So excited to see the Cilantro has finally sprouted! These poor plants have had a rough start as my fur friends like to jump up on the garden tables and knock them over. But this herb looks like it's going to make it! Hopefully when it get stronger and bigger we will be able to make some salsa!

Time to turn these tomatoes they are reaching for the artificial sun that we provide for them. So happy to see the growth, they are just about ready to go into their own little pots! Our goal is to plant a garden outdoors with just the plants we have started indoors! You can see that the little fur friends did get one of the seedling pods but we keep trying and after these get transplanted we will start a whole new crop!

Quick update on the doll, after breaking two more needles she is half way done with rooting. I would have liked to use a smaller needle but considering I have already broken so many I will just stick with what I have and continue to work on filling in the open spots later.

I picked Melaleuca for the month of February and so I wanted to share a quick little recipe for homemade hand sanitizer. I used half cup of Aloe Vera, one teaspoon of witch-hazel, twenty-five drops of Melaleuca and twenty-five drops of Lemon.

Melaleuca is known to have the following properties, antibacterial, antiseptic, antiviral, antimicrobial, expectorant, fungicide, insecticide, and stimulant. information from Shareoils.com  

Aloe Vera has been on my mind as I had mentioned in an earlier post we had a really large plant that was in need of getting cut back. Today I did the cutting back and transplanting in to other pots to share and then decided I should harvest some of the gel from the plant so nothing went to waste.  This proved to be very interesting. I started by just cutting the leaves, and scooping out the gel, I was a sticky mess and only had two drops in the bottle. I then used a vegetable peeler which worked much better but still proved to be tricky trying to get the gel into the bottle. I think buying aloe may just continue as I don't think I am very good at this harvesting yet. Any suggestions?

On a much happier note the indoor garden is comping along most splendid! Things are really starting to pop up. The little pea pods were very busy over the weekend and almost all of them are as tall as the cover.

I was also able to replant some of the little greens that my son Toby started and took out those that were not growing. That left me some valuable real-estate to put in  more tomatoes, cucumbers, and 2 different types of flowers. Very excited to see if these  take off as well.  I also started a brand new self-watering seed starter kit by Burpee. Nothing planted in that one as of yet due to trying to follow the directions and let the little pods soak in the water first. Hopefully they will be ready to go tomorrow and I will be able to fill them up as well.  

Today our Christmas Cactus received a brand new home. She started looking a little sad so I thought maybe she was trying to say "I need a bigger pot for my roots" and sure enough those poor little roots were wrapped very tightly all the way around, so now she will have room to grow! Its been a fun filled planting day! 

I am so excited, went to water the indoor garden and what to my wondering eyes should appear? That's right...SPROUTS! What a glorious sight on this very cold February afternoon! I have been doing some reading for upcoming blogs and was tossing up the idea of free range chickens for the garden the pros and cons. Maybe you could leave a comment on what you think about adding chickens to the backyard garden.

Just love having an Aloe plant, however this big guy really needs to be replanted and spaced out a bit, What a lovely gift a little Aloe plant would make for loved ones on Valentines Day, I better get started and also get some small planters for them. Dollar Tree here I come!

I wanted to give myself a treat today after having physical therapy and still trying to heal I decided to use my diffusser and add a couple drops of Frankincense. I usually would never use the King of oils in such a fashion but today I thought I needed a little bit of pampering!  In reality my whole family will actually benefit from this, because the whole room has the wonderful aroma of Frankincense!

 I really enjoy flowers and because it's freezing outside I decided to garden with crepe paper and these carnations were the result of that! I'm thinking of making more and stinging them to create my own carnation vine. Looking so forward to spring when I can be working with flowers for real!

 In keeping up with how it feels outside I tried my hand at rooting wool to make this little penguin. He's not completely finished still needs some flappers and feet, and a nose job, due to his being so crooked.

Still working on the doll, I was able to finish the mottling, veining, and some of the creases today. I must say the mottling really does give the skin a natural look.

• Rub Frankincense on your hands after a long day of gardening for a warming and soothing effect.
• Helps reduce the appearance of skin imperfections.
• Can be applied to the bottoms of feet to promote feelings of relaxation and to balance mood.
• Take one to two drops in a veggie capsule to support healthy cellular function.              information provided by: https://doterra.com/US/en/p/frankincense-oil                          picture provided by Google images

Having a great time with the gardening in the house! Just love getting the chance to plant! Could not spend a whole lot of time with the gardening today because I am also in the process of re-borning! (A reborn doll is a manufactured skin doll that has been transformed by a reborn artist to resemble a human infant with as much realism as possible.) Wikipedia

 I just started the process today and it takes a while, but I will do my best to keep you updated!

I washed all my brushes to make sure that they are all clean and ready to go, washed the kit, and began the mottling 

To mark with spots or blotches of different shades or colors.

1. A spot or blotch of color.

2. A variegated pattern, as on marble.

(Free Online Dictionary)





It's been a few years since I have made a doll so hopefully I will be able to do this kit justice! Shout out to Bountiful Babies for making such great kits! I tried taking pictures that show the kit but also keeping in mind that not everyone is ok with the look of an unfinished doll. So please come back and check the progress!

The Winter berry also called Gaultheria Procumbens is a creeping wintergreen ideal for ground cover. It's leaves are dense and glossy looking, turning a reddish hue towards fall.In June this luscious little plant will produce white to pink flowers then later turning to the red berries as seen in ours which is in our indoor garden area. These berries are edible. speaking of the indoor garden, today I was able get the tomatoes planted in addition to cucumbers, peas, thyme, and lavender. I also added this adorable little planter as seen in the picture below, Giving a shout out to Family Dollar for providing such a lovely little addition for our indoor garden! Please follow this blog so you can see just what happening with our indoor garden and what we will be featuring next!

To help your body focus energy and to help with concentration while also helping your body by easing restlessness, irritability  and much more use the king of oils Frankincense use with a diffuser give your entire family the same benefits!Shout out to doTerra for their great oils!

Pretty excited about today! I was able to put together this little shelf and also do a little shabby chic decorating, With the help of my sister I realized I have always loved this kind of decor. So you can just imagine how my pinterest board is starting to overflow with all things shabby chic! Would like to give a shout out to Michael's they have a wonderful selection shabby chic decor! I was able to find the most perfect little tin for our parsley plant as soon as we were home my daughter made sure to get the chalk out and write the name of the plant on the chalk board label. I am thinking this will be the first of many adorable little tins. The indoor greenhouse area is coming along very well we have added a few more seeds and hope that soon we will be ale to start seeing the growth! So make sure you follow and come back often to see whats "popping" up around here!

After looking on google for another image of Frankincense, I came across this beautiful tree. If you ever wondered where Frankincense comes from well here is your answer. This tree is called Boswellia sacra and Boswellia carteri.  In order to get frankincense the sap from the tree needs to be extracted and harden which takes a few days. 

The Frankincense that I use is from doTerra, I have tried other brands but must say I find myself dedicated to the doTerra brand. So a shout out to doTerra for making one of the best essential oils available to use. Frankincense is uplifting, healing, and can also aid the body in reducing stretch marks, scarring, and acne, Using a diffuser and a few drops of Frankincense might possibly make your entire home feel relaxed and less stressed!

Our newest arrival for our indoor greenhouse! We have just added a new Parsley plant to the already growing area in the room which we call the center,  It is called that because for 10 years we did own and operate a daycare center from there, now instead we have a large room we call the center and Toby our middle son is turning into his greenhouse. The benefits of growing plants and your own food are astronomical! There is great satisfaction when you realize what you are eating is something you have grown.  We are so excited for spring to come so we can start working in the yard, but for now the center will have to do. We ensure that our plants have enough sun even on these dreary Wisconsin days by providing them with a "Happy Light". Yes that's right we use artificial sunlight and it works rather well for our indoor greenhouse. You may be surprised to see how much we have growing and what exactly we have growing, so please check back in as we share our green delights with you!! If you have any ideas or questions please feel free to comment and I will do my very best to answer them.

My plan is to devote one Month for each oil, however being that Frankincense is like the king of oils I may spend just a bit more time on this particular oil. Some of the key uses for Frankincense is to help your body take care of itself by aiding in respiratory issues, emotional needs, and also promotes wound healing as well as reducing inflammation. You can find out even more by going to doTerra's website. I use doTerra, I feel it is the best oil out there and Frankincense is definitely a family favorite!  In weeks to come I will share how  my family has benefited from the use of oils and also some ideas for share but for now I just want to share the joy I find in using oils! There's no doubt in my mind that essential oils are definitely a gift from God!

Make sure to check back as I plan to add even more information about Frankincense and also some  DIY projects that are not only great for personal use but make wonderful gifts too!

image of Frankincense from the following link:

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRqpElMCFWUCrx7Ulvh8P6E_HIZxT8PiwlMZaFl1ll0hkQmkydz