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My husband and I have been living in our house for just over 365 days. Last year, when we moved in, our 1/2 acre of property was already covered in warm-hued leaves; the trees were bare. Because we didn’t have a rake — or very much time — we hired a lawn care company to do a Fall clean-up. They mowed and raked and tidied up our property in just a couple of hours.

This year, I watched in dread as the leaves began falling off the trees. J and I decided that we would play the roles of responsible homeowners and not spend the extra money for somebody else to do our dirty work. When there was an adequate amount of leaves blanketing the lawn, we woke up early on a Sunday and began tackling the front yard. We got a quarter of the way through before we had to abandon our project for other plans. A couple of days later we did another quarter of the front yard. It took a little over an hour, but when we were finished, half of our front lawn was clean.

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Forty-eight hours later, you couldn’t even tell where we had raked. More leaves had abandoned their branches.

Like most couples, I imagine, my husband and I really only spend quality time together in the evenings and on the weekends. Occasionally I have to work on Sundays, so we don’t always have full weekends together. If we were to rake and clean our entire property, it would take one whole exhausting day, maybe two. In the words of Carrie Bradshaw, I can’t help but wonder: Is it worth it to spend the rare time we have together sweating it out in the yard? Or would our time be better spent if we shelled out the cash for somebody else to rake?

We aren’t rich by any stretch of the imagination. We try to live comfortably within our means. It is extravagant to hire a lawn care service to tend to our yard? Or is it a good use of our time and money? What do you think?

Is it just me or does it seem like this year is flying by at record speed? How can it be November already? And more importantly, how can it be pitch black by 5:30 pm these days?

I’ve always been a Mid-western girl and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Although you might hear me gripe and complain from approximately November through April (because that is truly how long a bitter Wisconsin winter lasts up here), I would never trade the full four seasons we get for anything. Sure, I’m sure it’s absolutely fabulous to live in a climate that is temperate all year round with sun shining and warm weather. I’m supremely jealous of you if this is your climate but then again, I love the fact that we get the variety of Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall up here. Yes, certain seasons are a little more intense than others but no place is perfect, right? No matter what, I try to make a conscious effort to enjoy the seasons in all of their glory, breathing fresh air and remembering to stop and look around at nature every now and then. It’s pretty amazing sometimes, isn’t it?

The fact that fall is upon us and Christmas season is rapidly approaching made me think about how I’ve owned my d-SLR camera for nearly a whole year now. Which means I’ve diligently taken photos of every season in all of it’s glory. I thought it would be fun to summarize each season into three photos, which epitomize the feeling of the four seasons. So here we go:

WINTER:

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…(whilst still remaining in London)…

This afternoon there were lots of things I should have been doing: applying for jobs, de-cluttering the flat, making the cinnamon whirls I have had the recipe for on the kitchen counter for over a week. In fact, the list is endless. But the autumnal light was too much, was too orange, too hard to resist and so I decided to take the afternoon off. To go for a walk & to find some peace and quiet. Which in London, is not always the easiest thing to find.

In fact, despite the fact that we have so many parks, there is really only one place which I want to go in the autumn when the light is like today. And that is Hampstead Heath. The park next to the parkland of a country home, it is one of the highest points in London and has a view over the city which is protected from development.

I went with a teaching friend who is on holiday from school this week on half-term. We walked in the orangey light of the late afternoon, across the grassy field full of people walking dogs, past the swimming lakes and up onto Parliament Hill. We walked side by side but in near silence, drinking in the light and the silence, broken only by the occasional chatter of tiny children and the barking of all the dogs being walked. We stood for a while looking over London and watching the sun creep lower in the sky before turning and returning to the bustle of the city, refreshed and relaxed.

One of the best Monday afternoons I have had in a long time.

How do you get away from it all?

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When I packed up for college - headed to North Carolina from Austin, Texas - I was looking forward to lots of things.  One of them (lame enough) was seasons!  Changing leaves and snowfall were foreign concepts to me, and I was thrilled to sport my meager winter wardrobe for months at a time, as opposed to three days out of the year.  Actually, “Boys in Sweaters” ranked pretty high up on the “Pros Column” when selecting Wake Forest University as my undergrad alma matter, if I remember correctly.

But people kept mentioning the rain.  ”Oh its rainy up there - pack your umbrella!”  ”Do you have a good raincoat?  North Carolina sees a lot of wet weather!”  Um, okay silly adults, I’m from Texas, remember?  I’ve been practicing tornado drills since kindergarten and survived some pretty severe thunderstorms… I’m pretty sure I can handle “the wet season.”  Bring it, North Carolina.

Yes, well.  By October, my foot was planted firmly in my mouth as rain - from drizzle to downpour - continued for days on end.  Some days, I felt like Forest Gump and Bubbah… hard rain, soft rain, sideways rain, upside-down rain - on and on and on!  And it was cold!  By Christmas-List-Making-Time, I was coveting the Northfaces that seemed standard fare for my South-Eastern classmates, and something nearly identical to this topped my wish-list.

Ever the practical shopper, my mom found a coat she claimed to be “the Northface’s twin!”  You won’t even know the difference, she promised.  I took the woman at her word… and subsequently walked around campus like this for several months a year for the next four years:

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As you may or may not know, my husband and I are currently living in a tiny 2-bedroom apartment (shared with our two cats, Mike and Butters).  We have no outdoor space, save for our tiny patio and lil’ windowboxes, which don’t provide us with much gardening opportunity.

As someone who grew up in a home with lots of garden space and a little “plot” of my own, it’s heartbreaking for me to not have a bit of dirt.  Thus, it’s become our goal in the next year to have a truly viable spot of land on which we can grow things.  Along these lines, I was reading the WSJ yesterday (no, this is not a habit of mine, though it probably should be) and stumbled upon an article on composting.

{Photo via greenbudget}

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I feel most privileged and honored to have been let in on the best-kept camping secret ever by a new friend of ours, and I’m so excited to share it with you now. Allow me to introduce…hobo eclairs!

So you take a broomstick (clean and unpainted, of course) and rub the end of it generously with a stick of butter. Then take a square of Pillsbury crescent dough (2 perforated triangles together) and wrap it around the end of the broomstick, making sure that the end is sealed. Roast it slowly over the campfire until it’s puffy and golden brown. Make sure you don’t get engrossed in conversation and let it burn!

Once it’s cooked, let it cool for a minute or so, then slide the cooked dough off the stick. Squirt a healthy dose of whipped cream inside, then drizzle (on top or inside) with chocolate syrup.

Brilliant, right?

My favourite six months of the year start in June and end up round about my birthday at the start of January. I love early summer and the excitement of the end of term, even though I don’t work in terms any more. I love summer drinks parties & balls & weddings. I love how it is usually hot in June and this year was no exception: a heat wave started on the day of our wedding and lasted for three whole weeks. I love the long drawn out evenings when swallows and bats start swooping around in the bluing sky. I love weekends sat in pub gardens, or the park, or lately, our own garden. Of the air ringing with conversation, with laughter. The taste of salt in the air, and on your face, of sand in the eyebrows and sun warmed skin after a day spent surfing, sailing or merely sunbathing. Of shorts, of flat leather sandals, of cold beer and cold Riesling and pimms and champagne and ginger beer.

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My neighbor Leigh built this amazing potted herb garden in her backyard and I asked her to share! She found a similar project at Ikea, but decided to DIY her own version. She’s pretty handy around the house, and if I ever needed a repair done she’s the first person I would call for help.

Materials:
2 landscaping timbers, cut to 6 feet each
1 6×2×12 board, cut into two  6 foot pieces
8 3 inch wood screws
10-20 screws (depending on type of pot rings)
10 7″ pots
10 6″ pot rings

Instructions:
Lay timbers on flat surface approximately 6 feet apart.
Lay 2×6 boards perpendicular over timbers approximately 3 feet apart.
Use screws to affix boards to timbers, 2 per board.
Prime and paint with preferred color (optional).
Once dry, layout and affix pot rings 5 per board, approximately 10″ apart.
Select garden location.
Dig two one foot post holes 5 1/2 feet apart.
Place structure into holes and use level to make sure structure is straight.
Pack dirt around post to secure (for more stability, you can use concrete).
Select herbs or flowers, plant in pots, place in rings and enjoy!

Originally posted on Honeysuckle Life

This post goes out to those of you who have always wanted to grow your own food, but haven’t gotten around to it or don’t know how.  I’m here to tell you that if I can do it, you can too (I’m the klutziest, and some might say laziest, girl around).  It’s healthy, gratifying, and fun, with a high return on your investment. That’s my kind of hobby.

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Shopping list:

• Pots (optional, see below)
• Potting soil
• Seedlings
• Fertilizer and/or compost
• Stakes or cages (optional)
• Gloves (optional)
• Trowel or small shovel

DISCLAIMER:  This method may not be the textbook way… but that wouldn’t be any fun, would it?

There’s no magic formula, but here’s the recipe that’s helped me find success. Most importantly, you need a sunny spot (at least 6-8 hours of sunshine per day in the summer).  Use your gut about whether the ground looks like a hospitable environment for baby veggie plants.  If not, you have 2 options: either buy some nice big pots and a few bags of potting soil, or just buy the soil and dump it on the ground on top of the inhospitable soil. It’s cheating, but I’ve seen it work.

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This Memorial Day, perhaps I’ll lounge in a modern cabana.

Float in a Gianyar pool.

Get a fabulous massage.

Or just finish a great book.

What are your plans for Memorial Day?