Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Wanderlust #2: Vacation in the Trees





If you love nature and the idea of camping, Tree Hotel in Harads Sweden, may just be a perfect destination. I love the idea of spending time deep in nature, hiking around and enjoying beautiful scenery.

I don't however, have any illusions about being cut out for camping. Love the idea of it, but would hate the reality of sleeping in a tent without access to facilities. So how cool are these beautiful tree houses for nature loving camping phobic people like me?

I love the interior of The Blue Cone (oddly the the red square structure pictured above) and the whole idea of The UFO. There's also an amazing structure called The Nest and a another structure that houses a sauna. A sauna, now that's my style of camping in the woods!

Monday, February 27, 2012

Green Dreams: A Garden Shed That's a Garden



This garden shed looks smart with these vertical planters from Woolly Pocket. The plants soften the clean lines and sleek color of the shed and the pockets provide extra growing space for urban gardeners or any green thumb with limited growing space.

There's lot's of other great examples of vertical gardens on the Woolly Pocket site.

The Circus is in Town



We saw the tents going up this past weekend and are now eagerly awaiting for this coming weekend when we will be ringside, hopefully with popcorn and sodas in hand.

I hope the clowns aren't too scary. Any one else a little clown phobic?

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Giving Up on Snow





There were a few snow flurries yesterday which, even though it is February, seemed out of place. Spring like weather has dominated the month and I've finally given up on winter for us here on the east coast.

These images of Sonja Hinrichen's Snow Drawings make me a little wistful for a winter landscape but now I'm moving into a Spring state of mind.

Images via Swiss Miss.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Wanderlust #1: Trulli Cool





I love the look of these stone houses from the Apulia region of Italy. The town of Alberobello has supposedly become a bit of a tourist trap, as more and more people flock to take in the sights it's numerous trulli.

I'd still like to spend a few days wandering around this small town and the surrounding region. How fun would it be to live in one of these tiny cone structures for a few days? You can get a sense of what the interiors are like in this episode of House Hunters International.

You can browse more images here.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Lent and the First Signs of Spring



Lent has started which means spring is not far away. Usually the start of this period of reflection coincides with the most difficult part of winter. I associate February with awful cold, a bleak landscape and blizzards. Not a bad backdrop for 46 days of giving something up.

Instead the chipmunks are already out of their holes and I've seen butterflies flittering around. The days are longer and the extra light is refreshing. It's unnatural but I'm not going to complain. I'm glad not to be fighting the cold. I've even gotten a little early yard work done.

I'm not holding my breath or packing up the snow boots either, I know February and March are fickle months. As for Lent I'm putting a positive Spring like approach on it. Rather than give up I'm going to try doing. Instead of restrictions I'm focusing on action. My goal, at least three small actions/steps a day to make our lives better.

I'm going to keep a list and will post about any of the little things that had a big impact.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Pippa Arrives



I was home sick yesterday and good thing. The DHL truck arrived in our drive way and almost drove off before I could flag down the overly efficient driver. They called ahead and I still was barely able to stop him from speeding off.

Good thing I caught him, the box contained just what I needed to feel better, my birthday present to myself. My new handbag, a Pippa by Modalu in black I debated on which color to get for weeks and finally decided to decide on Thursday night, so I had a chance of having it in hand for my birthday.

I wasn't expecting it to arrive this quickly but glad to be sporting my early present.

Image via zimbio.

I heart...



Hanging out with the little one
My morning coffee
Being able to sleep in
Seeing the fox slip past in our yard
Reading while the little one watches Thomas and Friends
Seeing my little one's Lego creations
Drawing with the little one even if she gets bossy
Feeding the birds, chipmunk and deer
Winning on scratch off tickets
When our spare change jar overflows - off to the bank
Time to do anything we want
Finishing a knitting project (doesn't happen enough)
When all the laundry is put away (hardly ever happens!)
Time to read for fun (I've actually been able to read a novel lately!)
Sundays at home
And the list goes on...

Sometimes it's just good to take an inventory of all the good stuff.

Let's Stay Home



That has been our home body motto of late. Really, if I had a dollar for every time my little one said that recently, we'd need to carry a big money bag to the bank. The bank might just tempt her to get out considering the free lollipops.

Lollipops aside, we are very content to just be at home lately. I guess if you have to go through a reclusive period, February is the perfect month.

This perfect for us poster is available on Etsy from Ashely G and Drew.


The Winter That Wasn't



Where's winter? We are past the midpoint and we've had only one snowstorm unless you count Halloween. I know no one likes the inconvenience, but I like winter to feel like winter. It feels like spring now and our 2012 snowmen may just have to live in our imaginations.

Here's some inspiration I found for our next "snowman". We would need a pretty big storm to pull off this Totoro snowman. I think this will need to go into the archive for next year.

Totoro snowman via Glitter Parfait.