SPRING IS insPiRING...Spring is in full swing here in Arkansas. We have geese, deer, turtles, & rabbits stop by the pond every now & then as they travel all over the state or from place to place. Occasionally, they find the blueberry, blackberry & raspberry bushes in the yard to snack on too. With all of the lovely blooms, you can make snow angels in the pollen that covers, well...everything! Thank goodness it rains a lot during spring. We tend to have many types of storms move through the state, some even come with tornadoes. I love stormy weather: the drizzle or mist; the rumble of the energy surging through the sky; the clouds whimsical shapes & value range. The variety of dark to light values that come with storm clouds intrigue me every time. This leaves me searching the sky looking for the light to pop through in rays or puffs & sometimes both. DECORATING IN SPRING...Decorating is not just for adding stuff that coordinates or make a place look pretty, it's also about creating a mood or feeling. We're still working on garden inspiration by decorating the garden. Since we've only been @ our new house a year, it's like we are starting a new landscape because the previous owners didn't do much. Incorporating our garden into the landscape takes time & thoughtfulness. Try using fruits & vegetables as your landscape plants. Keep in mind the requirements of the plants, as well as the aesthetics of the yard. Let's start with roses for example: they have beautiful blooms & smell good, but lots of prickly thorns. They look & smell pretty, but that's about all you get. Some people love roses, but look @ the blackberry blooms below. These blooms look just like roses, but mine are thornless & produce loads of fruit with each blackberry being as big as my thumb!!! Try training them up a trellis or over an arbor for pretty blossoms in the spring & yummy fruit in the summer. If you have allergy issues, forget about ornamental grasses & try planting a clump of chives or garlic instead. You can inspire the same aesthetic by creating the height & depth of ornamental green grass. The bulbs @ the top of the garlic plant give structure & color to the landscape; as well as being an edible plant. People that suffer from grass allergies won't miss the symptoms that go away with these edible substitutes.
ORGANIZING IN SPRING...It's a great time to go through the bathroom & get rid of the clutter or unused items that seem to collect over time, but only get used once & never used again. Do we toss them? No, we hoard them like they're going out of style with millions of little bottles & tubes running wild under the sink, drawers, & cabinets! Remember that you should dispose of all medicine correctly. Never flush or throw away medicine; instead, take it to a disposal drive or give it to the doctor's office to be disposed of correctly. Correctly label & store medicine out of reach of children. Keep in mind that teenagers often get pills from family members' medicine cabinets. Studies have shown that teens are abusing pills more often than any other drug because they are more accessible to them, especially with the overly prescribed pain meds. Get rid of old lotions, creams, make-up, etc. that haven't been used within the last 6 months to a year. Bigger/more isn't always better if you don't use it! These items can breed bacteria & do actually go bad or not perform the way they were intended, such as with expired medicine. Being able to see what you have & retrieve it quickly is key to helping reduce stress or relieve symptoms quickly. Seeing clutter overwhelms the brain & adds unnecessary stress to our lives without us even thinking about it. Store oral medicine separately from topical medicines to help lessen the likelihood of ingesting something poisonous. Even though most people store their medicine in the bathroom, experts say not to store them in hot or humid areas like the bathroom or on top of the refrigerator which causes the medicines to ruin more quickly. The dilemma is where to put them while being accessible, without being hot or humid & still out of the kid's reach. If you have a big bathroom, you're probably ok storing them up high in the bathroom as long as you don't store them next to the tub or shower. If you have a small bathroom, maybe keeping the medicine in a clear plastic box, clearly labeled, at the top of the closet would work better for you. If you store them in the kitchen, be careful to put them in a space that doesn't get too hot & is still accessible, but out of reach of children. ART IN SPRING...Sprucing up the pots & trellises, or Tomato cages in the yard or garden will go a long way to add color & interest in your landscape. I painted all of the planters that go on the front porch to add instant color, as well as painting the bench I found @ a local yard sale for $5! I chose blue, purple, pink, & green to get me inspired by spring. I contrast the planter color with the plant that goes in the planter to add interest.
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Author Jenn Honeycutt Archives
February 2022
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Art is an awesome thing when you have the right pieces. Aesthetic art is just to look at, but applied art is functional & good looking!
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Being organized is a life skill that starts with knowing how to be organized & how to maintain that organization. It's your life, let's take it back!
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