I'm including a juice can bouquet that I posted on Instagram (@FindDelight). I like to echo the colors of the can's packaging in the flower arrangement. I call it a floral story. This one now has a touch of blue to complement the can. A match made in heaven. I hope it makes you say, Oh my gosh, I need to show someone. And then find a pretty juice or sparkling water can and make your own bouquet.
So when Barb divided her rhizomes and left me a large section about a year later I was surprised and delighted. She was moving and said that "We need to make sure your mom can keep enjoying these iris!" Doesn't that make your heart swell? What a lovely thought and gesture. She knew she had the power to guarantee delight and she wanted to make it happen. And it worked. Her iris are thriving and my mom and I were discussing the stalks as they were starting to open on Sunday and admired this arrangement yesterday on FaceTime. In fact, she told me to take the photo above and show the arrangement to Barb. Delight continues.
Have you thought about generosity in those terms lately? It takes courage to tell someone "I want you to have this." When it is right, the effect is positive and long-lasting.
#neighbors #iris #sharing
When I first moved to Seattle, I went to a cookie exchange with 3 dozen gingerbread men and brought a darling gingerbread house tin to transport the cookies I got at the exchange home in. The people I met appreciated the gingerbread cookies I made, but it was cute tin that got all the attention. When asked if I had just bought it, I said that I had owned it for at least 10 years, and then added, "But cute is forever."
When I encourage people with this phrase I mean a few different things. Cute is Forever means that something that you immediately love and respond to will make you happy every time you see it no matter how long you have it, so it is absolutely worth it to own it. Another 5 years have passed since I took my tin to that party and it still gets great happy reactions from people.
Cute is Forever is also about pleasing yourself. I know that storage space is limited and we have to prioritize what stays and what goes, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a stash of cute things for a season of your life and then when the time is right sell or donate them to make room for the next batch of wonderful. We need bright spots in our lives. Finding Delight in your life is equivalent to a steady stream of music, flowers, sugar, color. The beauty of every day life is endless. And part of that formula is the power of cute.
Another example of the Power of Cute works can be seen in this edible lemon pear bunny. It’s cute. It’s delicious. You’re curious. That’s powerful. I puree canned pears, half & half, water and lemon Jell-O and freeze it into a bunny mold and once frozen, I set one the edge of each individual salad plate holding a gorgeous lettuce salad. Guests can’t believe how cute it is. How delicious it is. They won’t forget it. I’ll have the mold forever and I can bring delight whenever I want to. That is powerful to. The mold could be of flowers or anything really. I found this one at a local craft store. Life takes planning and effort. We may as well make it cute.
Frozen Lemon Pear Bunny
Pour the juice from the can of pears into a saucepan. Add 1/4 cup of water. Bring to a boil. Take off the heat and add the lemon Jell-o power and stir until dissolved. In a powerful blender, pulverize the pears. Stir in the cold half & half. When the hot lemon Jell-O mixture has cooled a few minutes, stir the cold mixture into the lemon Jell-O mixture. Place your silicone molds on a tray to catch any spills and to aid in transport. Pour the mixture into the molds until almost full. Place the tray in a level spot in your freezer. Freeze at least 3 hours.
Unmold about 20 min before you are ready to serve.
I have been letting small 1 quart hydrangeas grow larger in my pots and I found that planting one or two nasturtiums seedlings (that I sprouted in Jiffy Seed Starting Greenhouses in peat pellets) at the edge of the hydrangea pot has become a great companion plant. The nasturtiums grow and fluff beautifully and really compliment the hydrangea.
The nasturtium seeds can be planted right into the ground when the timing is right, of course, but I like to get them started early when I'm ready to garden. These examples (below) have only been planted about a week and they are doing fantastic!
I asked if I could take a photograph, praising her display and it was all I could do to keep myself from telling her that it would make a great puzzle. A high compliment. Or that frankly the image I was seeing could be turned into a beautiful pattern for fabric. I was mesmerized.
She was thinking: ingredients, recipes, inventory. My group was rushing up the street so I didn't linger, but boy oh boy.
I love to cook. But I think I love design and packaging more. I stared at the shelves wondering if I could make one of the boxes into a clock. Have you seen my kitchen clocks? I hope she didn't think I was searching for something she didn't have. I was simply admiring her work.
#latinmarket #seattle #visualvitamins #smallbusiness
Even if your tribe lives in Seattle, asking anyone to deliver something after work to a handful of addresses across our great city is frankly too big of an ask. But wait! The mail carriers do that already.
I've put a delightful modern spin on the charm of delivering May Day baskets. Read all about it in today's issue of Axio Seattle.
https://www.axios.com/local/seattle/2023/04/20/may-day-tradition-modern
#mayday #finddelight #momentsofdelight #maydaybaskets #seedpackets
I shouldn’t want hot chocolate now, but there have been snow flurries and a dampness lately that simply calls for a warm drink. Downright weird this late in spring. At least I tell myself it’s weird until I remember Rosamunde Pilcher and her book Snow In April. I loved reading all of her novels years ago and I have been thinking about finding them on my kindle and working my way through her body of work all over again. Her most famous book is called The Shell Seekers and I’m sure I’ve read it 3 times. Her books are set in England after the war with sweeping vistas of the sea near Cornwall. The stories are about families, traditions and life moving on in a place that never seems to change. There are lots of old roses, tumblers of whiskey and deep conversations by the seashore. I think you’d love everything about these books. And that sometimes life feels weird and then it snows…in April.
#books #snowinapril #emmabridgewater #coldspring
Celebrating is what you make it. Baking should be whatever makes sense to you and Cute is forever.
I wanted to have a relaxing dinner at home one night and the spring table we set looked so pretty, I had to show you. The platter with the strawberries on the rim and the beehive cloche were part of tonight's tablescape on purpose. Thirty years ago (cough cough) a bunch of our sorority sisters all drove to Heidi's house near Holland, Michigan for a girl's weekend during the annual tulip festival. We had so much fun, and in a little gift shop the spirit moved me to buy these serving pieces and I hauled them around town all day. It was fun to pull them out and reminisce about a very carefree time in our lives.
#friendsvisiting #springdinner #gardengate #beehivecloche #shavedcarrots #delightfulchicken
Do you want to hear a coincidence I've never been able to explain? When I was in college, everyone had an answering machine with a tape on which you recorded an outgoing message, "Hello you've reached..." I had never watched the show Twin Peaks, but I liked it's eerie opening music so I used that as my answering machine message. No message from me. Just the music. Very random. 30 years later I live in the town where it was filmed. It somehow feels like foreshadowing, doesn't it?
These are the requisite stops when you have a 2 hours on a beautiful day. Lots more to see and wonderful places to shop, but you must see the Falls first.
#mtsi #huxdottercoffee #salishlodge #snoqualmiefalls #snovalleylife #pnw
#springflowers #primulas #colorfulflowers #yellowbluepink #grocerystore #finddelight #indoorplant #outdoorplant #springtime
Today I am going to upload a few new purses to the Etsy shop and start the custom fabric lining on some new boxes. I've got a spring in my step!
Do you like this photo? When I was first starting out, I sold my purses in summer art shows in Michigan. I had this image made into a 2 x 3 foot poster to hang in my tent. It was so dramatic and beautiful.
#upcycled #wearableart #etsy #finddelight #annereeves #cigarboxpurses #springgreen
Today was the first chance I had to tell you about my surprise gift of old photos and it happens to be the International Day of Women. It feels like serendipity that I can share these photos today and appreciate the first women leaders I saw.
Delightful Idea: Try pulling out a few old photographs and then sending a digital copy of the photo to whoever would appreciate an unexpected trip down memory lane. If the photo is not digital, you can use an app like Photomyne for an easy way to scan old pictures with a smartphone and then retain a digital copy.
I'd like to tell you a little story about Sosio's Fruit & Produce, if I may. They showed my family a simple kindness that I will never forget. When my mom had a terrible fall last March, my two brothers flew in from Detroit. Only one family member could enter the hospital per day due to Covid restrictions, so while I was at the hospital my brothers wandered around Seattle hoping for good news. One brother struck up a conversation with Mike of Sosio's and explained how they were certainly visiting Seattle, but not really sightseeing, just at loose ends, worrying about my mom in the hospital. My brother was surprised to see Mike start picking out plums, apples, grapes and putting them in a big bag as a gift for the family. Mike told him to have me eat lots of fruit to stay strong as I went in and out of the hospital at this trying time.
It was lovely and unexpected and certainly welcome when I was on fumes. Later I made sure to write a thank you to Mike and share that my mom was out of the woods and that my brothers had flown home relieved.
I can't tell you how wonderful it felt to find Sosio's in Pike Place Market, buy some plums and grapes knowing that life was so much better almost exactly a year later.
#thankful #kindness #pikeplacemarket #seattle #beautyofeverydaylife
I was talking with Kim and she said that they opened their shop on Alki Beach during the pandemic. I told her that we would be sure to visit this Spring when we started visiting the Alki farmer's market again. I can't wait. I mentioned that the mannequin that I had photographed (above) was missing, and she told me that a woman bought it for her daughter who would be wearing it for her wedding on the coast of Oregon this spring! They arranged the whole transaction on the phone from the show and Kim was excited to tell the bride that the dress had been made for the Seattle Opera. How glamourous!
I also bought several bundles of pussy willow branches wrapped in brown paper. They were so beautiful and elegant I simply couldn't resist.
It's so great that it took me a while to see the rest of the display. The lion with the hat askew. The cream tin canister planted with blue grape hyacinths. The fact that the dresser has different knobs and pulls all the way down.
Nature Perfect Landscaping designed it so a stream could runs into the green house to a koi fish pond and then that water would flow under the greenhouse floor over to the hydroponic area where plants could thrive on the nutrient-rich water while growing in the greenhouse. It's interesting, creative and a dynamic approach to harnessing the power of byproducts. I almost wish there was an audio narration running inside the greenhouse, as I'm not sure that everyone who toured it understood what they were seeing. Wow. Every elementary school science class should see this as part of a field trip - it opens your eyes to the possibilities and it was built with intention. I loved it.
The plants are growing hydroponically in the enriched water (above)
