Three Things 4.29.17: Mulching, Vintage Prints, Movie + Links

Happy weekend! How has your week been? Ours has been w.e.t. and I'm ready for spring weather for sure. We've officially set a record for number of rain days in a season that stood for almost 100 years. Hard to believe in Oregon, right?

We have peeks of sun here and there and last Saturday the stars aligned and it was sunny the whole day! Brian and I worked in my mom's yard (see below) and it was so nice to just be outside enjoying sunshine and warmth. I hope you are able to do fun things outdoors - and if you have been for awhile, well, just keep that to yourself, okay? 😉

On to this week’s three things and links I think you’ll love! (As always, some of the links I provide are affiliate links and I receive a small percentage if you buy through them - at no cost to you. Thanks for your support.)

Mulching with wood chips. So I mentioned we've been working in my mom's yard and I wanted to talk about the paper and mulch we're using here because it's different from what I've always used in my gardens. I've always preferred using a nice dark brown compost as a mulch over the paper basically for two reasons:

1. As the compost breaks down over the season, it feeds the soil which provides all the fertilizer needed for flower and shrub borders.
2. I prefer the look of the dark brown compost.

I created my mom's front garden a number of years ago and over this time I've realized (after many looong weeding sessions) that the soil-like compost wasn't working in her environment for a number of reasons:

• The garden spends most of the day in shade.
• In order to save the plants from the deer, there are 2 motion sprinklers that go off periodically all season long, which never really allows the compost to dry out (which shallow-rooted weeds love).
• Mom doesn't have time to do regular maintenance on this area.

So this year we went with Plan B: Cardboard + Wood Chips. The cardboard will last longer than newspaper and my hope is that the wood chips won't provide the friendly environment for the weeds even when wet from the sprinklers that the compost did. The bonus? The wood chips were free!

Vintage botanical prints for a nice price. I love this new Etsy shop I found with authentic vintage botanical illustrations perfect for that wall space you don't know what to do with. A set would also make a lovely gift for Mother's Day or for anyone you know who'd appreciate them.

There are black-and-white floral prints on aged-to-perfection backgrounds as well as full color prints (the shop also has other type of vintage prints if you're not into botanicals). The antique illustrations are carefully removed from old books about wildflowers. How good a price? The top set of two pictured above is just $10 and the set of three color botanical prints is $30. Unique and inexpensive art is a good thing.

The Zookeeper's Wife movie. I haven't read the book (have you - was it good?), but I can tell you that I loved the movie. While it dealt with a sad and disturbing part of world history (WWII in Poland), the bravery, courage, and humanity shown is inspiring. It is a true story and while the movie changed a few things like they often do (some changes are so mysterious to me as why, since the true story was pretty dramatic), it mainly stays true to the story of this couple who ended up helping 300 Jews escape. Have you seen it?

One of my favorite companies is at it again. The Ultimate Bundle team's current bundle of books, courses, downloads and bonuses is The Ultimate Homemaking Bundle: $2,000 worth of product for only $29! How do they do this? I don't know, but if you're looking for information and inspiration on creativity, faith, finances, marriage, organizing, and lots more, then take advantage of this!

My favorite thing? The Cozy Minimalist Decorating Class by the amazing Myquillyn Smith is included!! (at $39, this one course is worth the whole price, but you'd also get 80+ other things...seriously, how do they do this?) Click here to check it out!

Links To Check Out:

How to freeze and bake scone dough.

10 tricks to quit the crazy.

Practical tips for first time gardeners.

Ever wonder what to do with broccoli stems?

Turkey meatball soup with orzo and spinach sounds like a perfect way to bridge that cold to warmer spring gap (yeah, we're still cold here...).

I love this - do what works for you in weight loss.

Home and garden tours to inspire your outdoor space.

How to stage your home for living.

The best white curtains.

How - and why - to make lard.

Like these links? I'm always pinning these and lots more - follow me on Pinterest for more inspiration and ideas!

Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links and by clicking on them you help support AOC at no extra cost to you – thanks so much! Plus you can trust I'll only share what I love. (You can always read our entire disclosure page here.)