January Cure #10 Get your get-together together

A simple 10-minute task for today: invite people over for a get-together at the end of the Cure. This way, you have some extra motivation to finish things, as well as a way to celebrate all the hard work. It is pretty sweet to have these breathers in the Cure as well, so not every single day is filled with dusting and scrubbing.

For this task I cheated a little bit and finished on Tuesday. I am in a Bible study group that meet every other week, and I volunteered to host the next one. It will be a few days before the Cure is officially over, but thats alright. The main projects should be done by then, and maybe we can even finish everyting a little early. Is that too optimistic? Anyways, here are some bright weekend flowers for you.

Everywhere I go the air is rich with fragrance right now. Freshly cut grass, wildflowers, blooming lilacs, wet concrete. Summer is almost here (if only the weather could agree), and these flowers by Kinfolk Magazine are just perfect.

A weekend in white and green

March is here, and it looks like an early spring this year. It also means that we will get married in less than four months! This weekend has been spent working on our wedding invitations. I have had the idea of what it would look like for a long time, but now it has all come together. I have wrestled with the printer for a few hours due to strange paper and envelope sizes, and finally got it my way. Now I just need to assemble all the pieces and get it shipped to our dear family and friends. 

Here is a little preview of one of the details. The rest will remain secret till the guests have received their invite in the mail. 

PS. Did you know that white carnations symbolize pure love and good luck, and is the 1st wedding anniversary flower? 

Meaningful Herb Bouquets

Picture by the talented Jemma Keech

In all my wedding research I have found an intriguing idea: herb bouquets. This is a not a new idea, in the Victorian era they used different herbs in weddings for symbolic reasons.

Thyme for courage and strength
Lavender for luck and devotion
Rosemary for remembrance
Sage for wisdom and long life. Bonus: Sage is also great for keeping bugs away, and the scent of mint (meaning virtue) can be calming.
Cumin for fidelity
Parsley for festivity

Which would you choose?
I love the smell of rosemary, and sage looks really pretty, so the one above looks perfect!

PS. Here is an overview of more herbs and flowers and their meaning.

Congratulations to the giveaway winners!

The winners of my giveaway have been drawn. Congratulations to Camilla (200 kr) and Anonym (100 kr)! I have emailed you with the information. For those who didnt win, you can still check out my store.

PS. Picture of my blooming Blodbeger (Rhodochiton atrosanguineum). I am so excited when winning a giveaway is this succesful!

A plant in a letter

Gardening is really on my mind lately, so you should just get used to this new topic. Since my balcony gets little direct sunlight, I was searching for tips on what I could grow when I stumbled upon the Norwegian blog "Skyggebalkongen" (the shaded balcony). This guy lives in Oslo and seems to really know what he is talking about, and has great success growing plants in a little more challenging city garden.

I was so lucky to win a giveaway of some seedlings of Blodbeger (Rhodochiton atrosanguineum). It came in the mail, and was a little nervous I would kill it, but this is what it looks like now, a couple of weeks later.  Perhaps it is time to let it out in the wild urban jungle soon?

Dark, brown soil. Bright, yellow flowers.

This spring I am trying again to make a garden. Last years attempts failed miserably, and I blame it on the scaffolding that stole all the sunlight. Not a bad excuse actually.

Now I have tiny little sprouts of basil and cilantro stretching for the light, I bought my first "verandakasse" (hanging flower box for the balcony) and enjoy the sight of my little outdoor room now that it is finally coming together. All in all, I am starting to like this whole plant and garden hobby, and I hope I can develop greener thumbs as I go.

On a stop shop note, the balcony is not included in that project, even though the rules say nothing about it. I had plans of decorating it this spring, and this is the first time I can really start using it since I moved in two years ago. I have plans to get pillows to sit on, and perhaps some lights as well.