“In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours.” Mark Twain
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It is officially Spring! Yippee! We have so many outdoor activities planned. After this long and cold winter we certainly are not able to jump into anything outdoors just yet. There are still some piles of snow left to melt! We do however still have to keep our bodies, minds and spirits healthy, happy and joyful.
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Just because we don’t have flowers outside yet doesn’t mean we can’t indulge on the inside. Even though the days are longer and warmer there are still some cold, dark days ahead. We have to pull out all of the stops to keep our souls nourished too.
“I must have flowers, always, and always.”
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My all time favorite shop in downtown Lee, is my sister in law’s shop, Karen Keenan’s Gifts & Home. I popped in there to get a dose of spring on a very gray and rainy day. Outside it was dreary, damp and muddy ~ inside it was bright, happy and inspiring.
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Wasn’t that fun? I just felt so good after seeing all of those happy and bright colors. When I came home, I played with my new spring purchases!
First, I added some faux pussy willows to my real pussy willows. I just didn’t have enough real ones to fill my birch basket and the faux ones had the nice hint of green too. It’s a bit too early for pansies so this will be a subtle hint of Spring.
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One of my favorite, simple, little rituals is to refresh my potpourri seasonally. I feel it is a welcoming touch in my front entry to greet my guests. The one I bought is called, The Smell of Spring. It was certainly time to replace my winter/ holiday arrangement. I save the freeze dried materials, natural wood chips, pinecones etc. from year to year, and toss the shavings.
This bright and cheery dish-towel did the trick for my kitchen. This one is perfect for my color scheme! A pop of color ~ so simple yet so dramatic.
We are still wearing winter clothing right now, but won’t this scarf perk up any outfit? I am going to sport it with my new hot pink nails from Lucky Nails. Spring, Spring Spring!
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We also love clean eating, especially this time of year when we are trying to lighten our load!! In the Ayurvedic tradition spring is the time of year to shed your winter coat. Here are a few of our new clean eating recipes.
Giada’s green juice & recipe
Rise & Shine juice
5 ounces baby green spinach leaves, 2 medium carrots, 2 apples, 2 celery stalks, ½ large lemon or lime, 1 2inch piece of ginger. Process through a juice maker and pour over ice. I am in love with this fresh green juice!
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Spring rolls for dinner tonight!
Chop up all of your favorite vegetables finely into match sticks, cook your vermicelli rice noodles, and prepare your workspace. Assemble your rolls by placing the rice paper in hot water for a few seconds, placing your choice of green, I used a piece of kale with the main vein removed. Place the vermicelli and the veggies inside the green, ending with tofu or avocado on top. Roll like a burrito by rolling and tucking the sides in. I then made a peanut sauce: peanut butter, tamari, chopped garlic, minced ginger, hot sauce, and hot water. Light and clean but very satisfying.
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”It’s spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you’ve got it, you want – oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!”” ~Mark Twain
Happy spring! Thank you for coming by my blog today.