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A Plethora of Gardening Goodness

Wednesday, March 15, 2017





These lovelies are via Terrain
Maybe I should bring some succulent goodness inside until it's time to plant outside!


Happy Spring Break!  For one of daughters, at least! We've been busy, and I've missed blogging the past several days.  I'm a little obsessed with all things gardening, so be forewarned that this is a long post for me!

It is so cold today here in Central Alabama....it isn't getting our of the forties, and we had a hard freeze last night and another one promised for tonight.  Boo!  Unfortunately my plans to garden on this beautiful sunshiny day have been thwarted due to the cold temperature.  Oh, well.  I can still dream for spring and digging in the dirt!

Speaking of dreaming....

I adore Carol's adorable California cottage garden.  But when she shared her cute she-shed library?  I totally fell in *love*

Carol was kind enough to take these beautiful photos.  Let's take a look:




According to Carol:  This house is only 4' deep and 6' across and 8' tall. The size was dictated by 8' tall windows that were being thrown away by a builder in Ojai. They became the side walls. The door was donated by a friend who owns a large door and window company - someone ordered it and didn't like it.






Look!  It's a little library!  I am dying!  Carol has all her home and gardening books out here, and she has magazines stored in the cute wire wall bin.




There's just enough room for a small table and comfy chair.  I love the colors!




The table contains doodling and coloring supplies, so it's also a mini art studio.  I'm dying again!  Art and books!  It's so *me*




I love this corner of Carol's garden so much!
If I had a she-shed like Carol's I'd read in it all day long and get nothing done!



Better Homes and Gardens  put together the most lovely garden inspired paint palette for spring:



So pretty!  The shades are: raspberry, violet, daffodil, mossy green, sky blue, and mushroom. 

Which of these shades is your favorite?  Can you guess mine???
It looks like these shades were inspired by Carol's she-shed.  *le sigh*







I recently read the Once Upon a Book Club January selection:  In The Light in the Garden.  I loved reading it!  I have been extremely pleased with each Once Upon a Book Club book.



Heather Burch is the author of One Lavender Ribbon.  I want to read it soon.  Have any of you read it yet?


I enjoyed the gifts this month.  If you are unfamiliar with Once Upon a Bookclub, it's a subscription box with a fantastic book and gifts that relate to the plot.  There are post-it notes instructing the reader to open the gift with the corresponding page number on it.  

Here are some of the gifts from January:






There's clay inside this pouch used for a facial mask.  The recipe is on the back of the tree card below.  I might try it soon, and if I do I'll share!





One thing I love about Once Upon a Book Club is there's always a wonderful quote from the book on a 5" X 7" print.  I've enjoyed collecting these!
The little purse-sized umbrella is already coming in handy as we approach spring.


According to Goodreads:

Inheriting her grandparents’ island estate on Florida’s Gulf coast is a special kind of homecoming for thirty-one-year-old Charity Baxter. Raised by a narcissistic single mother, Charity’s only sense of a loving home comes from childhood summers spent with Gramps and Grandma. But piercing her fondest memories is her sharpest grief—the death of her beloved grandmother, when Charity stopped believing in the magical healing power of the weeping willow that still casts a shadow on their property.

Now that Charity has returned, she’s full of longing and regret, until she befriends her neighbor Dalton Reynolds, who has come to Gaslamp Island carrying his own heartache. As other exiles arrive—a great uncle harboring secrets, a teenage runaway—Charity begins to reconsider what makes a family. When her own estranged mother shows up in crisis, Charity is challenged to search her heart for forgiveness. But forgiving herself may require a little magic from the last place she’d expect to find it.

My Review:  

The main theme in this book is forgiveness, and there are several characters who need to not only ask for forgiveness but to also forgive themselves.  There's plenty of family drama, and Charity's mother is the cause of most of it.  She's perfected selfishness to an art form, and thankfully Charity has had the love of her grandparents until her grandmother dies when Charity is only eleven years old. Unfortunately she blames herself for her grandmother's death because of her awful mother's careless words.  

Dalton has issues of his own that are beyond tragic.  His friendship with Charity begins his long process of healing, and Dalton is fiercely protective of Charity and the teenager, Daisy, who's been squatting in The Baxter House attic.  I love the romance storyline between Dalton and Charity, and I like the family dynamics between the three of them along with Uncle Harold.  

The willow tree is also a character in the novel, and there's just enough magical realism in the book to thoroughly entertain.  Not only is the willow tree magical, but the pottery Charity makes with a "special ingredient" can make wishes and dreams come true.  If you enjoy reading Sarah Addison Allen and Alice Hoffman, then you'll enjoy In the Light of the Garden.  The next time you see a flash of movement in the light of your garden take a closer look: It could be a pixie!



Thanks for reading this (long) post, and a special thanks to Carol for sharing her she-shed with us!  Please visit Carol at her blog, Art and Sand using this LINK.  


Until next time...

Happy reading!
Ricki Jill





8 comments

  1. Ricki Jill I agree whole heartedly about Carol's little library. What an enchanting space! Like you, I'd want to spend the day reading and relaxing here, especially in that gorgeous California seaside garden. Great post!

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  2. That little library shed has my name on it, too. I would love a place where I could be alone for a while (ha!) This post is so pretty! This cold weather has thrown me for a loop, as has the time change. I have been sleeping till 10 or 10:30 every morning, and consequently have gotten absolutely nothing done this week! Maybe I will get sorted in another week or so. Lunch soon?

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  3. You are so sweet to share my La Petit Maison - sounds so much better than SheShed!

    I was struck by that first pic. I have a new heart shaped wooden bowl and now I'm going to go out and buy air plants to mix in with shells to decorate our table top.

    Thanks for the feature and the inspiration.

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  4. I would love to have you (and Sarah) to come visit, sit in the garden, talk about favorite books and of course go for a walk on the beach!

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  5. That library!!!!!! I wouldn't be able to find my way to it this week as we got over 2 feet of snow in two days. I do want to try indoor succulents as many of my outdoor ones don't last over the winter in the garage-some of the hearty ones do like hens and chicks

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  6. Wish I could send you some AZ sunshine and warmth! Loved seeing Carol's she-shed...so adorable!

    I've been wondering how your friend, Ainslie, is doing. She is in my prayers every day.

    Warm hugs,
    Carol

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  7. I have been in love with Carol's little "playhouse" since I first ran across it! I would love to have something like this to use as a little fun for my whimsical side! Such pretty color in the paint pallet, on goodness! Great January gifts! Had a lot gong on inside and now I am so ready to get to the garden center for a few things so I can get outside!!!! Have a great week..........

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  8. Oh that garden shed, what a dream! So many pretties and goodies today! The book sounds fun especially with all the goodies you get from the club. Between that and the art club you belong too, it must be like Christmas everyday at your house! Love the umbrella!
    Jenna

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I'm Ricki Jill. Welcome! I'm honored that you're reading my blog. I enjoy sharing my creative lifestyle @ The Bookish Dilettante. For more information about my blog, please read the Start Here page. Thank-you for stopping by, and I hope you'll consider following me via email.

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