First Day of the New Year

As all New Years Day's tend to be, today was a day of new beginnings. A day of hope, a day of enjoying the small things, a day of appreciation for what you have - not what you don't have, a day of aspiring to bring your goals to fruition and a day of setting new standards that you want to continue throughout the year. God knows I need to lose a few kilos, finish my book, help my boys more with their schooling, exercise more and enjoy my surrounds. So as time permits, some of these things are able to happen... but when the working day becomes overwhelming again, reality sets in and some of these things fall away.

But you have to give yourself a start... so today was a day to better our environment to give us something happy, relaxing and appealing to look at. Instead of looking at the crappy old falling apart barbecue that greets us at our front door that we can't do anything about as it's a fixture to the rental apartment, today we decided to pretty it up. We bought pots, potting mix, some garden ornaments, a watering can, some herbs and some cottage colour of some of my favourite flowering colour...

And I was really happy, because I've been looking for a certain style of daisy for years to dress up a garden, the kind of daisy that grows in a dense bunch of white petals and yellow centres that just looks like a mass of cheery happiness, and today I found them! I found a lovely established pot of English lavender, some yellow daisies, red geraniums and a few other brightly coloured flowering beauties to go with my country cottage theme. I dedicated a pot to some strawberries that can grow randomly around the ricketty old barbecue, and we potted a long planter box of chives, parsley, coriander, dill and thyme. I added a candle lit lantern, a distressed looking ceramic bird and an old style watering can that's jazzed up in a Spring Green colour, but still looks right at home.

So hopefully, as things grow, we won't see the leaning legs of the barbecue, breathe in the beautiful scents of the lavender and herbs, and we'll be able to enjoy the herbs in our cooking. I might have to add a few more pots over time, but for now, it's something that brings life to our secluded entrance away from the other apartments. 

It really doesn't take much to make home more homely, giving it a more positive energy for the start of the year. Let's hope it's the making of more positive things to come! :)