the scented letter

i spent a lot of time this weekend cleaning out closets and drawers with so much more to add to my seemingly endless clothing donations. i sorted sunglasses and found a new, larger home for all my beloved bracelets, since the collection has grown like it has. 

as i went through drawers and cleared out garbage and things i'd been clinging to just because, my spirits were lifted by the lovely scent of my lavender drawer sachets, which is all the more reason i know i'd love a beautifully scented sachet with my initial on it like this one. in the category of little extras, who wouldn't want one or a few? would also be a lovely hostess gift for a beach visit to come or a darling token for a bride-to-be with the initial of her new last name.

need more ideas for hostess gifts or bridal shower gifts?

tiny treasures...a lavender swipe

you're gonna thank me for this one. favorite new thing ever. EO lavender hand wipes. i buy them individually wrapped or in a package of 10 at whole foods...they smell divine and they're perfect for newsprint on hands on the morning commute. nothing worse than that.

in the mood for more tiny treasures? or more deliciously lavender smelling things?

how does your garden grow?

i have to apologize for my really subpar pictures today, but i do want to share...my garden (aka balcony) is looking lovely and i'm really enjoying sitting out there in the mornings and evenings. i don't think enjoying outdoor space will ever get old. 

i have nonstop red begonias, deep velvety purple petunias, a caddy of the most fragrant lavender and some spikes and vinca vines...all my favorites.

on the vegetable front, i'm growing bibb lettuce, chives and parsley on my front step (i forgot to take a picture of that) and a big container of dill from seed on the balcony since it needs lots of sun. i felt my eyes light up this morning when i saw that all the rain this week brought little dill plant sprouts. so exciting! and i feel especially charmed by the cement boot i have a spike in...though i think i might plant some flowers from seed...it has always been on my grandparents' front stoop, and it makes me smile to think it was my grandfather's boot. clearly, it wasn't, as it's made of cement, but i have always associated that way and when i'm sitting outside in quiet with the birds and the breeze, it makes me smile.

 

are you growing anything? 

i hope you have a weekend of birds and breezes, beauty and growth. and maybe some festive grilling and drinking.

tiny treasures...air effects

you know how i'm all about scents, and really, i feel like so are most people. as we all know, the olfactory scent is a powerful one for memory and association, and for me, it's a major mood thing. if i don't like the way something smells, especially at home, it's a real downer. you might remember my run-in with so-called odor shield garbage bags and the scent discovery that followed.

so of course, i'm always on the lookout for products that help to keep things smelling good and fresh and whenever possible, awesome, and that's why so many of the tiny treasures i do are fragrance-related.

the whole point of tiny treasures is to indulge ourselves in small ways that make our lives better on the whole. fleeting moments in a day add up to a lot, and it's often very easy to treat ourselves to something extra special in those moments with a decadent coffee improvement, a corner store bouquet of flowers or a pretty accessory. or of course something that smells wonderful.

we just have to remember to do it, and then do it. so i like to provide easy ideas to help remind you and myself. and of course, they have to be $5 or less so it never becomes a source of guilt or stress to pamper yourself.

so i'm so excited to obsess over febreze air effects with you. this is an air freshener that actually works - immediately, and long-lastingly. of course i'm partial to the lavender vanilla, as i always am, but i have to say the powder and pamper fragrance is a close second in this case.

i'm looking forward to trying the impressive array of scents they offer, most of all meadows and rain, pumpkin harvest, the special pet odor formula and the inventive sounding moroccan bazaar.

everything is just better when things smell good. i really believe that.

bottoms up!

for summer entertaining, i think we all love the idea of serving really festive drinks, and its an added bonus if the drink accoutrements are festive too. even if you're not doing your own entertaining, fun summer barware makes a welcome hostess gift, especially in conjunction with a bottle of something good! just in time for the 4th of july...

i think it's best to start at the source - with the drink dispenser. one idea, and the simplest of all, is to just use simple glass bottles (as shown in country living, below) or carafes like the vinny from crate and barrel.


it's amazing what a wow factor a pretty summer drink in a large, clear cooler can have - your guests will immediately ooh and aah, and be dying to taste your special mix. slice in some fruit for added visual appeal.

for simple, clean lines in glass, i love the glass drink dispensers from pottery barn and the cold beverage jar and stand from crate and barrel.


i also like the agua fresca jug and the mason jar drink dispenser from pottery barn for their playful twist on the standard glass option.


if you're concerned about breakage, there are some great acrylic options out there, specifically from pottery barn in two sizes and bed, bath and beyond's 3 gallon beverage dispenser with cooling cylinder for ice to keep your drink cold! (i've seen this one in action and it's a keeper).


and if you're a fan of options (and why not), check out the del sol double beverage jugs, a terrific value ($30 at bed bath and beyond).

okay so now that we have that part straightened out, on to the glasses. if something jazzy feels right to you, i have some great options to share.

from crate and barrel, how about the zazz and frida collections? love all the colors on both.



if you like the frida above, then i think you'll like pier 1's spring confetti and regular old confetti collections below. i totally love how, in all cases, it looks like paint was poured in and allowed to dry in whatever shapes it fell.

and their kaleidoscope stemless goblets and stemless margarita glasses are extremely pretty too, aren't they?



if you want to go in a totally different direction, check out the very subdued and elegant bennett collection from pottery barn, hand-blown and available in green, blue and clear.

a simple and pretty acrylic option (great for kids and drinking grown-ups alike) is west elm's hammered acrylic set, available in green or clear.

and for some reason, i can't stop eyeing the recycled glass options below. i love them. like, a lot.

i love the heft and chunkiness of the miguel barware from crate and barrel, made from rustic, mexican recycled glass, and the warpy-looking waves of west elm's recycled glass option.


so now the only thing left is what to drink. you might remember my fizzy peach and sangria recipes from last summer, but take a look if not. they're both easy to make and great for a crowd.

i also came across these wonderful looking variations on the southern living website - a site filled with so much decorating, entertaining and lifestyle eye candy, it's hard to contain one's excitement.


cava sangria (cava is spanish sparkling wine)


raspberry beer cocktail


watermelon mint margaritas


cool lavender lemonade (non-alcoholic)


berry splash (non-alcoholic)

bottoms up!

all images from linked sites

tiny treasures...plug it in

okay, so i had to do an emergency tiny treasure post because today is the very last day for $5 wallflowers at bath and body works (online and in-store). the starter sets and the refills are $5 each, marked down from $12.50.

last time i bought garbage bags, i accidentally got the "odor-shield" kind, which smell outrageously disgusting, and i literally got depressed every time i walked into the kitchen and smelled them (i have a sickly good sense of smell). eventually, i broke down and just bought a fresh box, even though i felt bad about wasting. i just can not deal with bad smelling things. can you relate? my point is this: scents are powerful, and can affect our moods in serious ways, don't you agree? and since tiny treasures is all about bringing happiness and luxury into our lives for $5 or less, nothing could be more perfect or appropriate than this.

moving on...i always love things like this in a small space like a bathroom or closet because you get the most bang for your buck...and at only $5, that's a lot of bang for not a lot of bucks. and although TT is very much about indulging yourself when you can, it's not a bad idea to stock up now on stocking stuffers or office gifts, right? in the long run, it's your treasure anyway when you don't have to run around doing last minute shopping.

my personal favorites of the scents available in wallflowers are coconut lime verbena (you might remember my obsession from last summer), lavender vanilla (another perennial obsession of mine), and warm vanilla sugar, especially for the cooler months, which are admittedly hard to think about at this hot, sticky moment.

and i'm totally swinging by to smell eucalyptus spearmint! find your local store here.

some honey living you might have missed:

catch up on tiny treasures ($5 luxuries to give yourself)
my coconut obsession from last summer
if you looooove the smell of lavender...
and if you love the smell of eucalyptus

photo from womans day

tiny treasures...lavender dawn

so today i'm going back to my roots with tiny treasures...for those that have been with me since the beginning of this feature, you might recall the very first tiny treasure, which was the mrs. meyers lavender room spray. the idea started then, and continues now, that a tiny treasure is a small indulgence we can give ourselves as we go through often mundane days, for no more than $5 a pop.

well, allow me to introduce another treasure in the lavender family...dawn botanicals jasmine lavender dish soap. and i mean please, you can't get any more mundane than dish soap. to have a little bottle of something that makes even the most unpleasurable things pleasurable? that is a tiny treasure by all definitions. (don't forget to eliminate the visual noise!)

here's how i came to know and love this one...a few days ago, i washed my hands in my office's kitchen and was very pleasantly surprised by the lovely smell. i noticed that it was dawn and made a mental note to come back when i wasn't carrying a giant potted orchid to do further research. then i promptly forgot about it. a few days later, i walked into the kitchen and noticed a distinct spa smell...who was getting facials in the kitchen, massages next to the refrigerator? nope, it was the recently sudded sink...fresh from the dish soap! and the rest is history.

for other wonderfully lavender scented things, see this post, and this one.

photo from viewpoints

a trail of green

the garden pieces from crate and barrel make me want to go to a nursery and pick out lush looking trailing plants. well luckily, i am going to a nursery! here is where i'll be saturday afternoon, celebrating my birthday with my whole family. i'll breathe in some fresh nursery air for you!

i don't know if i'm committing to flowers this year...last year, they were more pressure than they were enjoyment. i think i might just stick with the green stuff. but i'll certainly enjoy looking at the colorful bounty and helping my parents make their floral choices.

for my balcony, i'm thinking sweet potato vines (above) because i love their limey, lush look. and another favorite -- the vinca vine (below). they grow a million miles a day and they always look healthy.

and i might add in some coleus and spikes for good measure.

i miss my old balcony (A LOT), but i'm getting to know my new one. what's nice about having only one outdoor space on the small-ish side is that i can create an impactful, abundant look without having to buy too much. as i've learned in recent years, creating a lovely, living outdoor space can get very pricy (and very addictive).

here are some of my favorite pictures of the balcony of our last apartment, and i'm looking forward to creating something special in our new one too.

i need the little space i create to be a good one - its where i like to begin and end most days when the weather is nice, and it's a refuge of the loveliest kind, because it's not closed between four walls, but instead is out in the world surrounded by trees and birds and the freshest of air.

do you have an outdoor refuge?

top two photos from www.crateandbarrel.com, sweet potato vine photo from www.laikipiawest.org, vinca and coleous photos from www.flickr.com, all other photos original