#simple-living — Public Fediverse posts

A butterfly morning 🦋

Our little caterpillar completed her metamorphosis and became a beautiful Swallowtail butterfly!

It felt like Christmas morning, as I came down the stairs and saw her perched upside down on the tulle in the habitat box the kids had made for her.

When we found the caterpillar in our garden, the kids decided to “raise” her in a diy caterpillar habitat. Then, they named the caterpillar Cali.

Of course, we weren’t really sure if the caterpillar was male or female, but the kids decided it was definitely a girl. Lol

We waited a little bit before releasing Cali because her wings were still damp and needed time dry off.

Once we felt it was the right time, we brought the butterfly box to the front porch and slowly opened the tulle we had placed on top of the container.

Cali didn’t fly out of the box right away, though. Her wings weren’t ready just yet. So, we spent some time ohhing and ahhing over her. 🥹🦋

Two of our neighbors walked by wanting to know why we were huddled together and the kids were squealing with delight.

We showed them Cali calmly resting on Travis’ hand, and one of the neighbors said she thought the butterfly was beautiful. 😊

And then all of a sudden, the butterfly fluttered her wings and flew off of Travis’ hand and onto Zephaniah’s chest.

The kids squealed again, and Zephaniah froze. But he had the biggest smile on his face.

A few minutes later, the butterfly flew up into the air and fluttered away.

💜 XO

Waffles, Netflix, and Junk Journaling

This morning, I made the kids scrambled eggs and homemade buttermilk waffles for breakfast.

Which reminds me—I desperately need to make a farmers market trip to stock up on black tea blends and herbal teas.

I only buy my teas from one woman who locals fondly call “The Tea Lady.”

She makes the best tea blends I have ever tasted, and she only sells them once a week at the farmers market.

So, I’m putting it on my calendar to go to the farmers market the beginning of September!

I started watching the new Netflix series Little House on the Prairie. I was skeptical about if it would be any good, but so far, I like it.

I love historical fiction books, films, and TV shows, especially westerns, so this show is right up my alley.

I’m only four episodes in, but I’m hoping we’ll get a little more character development for some of the side characters as the season continues. There are already a few I’d love to know more about.

I just realized I have never actually read the Little House on the Prairie book series. Maybe I should add that to my fall reading list.

Finally booked my follow-up doctor’s appointment for my second skin biopsy. My doctor wants to make sure he removed all of the cells of the mole I had on my finger.

Lastly, I got to spend a lot of time on creating in my junk journal. I did this in between cooking dinner, doing laundry, and other household tasks. 😄

Since we are on our break from homeschooling lessons, it’s freed up some time for me to focus on my creative hobbies. 😊

💜 XO

Wordless Wednesday: Front Porch Sitting

Today’s Wordless Wednesday post features recent photographs I took of two of my children Zaya (6) and Zephaniah (9) when they were enjoying a morning of what I like to call “front porch sitting.”

Every morning, my two little ones like to sit on the front porch on our thrifted chairs and read a book, sip tea, and watch the neighborhood go by.

💜 XO

Sunday at the library 📚

Took the kids to the public library after Mass. It was supposed to be a quick trip, but you know how that goes—going to the library is hardly ever quick with four kids in tow. 😂

Here are a few of the books the kids checked out. 📚💜

Zephaniah (9) loves Vox books. He likes to follow along with the narrator reading the book aloud.

Vox books has helped him with his reading skills, too!

Zechariah (11) always checks put at least one Minecraft book when we go to the library. This time he got four Minecraft books! 😄

He loves playing the game and creating so many designs. The books help him learn new ways to build and create.

I spotted this one on the “New Books” shelf. The little cowgirl riding her horse caught my eye.

Zaya and I watch a lot of the Canadian TV show Heartland, so I thought she’d love to read this book.

Silly Zhen (13) found this book in the nonfiction section of the children’s library and she thought it’d be a funny read. 😂

When Zaya (6) saw the illustration of Bob Ross on the cover of Rima and the Painter, she immediately grabbed the book and excitedly showed me the book.

“Look, Mommy!” Zaya said to me happily pointing at the Bob Ross illustration. “It’s the painter we watch on TV!”

💜 XO

Just brought in the very first plum harvest of the month, and there is truly nothing quite like the satisfaction of eating something you grew with your own hands. All the patience and tending through the season pay off the moment you taste fruit fresh off the branch. I hope everyone gets to experience this kind of simple joy, and hopefully, you all enjoy plums just as much as I do 🍑🌱🌱

#Gardening #HomeGrown #FruitGrowing #SimpleLiving #Nature #Outdoors

Mixed feelings with this one. Why did she shop so much before? Why does their new life still seem high-consumption to me? Why is the old hermit so teleological about everything, WHY does his son think bringing him a tractor is going to help? I do love that the old man brings in assorted foliage when he wants to make tea. It's something I do every day myself ... >>

Re: Das einfache Leben als wahrer Luxus - Die ganze Doku | ARTE

https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/115490-012-A/re-das-einfache-leben-als-wahrer-luxus/ #minimalism #simpleliving

Broken sunflowers still bloom 🌻

In the springtime, Travis and I discovered volunteer sunflower sprouts growing in between the sidewalk.

I’m pretty sure the sunflower seeds were left behind in the wintertime by the birds and squirrels when I put up bird feeders.

So, we gently moved the sunflower sprouts to our garden bed.

We managed to “rescue” six of the eight sunflower sprouts we found in the sidewalk. All six of the sprouts recovered from transplant shock and grew strong and tall.

But as many gardeners know, sunflower stems can still be fragile, especially during storms or when pesky squirrels are rummaging through your garden. 😏🐿

The beautiful thing about sunflowers, though, is that they are resilient plants.

Despite nature’s challenges, sunflowers will try very hard to keep growing, even when broken. Sometimes they just need a little help.

This is something I have learned this gardening season.

I was able to save one broken sunflower plant by trimming down the stem and placing it in a vase of water.

The sunflower still bloomed, and the bees loved it!

Another sunflower plant with a broken stem (thanks squirrel! 🐿😏) Travis was able to make a stick-based cast for it.

And the other day, that sunflower bud still bloomed!

It makes me happy that even though a couple of our sunflowers experienced hardships, we were still able to give the flowers a chance to complete their life cycle. 🌻😍

Despite being broken, the sunflowers served a great purpose by attracting the bees to our garden to pollinate our food plants (like our peppers 🫑 and tomatoes 🍅).

And perhaps there’s a lesson to be learned from broken sunflowers that keep blooming anyway. 😉🌻🙏🏽

💜 XO

August library book picks 📚

My August library book picks are Texas Rain by Jodi Thomas and Virgin River by Robyn Carr. The reviews for both books seem to be good, so I thought I’d give them a try.

Both novels are set in a small town. I love small-town romance novels, especially those set in the South, since I’m originally from Tennessee.

Texas Rain is a historical romance novel, which is another fiction genre that I enjoy reading.

Virgin River is actually a TV series on Netflix, but the previews of the show don’t look interesting to me.

I’ve heard that the books are quite different from the show, though, so that’s why I checked out the book.

I’m currently watching Ransom Canyon on Netflix. The romance drama is inspired by Jodi Thomas’ novel series.

However, when I discovered the show last summer, I didn’t know it was based on a book until halfway into watching the show.

I almost checked out the Ransom Canyon, but it’s really hard for me to get into a book after watching the show/movie it was based on. (That’s why it’s been taking me what seems like forever to finish reading Outlander. 😫)

So, I decided to give Texas Rain a try instead. It’s the first book in her Whispering Mountain series.

What are you reading this month?

💜 XO

A guy revealed the 12 simple things that make men happy and it’s 100% accurate

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.upworthy.com/12-simple-things-that-make-men-happy-ex1/

Enjoying the view

We had appointments and errands to run in the city, so we stopped by Michigan Central Station to take a break at Roosevelt Park in Detroit.

The kids were amazed by the view of the historic train station from the park, and it reminded me how much Roosevelt Park has changed over the years.

I really like the new walking paths and seating throughout the park, especially the swings.

I enjoyed seeing people walking, riding bikes, reading books, playing catch, and simply slowing down to enjoy the afternoon.

I wish I had taken more photos, but honestly, I was feeling a little anxious after my annual doctor’s appointment. Now I’m waiting for my lab results, along with the biopsy results from an unusual spot I found on my skin.

I just needed a quiet moment in the park to slow down and let my mind rest. 😌

💜 XO

It’s all coming together 🌻

I’m decorating my front porch with my new thrifted folding tables. ☺️

Groceries and thrift store shopping day

I found some great thrifty finds for under $24! ☺️

Sunflowers and tomatoes 🌻🍅

A new sunflower bloom 🌻 and blushing tomatoes 🍅