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Five Things Friday | March 3rd

March 3, 2017 by Barb 9 Comments

Welcome to Five Things Friday where I share what I’m reading, watching, eating, making, or just plain loving at the moment and I’m so happy you stopped by!

But can I just start with the Oscar train wreck?

I’m really not into this annual show, and I only watch the highlights. So how about that screw-up with the award announcement for Best Picture?  … and what about our fascination with it!? you’d think it was a major world catastrophe!

But oh my gosh … apart from envelopegate, what do you think of Warren handing the envelope to Faye? He obviously knew something was wrong (he looked flustered and confused) and then he handed it to her! He totally threw her under the bus!

… totally not impressed with you Warren :(

But, let us move on …

Five Things Friday | March 3rd

What Florals I’m Arranging

Tulips and birch branches on my garden bench—throw in a couple found-and-foraged bird’s nests, and you have a sweet spring vignette. Something to hang on to for these last looong winter weeks. I love that tulips are affordable right now … they’re at every grocery store checkout in our province.

O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?
Percy Bysshe Shelley

Five Things Friday at KWTT is where I share what I'm reading, watching, eating, making, or just plain loving.
What I’m Watching

This Is Us.

I hardly need say more. This wildly popular series on NBC has captured the hearts of audiences everywhere. But I’m going to make a little confession. I only decided to watch it when I realized Adam Newman was going to die, and my favourite actor on Y & R (Justin Hartley) was leaving … yes, ahem (bwha ha ha) I watch Y & R. I can’t seem to stop myself even though I’ve tried and tried (and succeeded from time-to-time.)

Anyway, back to This is Us. This show has made me laugh out loud, and it has made me cry … two things I don’t do very often when watching TV, and I love it when that happens, don’t you?! Five Stars for this show! No spoilers though!

What I’m Reading

The Witches of New York by Ami McKay

I’ve only just started this book, so I can’t really say much about it, except that it has captivated me right from the first paragraph. I am a bit concerned that I should read her previous book The Virgin Cure first even though, apparently you don’t have to. But, if I get a chance I may pick it up before I get too far into The Witches … hmmmm, decisions, decisions!

So instead, here’s my thoughts on another book I’ve recently read:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I was a bit late to the party with this epic story, as it was published in 2005 and I only just purchased the 10th Anniversary edition. You open the cover and it goes something like this “When Death has a story to tell, you listen” and boy do you ever!

The prose is beyond … it’s like reading music, and if I was one to write in books, this book would have paragraphs highlighted, underlined, and covered in exclamation marks. A must read!

Goosebumps all the way …

What I Discovered

Remember last week when I mentioned The Magnolia Journal? Well I discovered something awesome!

Not only are there some gorgeous botanical prints in the magazine, I went to their site and discovered a free download of the same spectacular botanicals ready for framing or simply hanging on a wall as is. I printed mine on some lovely textural card stock and they are gorgeous.

Check it out here (it’s the pink bar along the top of the page). I must say, I’m not sure how long the download will last, so I wouldn’t delay!

Five Things Friday at KWTT is where I share what I'm reading, watching, eating, making, or just plain loving.

What I’m Grateful For

  • Super sunny days. Even though our temperatures plummeted this week (and let me tell you it has been cold at -20C with -25C windchills!) I’m choosing to focus on the light. It pours into my dining room and makes the whole house glow.
  • Grocery and hardware stores that carry affordable plants and flowers.
  • Walks with friends … I’ve literally stepped up my commitment to getting outside and to exercising more. I’ve been taking 45 minute walks 3 times a week. Pretty good for me (especially when my old bones protest ;)
  • Making plans to attend Finding Stillness | Summer 2017 in June.
  • Online friends @alajamie that become real life friends, and then send you props to play with. I received a box full of vintage jars, letters, silky ribbons, and other ephemera. It’s like a prop chain letter where each participant takes the same props and uses them to create an image. She then posts it to Instagram with the hashtag #propbox2017. You’re allowed to add up to 3 of your own props and I used the book and the succulents. The box has since been sent on to the next participant. Lots of fun! Thank you Jamie!

Five Things Friday at KWTT is where I share what I'm reading, watching, eating, making, or just plain loving.

Today the hubs and I are off to town to find drapery hardware for my new curtains … how fun!

Hopefully we get home before the impending winter storm hits … I feel a cozy afternoon by the fire in my future.

xo

Filed Under: FIVE THINGS FRIDAY Tagged With: books, discoveries, gratitude, magnolia journal, movies, series

Five Things Friday | February 24th

February 24, 2017 by Barb 21 Comments

Hello and welcome to Five Things Friday!

I’ve been mulling over this (big/not big) idea since the beginning of the year. I needed something to replace Sunday Sundries where I not only featured images from the hashtag on Instagram, I also listed everything I was grateful for in the preceding week. Sunday Sundries was a wonderful series … I’ve documented literally hundreds of grateful moments (which I really enjoy reviewing) and it truly was an amazing practice that did my heart good. And while I continue do this in private, I felt it was time to move on.

Five Things Friday will be about what I’m reading, watching, eating, making, or just plain loving at the moment. I know the title is not unique in any way. In fact, if you Google it, you’ll find hundreds of hits … but no matter. This is MY Five Things Friday.

So let’s just get started OK?!

Five Things Friday | February 24th

What I’m Loving

I was sitting in my dining room this morning watching cold hard snowflakes fall outside my window and was contemplating the colours of this northern world of mine (and what will be the colours of this world for 2 more months.) And I remembered … I remembered why last autumn I saved these sprigs of yellow yarrow, even though they drop seeds and dust all over the place.

Today I’m loving dried flowers and birch branches on a cold February day.Five Things Friday at KWTT is where I share what I'm reading, watching, eating, making, or just plain loving.
… sunlight and shadows …

Five Things Friday at KWTT is where I share what I'm reading, watching, eating, making, or just plain loving.
What I’m reading

Actually, I just finished reading The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. OH my. I will admit that I had a hard time getting into this book but once I did, I devoured it. It really does capture the horrors of World War II … oh the horrors :(

I finished it late last night and was taken completely by surprise  please no spoilers here! but I have to go back and reread a chapter or two to see if I was just asleep or what … .

What I’m watching

For the last year, the hubs and I have been watching “The Sopranos”. We found the entire series (minus the last episode … ha ha) for $5.00 at a garage sale! Add in the $35.00 we spent on the purchase of the last episode, and it was $40.00 very well spent. Hours and hours of drama … I can’t say this show is for everyone but what an amazing glimpse into the world of organized crime. Most of the time I could hardly wait to clean up after dinner so we could watch one or two episodes (even though I had my eyes closed a lot of the time.) And I swear I did not breathe during the final season … and at the end I stared at the TV for many, many minutes … frozen. Then the hubs and I had a big discussion. Again, please no spoilers here! 

But on a side note, do you know anyone who’s interested in purchasing the entire set of The Sopranos for $40.00? ;)

What I’m Eating/Drinking

I’m loving the Peppermint Hot Chocolate on sale at Williams-Sonoma right now (disregard the tea in this photo ;) Regular price $28.95 for 12 oz of mix, on sale for $7.99. I know, it’s still expensive but whoa! what a treat. I think I have to go back before word of this gets out ;)

What I’m Photographing

Whilst I was in Arizona, I was photographing everything from succulents to hyacinths.

Five Things Friday at KWTT is where I share what I'm reading, watching, eating, making, or just plain loving.Just before we left I decided to take them out of the pot to celebrate the bulbs and roots … aren’t they gorgeous?
Five Things Friday at KWTT is where I share what I'm reading, watching, eating, making, or just plain loving.

What I’ve Discovered

This month I discovered a new magazine: The Magnolia Journal. Its’ full to the brim with inspiration, ideas, art and recipes … it’s a beautiful read and I highly recommend it.

 

So there you have it! Thank you so much for joining me on my first Five Things Friday!

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

Filed Under: FIVE THINGS FRIDAY Tagged With: books, discoveries, gratitude, movies, series

Welcome! I'm Barb, and this is where I practice my mantra to "learn something new, try something different". It's my hope that something I do here may inspire you! Read More…

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