We LOVE all things gnome here. i recently had the opportunity to review this adorable children's book about a Gnome or Tomte, and am excited to tell you about it. Gnomes are also known as a Tomte or Nisse. Not many people have seen them because they are very shy and live in the woods.
For centuries these legendary gnomes have guarded farms and families in Scandinavia year-round, especially children and animals. This book is about Allen and his magical experience with a Nordic Gnome.
This is a sweet little children's book that introduces you to the magic of the Tomte. It is a simple story, great for young children and early readers. It is beautifully illustrated and is a tie-in to the adorable handmade gnomes that are also available for sale.
These adorable plush gnomes are available in several different colors and styles. Each gnome is individually handmade with wool and lots of love!
They would be so adorable appearing in a child's stocking, or next to the tree on Yule/Christmas morning, after having read the book the night before.
The story of Allen and the Nordic Gnome is currently available for sale on amazon. It's $5.99 for the kindle version and $12.99 for paperback.
The Gnomes can be purchased for between $16.99 and $28.99 depending on style. You can find the full selection here.
These are just so cute and a perfect decoration for the Winter Solstice.
*i received the ebook at no cost in exchange for reviewing it and sharing the link on my blog. i was not compensated.
Creating fairy gardens is my new favorite thing! We have made them in the past, just using natural materials we found around the yard. Every spring my girl and i collect moss., bark and acorn caps, and put together some fairy gardens outside.
A few weeks ago, when it was still too cold to play outside, i stumbled upon a bunch of adorable fairy garden accessories at the local Dollar Tree. They had little fairy and gnome houses, bridges, benches and little accessory packs that had 3 items per package. i think i spend a whopping $10 and had enough supplies to make numerous fairy gardens.
The first one we made i just used an old pot i already had. It's actually a recycled fairy garden, that we created last year. We collected new moss and woodland plants for it. Then added our cute accessories. i had the intention of adding some succulents and other plants once the garden centers are stocked, but haven't yet. We did add a few crystals and pretty rocks too.
i bought this pot specifically to repot my Aloe which had outgrown it's pot. However, the cats kept digging in the soil since it was so exposed, so we ended up building a fairy garden around it. The hen and chick succulents came from my garden, and the other plants and moss came from the woods. i loved how this one turned out so much that i bought another of the same pot to make another fairy garden.
i was playing around in the glass shop a few weeks ago and made this super cute gnome, who took up residence in this fairy garden. A couple days ago i decided to try making a mushroom to go with him. It didn't turn out great (the white boiled), but it was fun and i'm definitely going to try making some more!
The same day i bought this pot, i stopped at the garden center and found all these succulents on sale. So i picked up a few and created another fairy garden, this time with gnomes. :) The moss is very to care for, it just needs to be misted every day so it stays moist.
Last year all of my fairy gardens were created in these glass globes. So i added one of the fairies to this one.
Over the weekend, my daughter and i started putting together this huge fairy garden! Right now it has a lot of moss and woodland plants that we collected from the woods, but i plan to add more flowers and low/ground cover types of plants.
i'm super thrilled with how this one is turning out, i just need to figure out a way to keep the chickens out of it! They insist on pulling out the moss. We added a bunch of rocks, so hopefully that will deter them a little bit. We also added some dried seed pods and acorns. We are constantly adding to them.
i ended up with some neat woodland plants that were attached to some of the moss we collected. i think they look great!
If you visit Pintrest, you'll find a million different ways to create fairy gardens. There is so much neat inspiration and clever ideas. Fairy garden accessories are popping up everywhere! i've seen them at Michael's craft store, Dollar tree, Family dollar, JoAnn Fabrics and even Biglots. You can purchase your accessories of make your own. The possibilities are endless!
LuLaRoe seems to be the hottest trend right now! Everywhere i look i see women sporting leggings in bold and wild patterns. i admit, i don't really get it. i'm not a leggings person at all. In fact, i'm on the 'leggings are not pants' team. lol. That being said, i do understand how comfortable they are and they really can look cute when worn under a dress or long tunic.
When my friend Nicole approached me about reviewing a pair of LuLaRoe on my blog, i was hesitant at first, because they are just not my thing. So i asked her if instead she would want to do a giveaway, that way someone who actually wears leggings would receive a pair. even though they are not really my thing, she is an awesome lady and i'm happy to help her promote her business.
She still wanted to have me do the review so she sent a pair to my girl. My daughter is completely in love with them. They have this crazy video game print, and she just happened to have a minecraft shirt that almost matches perfectly. The shirt is longer in the back, so her bum is covered. ;) The fabric on these is amazingly soft. i've heard it described and buttery soft, and that's a pretty good description.
In an effort to learn the story behind LulaRoe, i explored their official website a bit and found that they sell more than just wild print leggings. They actually have some very pretty dresses, skirts and i LOVE the Sarah Cardigan. They do have some crazy patterns, but they also are available in solid prints.
Nicole does a great job of putting together cute outfits and matching up sets. She really knows her stuff! She is very passionate about LuLaRoe and really does a great job with her online parties and promotions! Her next party is April 9th at 7pm here!
i'm super proud of her and excited to be helping promote her business and offering a LuLaroe giveaway to all of you. i really do like that LuLaRoe was started by a mom, and helps to empower other women. 'I believe in you' and 'you can do it' are the basic principles guiding LuLaRoe today.
One lucky winner will receive a surprise pair of LuLaRoe leggings! You tell me your size and Nicole will pick the pair!
*The mandatory entries are to join Nicole's FB party group and Follow her on Instagram and leave a comment on this Blog post letting me know which you did.
Since i realize not everyone is on FB and Instagram, you can do either one as the mandatory and get extra entries if you do both. If you do not do one or the other, your other entries will be void. Use the Rafflecopter below to enter.
It is officially spring here in the Blue Ridge mountains! We had a cold front come through a few weeks ago that froze many of the peach blossoms and daffodils, thankfully it didn't get them all.
This peach tree is in full bloom and the bees have arrived! As soon as i step out the door i can here the buzzing.
Seeds have been started in the greenhouse and i have tomatoes already coming up. i also have all my cold crops started, broccoli planted under row covers and a tunnel with spinach and mixes leaf lettuces. Spring garlic and peas are already in the ground.
So many little seedlings starting to sprout under the tunnels. Our frost free date here isn't until May, so it's good to keep these delicate seedlings protected a little while longer.
i started peas in the greenhouse and just recently moved them outside. i also have 3 rows planted from seed, that haven't started coming up yet. i planted a fun variety of sugar snaps this year. If they all survive, i should have green, yellow, blush and purple. i'm excited to try out these new varieties. i planted the Blush last year and loved them. They were gorgeous and tasty!
Goat field is greening up, and the goats are happy to be out snacking on all the weeds popping up.
My hens are laying full force, and all the chicks that were hatched last fall are laying now. i have a bit of green egg mystery going on now. My two olive eggers lay the dark olive egg, but just this week i started finding these light mint colored eggs. i have no idea who is laying them. There is a small chance my rescue hen Lolo, is laying them as she is an Easter Egger. i haven't caught her laying though, and when i took her in i was told she doesn't lay. Very curious. i hope i get it figured out soon!
The lettuce i started in my greenhouse has really started to come in the last few weeks. i'm finally able to harvest a bit of it. i was hoping to keep it growing all winter so we could have fresh salads year round, but we hit a couple really cold spells and without heat in the greenhouse even the cold tolerant crops ended up dying.
This year i hope to do better and get some type of heat source in there in the fall to keep things going. My tomatoes survived almost until December without heat in the green house, i'm sure i could have kept them going another month or two.
As always i'm super excited about the spring and garden season and will try to document our progress each step of the way. We have a lot of exciting changes coming this year, and i can't wait to share them with all of you!
There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling. ~Mirabel Osler
SunRype USA is excited to announce our collaboration of the upcoming #Disneynature film #BornInChina opening in Theatres April 21st – Earth Day!
My family are animal lovers and have always loved nature documentaries. We are all very excited about this film!
Disneynature, in its ongoing quest to bring the natural world to the big screen as never before, is presenting its most ambitious project yet. They are taking moviegoers on a grand journey into the wilds of China. “Born In China” follows the adventures of three animal families – the majestic panda, the savvy golden monkey and the elusive snow leopard. i think the trailer looks fantastic! We can't wait to see it!
SunRype has re-launched their entire snack bar portfolio to be gluten-free, peanut-free, kosher and vegan within the past year, and are excited to be collaborating with Disney who shares their passion for health and wellness. Together, they hope to help deliver fun, educational and nutritional information around the power of healthy eating to individuals and families across North America.
SunRype sent me a case of their fruit & Chia bars, and a case of their Fruit on the go bars to sample. They are both delicious. The fruit & Chia bars contain fruit pieces and purees, brown rice syrup and flour, gluten-free rolled oats and oat flower, sunflower, flax and chia seeds, unsweetened coconut, molasses, sunflower oil and sea salt! They are chewy like a soft granola bar, but also have a bit of crunch from the seeds and are sweet from the dried fruits and molasses. My kids absolutely love these!
The Fruit to Go bars are like fruit leather. They are 100% fruit strips that contain apple puree concentrate, apple, pear, elderberry, strawberry, watermelon and lemon juice concentrate, citrus pectin, citric acid and natural flavor. All the sugar in these comes naturally from the fruit and juices.
The only thing i would change with them, is that i'd like to see them using organic ingredients (which is a personal preference), also they are a bit sticky, which can leave little hands sticky. i LOVE that they contain so much fruit and are gluten-free, peanut-free and vegan. So many schools are peanut free these days, that it's really nice to find healthy snacks that are peanut free.
Disney’s commitment to health and wellness dates back to 2006, when the company became the first major media company to establish a Nutrition Guideline Policy to associate its brands with a more nutritious portfolio of foods and beverages. The company has since marked every year of its Healthy Living Commitment with significant milestones, such as becoming the first major media company to launch food advertising standards for children, launching new content and experiences that inspire healthier lifestyles
Along with this collaboration SunRype is running a Sweepstakes starting March 13th - May 31, 2017 for chances to win great Born In China Prize packages, including an early bird private screening prize package for up to 150 people (Draw Date: April 3) and weekly Prize Packages that include 4 movie tickets, a plush panda and SunRype Snacks!
*No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. See official rules for details. To enter the sweepstakes, you can ENTER HERE. *NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. The sweepstakes begins on March 13, 2017 at 8:00am PT and ends on May 31, 2017, at midnight PT. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. or D.C. who are 18 years of age or older. The sweeps can be entered ONCE PER DAY. Find a full list of the prizes available to be won, how to enter, odds of winning and drawing dates along with the full rules and regulations at www.facebook.com/SunRypeUSA. Void where prohibited.
