{a little taste of summer at my house}

I'm a flower fanatic. Annuals especially. I suppose my Mom is to blame in part. She does have that fabulous greenhouse, afterall. And then, there's my husband...who, after we've planted flats and flats and flats {and flats} of impatiens wonders... What can we plant next?! Let's buy a new container or make a new bed because THIS IS FUN! Sigh.* I truly don't stand a chance. It's a good thing I love it.
I don't just love any old flowers. I'm especially partial to Proven Winners. It's a "breed" of flowers- superior to any other- in my opinion. You might pay more for a Proven Winner plant at the local nursery, but you are going to a.) get what you pay for b.) pay for the name {royalties!} c.) get something that will endure all scorching summer. There IS a difference between those Wal-Mart petunia 6-packs and a 4-inch Proven Winner petunia.
I always insist on doing a theme. It certainly helps to rope in Matt when we go to pick out our flowers. Otherwise, we'd have all colors of the rainbow. Which is fine, too, right? I think that's what we're going to do next year. For a change. {The only stipulaton I put on next years plan is- no purple.} This year, it's purple. Now, that doesn't mean it's limited to PURPLE. That means you use lavender, light purple, medium purple, bright purple, dark purple, some whites, and black leafed plants. Here's a little glimpse into my fanatical "container gardening"... Trust me... you don't want to see pictures of those impatiens I mentioned earlier... THEY ARE EVERYWHERE. O, a couple things... a.) make sure and notice the humidity hanging in the background of some of these pictures... b.) I have a very cheap camera... c.) worse than the cheap camera, I have no photography skills whatsoever.





{this Eugenia anchors my unattractive kitchen entryway. in my opinion, this entryway is the first outside thing that needs fixed when we get to the outside fixing-up. matt says painting the barn is more important. really?! phooey. but- this beauty certainly helps things look a little, uh, better.}



{this is the front entry. it needs some help, too, but for now it's content with keeping company with these lovely companions!}

{these girls... ah, my favorite. they anchor the corners of our home. they do a great job, but they do tend to show off.}

{larger combination planter, of course starring purple, flanked by 2 "monoculture" pots. classic.}

{she is the star of my patio. truly. she's full of life, balance, and grace. o, and purple.}

{who says "blinds" are for hunting? this "blind" quite nicely hides the collection of apparatus that finds itself situated in the midst of our front lawn.}

{this is a type of euphorbia. for some of you reading in a little warmer climate zones, this can be used as a shrub. i love this plant! notice the humidity looming in the background. it was taken at about 6 AM... you see how steamy it already was. i actually think it looks really neat. in the picture, that is.}

And now... Just for fun! A little DIY! Mine doesn't look so well due to our recent humidity, but... this is a great outdoor centerpiece idea! My Mom came up with this a few years back and I have planted one every summer "just in case". Grab a pot, any old terra cotta pot will do, as long as it's not too tall. Fill it with dirt up to within 4 inches of the top. Center an old cup or candle jar in the center of the pot. Plant moss {scotch or irish} around the cup. Leave the cup in the pot and allow the moss to grow around it. When you are having last minute company and need to appear glam , whip the cup out, insert a pillar candle, and light it! Easy centerpiece! All you have to do is keep it watered for its big moment. Use your imagination- I'm sure baby tears, ajuga, or other creeping, mounding plants would work too!

{just 2 days before i took this picture, there was not a speck of brown to be seen in this moss. shows you what a little humidity will do to one.}

And lastly, I leave you with a few light-hearted moments in my life of late...

{i found these fat little cutie-patooties running through our yard the other morning! i love them! they'd be my adopted third and fourth child by now if i had any say in it. i got the sinking feeling that by the look of the lower ones eyes and ears, they didn't care to even be acquaintances. and i haven't seen them since. the feelings were definitely not mutual.}

{o, the concentration that it takes! golfer in training! and his dad couldn't be more thrilled!}

independence day 2011 and other random thoughts.

I've had writers block for over a week now, so I'm convinced blogging is truly not my friend and I should just return to the safety of Facebook which I can always count on to produce valuable inspiration. But my conscience, being the better person that it is, is winning and I'm not returning to Facebook. Yet. My pergatory sentencing is just not over.


 Our life has been crazy, chaotic, and wonderful these last 10 days or so. We had a great 4-day weekend- meaning that Matt was home 4 days. We had a little fourth of July party at our house on Sunday evening which was fun, but I was too busy fretting to remember to take pictures. Of course. But, on Monday- the actual "4th of July", I did manage to take some pictures of the littles in their festive clothes.



<>

<>                                 And the photo shoot began... 

Miles really wanted to "huggeem" {a.k.a. "hug him"}





We did finally get a good shot... Aren't they precious?

And then it was hard to decide which shot was best... They're just too cute!

The glasses that one thought were "pretty neat" proved to be a distraction...



We ate supper at Arby's {very fun and random} and went to my Dad & Mom's for homeade raspberry ice cream on the front porch and sparklers... The perfect ending to a lovely weekend...



Sitting on the porch swing...



This picture turned out blurry... but you get the idea...

The sparklers were a hit to say the least...

I think Independence Day is a very underrated holiday. Sure, everyone loves fireworks and by my pre-weekend shopping trip to the grocery store, I could tell that they sell more beer and Doritos than any other weekend out of the year... But to truly be thankful for the country we live in, the freedom we enjoy on a daily basis, the liberty we have to worship God, and the abundance we enjoy ALWAYS... And we celebrate this day by getting a paid holiday, enjoying fireworks, bbq's, and whatever else we do.... While millions of people around the world do not know freedom. Truly, we should be so thankful for what God has blessed us with and not only our natural blessings... but the blessing of spiritual freedom through HIM!

We've been enjoying all the fresh fruits and veggies...

We've been doing some "fwimmin'"... with or without water, either way will do... 

Matt and I have been discussing moving to "the south"... As to raise our children on the "ways and gentle kindness" of the South... This is our "pipe dream", so to speak... We discovered by looking at real estate online that finding a house would definitely NOT be a problem. Now just for a job, right? :) If you hear of us in Savannah, Georgia... You'll know I wasn't, in fact, kidding.

It seems the grass is always greener on the other side... and we did come to the conclusion that we can raise our children good ole' Southern style right here in our home in the Midwest...

But we do like to dream. And I love having someone to dream with. :)