While I peruse my list of seemingly hundreds of “must do” items on my list for our home and garden, {repaint living room, plant borders, polish brass doorknobs, purging warderobe etc} there are a few simple things I do each week to make sure I have a happy home, whether my list has a lot of check marks, or not! A home I delight in coming home to after a crazy busy day.
1. I buy fresh flowers every week. Unless my garden has enough flowers growing that I won’t cringe {or get in major trouble with Mr. FgH} when cutting a few spectacular blooms off the roses and hydrangeas in the back garden. Nothing else says “welcome home” better than a glorious vase of flowers on the living room table. A few roses in the bathroom, and maybe a little cutting of something on the kitchen counter are a way to bring some of nature’s beauty inside.
2. I love the scent of a glorious candle. I am {sadly} allergic to many scented candles, which is one reason why I wanted to develop our own line of organic, soy candles. They burn clean, are renewable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly, and have a low melting point so the wax burns cooler, longer and safer, allowing the fragrance to be released into the air faster. The scent wafts through our rooms in a gentle, non over bearing way.
3. Open your windows! Our windows are almost always open here in California. There is nothing fresher than a home that has open windows. Allow the fresh breeze to come in…even if it is a little dusty. You will be rewarded with not only fresh, clean air, but also hearing birds sing. Now what could be happier than that?
4. Last, I surround myself and my family with little bits of beauty. Change a few things around your home! Set a porcelain tea cup on one of your favorite books, or on a tea tray. Then, actually pour yourself a cup of tea and just enjoy a few moments of peace. It’s fun to move things around, maybe retire a few things to the closet, and showcase something new. Your home should delight and inspire you and your family. It’s your home. Love it. It will reward you with a peaceful, lovely place to rest and relax, and to make memories in with those you love.
If you want to romance your Home and Garden with antique and vintage treasures to make you smile each time you come home, visit our shop FrenchGardenHouse.
16 Comments
Great advice. Thanks for sharing, Richard at My Old Historic House
Lovely ideas. Thank you for sharing.
so cute!
take care,
Rosa
Thank you for the reminder of taking time for beauty and repose each day.
I totally agree with you! Those are all cheap, easy, and eco-friendly ways to bring some beauty into our homes!
xoxo laurie
I couldn’t agree more, simple things that make such a difference to the quality of y our life. Hope you are feeling a little better? Your candles look lovely, Love Linda xp.s. the picture of flowers is gorgeous, the colurs are beautiful together.
Thanks, Linda, I am feeling a lot better. Just anxious for life to resume at its normal quick pace.:) I love that bouquet, it’s the one I made when Romantic Homes came to take photos of our home.
What a simply lovely post. The perfect thing to read on a Spring moring. Sometimes I wonder if we aren’t over thinking our decor. What if we loosened our criteria ? What if we just had things that made us happy ?
~ Christie
Hi my friend
Just wanted to drop by and say hello it has been far to long…Back to my cottage now to create from home again and back to all my friends in blog land…I can’t wait to catch up…smiles c xx
I so agree Christie! If we only have things that make us happy…what a great home that would be!
Hi Lidy,
I couldn’t agree more about opening up the windows all throughout the house. I will have to try one of the candles, I too have sinus issues and I just can’t do strong scents nor do I want to have it in the house. Thank you for the recommendation of this scent.
Your post reminded me of reading one of my favorite lifestyle authors, Alexandra Stoddard. When I worked in the office, she took me away to wonderful places during lunch and I couldn’t wait to get home to embrace her ideas & suggestions. Never forget, she said she’d rather have a bouquet of fleurs and skip the lunch if she only had money for one or the other. A lovely sentiment in my book too! Thank you for the beautiful post, dear one.
xo~Tracie
Hi Tracie, thanks for visiting today! I agree with Alexandra, I’d rather skip lunch and have the flowers.:)
Ah I agree that there is nothing like scented candles to make a happy home.
Lidy,
This is the best post! I love the bouquet and an so excited for our spring to arrive and stay awhile.
Karen
MMmm aroma.
I completely agree with Lidy about the flowers part. If I had fresh flowers around my house it makes me so alive and full of joy. After a long day’s work I prefer going to a home with a lot of fresh flowers than plastic stuff even if it means using some of the homegrown pansies in my vases.