The way I'm choosing to design my home may make you uneasy.
INTERIORS
Thrifting isn’t what I thought it would be…
The power of the perfect woven basket
Yes, Im playing my own version of make believe as a grown 30 year old woman and pretending I live in the 1800s or am Cinderella. This is how I choose to find joy in the mundane tasks we mothers are charged with doing on a daily basis.
Lets talk morning routines:
Gym. Devos. Matcha. Laundry. If those things go according to plan I’d say the rest of my day will be quite successful. I’v created hacks for the first three and until recently I hated doing laundry. It would pile up and then I would never really catch up.
Then I thought “How can I romatisise this to start loving it.”
For me, the scent or texure of something plays a huge role in how I interact with it. Laundry being no different. Ive always been obsessed with baskets of all kinds and so I decided to go on the hunt for the perfect laundry basket to pull dry clothing into. Instead of a hard boring plastic bin I opted to find a wooden basket large enough for a load and beautiful like the ones women used back in the day when drying their clothing out on lines in the yard.
Low and behold, it took two trips to a thrift shop to find the perfect basket. Simple, woven, stirdy with a sprinkle of romance. Now I can wear a dress, put on an apron and do my laundry like the girls in my period movies do. Yes, Im playing my own version of make believe as a grown 30 year old. You should be too. This is how I choose to find joy in the mundane tasks we ladies are charged with doing on a daily basis.
I don’t know about you but I day dream a lot so when Im folding laundry - I teleport myself elsewhere.
In this case middle of folding my whites I was inspired to create a little creative scene to share where my head really goes. Little Mila graced me with a happy attitude for the most part. :)
What’s one thing you can do in order to take a lothed task and make it more bearable, dare I say, enjoyable?
Think about it, comment and share with a friend.
Monday Spruce - Spring showers bring May flowers
MONDAY SPRUCES — have become a staple in our household and wild flower pickings always make it in to a vase of some sort and are displayed for the week until they wilt away. Yes they don’t last long but they bring me joy and I’ve figured out a how to make them last longer than most.
Walks through the neighborhoods of Amador County always end with picked wild flowers in hand and a full heart. On Mondays my usual local coffee shop is closed so I have had to shift the usual morning routine of sitting on a leather couch, journaling, to a cool sunrise walk along the beautiful hills and my favorite Oak tree filled landscapes. I really couldn’t tell you which one I prefer.
Once home I put my apron on and get to work cleaning the home to set myself up for a productive week. Am I Perfect with this? No. But setting myself a weekly schedule up is prepping myself for success. And so far this has worked wonders.
MONDAY SPRUCES — have become a staple in our household and wild flower pickings always make it in to a vase of some sort and are displayed for the week until they wilt away. Yes they don’t last long but they bring me joy and I’ve figured out a how to make them last longer than most.
How to make your wild flowers arrangement
Pick 3to 4 varieties of flowers/greenery - think about texture and chose complimentary colors
Use filtered water - Most of us have heavily chlorinated or mineral filled water, changing it up to filtered gives them an extra reason to stay alive a bit longer for you to enjoy
De-stem/de-leaf your flowers- Leaves touching water will make the water go rancid in a matter of 24 hours. De-leafing your stems will help keep them fresh. Leaving 3/4 inches of a clean stem usually is the way to go.
Start with a green base - use it to create your general shape and move on to placing your flowers in one my one. Don’t know where to place them? Think “If I were a flower, where would I grow? Look for an appealing spot and just go for it.
There really is no right way to create a wild flower arrangement. Some florists would disagree. Maybe you do too, but ultimately, they have just gotten a lot more practice in understanding placement. No wild flower ever looks out of place on a hillside so the “Where would I grow?“ has been a simple but effective approach to creating something pleasing to the eyes.
A new arrangement with a pop of color and texture will bring new energy into any space. This week we placed it in the kitchen and Im loving it.
Id love to see what you do for your Monday Spruce this week! Tag me on instagram @jannatenney and use the hashtag #MONDAYSPRUCE
“…the root system compared to the the budding flower or towering tree, it isn’t something to behold..”