 Apple crumble dessert with vanilla ice cream. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. Something about the crisp fall air triggers the inner baker in me! In my household, apple and pumpkin pies appear in October and become staple desserts throughout the holiday season. And even though it’s a heck of a lot of work, I usually insist on making my apple pie crusts from scratch using the good old-fashioned flour and rolling pin. Sometimes, I even take it to a whole new level of insanity by creating a two-crust pie (one bottom crust and crust for the top), but on those occasions when I need a shortcut, the crumble topping makes a delicious sugary substitute. (If you’d like to see my homemade apple pie recipe, you can find it here in an older blog post from a few years back.)
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 Succulents and coleus planted in my outdoor fairy garden. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2020. As a child, I loved everything related to castles and fairy tales. The irresistible pull of the unseen world wormed its way into my psyche and never let go. The sense of wonder I felt when I imagined worlds full of magical folk like fairies, elves, gnomes, and talking animals was perhaps a way to escape a troubled childhood.  Closeup of bonsai ficus leaves. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. If you have a small bonsai ficus that has become a little unruly or has over grown its pot, today’s blog has a few tips that may help you repot that burgeoning bonsai tree! Last year I purchased a bonsai ficus retusa and over the past year it has become side heavy, leaning to one side and pulling itself out of the soil. The tree leaves themselves are flourishing and look amazing, drinking in the warm sunlight from its tranquil spot in front of my south facing window. The severe lean that is causing the roots to be exposed, however, has me concerned that this tree may soon find itself in distress. An intervention is needed!  Peace lilies in my living room. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2021. This blog article has been a long time in the making. My whole business model is based on the notion of “nature-inspired”! But does having natural and organic elements in the home make a difference in how we feel? Does it improve our mood? And why do I have such a passion for creating nature-inspired home decor?
 Homamde lavender, chamomile, and lemon potpourri. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. Nothing speaks to being calm and relaxed like the aromatic floral scent of lavender. Retail stores are filled with essential oils, incense, candles, and potpourri with the lavender scent.  My chamomile has a ladybug visitor. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. I’ll let you in on a little secret—chamomile is my favorite herb! I have to tell you, I have developed quite an infatuation with this gorgeous little flower. Two years ago, I planted chamomile in pots that eventually ended up on my back patio.
 Doorway of my fairy cottage. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2019. So, fairy gardens…Where did this charming gardening trend come from? I asked myself this very question as I worked on my annual spring gardening and faux floral projects. For the past few years, I’ve been experimenting with fairy houses and fairy gardens—both for indoor and outdoor use—but until now, it never occurred to me to consider the origins and the meaning behind the miniature garden trend. So I did a little digging (no pun intended), and here’s what I learned…  Mint growing in my garden. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2021. A few years back, I bought this packet of mint seeds to plant in my yard for fresh mint. Not only did I have no idea how to grow mint, but there was no thought given to how I would use the stuff when it started to grow…and grow it did! So, the first thing you should know is that mint is prolific! No, seriously, you'll have to keep on top of it so this plant doesn’t spread all over your yard. But it needs little care to keep it alive, and you get a lot of it for whatever uses you have in mind. Which brings me to my second point…What can you do with fresh mint?
 My cherry tomatoes from last year. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2021. Last year, I grew tomato and cucumber seedlings in styrofoam cups on my kitchen's southwest windowsill. After a couple of weeks, they were a couple of inches tall! My cucumbers are once again rapidly growing. This year's cucumber and tomato seedlings (along with other herb seedlings) are sitting on my living room windowsill, which roughly faces southwest.  This year's seedlings growing on my windowsill. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. So this year, I'm sharing my gardening journey, pitfalls, mistakes, triumphs, and tips. This will probably be the first in a series of articles following my journey from planting the seeds to using my homegrown vegetables in recipes.  Mint in my back garden. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2021. Herbs…They are fun to grow AND useful for many things! This spring's goal is to increase the variety of my existing indoor and outdoor herbs. A second—but equally important—goal is to learn more about the care of these plants so I can get the most out of the growing experience.  Finished upholstered dining room arm chair. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. It’s been a year since we bought our dining room set from an upscale consignment shop in our area. It’s a beautiful set, but the chair upholstery was not looking its best. I tried cleaning it (I even did a blog about it last year), but ultimately, I was unhappy with the fabric. Anyway, the padding is so worn it feels like you’re sitting on a board--time for a reupholstery project!  Pots with planted seeds sitting on my windowsill facing southwest. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. Over the years, I have looked forward to planting seeds indoors. I love watching the fragile green seedlings push their way up through the moist soil and begin to sprout. We live in a rental home, so digging up the yard is not an option and limits my ability to grow vegetables and herbs. We have a small raised garden for growing mint, sage, and chives, and there are also usually a few containers on the back patio where herbs like cilantro, parsley, dill, and chamomile grow over the spring and summer. So this year, I wanted to plant more herbs in containers, with the idea that they can be placed outdoors on the patio or indoors on a windowsill, keeping my houseplants company.  Upclose view of faux orchids. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. It's springtime! Time to make another faux floral design for my front door wreath. Every season, I re-use a pre-made wreath base, which serves as a template for whatever seasonal floral design I want. I couldn’t tell you where I got this old wreath from—I’ve had it so long now! The twisted vines conveniently allow me to insert stems into gaps between the entangled branches. Most of the time, the stems stay in place, but occasionally, floral wire is needed for extra stability. (Because I change out florals for this wreath, I never use glue.)  Wrap with green pepper, onion, tomato, chicken, and shredded cheese. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. I’ve decided March will be the month I start thinking about a healthier me. Part of that equation means planning healthy meals that will help lower my cholesterol and help me lose weight. I remembered I used to make a lot of chicken with roasted veg. There are so many variations of this recipe that work well. You could add potatoes, carrots, broccoli, or any vegetable you prefer.  Easter Bunny and pastel eggs in my spring vignette. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. This spring season, I decided to take a different approach to decorating the two spaces in my dining room, where I generally create vignettes. I stripped everything decorative out of the room so I could start with a blank slate and a clear mind. I wanted my dining room decor to reflect my tastes and personality. I placed every item slowly and thoughtfully. As an artist and designer, I love intricate details, but I also like things minimal and streamlined. The two sides of my brain sometimes conflict! But this time, the compromise was sheer perfection! The balance is perfect and illustrates my style while showcasing things that are important to me. So, I thought I’d share my process and a few tips I learned along the way…
 My spring Fairy Cottage and indoor garden with whitefaux florals and fairy lights. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. I’m officially obsessed with handcrafted fairy houses and indoor fairy gardens! They are now staples for my seasonal decor! I take advantage of every opportunity to switch out the miniature decor and faux florals to reflect the seasons and—sometimes—holidays. So far, I have two styles, but I have a few ideas for some new designs (finally), which I plan to work on in the next month or so, so stay tuned!
 My new pothos plant recently misted. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. A couple of months ago, I bought this gorgeous little pothos plant from my local home and garden store that had too little soil in too small a pot. So I knew the poor thing would need to be repotted sooner rather than later. Now that the warmer weather has arrived, it’s time to give this struggling plant baby a better plot of earth.  Salmon chowder cooking in a pot. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. I’ve wanted to make seafood chowder for a while now. I was planning on making clam chowder, but I came across this recipe for salmon chowder and thought I’d try it. This ended up being an easy meal, and the ingredients weren’t too expensive either, which is a major plus these days with the high cost of food. As usual, I roughly doubled the ingredients because I had to feed a family of five. This time around was a bit of an experiment, and—though this turned out delicious—I’m going to admit up front that I needed maybe one or two more cans of salmon to get the full flavor. So here goes…  My finished Irish Potato candies. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. Yep. It’s that time of year again…St. Paddy’s Day. And my family would disown me if I didn’t make my yearly homemade Irish Potatoes! (Well, I certainly hope not!) So what are Irish Potatoes, you may ask? According to Eater, this candy was never actually made in Ireland but originated (probably) somewhere in the Philadelphia area, in the southeastern part of Pennsylvania in the late 1800s. The Irish immigrants of the time seem to have invented this VERY sweet candy that looks like miniature potatoes, hence the name. The recipe I typically use as a reference can be found on AllRecipes.com. I modified this recipe a wee bit and doubled the recipe to satisfy a family of five. Ready to get your hands messy? Here goes…  Bathroom vignette with apothecary jars, river rocks, taupe towels, and a snake plant. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022. This month, I decided to give our master bathroom a spring makeover. To say it needed a “refresh” is an understatement. Truthfully, there wasn’t much there to “refresh”! I didn’t take “before” pictures because it was too embarrassing to share, but here’s a quick overview of the design issues I had to address… |
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