Lemon Balm Salt Scrub Tutorial

Thanks to my lovely friend Miss Angie, I've rediscovered the intense greatness of salt scrubs. They do wonders on legs like mine - aka. overused, mistreated, under-appreciated, shouldn't be shown the light of day kinda legs. Yup, they're in need of some help and love! So I figured that there must be an easy way to make my own steady supply of salt scrub that would be super cheap... and then I remembered the huge patch of lemon balm in my garden...

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
• 1 cup of kosher salt
• 1 & 1/4 cups of baby oil (I used "with Aloe")
• 1/2 cup very finely chopped herb of choice

Gently mix the salt and oil together in a bowl. Add the herbs and mix again. Spoon into a glass jar (I used a pasta sauce jar) and refrigerate. The longer the scrub sits the more the herbs will "saturate" the oil, so good! Most fresh herbs would be amazing - like lavender, rosemary, mint, sage or even basil. I'm thinking this is a really easy handmade gift for mother's day, Christmas, baby & bridal showers, teachers, thank yous, etc. And if you package some in a cool mason jar or baby food jar with a pretty ribbon you're all set. Oo, how fun would it be to have a set of baby food jars with different scrubs in them for a new mom? Now I'm getting excited! Happy scrubbing everyone!
PS - the photo of McB is my new favorite. I've never seen him sit still for that long! Thanks Jason for your patience & musical genius!

The Giving Garden

Everyone that's ever been to a plant swap put your hands up... now, why have you been holding out on me?! Honestly, why didn't I know about this super great thing sooner? For those of you that are in the dark like I was, here's the scoop...

There are gardening groups all over the country that meet and chat and swap. Now I know this may sound like it's for the old folks, but trust me it's not. If you like local food and farmer's markets, this is a must-do field trip. Promise! I went to my first one with a friend on Saturday. We drove in to the Henry Horton State Park and there was a gathering like I've never seen - tons of tables filled with hand-potted plants & veggies of all varieties. Plus bags (literally brown shopping bags) filled with homegrown seeds. And here's the best part, you don't pay for anything! Seriously, it's truly a swap. You go around visiting the tables, spy what you'd like and then the incredibly generous, knowledgeable gardener who dug them up, hands you the pot. That simple, just bring plants and receive plants. I made a huge batch of seed bombs to share, but was totally unprepared for the generosity of everyone. One lady put it best, she said in a thick southern accent, "why can't folks just be nice and share?" It really is that simple.

So I came home with a carload (again literally) full of flowers, seeds and veggies to add to my newly growing garden. And, unlike buying at a store, my garden is now filling up with tidbits of love from other people that like dirt as much as me. Oo and I'm so excited that I scored one of these!
- HAPPY GIVING GARDEN -

Some Serious Seed Bombing!

OH me, oh my, I had a ridiculously great time the other night!! To celebrate Earth Day I taught a "seed bomb making" workshop at Craft Social. If you know what this is, you can fully appreciate how much of a blast it was. If you don't, let me make your world a tad happier...

Do you ever feel a bit rebellious but you're not in the mood to get in any real trouble? Do you notice all the bare, ugly spots around town and want to make them prettier? Try "guerilla gardening" with seed bombs! All you need to do is follow the recipe below to make balls filled with seeds and all the good stuff that they need to start growing. Then you throw them wherever a little bit of happiness is needed and wildflowers will grow. You know, like empty lots, the side of the highway or maybe your backyard.

Just before midnight we drove all around town "bombing" away through the car windows, the sun roof and over fences (no private property was harmed I promise). It was wild, crazy and hilarious - I felt like I was in high school all over again! I can't wait to see what sprouts in approx 45 days and we're definitely having a seed bomb party in the very near future. Try it, I promise you'll like it!

SEED BOMB RECIPE:
This recipe is written in "parts" - determine what you "part" measures and mix away (mine was 1/4 cup)
• 2 parts all natural clumping kitty litter (Arm & Hammer Natural made with corn)
• 2 parts water
• 1 part compost and clay mix (I dug some clay out of the yard)
• 1/2 part wildflower seed
Mix together until moldable. Form into balls, about shooter marble size. Let dry for at least an hour. Happy guerilla gardening!!
-HAPPY TIMES, GREAT FRIENDS-

April So Far...

April has been BUSY! Lots of new things happening, some I can share now and others are percolating. I'll begin with the biggie... for those of you that don't know yet, as of July 1st I'll be looking for a new job. It's been a year and a half of crazy hard work with The Mission Chattanooga and now it's time to move on. Unfortunately it's 100% a case of funding, not lack of passion or results. Though I'm really sad that I won't be a staff member anymore, I'm very happy with what's been achieved in such a short time and feel privileged to have been a part of it. Lots of amazing design work was done and many lives were/and continue to be changed (including mine!). I'll still be involved as much as possible and Craft Social Workshop will hopefully continue to grow. But, now I'm on the hunt for the next step. I know it's not the ideal time to look for a job, but I also know that there must be a solution. Design work, etsy, ALL ideas welcome!

On a lighter note, I went to an amazing garden center the other day! Seriously, they had some insanely funky plants - see pic of "Carnivorous Monkey Bamboo Jug Plant" and "Red Hot Cats-tail". They also had those super comfy retro gliders. My porch is begging for one. Ok, maybe I'm just begging for one?! Thankfully I was distracted by the most amazing fairy gardens. Ugh, I've been wanting to make one forever!

Anyway, that's April so far... I'm exhausted, time to go to bed!
-HOPING FOR HAPPY SOLUTIONS-

Spring Super hero!

Spring is in the air and I have a new personal super hero - his name is Raven Sutton! He dug out the yuckiest dead shrubs and turned over the soil in my flower beds in under 5 hours including a lunch break. That has to be a super power! I can't wait to get planting... oh the plans I have planned!

Uh oh, little McB is up. Here's a quick list of the latest at our tiny happy bungalow:
1. A new knit & crocheted cloche hat for MG adapted from this DROPS pattern
2. The paperwhites are growing! If you ever spy some at a local nursery, get a few. They're lots of Spring fun with no effort.
3. AND Briar is drawing on everything... except paper. Including all over our bathroom with waterproof mascara. Yes, it is just like grease! Creative channeling is in order!

Be back soon, Michelle
-HAPPY ALMOST SPRING-

The Quest for Green

Every year around this time I get the itch to start gardening again... and it's always a painfully long wait til Spring! This year is extra tough because I'm looking out my kitchen window at a brand new garden that's begging to be dug in. So, while I wait and plan, I'm on a quest for a little green along the way. For some reason each little bit makes me happy!

In case you're wondering, the photo of brown stickie-things is actually a box of iris rhizomes that my mom rescued for me from her garden Connecticut. They were split from ones in my old garden and I can't wait to plant them!!

- HAPPY DAYS OF GREEN TO COME -

Crafty Kids - Mini Terrarium

Spring is in the air and the trees are covered with lime green leaves - hooray!! With that in mind, poor little MG made a major request a couple of days ago... she wants us to buy a "house with some dirt". Agreed, I miss my garden desperately! I can't wait to find a house that has lots of digging to be done. So in an effort to play in some dirt, I thought it would be fun to make a mini terrarium out of a baby food jar. It was fun, easy, for all ages and free. Major bonus!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
• Baby food jar or small glass container
• moss (we found ours in the woods)
• some small rocks (pea-sized)
• a little bit of dirt
** You can add a small plastic trinket for decoration as well

This is about as easy as it gets folks, so no excuses about not being crafty! MG and I went hunting in the woods for some moss at the base of a tree, a bit of soil in the pathway and some rocks near a stream. Once we had all our supplies, we poured rocks in the bottom of the jar, then layered in the soil and finally some moss on top. After our mini garden was planted, we watered it with a teaspoon and sealed the jar. That's it. Seriously. It's sitting in the kitchen window happily growing... and it doesn't need any care or watering again. Happy Spring!

-HAPPY TINY GARDEN-

Having the Happy Blues

McB is about to wake up (in fact his little feet are kicking already), so I have to keep this short...
We've had a blue invasion the past couple of days. It all started innocently with my "Big Daddy" hydrangeas finally blooming. Then we took a time out from the house nuttiness to visit the Maritime Aquarium with Auntie Meg and cousin Ivy. Or should I say, they were brave enough to join us! It was lots of fun and the South African penguins were adorable, but I now realize that 2 parents are definitely best for grand outings (especially when there's potting training involved!). Um yeah. And finally, MG took blue to a whole new level with the world's most insanely colored lollipop. Seriously, I probably shouldn't admit to her eating it, but she had a blast and I figured life is way too short to not experience the joy of a blue tongue.
Oo, little McB is up and so is my time...

- MY HAPPY BLUE HEAVEN -

Sad in a Happy Way

Well, Rexie is gone and I'm a little sad. The yard feels empty without her, but I'm so happy that she's moved her babies. They were starting to get naughtier and the busy road was freaking me out. I'm sure she found a great new condo for them to live in (we all know her taste is quite swanky) and I'm hoping the kids at least sprung for a pedicure for her efforts. Who knows, maybe they'll come back for a visit some time? My neighbor thinks they've got the spot saved on Google Maps for next year - keep your fingers crossed!

- THINKING HAPPY THOUGHTS OF FURRY FRIENDS -

Garden Nerd

If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm a big gardening nerd. No seriously, I am and I'm okay with it. Now I'm not growing anything as fancy as a Victory garden, but I am quite chuffed (that's South African for "proud/pleased/excited") about my little nook of flowers.
My latest obsession is irises. They come in so many amazing colors, plus they have fun names like "Bewilderbeast" and "Anvil of Darkness". Even if you don't like flowers, the names are fun to check out. Last summer I was lucky enough to snag a bunch of "named" irises from an even more obsessed grower on etsy. After a year of waiting, they've finally bloomed! Talk about patience paying off and with very little effort. So, if you're looking for something different in your garden or flowers that make you look like you have more gardening skills than you do, give irises a try. They're sure to bring happiness and a bit of wow.

- SOMETIMES HAPPINESS TAKES PATIENCE -

I feel the need for Seed!

Every year right around now I start to go a little nutty. No seriously, the Winter is over and Spring has sprung, but not quite enough for my liking. So this year I've decided to start some seeds indoors (usually I buy flats of flowers at the nursery for instant gratification). You'll notice I went a little overboard at the seed rack cause they all tried to woo me!

Now I'm not making any grand promises of success, especially with a baby 9 or 10 weeks away, but I am thoroughly excited to see how it goes...or grows (that's a pregnancy brain joke, yikes). Anyway, it's a fun little project for MG to keep tabs on and hopefully we'll end up with something to add to our cottage garden. Last year it was super colorful (see pics), so I'm hoping this year it'll bring just as much oomph and happiness to the neighborhood. What bits of happiness can you grow for the folks around you?

- HAPPY SEEDS GROW LIKE WEEDS (AT LEAST I HOPE SO!) -