Sharing Time Pt. 10 - Some Fresh Spring Things

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While I was in Knoxville, I happened across this Inflatable Cow Skull hanging on the wall of one of the boutiques we popped in, I absolutely love it. 

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This crackling campfire candle is totally adorable.

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This new cookbook is out just in time for fresh summer eating! My New Roots: Inspired Plant-Based Recipes For Every Season. Exciting recipes by Sarah Britton who is known for her vegetarian, vegan, paleo, and gluten-free recipes that she posts with tastefully taken photography on her blog:

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I did her winter weekend cleanse, and thought that the recipes were so tasty and fun to make.

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I love eggs, and want to give this golden goose a try for hard boiled eggs.

GARDEN FINDS:

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I used red solo cups for my tomato starts this year, and then shared some of them with friends and family... wish I had known about these cute pots I could have been presenting my tomato plants in! The bottoms have perforated edges so that you can easily tear them open when it's time to transfer them outside, without disturbing the plant too much.

 

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This pot maker for seedlings is just too cute too handle.

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Molds for vegetables. Heart shaped cucumbers, or later, heart shaped pickles?!?! So cute.

OTHER LINKS:
Is their a proper mountain woman in your life you need to buy a gift for? Give them a subscription to this.

Or you can send someone a surprise so random, even you won't know what's in the package!

LikeThat Garden - this free app is amazing! It's for when you see a flower growing in someones yard, and you don't know what kind it is. Just pull out your phone and snap a picture with LikeThat Garden, and it will tell you what kind of plant it is! I use it every time I go for a walk!

Loved this article: The Secrets of the Italian Diet by Jamie Oliver

click here for a happy childhood memory

such a good ensign article

tips for living a creative life

Peace and pine trees,
Whitney

Wild Garden Update



I was walking through the backyard a week or so ago and noticed onions growing from last years salsa garden. I planted them from seed almost a year ago, and they didn't do well... they were weak and the tops eventually fell off and I forgot about them. To see them growing stronger and healthier than they did last summer is so strange! This gardening stuff never stops surprising me...

I learned a lot from last years garden and from the community gardening class we took this winter, and now when I go on walks with Dozer, or drives around the neighborhood, I can't stop looking at the plants and trees that people have chosen to grow in their yards. Some yards stand out among the normal yards looking balanced and lovely, with a flow to all the trees, bushes, and flowers. Yards like that take a lot of time and work, and I hope someday to accomplish that look. There are so many possibilities and personalities a yard can have, too much variety can mess up the composition.

You can have a yard with pinks and purples and whites... or yellows, reds, and oranges. Or a yard with no flowers at all... just plants with different textures and heights. For me it's hard to say no to any kind of flower, but to have a good looking yard you can't just plant everything you run across. Even though I love hollyhocks, they simply would look out of place with what I have going on. It's a fun puzzle to put together, especially because I want to win "yard of the year" from the city. And if I got the award while I was still in my thirties, well that would be a rad accomplishment.

My mom thinks I inherited my grandma's green thumb, which she is convinced skips every other generation. I sure hope so... I want to be that elderly lady kneeling in front of her house on her foam pad, weeding, while wearing a giant straw hat one day...

The book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver inspired this wild garden I have growing right now. I planted these cool weather plants under the scrub oak in the backyard, and I'm thrilled that they started growing.

kale:

bibb lettuce:

turnips:

and I got 4 kinds of tomato plants growing in the bathroom, according to the farmer's almanac I can plant these outside on May 12th, along with all the annuals I want to buy:

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Inside a Bird House

Hey everyone, it's April!!!!

I just want to pin cute baby animal pictures and eggy recipes all day and plant flowers outside! Easter is this Sunday!

Sprinter!

My mom texted me a "Look outside...... its Sprinter!" the other day. What a funny text, and sure enough there was a mini blizzard when I walked to the window at work to see what she was referring to.

Usually I hate spring. I've always hated the inconsistency with the weather. But this year I find myself enjoying it, where before it has made me uneasy. I think the reason for the change is the fact that I am settled in my little life. I am happy with where I am at, and with the things that I do. Spring time has always been a time of change, school semesters end, people move away, you need to figure out what you are going to do for the summer... you feel like things are moving forward too quickly, and your not sure where you need to be moving to.

This year, instead of being faced with the challenge of deciding something, I just get to relax and enjoy the rebirth.

And while the outdoors battle it out, the epic battle of spring.. who will win? winter or summer? I am happy knowing that Summer always wins and will eventually come. For the time being I get to enjoy whatever the day brings:

driving through blizzards to attend a grizzly hockey game
skipping out of work to snowshoe for 4 hours
being able to bike down to AF to run errands in the sunshine
protecting a quilt from the rainy slush into Amanda's house
baby quilt tying parties while it storms outside
cruising with the windows down, blasting lupe fiasco
taking a nap in the grass in the cemetary mid bike ride
driving around looking at cool old houses
being on the lookout for flowers blooming
and curling up with a good book when it decides to storm again

thank you, spring. and thank you, content little life. work, church, friends, family... you make me happy.

I'm so glad I have nothing major to decide. All my decisions are made, I just get to look forward to them.

Here is a picture of me and Ricky at the Grizzly Hockey Game:

(we got to be one of the half-time entertainments... go down on the ice and race cars in front of everyone, then after our whole ward got to play hockey down on the rink. one of the funnest nights with the singles ward ever)