Lifestyle | Finding Tranquility in the Simple Things

 

One of the simple little pleasures that I love doing that brings me joy is potting plants..... the other is going to the gym and lifting weighs.  Well there's other things that brings me great love and joy like going out on dates with hubby and spending time with my grandkids.... but those are things that require lots of planning and details.  When it comes to keeping busy and enjoying my alone time, I find that being outdoors listening to the birds chirp and hearing the water from my waterfall while potting plants brings me the most pleasure.

It's been 5yrs since we removed all the grass from our backyard and laid concrete. I remember how hard it was chopping up the grass and watching my husband rolling it out to the dumpster.  Boy that was a lot of work but we elected to do that part ourselves to save money. We then hired an electrician to run the electrical for the waterfall and a contractor to build a planter and lay the concrete. My husband and I built the pergola ourselves.  We watched tons of videos from the contractor's website and spent an entire summer putting it together. At some point my husband replaced me with a friend because I just wasn't strong enough.... and I was tired anyway.

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Fast forward to 5 years later, I still love going to Lowe's or the Home Depot and buying plants. I buy them very small and I plant them in large pots and watch them grow.  This is the best part for me, how much fun would it be buying a fully grown plant already nurtured and grown. For me the joy comes from watching them blossom into their full potential.  Another thing I like to do is give them away as gifts. Either I have other plants in mind that I want and just don't have the space for so I'm like hey... .I have a plant that would look so perfect in your backyard... and that's how I give them away. 

When it rains I always stuff the pillows in a small shed that I purchased especially for them and I cover the fire pit. I have all my plants on rollers which makes it so easy to move them around. I spray my plants once a week with a vinegar/water mixture. This keeps them from getting fungus and kills any tics that likes to eat them.  I'm constantly hosing down the concrete because the waterfall attracts the birds and you know what that means.... bird poop everywhere. Although the waterfall is on a timer, it's a portable waterfall so I have to add water every 2 to 3 days. I have the timer set to come on at 8am so that I can here it through my bedroom window when I wake up and turn off at 8pm.

Would you believe it if I told you that my top was actually a romper? Well it is, I recently bought three rompers from Nordstroms Rack with the sole purpose of turning them into tops. I cut out the crouch, pinched in the seams and hemmed them across. It does involve a little skill but if you know how to sew just a little bit, its very easy to do. They're so cute and being so short, I knew that they would make the perfect top because of how well the fabric flowed. Paired with a simple pair of leggings and some colorful accents....I'm good to go.