Quote of the Week 9/16/2013

"She did not need much. Wanted very little. A kind word, sincerity, fresh air, clean water, a garden, kisses, books to read, sheltering arms, a cozy bed, and to love and be loved in return."

-Starra Neely Blade

The quote above essentially sums up all that I want in life. I do not mind the thought of a simple life, so long as it is full of love and joy. I would love to travel the world, but even more than that, I want to build a life with someone I am ardently in love with, who feels the same way about me. 

I haven't found that person yet, nor have I been able to travel the world, but I'm hoping that those things will come in time. 

Currently, I'm just enjoying my fresh air, clean water, books, my cozy bed, and my garden.

What are your hopes for life? What are you grateful for having?

xoxo

Succulent {Garden}

The final product!

So, in an earlier post, I said that I would update y'all when I began to work on my own garden, and now my garden is complete (for now, at least!). I added moss roses to some of my planter boxes that had plants left by the previous owner of my home:

Although the moss roses added a little something to my garden, the plants I was most excited for were the succulents:

Echeveria Chroma

I wanted a nice mix of the colors, heights, and looks of succulents, so I started with my favorite, (pictured above) called Echeveria Chroma, and (pictured below) Graptosedum, otherwise known as "California Sunset": 

Graptosedum "California Sunset"

After that, I wanted to add some height and interesting-looking succulents...

Elephant Bush

The one pictured below, called Blue Chalk Sticks, is super funky! I love it!

Blue Chalk Sticks

String of Buttons

Last but not least, I bought the String of Buttons, which is super cute and fun, in my opinion! The finished product is shown at the top of the page. I really like how it turned out!

It's really important, with succulents, to have a well-draining soil, so I used Miracle Gro Moisture-Control Potting Mix, which you can buy here if you so please. 

Happy gardening!

xoxo

Pre-K Wednesday: Zucchini Bread and Graduation!

Our homemade zucchini bread

We made zucchini bread with the kids this week! We let them grate the zucchini into small bits and allowed them to measure out our other ingredients. The zucchini was from our garden! It was a fun and time-consuming activity. We used a recipe from the Better Homes & Gardens' New Cook Book. You can buy the book here or see the recipe below:

Zucchini Bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. 

In a mixing bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. baking powder, and 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg. In another mixing bowl, combine 1 cup sugar, 1 cup shredded unpeeled zucchini, 1/4 cup cooking oil, 1 egg, and 1/4 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel. Add flour mixture and stir until combined. If you please, stir in 1/2 cup chopped walnuts before pouring batter in a 8x4x2-inch loaf pan. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, remove bread from pan and cool thoroughly on a wire rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing, makes 1 loaf (16 servings). 

Enjoy!

Graduation cupcakes

Many of the families were excited for their children to graduate for the first time ever, and one mom even made these great graduation cupcakes! She used funfetti cupcake mix (I'm in my twenties and funfetti is still my favorite). She made the graduation "caps" with a lollipop stick, a Reese's peanut butter cup, Hershey's chocolate (2 pieces per cap), an M&M, a sour worm-type candy, and melted chocolate as "glue." 

They turned out so cute! 

Hope your baking adventures are turning out delicious! 

xoxo

Quote of the Week 8/5

Happy August! I know I've already posted this month, but I just thought I'd say it now, given that today is this month's first quote of the week. This week's quote is actually a Greek proverb:

Found here

"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in."

It's a simple proverb, but it holds so much truth. We, as a society, spend so much time worrying about the latest trend or newest technology that we don't take the time to appreciate Earth and what it's done for us. Our planet has done wonderful things for us, and generations before us have kept it going, mostly. But now it's our turn to take care of our world and make it healthy for our future generations to come. By doing that, our society will become great.

xoxo

Earth laughs in flowers

Credit

That is a quote that I absolutely adore, by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Being a very girly girl, I have always loved flowers, but gardening was never really my thing... Until recently! I have discovered that I have a knack for growing plants! Having just moved, I really want a sanctuary-type place where I can just fell calm. I think that if I put in enough work, I can create a garden that does just that.

This is a photo I took at the school where I work. Isn't this flower just gorgeous?

I really love lavender, anemone, allium, and daisies. But what I (and it seems half of the gardening world) have been really interested in is succulents. In my coastal climate, I won't have to worry too much about watering them daily, and they're really fun and kinda funky, which I like. I mean, take a look:

Credit

Credit

They're just so great! I already have a few succulent plants in my possession, but I will update when my garden grows! 

Much love, 

Caryn Elizabeth