Frohe Ostern! :D

Love,
mara

happy happy...

best of luck for a fabulous 2013

An event, a task, an idea, and the result thereof

the event: the firefighters' christmas dinner
the task: table setting for said dinner (approx. 130 people)
the idea: blue, white, and natural materials such as twigs, nuts, cookies, and apples

the making of:

printed napkins were too expensive, so a little stamping project was in order. An episode each of Arrow and Beauty and the Beast later and 140 napkins were done. ;-)

the making of also involved:

• collecting larch branches and twigs in the woods (including much eyerolling from the boy "do you really have to use larch branches?" - "Yes, dear. I absolutely want have to." :P

• using half a paperback to punch out paper stars

• blocking the apple stand at the grocery store for more than 10 minutes to pick out 50 apples that were a nice red AND would stand up straight to hold a candle. (oh, the looks I earned... XD)

• much swearing and teeth grinding while cutting holes in the apples and inserting the candles due to apples splitting apart, candles falling out or (despite the above mentioned CAREFUL choosing of each individual apple) not standing up straight...

• a second run to the grocery store as too many apples had either split or were failing in their task to hold the candle upright

• happy smiles and warm fuzzies as everything came together and looked just the way I had imagined it ♥!

the result:

so yes, happy with it. ^_^

Hungry for color...

While inside my apartment, I do like mostly neutral colors for furnishings (whites, grays, natural browns/beige, silver etc.) and just a dash of one brighter color here and there, I absolutely LOVE bright and sunny colors outdoors.

So, when it's a day like today (mostly gray and depressing, so typical for november...), it's time to remember the vibrant images of october... : )

Fragaria vesca...

♥ wood strawberries ♥

Fragaria vesca, commonly called wild strawberry, wood strawberry, or woodland strawberry, is a plant that grows naturally throughout the Northern Hemisphere.

Other names for this species include alpine strawberry, fraises des bois, and European strawberry.

***

I love strawberries in general (always have, as my mother tells me), but there is something very special about the sweet taste of wood strawberries, especially fresh from my the garden. ♥
When I moved into the new apartment in 2010, wood strawberry plants were among the first new plants I got. ^_^

They also remind me of summer vacations at my grandparents' house by the lake, where the flowerbeds had wood strawberry plants here and there along the edges...

[happines series] Happiness is...

...a bowl of fresh, sweet blackberries ♥

happy easter =^.^=

...lurker that I am, at least for this I shall emerge...

... and not only to wish all of you you a HAPPY NEW YEAR but also to shout out a big THANK YOU to all of those who have made 2011 a richer and more wonderful year for me! ♥♥♥

there have been both lows and highs, but overall it wasn't such a bad year, at all. :D and now? looking forward to the next one!

in that sense...

wishing you all...

"The wind-blown leaves turn...

Dancing the golden sunlight
across the tired floor."
- Matt Dimmic

Today was the kind of autum day I don't like. Gray, cold, wet, depressing.

But Monday? Monday was gorgeous (after the fog finally disappeared around noon, that is...^^;)




I have an oak tree in my back yard, that proved to be the perfect subject for a series of fall picturers featuring the tree itself, the grass and dry leaves beneath, acorns (lots and lots of acorns :P), my beloved little wood and iron bench, a pretty wire basket, flowers, and that beautiful beautiful golden light that is so typical for this time of year. ♥