The Waiting Game

I finally got some of my seeds planted! Its been one week since I planted them and still waiting on them to emerge. I think thats the best part. Finally seeing little green plants poke out from the dirt. Its so amazing. Have you planted any yet? I want to hear about your gardening adventures!

Outfit Details

Tank || Forever 21

Top || 11 Eureka

Pants || American Eagle

Boots ℅ Joules

Necklace ℅ Ali Oesch Jewelry

March Photo A Day and Review

Why hello there April! Almost didn't see you coming! I really am not good at taking pictures every day! I missed 5 days this month. I really didn't think it would be this hard. But I'm still sticking with it! I can't just stop now. So here is (part of) my March.

And a look at some of my favorite posts from this month.

Planning and Dreaming

My Favorite Coffee Table Books

Growing Plants from Seed

Country Life

Fields of Daffodils

Hooray for More Free Time!

Hooray for More Free Time!

I am LOVING this outfit. It just screams spring & country to me and think that it fits perfectly with the dirt road and pine tree forest setting here. And do you want to know something really neat about these pictures? They are completely, 100% unedited. Straight out of the camera here. I am taking the Mastering Your DSLR class that the A Beautiful Mess team is putting on right now. Im super glad I signed up for it. Learning more about my camera was one of 2014 goals and this class is doing just that!  The past couple of weeks I have been taking pictures with the manual setting instead of the auto one and have been loving the results. Hooray for less time in photoshop!

Outfit Details

Jacket || Nordstrom

Shirt & Skirt || Nordstrom Rack

Shoes || Target

Necklace || Forever 21

Fields of Daffodils

Im lucky to live where I live. These fields are just an hour from my house and I wouldn't let them disappear without me getting up there to take these pictures. In just a few more short weeks, even more fields filled with tulips will be in bloom. Im patiently waiting for that to happen and to get up there for an afternoon to walk through the rows. As you can probably imagine its quite the site, just like these fields of pure yellow.

Outfit Details

Top & Belt || Forever 21

Skirt & Socks || Target

Boots || ℅ Joules 

Flowering Trees and Shrubs

I don't know about you where you guys are, but here the flowering trees and shrubs are in bloom! I wanted to highlight some of these trees and shrubs on here to give them some love and let you know more about them and what you can do with them. Todays spotlight goes to Forsythia and Purpleleaf sand cherry.

Forsythia 
Botanical Name: Forsythia spp.
Flower: Bright yellow, 1 inch long, blooms early spring, bell-like with 4 long lobes.
Leaf: Green, turning red, orange and yellow in the fall, up to 5 inches long, leaves emerge after flowers, ovate shaped (oval with pointed tip), deciduous (leaves drop in fall)
Use: Use them in a monochromatic arrangement with daffodils for a seasonal spring centerpiece. They bloom at the same time!
Meaning: Anticipation

Purpleleaf sand cherry
Botanical Name: Prunus x cistena
Flower: Pinkish - white, 5 petals and many stamens, blooms spring after the leaves have begun to appear
Leaf: Purple-reddish all throughout season, 1-3 inches long
Use: Cut a bunch of branches off of a mature tree and use alone as a tall arrangement.
Meaning: Impermanence

I hope this gives you a little more information about what is blooming around you now. If there is another plant or tree you want to know about let me know and Ill see what I can do about it :)

Thanks for reading!
xo

Country Life

This past week I was in Eastern Washington at my boyfriends house. They live in a small little farming town where everyone knows everyone. I kind of love it there. It's the kind of place where there are cows in the front yard, deer running through the field and chickens hanging out on your front door step. Afternoons are spent on the ATV deep in the hills and you spend the evening watching the sun disappear behind the mountain out back. What is there not to love? I love having a place like this to escape to every so often, not often enough though. Its perfect.

Outfit Details

Dress || Modcloth

Sweater || A boutique in California

Tights, Socks and Boots || Target

Growing Plants from Seed

Happy Spring! I thought that a post talking about growing seeds would be the perfect post for the first day of spring. What better way and day to get you REALLY thinking about your garden? Enough with the small talk, lets talk benefits and drawbacks.

Benefits

• I can't stress enough that growing your plants from seed is so much cheaper than buying starts from the nursery. A packet of seeds costs around $4, maybe. Depending on the type of plant you are buying, you can get at least 50 seeds in a packet that could potentially turn into 50 plants. $4 would buy you one start at the store. You do the math, seeds are cheaper. Much cheaper. 
• Nurseries often have a limited selection of plants and varieties to choose from. You can purchase seeds online from a much bigger assortment, getting hard to get varieties for cheap, cheap, cheap. 

Drawbacks 

• The major drawback to growing your own seeds is that it takes time and lots and lots of patience. Once you plant the seed you aren't going to see anything for a couple of days, and you won't get a bloom for a couple of weeks, if not a month. So if you do decide to grow your own plants this season, stick with it! It will be well worth it in the end. 

Where do you get seeds?

• This year I got my seeds from Territorial Seed Company online. You can visit the site and request a free seed catalog. Almost all online seed companies have a free catalog. I like to request them just to look at them, even if I have no intention of buying any. Also check out Burpee, and Harris Seeds. 
• You can also get them in stores at a Lowes or Walmart and some nurseries. 
• If you're really good, you can get them from the plant itself! I haven't done this yet, but maybe this year I will. 

Planting and Growing your Seeds

• Choose the container you want to grow in. This can be growing trays or even old milk jugs that you cut the top off of. Fill your container with loose textured soil to allow oxygen to the seed. Determine the depth you plant, by looking at the back of your seed packet, lightly water and place in a warm spot!
• When the seeds start to emerge (this is so exciting), move them to where they can get some light and keep the soil moist but not waterlogged. You don't want your little plant to start to rot. 
• When your little plant has developed two sets of leaves, it is time to transplant. Only do this if the tray it is in is to small for it to develop a healthy set of roots. 
• When it is time for the little guys to go outside, you're going to want to acclimate them first. This means setting the plants outside for a couple hours, increasing the time each day. 
• Now you plant, relax and admire the little plant you grew from seed!

I hope this helps you out a little. Growing plants from seed really isn't as hard as it may seem. You just need to give them a little time. Give it try this year, you will be so proud of yourself. Im planting mine next week and am so excited! If you do plant some, keep me updated on twitter with the progress! I would love to see!

Thanks for reading!

xo