{appreciate the day}

 hello.
How are you doing this evening??

Me...I am just plain content and happy:)
It was a lovely spring weekend here and I was able to spend the weekend doing everything I love the most!

Tinkering in the studio....
Snapping a few photographs....
Getting my hands dirty planting flowers...
and opening the pool!

I know...crazy...opening the pool in March in Indiana!
I don't care...it makes me happy! And sometimes....you just have to do what makes you happy regardless of what people might think:)

If you aren't lucky enough to see flowering dogwoods in all their glory....then I  might feel a little sorry for you:)

They are just the sweetest little charming flowers!

I get so excited when I see our little Dogwood Tree in the front yard starting to open.

Simple things really are the best!!

I snapped a few photographs of it's sweet little blossoms...some straight on and some at random angles!

You know what....sometimes things look better when you look at them from a different angle!

Such a metaphor for life:)

If you aren't happy with the way something might be going for you....change it.....or look at from a different angle:)

Spring really is just such a time for renewal of your soul.

Fresh air just does my spirit good:)

I don't need very much in life....

but a little time in nature...

some vino....

time spent with friends....

and a few other simple things!

it really is the simplest of things that can mean so much!

Just walking around my yard looking at the beauty unfold before my eyes makes me realize that even through the darkest of January days.....spring is sure to follow!

It's the cycle of life....

I'm convinced that...if we didn't know January...we wouldn't appreciate the sweet spring blossoms the way we Midwesterns do...

But if someone gave me a beach house in Florida...well.....i'm sure i'd appreciate not having to survive a below freezing January just fine:)

It's amazing the transformation that occurs once the weather warms...

and even without flowers to grace my patio...it still looks like a pretty happy place:)

It's not fancy...but it's all me!!!

I found these sweet little cushions at The Christmas Tree Shoppe!

I thought they were just so happy and just the right amount of sprucing to get my chairs through a couple more summers:)

I'd love to own a fabulous teak set......but.....for now i'll just continue to appreciate my little wrought iron chairs:)

L.C. was very happy to see the pool open....

She's a summer girl through and through!

I think with her arthritis winter is just hard on her:(

She's such a sweet soulful dog.

The kind of dog that can tell you intentions within 1 minute of meeting you.

I love that about her.

She doesn't need you....but if she likes you .....well then:)

 Hopefully soon i'll be building a cute little wood table to replace this one...I thought i'd get to it this weekend...but had to many irons in the fire and had to exercise a little patience....something that is not easy for me:)

Since it's not technically planting season yet...I thought i'd make a little happiness with some faux daisies!

Yep...just the right amount of happiness for the patio!!

thank goodness for pansies! I did get around to planting just a few!

I tell you...they are just the happiest flowers!

I like to think they are smiling right at me:)

Oh and I did start some zinnia seeds!! I sure hope they grow and bloom this summer!

We'll see....i've never hand very good luck with starting seeds!

But at least I try, right:)

I hope you were able to get out and just enjoy the simple things in life this weekend!!!!

“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams."
~Ashley Smith

{a happy day}

Hello & how are you on this fine as wine Monday evening!?!?

I have to tell you that I think the universe was trying to speak to me today.

I have been quite sick with a summer cold:( No voice for 3 days now {yes....my husband is very happy}

and I had quite a few orders to work on for Simple Daisy....

but guess what....

A storm rolled in this morning and left us without power for most of the day....

which in turn forced me to relax {not something easy for me to do} and hopefully start moving towards feeling better!!!!

I wanted to be grouchy....because I don't like to be forced to do nothing....it also rained for a good part of the morning/afternoon.

But then the skies cleared and the sun began to shine and thought it would be nice to take a little walk around my house!

Maybe check out the damage....

nothing too major...a broken umbrella, sticks and leaves down everywhere....but pretty much unscathed!

I did, however, run into this sweet little guy!!!

And it really made me stop in my tracks to just appreciate the moment!

How often do you get to see a baby chickadee!?!?

It was so darn cute! it let me get right up close to it! Even Ruby and LC had a good look at it!

Everyone was happy:)

It did get me to thinking that it really is so important to just live in the moment sometimes and truly appreciate all that you have.

I love to take little daycations!! This one was a recent  one to Saugatuck, MI~

If you live anywhere nearby it's a must see! Such a happy place:)

Even is you can't get away for a whole week or even a weekend for that matter....I always think a little daycation is nice!

I, of course, wore all my Simple Daisy bling!

I love to really stack my bracelets up....the more the better:)

Are you a bracelet stacker!?!?!

And how could I not appreciate my girls!

They bring my heart so much happiness.....ok...i'd be lying if I didn't tell you that

they bring me heartache every once in awhile too.....let's just say...if you come to my home for dinner....I can guarantee you will get licked and there will be hair in somewhere on your dinner plate!

Either way...I still love them!

I love to see all the pretty flowers blooming in my yard!

It's not a fancy yard...in fact, by most people's accounts it's a pretty messy yard..

I like to call it cottage...

It's definitely not 3 bushes and mulch....like you see in most of the neighborhoods around here!

Perfection just makes me nervous:)

I do like nice grass though....and so our grass is usually pretty up to par.....kind of balances the messy beds and borders!

Just started on this wine bottle border!

Hope to finish it in the next year or two....no pressure to drink more wine and send me your empty bottles:)

I love them...i've seen them in magazines, on the Internet and at a friend's house!

Pretty darn cute and definitely cottage!

My husband's idea of a wine bottle border:)

I think he'd get his border finished long before mine...but it wouldn't be as cute!!!

I am just so happy with all the beauty in my own backyard....

it's not the beach...

it's not fancy...

but it's all mine and most all of it is completely my own designs:)

Sometimes you just have to be appreciative of what you already have!

Ok...well...I am going to appreciate finishing my nice glass of vino....

in between coughs and slapping at mosquitoes!

It's just too nice to go inside:)

Have a wonderful evening with whatever you're up to:)

I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.  John Burroughs