For as long as I can remember, shopping for second hand items has always given me a thrill. Long before it became a trend to share w hat I thrifted vs how I styled it, I was thrifting. And styling. Like many of you, I'm sure.

A few weeks ago, my daughter and I made an impromptu stop at the thrift store. Where I found this lovely botanical print on the wall. It was $7, a bit more than I wanted to pay for this second hand piece of art, but I just couldn't leave it behind. Something about those red flowers made me smile the minute I saw them. The frame was a mess , painted in a haphazard fashion, but I was ok with that. It'd be a simple fix .

In my neck of the woods about a week before Memorial Day, American flags start popping up all over the place. They line the streets and they're hung from homes in all shapes and sizes. Then, once Memorial Day passes, the flags come down and they don't go back up again until early July in honor of the fourth. However. This year seems to be a whole different ball game.

I've never really been a big cook. I'm not bad at it, the process of preparing food has never exactly been high on my list. Oh sure, I like to eat. I just prefer it when the food magically appears at dinnertime, like it did when I was young. I'd come home from work or school and my mom would have a lovely meal prepared . There was nothing to buy, plan or prep. The fridge was always packed and a hot meal was served every night. Of course, now I'm the mom...and most of the meal prep falls on me.

Last weekend, it rained. A lot. So rather than celebrating the unofficial start of summer at the beach, I was in my kitchen. Crafting. And you know what? It was glorious.

Lately, I've been playing with clay. I don't know why it's got such a hold on me, but boy oh boy, is it fun. There's something about grabbing a chunk of it, mushing it into a ball and then rolling it out that just feels good. Creative. So when I was at the store the other day and saw this pack of floral patterned sheets, I grabbed them. And I knew exactly what I was going to do with them. You see, I have quite a collection of small clay pots in my craft stash. They're very versatile, so whenever I spot them at the thrift store or at yard sales, I grab them, too. In the past, I've aged them with paint for a vintage vignette on my Easter mantel. More recently, I decoupaged one, to make a flower pot pin cushion . Well, today, I'm sharing a clay pot makeover that will actually be used in my garden . Fancy that! And like I said, it all started with clay ...making it a clay on clay kind of day. How To Embellish A Clay Pot With Clay Patterns First, I gathered my ...

Recently, I was having a conversation with a friend, discussing all the #homebody posts I've seen popping up on Instagram. Have you seen them? Quotes about the joys of staying home, often coupled with soft music or videos panning quiet gardens and dreamy decor. My feed is full of them. Probably because I stop to view them all. Clearly, I relate.