My Sister-In-Laws Home Library

 

I definitely had a good time at my sister-in-laws place. It may have been such a short holiday but it had somehow revived and relaxed me. I wish we could visit their place again anytime this week. I just love everything about their place. I love their garden. Her mom has various collection of orchids which I have never seen before. She also have several herbs and spices planted on window boxes which adorns their windows. Aside from their garden, I also spent most of my time in their library. They have a huge collection of garden books, encyclopedias, and novels. In fact, she lent me a couple of her garden books. She must have took pity of me after I mentioned how many times I failed trying to grow a single plant before.

One of the garden books she lent me is Window Boxes Indoors & Out. This great book will definitely help me in my gardening. It has information on how to grow different types of plant and when and where is the perfect time to grow it. It also include several tips on how to properly care for plants especially the ones planted in the container. Had I read this garden book  before, none of the plants I had planted would have "died" in my hands. In addition, this book is also entertaining. It contains a lot of colorful photographs of the different plants. Even my two year old niece love it.

I know I had a lot to learn about gardening. I need to read several gardening books so no plants would die in my hands ever. This book gave me an inspiration to have my own collection of outdoor and indoor plants. Fortunately, my sister-in-law's mom is willing to give me some of her plants especially the orchids. I could not wait for our next visit.

A Belated Housewarming Gift

 

My sister-in-law surprised me yesterday with a belated housewarming gift and a peace offering. She was not able to make it during the house warming party because she has been called home to take care of her father who was sick at that time. She just arrived yesterday with good news that her dad is well. However, she will be leaving again with my niece and brother the day after tomorrow to celebrate her mother's birthday. I am just please that she made time to visit me just to give me my present.

 

Her housewarming gift was a beautiful Square Terrarium - Rainbow Flowers with Keychain. I fell in love with it the first time I saw it. It reminds me of the gift I gave to my cousin on her housewarming party which was a  Dino Foot Terrarium - Rainbow Flowers. This Square Terrarium is also filled with multicolored dried flowers. However, unlike the Dino Foot Terrarium, this Square Terrarium is much smaller. I can placed it on my desk or I can use it as a paperweight.  I love the  unique key chain mini terrarium especially. It is also filed with light green dried flowers which are really cute. I can carry it anywhere I go. 

Receiving a Square Terrarium - Rainbow Flowers with Keychain brings back old memories. The last time I received a key chain was during my high school days. My sister-in-law may have seen my collection of keychains.  Otherwise she may have given me something else. It is quite thoughtful of her to give me something for my collection of keychains. Maybe I will start collecting again.

Dino Foot Terrarium, A Unique Housewarming Gift

 

It is my cousin's turn to host her own housewarming party. It is going to be this coming Friday night. It is going to be a small party. She only invited her three best friends and a few of her husband's and our relatives. She does not like throwing parties. If not because of her husband who will be coming home the day before the housewarming party, there won't be any housewarming party to celebrate at all.

With only a few days to look for a unique gift for her, I have scoured every antique stores and gift shops in town. However, none of the items there caught my eye. Fortunately, one of my colleagues showed me an online gift shop which offers miniature gardens. All the miniature gardens are cute and adorable. I love the Dino Foot Terrarium - Rainbow Flowers especially. This beautiful Dino Foot Terrarium - Rainbow Flowers is filled with beautiful flowers in red, pink, turquoise, white, yellow, light green, orange, and purple colors. At first glance I thought they were real flowers. But after reading its description, they are artificial flowers. I am not sure if my cousin will be pleased of the gift since she is the type of person who love live plants. But I want to press luck. I bought the Dino Foot Terrarium - Rainbow Flowers to be delivered at her doorstep with my eyes closed.

I cannot wait to see her reaction when she receive the delivery. I should have asked her what she feels about artificial plants. But then again, I do not want to blow the surprise. I am crossing my fingers that she will fall in love with the Dino Foot Terrarium - Rainbow Flowers just like I did.

My Cousin's Garden

 

Changing the interior of my cousin's new house has been fun and entertaining. We have repainted the walls, changed the furniture, added the ceramic lamps and now we are working on the plants. I am pleased that she trusted me with her plants. She knows how bad my track record is when it comes to gardening. Entrusting me her garden is a great honor in my part. I only wish that all the plants I planted on the ground will grow healthily. The last time I did it, was a total failure. All the plants I replanted withered.

Of all the plants she entrusted in my care, I am most careful with the Nasturtiums, an edible flowering plant, which her favorite among her flowering plants. Why not? This edible flowering plant bears colorful and attractive flowers which is perfect in decorating not only your dishes but also your home. I am thinking of adding this Nasturtium plant in the new green wall I am working on at home. I wish that I have done everything right in replanting this plant. I have religiously followed all the instructions she gave me on how to grow Nasturtiums. But I am still not sure if it will thrive well. I have even applied an organic fertilizer specifically live worms to ensure that the plants will grow alright. 

Helping my cousin work on her garden has been a great pleasure and honor for me. I feel great knowing that she has faith in me. I only wish that I have I have faith in my self as well. I know that I did well in growing the plants in my garden. I wish it will be the same for her garden.

Handling Stress In The Most Productive Way

 

According to Valerie Bertinelli, "Happiness is a choice. You can choose to be happy. There's going to be stress in life, but it's your choice whether you let it affect you or not." Surely, nobody gets away from stress. People from all walks of life succumb to stress especially when we are pressured at work, school and even at home. Lucky are those who are able to handle it very well. Experts say that it is just a matter of stress handling. If we let stress affect us, then we are doomed to resort to all types of vices such as drug addiction, smoking and alcoholism.

Most people I know handle stress in a very positive way. In fact, they are more productive when they are stressed. One of my cousins, for example, cleans the entire house when she is stressed out. I must admit that is much better way of handling stress that getting into vices. However, the most productive  way of overcoming stress is by gardening. I suppose that everyone who started gardening gets hook with it. It is quite amazing watching your plants grow day by day. It makes you feel good about yourself knowing that you helped it grow. I am happy that I was introduced to gardening at a very young age. It has been my way of venting all my frustrations and problems in life. I guess it is my mom's too considering the number of  Herb Kits and Seed Starting Kits stored in the garden shed. 

She has all types of Herb Kits and Seed Starting Kits in the garden shed. She has a collection of Herbs of Napoli Herb Kit, Herbs of Tuscany Herb Kit and Basil-O-Holic Foodie Garden Seed Kit because they are easy to plant and maintain. The kits also include instructions which are easy to follow that even a young child can understand. I have already planted several of her Herb Kits and Seed Starting Kits in my own home. Some of it I have planted in the DIY living wall kit which now hangs on her kitchen walls. I know that she have given some of her collection of herb kits as a gift already. But it seems that her supply of herb kits does not run out. Well, it is her own way of sorting out her problems and relieving her stress. I wish that everyone will be able to handle stress in the most productive way. Rather than destroying their life, they should do something creative and productive.