A Smallish May: Finding Joy in Everyday Moments

The Tulips Kept Doing Their Thing

I know I said this about the April tulips, but May's were something else entirely. The front bed went absolutely wild - pinks, peaches, oranges, deep purples, all going off at the same time. I stood out front every morning just soaking them in. I can't tell you how many compliments I got about them. (Not that I'm beaming with pride or anything...)

The Cottage Garden Vision Takes Shape

While the tulips were putting on their show, I was already thinking about what comes next. I had this image in my head for months: a layered, slightly wild, fairy tale cottage-style garden. Foxgloves and ferns and things that look like they just decided to grow there on their own.

May was the month I really started making it real.

There were a LOT of nursery trips. (Wasco Nursery had made so much money from me! ) I came home with carloads of plants and spread them across the mulch in their little black nursery pots. Then I spent an embarrassing amount of time moving them around before committing to a single hole. I can only image what the neighbors across the street were thinking while watching me walk back and forth and stare at the pots for days.

And then I met the foxglove.

I don't know how I've gone this long without growing foxgloves. That golden hour photo doesn't even do them justice! Those tall spires with the little spotted bells, glowing in the late afternoon light right in my own front yard. I am officially obsessed. There will absolutely be more of them next year. This is not a question.

The Peacock is Finished!

I finished it!! Finally!

This peacock painting is officially done. I started it shortly after we moved in last year. My friend (who is also my neighbor!) was starting to decorate her home office and mentioned that she was considering a peacock theme and I had the idea to paint this for her. I was hoping it would be finished by her birthday last year but… well… good things take time, amirite? I'm proud of this one though. I love the gold details, the feathers and the expression on his little face. He turned out exactly the way I hoped he would!

Last Day of First Grade

First grade flew by so fast! He learned math, how to read, digraphs, and how to spell. His favorite subject is math. His favorite food is now mac and cheese. This summer he's most excited to play with his friends, help me in the garden, and learn to ride his two-wheel bike.

Our First Kane County Cougars Game

Going to the Kane County Cougars game was a first for Isaac and I. We went with his Scouts pack. I didn't know what to expect - minor league baseball with a pack of kids felt like it could go either way. To be honest, I was not really excited for this event.

BUT! We all had a great time! I’m going to throw out a really controversial statement here: It was more fun than going to Wrigley to watch the Chicago Cubs. There, I said it. The fireworks at the end were the highlight, obviously. I think Isaac enjoyed that (and the hotdog) the most.

We will be back.

Book Club Continues to Be a Highlight I Did Not See Coming

When we moved here, I did not expect "neighborhood book club" to become one of my favorite parts of the month. And yet here we are!

May’s book club was the largest gathering yet - 20 of us gathered around chatting, eating, and having fun. "We read Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall , but let's be honest, it's never really about the book. I keep saying this is one of the unexpected gifts of moving here, and I mean it every time. Good books. Good neighbors. Good times.

I Built an App

Okay…So….This one requires a little context.

For a long time, I had this idea in my head for a little app. There used to be a really cute website called calming manatee that just had adorable manatee images with cute affirmations overlayed on top of the image. I always thought that would be a fun app. One evening I wondered if someone had ever turned the idea into an app. They hadn't. So...I built one.

Meet Calming Manatee. You summon a manatee (or shake your phone), and one appears with a little affirmation and an even littler backstory. This is Marveline. She once visited a warm-water spring in Florida and decided to stay for three months. She has excellent boundaries.

I built it! It's a real app and It lives on the internet (though it’s not in the app store YET!)

May was full in the best way. Gardens and paintings and foxgloves and books and manatees and a kid who finished first grade and wants to help me garden this summer. Not bad for a smallish month!

The Weekend I Stopped Wanting a Bigger House

The Weekend I Stopped Wanting a Bigger House

Do you ever envy your neighbors? Not in a mean way. More in a quiet, "I wish we had that" kind of way. I've been feeling that a lot lately. My house is lovely. It's only a year and a half old, and when we built it, we chose the model that fit our family's budget and needs. We intentionally chose a home with a room on the main floor that we could convert into a bedroom for my mom. It was the right decision then, and it still is today.

But...

I still wanted the bigger house that our neighbors all have. The four-bedroom model. The sunroom. The backyard that looks like it belongs in a magazine. This week, one of our neighbors started installing a huge paver patio with a pergola, a sitting wall, lights, and a sound system. I found myself looking out the window thinking, I want that.

I felt strangely unhappy with my own home. So I started cleaning. Not the "wipe the counters" kind of cleaning. The "take absolutely everything off the counters and question every object in the kitchen" kind of cleaning. Then I noticed the garbage can. It had always lived in this awkward little spot, and every time I walked by it, something felt...off. On a whim, I switched places with our bar cart. It was such a tiny change, but suddenly that awkward little nook became a destination instead of a storage space. My husband immediately started dreaming up ideas for it. The garbage can moved.

Kitchen | BEFORE

Bar Cart | BEFORE

The bar cart found a new home. One tiny decision made the whole kitchen feel different. Then I looked at the blank wall nearby. I had some of my own paintings leaning against another wall for over a year because I was too nervous to put a hole in the drywall. I put on my big girl panties and I finally hung it.

It looked...right.

Garbage can | AFTER

Kitchen & Bar Cart | AFTER

And somehow that one little project turned into another. The living room. The bedroom. The walk in closet. The bathroom. (The linen closet is still Future April's problem.) Somewhere in the middle of all of this, my snake plant dramatically threw one of its leaves onto the carpet and demanded to be repotted.

Snake Plant being the drama queen she is.

So apparently that became part of the weekend too.

Closet : BEFORE

Walk in closet | BEFORE

Walk in closet | AFTER

Walk in closet | AFTER

After two days of clearing spaces, moving furniture, hanging my own artwork, and rescuing rebellious houseplants, something unexpected happened.

I realized I didn't actually want a different house. I wanted to feel differently inside my own.

Plant shelf/ upstairs landing | AFTER

No, I don't have an extra bedroom to use as an art studio. But I do have a basement I happily share with my city-planning, LEGO-building seven-year-old.

I don't have a sunroom. But I have a front porch where I can drink my coffee while looking at a garden I planted myself.

I don't have the gorgeous backyard patio...yet. But I have wonderful neighbors who will probably invite us over to enjoy theirs.

Maybe one day we'll build the patio. Maybe someday we'll even add the pergola. But this weekend reminded me that home isn't transformed all at once. Sometimes it starts with moving a garbage can. Sometimes it starts with finally hanging your own art. And sometimes, it starts by seeing the home you've already been blessed with through different eyes.

A Smallish April: Finding Joy in Everyday Moments

April felt like the month everything finally started waking up!

After months and months of waiting, the tulips began blooming and the garden started filling in a little. There is something special about spring that makes you appreciate every flower, every warm day, and every bit of green.

Looking back through my photos from April, here are a few of the moments that made me smile.

The Tulips Arrived

Last fall, Isaac and I planted a lot of bulbs (nearly 200 of them!). To say they put on a show is quite the understatement!

This isn’t even all of them!

I need to go back to my notes and list out every tulip I planted. There are a few varieties I want to pick up again for next year. This orange parrot tulip definitely is one of them!

Working on the Front Garden

Along with enjoying all the tulip blooms, I spent a ton time thinking about what comes next. I had a vision in my mind to create a sort of cottage or woodland garden. I did all the research (which means I took to Pinterest and spent an exorbitant amount of time pinning ideas), made many trips to Platt Hill and Wasco (remind me later to show you photos from Wasco. I love that garden center!), and fawned over my dream plants.

The front garden is still very much a work in progress. Honestly, I feel like it always will be. But I finally started moving plants around and figuring out where things belong. I dug up and pulled out the roses (good riddance, roses!), dug holes for the hydrangeas and ostrich ferns, and removed SO MUCH concrete and gravel from my garden bed.

All those bags? FULL of concrete and rocks that were just under a thin layer of “topsoil” that the builder put in for us.

I have a vision in my head. Now I just need to convince the plants to cooperate!

Making Time for Art

I was also able to paint a little bit. I've been really trying to make room for creativity where I can, even if it's only a little at a time.

I worked on a super-secret painting for a friend (shhhh- I’ll share it later!) and I revisited a painting that I had finished a few years ago. Every time I walked past it, it felt a little blah and unfinished, so I took it downstairs and tried to add a little more depth.

I started adding darker shadows to the succulents in the bottom right section.

I also continued experimenting with gouache.

I'm still learning, but that's part of the fun. I even treated myself to a new set of HIMI Gouache paints. Once I open them, I’ll do a small review!

Isaac Things

Isaac continued to keep life interesting. Shotokan Karate has become a regular part of our routine now, and it's been super fun watching his confidence grow. I can't wait for him to be able to do his first kata successfully!

Look at that concentration!

And, of course, there was Mario Kart. Lots and lots of Mario Kart since he received a Nintendo Switch for his birthday.

I love how he’s playing the video game with his whole body!

April was a good month. My tulips blooming was definitely the highlight! I can’t wait to see what May brings!