For some of us these last few months, not to mention the last full year, has been a lot. We have all been touched by sickness in some way; we have all had to reel again and again from heartbreaking news, noise, and yes, even nonsense. So for this Friday Favorites, I am including some of the things that bring a bit of beauty and joy into my everyday life!
Beauty of Pretty Things:: May Designs Journals & Calendars
Purchasing May Designs calendar and journals are yearly gifts to myself! I always spend hours choosing the design I hope will signify the year or season and bring a little beauty to my days. I mull over which monogram or font to choose for my name. I try to figure out if I want to match my journal to my calendar or be outside of the box and choose completely different patterns. Recently, I moved over to using the calendar on my phone more, but my paper calendar still makes me happier. What I love about May Designs is that it’s individualized and custom, which makes this Enneagram 4 happy. They come in various sizes, but easily fit in any bag. Check out May Designs and let me know which notebook, agenda, phone case or stationery you would choose!
Beauty in Easy Gardening:: Mesclun Greens
Ok, so like everyone and their mother last year, I also started a garden. I planted cucumbers and cantaloupe, and lots of herbs. Everything was growing nicely, but unfortunately, our yard backs up to a field, and well, the field mice liked all of our veggies more than we did. I did grow quite a bit of basil, plus some mint which were perfect for mojitos {see below for my recipe}. The one veggie the mice didn’t touch, however, was the Mesclun mix. I planted the mix of salad leaves that include leaf lettuce, endive, arugula and more. It grows fairly soon after planting and once it reaches a certain height, you gather the leaves, cut them close to the bottom, and in a few weeks that same bunch will have more leaves for your yummy summer salads {oh and yeah, they even survived Winterfest ’21!}. Get your seeds here!
Beauty in Hydrating:: Brew La La Tea
I found these teas at my local HomeGoods and they are the bees knees. They are perfect for our daily Tea Times! I am also trying to drink a bit more water throughout the day, and to jazz it up, I throw in a Brew La La tea, no sugar, lots of ice and it is so yummy. They have all kinds of yummy flavors, like Ginger Peach, Cinnamon Apple and Hibiscus, are organic and come in these super cute tin boxes. You can check out all the teas and order on their website, there are a few to choose from on Amazon, or you can also try your local TJMaxx/HomeGoods stores too!
Beauty on my Porch:: Knock out Roses
You probably have seen Knock Out roses everywhere in the Houston area because they are a very popular rose, plus durable in our high heats and crazy weather. I love our knock out roses because, since I am a mom and have little time to take care of anything more than my people and myself, these roses work! They aren’t needy and they bloom throughout the year and pruning is minimal. In fact, they are the only plants that survived Winterfest ’21. They come in yellow, pink and red and well, who doesn’t “luve…a red, red rose that’s newly sprung in June.” {I am so glad my expensive degree in English Lit is always useful; also, shout out to Poet Robert Burns}.
Beauty of 5 O’clock Somewhere::The easiest and yummiest Mojito Recipe Ever
Mmmkay, this is why ya’ll are here! This recipe, of which I have tried many, is easy and the only and best reason for why you should plant mint in your herb garden {because what else is mint used for?!?}. The Summer of Mojitos is near! So, first you need some cute mojito glasses and a muddler, check out this set here. As far as ingredients…
White Rum
Mint Leaves
Limes
Sugar
Club Soda {Topo Chico is yummy}
Ice
How to make the Perfect Mojito {makes 1 cocktail}::
Cut a small lime wedge and about 8-10 mint leaves and put them in the glass. Muddle the leaves and lime wedge. Add about a tbsp. of sugar {to taste} and a couple more lime wedges or 2 tbsp. of lime juice. Muddle again. If I can smell the mint and lime really nicely, I know it’s good. Fill the glass with ice, pour in 1 ½ ounces of white rum, then fill the rest with club soda and stir. That is the BEST Mojito ever! *You can Add more sugar for more sweetness. You can also substitute Simple Syrup for Sugar instead according to your sweetness liking.
Ok, head out to your pool, baby pool, sprinklers, whatever, put on some coconut tanning oil and pretend you are in Miami! Is it summer yet???
Celebrating Cinco de Mayo With Preschoolers– Check out these great ideas for celebrating Cinco de Mayo with preschoolers! We’ve got books to teach history, food, and music covered!
2021 Houston Vacation Bible School {VBS} Guide– Making plans for the summer? We’ve got a comprehensive guide to the 2021 Houston area Vacation Bible School {VBS} programs.
Reflections of a First Year Teacher:: The The Things I Didn’t Know– You are reading the ramblings of a first year teacher, and good gracious, my appreciation for teachers has increased exponentially.
All My Single Mamas:: How to Treat Yo’ Self This Mother’s Day– You are reading the ramblings of a first year teacher, and good gracious, my appreciation for teachers has increased exponentially.
Foster Faux Pas:: What Not to Say– Foster parents are often on the receiving end of invasive, inappropriate questions. Here’s what not to say and ask to the foster parents in your life.
– We can’t wait to see you around town this month! May is also Women’s Health Month. UTMB and Houston Moms encourages you to take care of YOU this month!
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