Happy Friday! We made it through another week and today I’m sharing a few favorites from the week!
O N E – A New-to-Me Plant with Sentimental Value
For Christmas this year, my father-in-law gave my sisters-in-law and me one of the most thoughtful gifts… a potted clipping from an old plant that has been in their family for decades. My new plant is a clipping from a plant that originally belonged to my father-in-law’s father’s mother, or to put it in simpler terms, it belonged to Brian’s great-grandmother. My FIL couldn’t give us an exact year for when the plant came to be, but since Brian’s great-grandmother has been deceased for a very long time, I’d say it’s pretty darn old.
I’ve been trying to grow my green thumb for the past few years, and I’ve done a great job of keeping all of our plants alive and thriving, so I was really excited to add this one to my collection… especially since this one is so darn special. My father-in-law said that several family members all over the United States have clippings from it, so if I do end up killing it, I can always get another clipping and try, try again.
T W O – Update on My Great-Grandmother’s Plant
And speaking of plants, you may remember that my Mama Cass (my grandmother) gave me a clipping from my great-grandmother’s plant from the 1960’s a few years ago? Well, here’s how that plant is doing today:
It is just loving that spot in our living room where it gets that gorgeous afternoon light. After two failed attempts to keep it alive, I’m so excited to say that the third time was a charm and that it is thriving. Slowly but surely, I’m becoming a crazy plant lady and I love it!
And just in case you want to see what it looked like after my Mama Cass repotted it (for the third time – haha) back in July 2019, here it is. It has grown exponentially this past year and a half!
T H R E E – Treasures from Nana
Speaking of sentimental things, I’ve been meaning to share a few things on the blog that I was able to keep from my Nana (my dad’s mom) after she passed in December 2019. When my family was cleaning out her old apartment, I was able to pick out a few things to keep, and they have made the décor in our home so much more meaningful.
I ended up choosing her old children’s bible (dated from 1965), a decorative tray, a couple of small glass dishes, and this scale.
I was so sad to find that those tacky grapes had been tossed because they were seriously the essence of the whole scale (haha), but I was still so happy to keep the scale since it reminded me of her so much.
It’s funny because that scale is not anything that I would ever buy for myself as it’s not really my style, but I could not love it more in our dining room because it reminds me so much of hanging out at Nana’s apartment when I was little. It is truly something special to have these old treasures in our home now.
F O U R – Old Artwork
My Mama Cass (grandmother) has been cleaning out the house she’s lived in for the last 60+ years, and she recently texted a picture of this card to me that I made for my Big Daddy (grandfather) when I was just six years old. She told me that my Big Daddy saved every single card he ever received, and I just thought that was the sweetest thing that he’d kept it all these years. It was also really neat seeing something that I created 32 years ago when I was just Olivia’s age. My Big Daddy passed away in 2015 and I miss him dearly. What I wouldn’t give to give him just one more hug.
F I V E – Blog Redesign
After years of wanting to update my blog logo and graphics and overall design, I finally got it done this past weekend! I have been fretting over fonts and colors for months now, and I finally just decided it was time to stop stressing over it and just go for it! It took several weeks, but I finally updated my logo, signature, and all of my graphics and Pinterest pins, and I also changed the colors on the blog to match the new graphics.
I’m super pleased with the outcome, and I’m just so glad to finally have it done. I’ve been wanting a cleaner look for so long but have never taken the time to do anything about it. Hearts and the color pink are two things that have been a huge part of me since I was probably four or five years old, so they will both always have a prominent spot in my branding.
Now all that’s left to do is change some of the functionality and it’ll be complete! I have no clue how to do any of that, though, so who knows how long it will be before that happens. If anyone in blog land has worked with someone that they highly recommend, I would love their contact info!
Friday Funnies
On the Blog This Week
Our Week – The One with Quarantine, Week 45 (Inauguration and Grandma’s Funeral)
I think it is absolutely amazing to have plants that are so old! I do want to get a few house plants, but am so afraid I'd kill them because of lack of gardening skills. As always, your memes are on fire. I've seen that one with Bob Ross, and it's pretty much my favorite.
ReplyDeleteThe Bernie Memes just keep coming and I love them! OK so the plant story almost made me cry because Mr. Nine sister-in-law has started us a start from my late mother-in-law. I’m so excited to get it and so excited that all our boys his girlfriends love plants. In fact, I just bought one for one of the girls having a birthday on Monday! Have a great weekend lovely!
ReplyDeleteI love all the sentimental plants and pieces from your family. That is just priceless.
ReplyDeleteLove the new blog look!
I have really been wanting some plants but I'm not good at keeping them alive! I do have some good light in my office...I'll think about it. I love the story of the scale. I have a dog statue that I remember being in my grandma's house when I was little, so it reminds me of her. I love it. What functionality do you need changed on your blog?
ReplyDeleteSentimental items from family are the best!
ReplyDeleteThey truly are! I've always been a very sentimental person, so keepsakes are my most treasured possessions.
DeleteWhat a sweet, sentimental-filled post! Love that so many of your family members have clippings from the same plant. That is the neatest idea! I need to grow my green thumb for sure. I love the look of plants in a house, but I just can't seem to keep them alive.
ReplyDeleteI have a plant just like that (the one from mamma cass) that my mother in law gave me and it got so big it actually started climbing up my walls leaving little divots in the paint! But then I brought it outside for fresh air and sun this summer and it ended up dying. Not sure that was the cause as my mother in law told me that was a great idea and she used to do that too or if it just outgrew the pot-- I don't exactly have a green thumb and am usually surprised when I manage to keep any plant alive for more than a few months.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, that's so crazy that it left divots in the paint! Do you by chance know what kind of plant it is? My Mama Cass has no idea and I've never been able to find the exact plant from googling. I've always been curious to know what exactly it is.
DeleteI love the new look of your blog! OMG the Bernie memes are so strong, this is something we can unify around! I love that scale and can just see those grapes. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the new blog redesign. So fresh! I love the Bernie memes. They will never get old. I LOVE my Rothys too and you did a great job on the sizing of them!
ReplyDeleteI love that you have sentimental clippings! What a great idea. My grandparents used to have a scale like that as well. I'll have to see if my grandfather still has it. He's the only grandparent I have left and always asking me what I would like of his. It makes me sad to think about but I also know that I'd love to have special memories from him. Loving your new graphics and design!
ReplyDelete