May Baskets, New Vignettes, and This Week's Spring Cleaning Commitment

Beautiful, precious, sweet things bring so much joy to my day when I look at them or display them...Yesterday I got this beautiful teacup. I LOVE it. And as if it could get any sweeter, I realized when I got home that it matches the PERFECT teapot my mom gave me for my birtday (you can see it in the background). Thank goodness for the simple loveliness in life...



Here is a little woodland vignette I created this weekend in my kitchen above my sink. I used some of the left over flowers from making May Baskets (see below) on May Day (Beltane) and the most precious, amazing little ceramic mushrooms that my dear friend Gabriela sent me for my birthday. They are the cutest ever!



Also very dear to my heart is this little heart bowl that Gabby MADE for me!! What a treasure! I will have it forever, and then pass it down...

My Dad gave me this little antique cast-iron sea gull that belonged to my great-grandmother. She loved birds and nature, and had many of the same interests I have.

He also gave me this little vintage bird vase that belonged to my great-Grammy as well..

Here is Spoof sitting with my new little collection of antique gardening books given to me by Preston's mom's sweetheart John. They are all still in their original jackets! :)



May 1st was Beltane, or May Day. I love celebrating the earth, and all of its changes and seasons and all they symbolize. Here is my little altar/coffee table decoration for May 1st...

I woke up on May Day buzzing with excitement to create May Baskets to leave for my neighbors. After a few minutes of heartstorming their design, this is what I came up with. I love how they came out, and as I spent the morning making them and delivering them I was so filled with passion and joy and I felt so on purpose. I love giving gifts for no reason. It sets me on fire!! I know I need to use my creativity more to make suprise gifts for others. I am so happy when I am creating!! I loved their design so much that I'm also thinking about selling the baskets as wedding/party decorations . Here they are....

I made the baskets out of used Whole Foods grocery bags inside out, and adorned them with ribbons...

I found the most wonderful flowers to fill the baskets with. They had a wild and woodland look about them...like a fairy gathered them...that was what I was going for...

The heart hanging on the side reads, "Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet, and the winds long to play with your hair" ~Kahlil Gibran (One of my favorite quotes)

I added a bit of moss as well around the top...

And then I delivered them... I was very sneaky, though, somehow a few neighbors guessed it was me and I got phone calls later. I must be putting off the fairy vibe. I told them it was the May Fairy.

This Week's Spring Cleaning Commitment Challenge:

My Spring Cleaning Commitment for this last week was to clean out/organize my junk drawer, and I am happy to report that I did it!! Now the drawer opens, and I can acutally get the things I need without digging... *sigh*

How did you do with this week's commitment to yourself? What will your new commitment for this week be? Leave a comment!

This week I commit to cleaning out/organizing the medicine cabinet and under-sink cabinets in my bathroom. We have a teeny-tiny little bathroom and everything bathroom related goes into that one medicine cabinet and under sink cabinet. So you can imagine that after over a year without attention, well, need I say more? Its a mess. I will be so happy to have it back in order.

Have a wonderful week, and Blessed Spring!

Love,

Abbey

Spring Cleaning Commitment Challenge--Join Me!!

As spring draws near, I begin to feel it within me. Its almost as if little sprouts of life are beginning to move within my soul. It is a kind of awakening that happens within us if we pay close attention. It is a stirring. For me, it is a breath of fresh air both literally and symbolically, inviting me to emerge from a wintery hibernation, and step into the sunshine of my own inspiration and new beginnings...


Perhaps this is why I cherish nests with eggs so much. (If you've been to Love's Garden or my house lately, you've seen evidence of it everywhere :)) I love them and all they symbolize. So much potentiality cradled and nurtured within.

I love summer. I love that warm and perfect day when I can pull out my sun dresses from the depths of my closet and finally wear one, bare-footed in the yard. I love the comfort of the warm days, the excitement of harvesting greens from the garden for dinner, the joy of coming home after a day's work to set up the sprinkler and watch the setting sun sparkle through the drops of water. I love the hummingbirds zipping through the yard, and the freedom and feeling as though you could stay up into the warm night and do anything.


Spring is the awakening that leads to the promise of summer. The promise of inspiration, energy, motivation, and new creation.


I love that when springtime begins to stir within me, I feel so much HOPE. It is a new beginning with new possibility of what I might be. Of what I might create. Of what I can become.


I feel such a new beginning deserves sacred space for its unfoldment.


And I believe this is why people feel the urge for "spring cleaning" this time of year. A chance once again to clear out the old, to make room for the fresh, the new. A chance to swing open the windows of our homes, and hearts.

We must remember that our physical experience of life is often an expression of our inner world. Our yearnings to clear out the old in our physical world, is often a great opportunity to clear out what no longer serves us in our inner world to make room for our new visions, dreams and creations. As we clean and organize our space we set new intention for our life. We honor and make room for new beauty.


And so now, Spring has arrived here in the canyon. Everywhere I look I can see little green buds, and sunlight shining on bright, tiny, chartreuse leaves. Flowers are popping up around our neighborhood. Amazing pink and white blossoms cover trees and if you pay attention you see that they are covered in hundreds of bees hard at work, buzzing away. I love to see the bees so busy at work, living out their purpose so well in harmony with everything else.

Now that Spring is really here, I am ready to begin my work, and my "Spring Cleaning Journey". Yes, its easy to feel that inner urge to go through the closets, to wash the windows and baseboards, and to venture into the depths of the junk drawer, but to actually make time for those things? That is another story. It is a story of commitment and ultimately, of Self-Love. Let me elaborate...

What I've found in my life, is that cleaning and caring for my home environment goes right along with Self -Care, and Self-Love.


When I speak of Self-Love, I am referring to a healthy, unconditional Love for yourself, practicing self- forgiveness and acceptance and honoring and respecting yourself on all levels of Being. When we choose to love ourselves fully, or at least choose to live with an intention to Love ourselves fully, we will be more able to give of ourselves and to serve others, we will be happier and live more on purpose as the greatest and most fulfilled version of ourselves.


When I speak of Self Love I am speaking of Self -care on all levels of Being such as :


Caring for yourself Physically (making loving choices for yourself through what foods you choose to eat, and exercising regularly in a way that is enjoyable and challenging yourself to gently push beyond your own "boundaries", learning to manage our time wisely so that we make time for physical activity, plenty of rest, and our purpose work and soul's yearnings, and caring for our physical environment so that it is a place that nurtures our soul and houses the happenings of our lives in a way that truly supports us, not burdens us)

And caring for yourself Mentally (taking charge of your thoughts about yourself and your world, ensuring that they are positive and uplifting as much as possible, and perhaps simple, quiet times of meditation and reflection to put a busy mind at ease, and perhaps using positve affirmations to change those negative thought patterns that have been holding us back for so long.)

And caring for yourself Emotionally (being sure to listen to your own inner voice, and allow your feelings to be expressed rather than repressed, and giving yourself time and space to process all of life's experiences and emotions; breathing and paying attention to your inner world, and most importantly Allowing Love. Receiving Love.)

And of course, caring for yourself Spiritually--caring for your spirit--your own inner essence-- whatever that may mean for you (perhaps through meditation, writing, dreaming, praying, breathing, dancing, singing, making art, laughing, walking in nature, bathing, finding community and support, and very importantly-- discovering your purpose and devoting regular time and energy to what makes you most passionate and ignites feelings of true joy, etc.)

I have found what I choose to call "Home-Care" instead of "chores" or "housework" seems to be a very important part of Self-Care. And as with all things that fall under the umbrella of Self-Care, it is a choice. And for me, choosing to make time for Home Care and Spring Cleaning is an act of Self-Love. It is a bold statement I am making to myself that "I care enough for you to commit to what is important to you, and to commit to caring for the environment you spend your time in. I care enough about you, that I am listening to your inner nudges to care for your space, because I know that the clean space I am creating makes room for new blessings to flow into your life" Something like that :) It is a commitment. And a choice. And I believe that making this choice cultivates feelings of being loved. And when we feel loved, we are so much more stable, and able to do what is ours to do in this world.

So here's my plan:

I am going to make the intention to commit to my own special Home-Care projects and I want to invite you to join me by making your own personal Home-Care and Self-Care commitments for the season of Spring. Your commitments can be anything you want them to be--from odd cleaning and organizing jobs around your house, garage, yard, etc, to home improvement projects such as painting a wall that amazing color that will brighten your life, or hanging pictures or curtains. Your commitments could also include home-care and self-care commitments such as time devoted daily to cleaning up clutter, always doing dishes after a meal, or a daily walk or time for meditation and prayer.


Think of all we are preparing for--so much hope and promise for a fresh, bright, and inspired summer season.


Here's how it will work:

Each week I will post a personal Spring Cleaning goal for that week, and I invite you to create your own personal goal and please do share your goal by commenting, if you wish. At the end of the week I will post about my accomplishments and you can share about yours as well. My hope is that by making our commitments public, and sharing this journey, we will be more motivated to make sure to stick with them, and really get this "Spring Cleaning" done by summer!

I've also been inspired to share with you during this blog series as much information as I can about conscious cleaning, or cleaning in a way that shows care for the environment, our health, and is easier on our wallets!

Some other things I hope to include throughout the rest of this season:


~Reviews on Green Cleaning Products

~Recipes and ideas for making your own conscious cleaning products

~Random recipes for healthy yummy goodnesses just because.

~My Spring Mantle, because I LOVE my mantle just click on "mantle" in the list of tags to the right to see previous mantle love. :)

~Love's Garden Shop updates. I've got a lot of pretties in store for you, its just a matter of when they will be revealed...




So I hope you will join me in this journey. Please leave a comment! We can inspire each other to care more.


Let's allow this journey to begin to prepare us for the warmer months and create a space that is truly worthy of us and all our magnificent potential!

Happy Spring Cleaning Journey!

Love, Abbey