rain-washed away before I needed to 1) errand, or 2) snowman. I really wanted to snowman this winter. I’m looking at these snow boots in case we have more fluffy white precipitation instead of the eternal liquid falling from the skies. Kinda spendy, but since I made my last pair last almost 20 years, I’m due. The boots come in green, but no thank you this time *shock!* I know, I know. My parka is purple, lavender, and white, and I’d likely be wearing jeans or crazy LuLaRoe leggings. White seems wisest. 

 

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#8  My breakfast! After searching for my favorite Cream of Wheat — the 10-minute cook kind ONLY please — with little success, I decided to look into whole-grain options. This is way more my vibe these days anyway. I am in love with whole grain Kamut hot cereal from Bob’s Red Mill. It is ground like the steel-cut oats you might be familiar with, so the cooked cereal is less smooth than I was looking for, but it tastes delicious. No raw whole wheat taste (yuck!) and I was able to pick it up at my local grocery store. Kamut is an ancient wheat (read about it here) and many people who have non-Celiac gluten issues can tolerate it. This morning I had it with fresh ground almond butter and Ironbark honey from Australia. Delish! 

I hope your days are full of ordinary items, sights, and activities that give you joy and make you smile. If you get to feeling stressed, remember that time spent outside amongst the plants and birds — nature — makes everything better. Well, maybe not everything, but it helps a lot — check it out!

Spread the happy! 

Gail

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