Gardening in High Heels

cultivate a beautiful life

Sunday Lately, 24

This week I’ve been doing oil pulling.  It’s that thing in which you swish coconut oil around in your mouth like mouthwash for 20 minutes and it’s supposed to reveal a whiter, straighter, prettier smile that also opens into a studio apartment and a million dollars.

It’s kind of gross.  I’m trying to stick it out though.  In other news, we went to Wigle Whiskey‘s Tar and Feather party on Friday night.  It rained for most of the evening, but it got nicer at the end of the evening and we got to watch the tax collector get dunked.  It was a great time.

Tar and Feather party at Wigle Whiskey

Updating

Instagram!  I’ve been on the fence about opening a blog-specific Instagram account, but I finally did it!  You can find me at instagram.com/GardeningInHighHeels.  It’s going to be more focused on “blog stuff” like gardening, updates, and interacting with bloggers/readers.

Reminding

I signed up for The Joy Equation with Molly Mahar and I need to remember to take the workbook to Staples and print/bind it.  It’s beautiful, full color, so it would totally kill my printer if I did it myself.  I also would never get it bound.

Needing

To catch up on other blogs and leave comments.  That’s my favorite part of blogging and I’ve been putting priority on other things in my life.  What are your secrets for balancing all aspects of blogging?

Wearing

This awesome Blogger, Maker tank from Katy’s Handmade Escapade shop!  I love the way she’s laid out the words so each one is kind of different and the font that she chose to use.  And the fact that it’s totally comfortable!

I want to live in this shirt this summer.  It’s also really hot and swampy here, so the less layers, the better.

Being

Hot and swampy.  The humidity here has felt off the charts.  Today so far is a little cloudy and cooler.  I think this week is supposed to be rainy.  It’ll be great for my garden in terms of water and not so great in terms of weeds.I spent about 2 hours yesterday weeding that damn garden and I know it’s one of those fruitless jobs, like vacuuming, where as soon as you do it, you can’t really tell you did it anything.

Fresh Essie mani and fresh herbs

Weeding a garden is the best accomplishment.

What have you been up to lately?

Be a Better Blogger is a weekly link up dedicated to helping you be a more intentional blogger. Want to be a better blogger but don’t know where to start? Head over to the Be a Better Blogger page for daily prompts and a weekly linkup to help get the creative juices flowing! Oh, and use #beabetterblogger on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook to keep the fun going even after you hit Publish!

When Things Get Messy

When I was in college (and even high school) and I was struggling through a math problem I couldn’t solve, I would get so upset.  I would crumple up my paper, cross things out really hard so the paper tore, throw my pencil, and generally melt down.

And once I did that, I felt better.  I was able to refocus and 9/10 times, I would figure out the problem.  I’m not the best at math, but that’s a pretty good track record.

I’m really not a person who cries at the drop of a hat.  Usually I can keep things in check until it’s more appropriate.  Like Kelly Cutrone says, “If you have to cry, go outside.”

But like when I was trying to work through a hard math problem, I still have some moments when the stress and frustration gets too much and I want to sit down, get a carton big bowl of ice cream and just pout/whine (I originally wrote “wine,” which is totally acceptable, too).

Again, I get up and feel better and move on with clear eyes.

When this happens to me, I like to turn toward certain ladies who are so motivational and inspiring.

Inspiring resources for when life gets messy.

Molly Mahar‘s Stratejoy is fantastic.  I signed up for The Joy Equation course and I know I will love it based on the past Holiday Councils that I’ve attended with her.

There’s something about the way that she speaks to me that just touches something that both calms and energizes me.  And her Instagram is insanely beautiful/adorable/unapologetically, “Hey this is life,” which I love.

Along the same lines is Nicole Antoinette from A Life Less Bullshit.  Her energy is totally different than Molly’s, but she’s still a huge proponent of accepting that things get messy, not showing a Pinterest-perfect facade, and saying, “Listen, life gets sucky, get up, show up, and do the work.”

And her No BS Lab is fantastic.  It’s where I got all of the podcasts I listened to going to Virginia (that you can read about here and here).And finally, I love Marie Forleo‘s coaching.  She’s more business focused than life focused, but there are still gems that are applicable to everyday life.  Her personality is like sitting down with that friend who will tell you, “Get over yourself and do the work or stop whining about it.”

Of course, there are friends who will listen and commiserate.  I love those people in my life.  But I can’t share them with you (well, I can tell you about them, but I can’t say, “Here’s my best friend’s number, call her if you need someone to make you laugh.”)  These ladies..these I can share with you.  They’re great people to follow.

Who gives you inspiration when you need a reality check?

Five Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Blogging

When I started blogging, I pretty much did it sporadically and very not-seriously.  Aside from a handful of accounts, I didn’t realize that you could really be a “blogger” and not “someone who has a blog.”  There’s a difference, people!  I was so not aware that there was the community out there.  If I had known these things from the get-go, I might be in a different place.

5 things I wish I knew when I started blogging. Don't make these mistakes!

It is an investment

Time, money, energy…blogging is an investment.  The more serious you want to be, the more of an investment it is.  Blogging can truly be a full time job, but you also have to dedicate full time energy to it.

Pick where you want to invest and do so wisely.  If you don’t want to commit to blogging every day (like us over in the Be A Better Blogger Challenge!) pick a schedule so your readers know when to expect to see your new posts.  They’re excited to hear from you!

Also choose where you want to spend your money.  Sure you don’t need a premium theme right out of the gates, but you probably will want that in the future.  Pick something that can grow with you.  Same with your domain name and your hosting.  Make sure that you have invested in a solid foundation.

It’s okay to stumble and then come back

I’ve “rebranded” myself so many times.  I stopped writing for large chunks of time.  I didn’t have a Facebook page for my blog for a long time.  It’s okay.  You’re learning and growing.  It’s perfectly fine to stumble and come back stronger.

Be authentic

There are days when I feel like I’m still trying to find my true voice here and other days that I say, “Boom, this is me, this is what I sound like, deal with it.”  In my head, I’d like to think I’m a lot more unapologetic than I actually am.  This is why I love Laura and Katy so much.  They are 100% them and it totally come through in their blogs.

But no matter what, be true to you and who you are.  There are posts of mine that I read and I’m just like….that feels awkward to me.  Your readers probably feel a little of that, too.

Find your support group

Get a group of friends together, find communities online, and get interacting!  It’s so helpful to have people to bounce ideas off of and turn to when you’re struggling.  They’ll help you sort through where you want to be, where you are right now, and connect the two.

The SITS Girls is a great community, so is BlogHer, and of course, you can check out what Marissa has to say about finding your tribe so you can make your own group.

Decide what kind of blogger do you want to be

Part of this is why it’s handy to have a tribe.  Maybe you don’t know what kind of blogger you want to be.  Maybe you’re a Seinfeld blog like Katy, maybe you have a clear focus like Kristin.

I wish I would have known what I wanted to do when I started blogging.  I kind of just opened up a blog because I thought it would be fun and filled in the blanks from there.  I mean, there’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s nice to have more of a direction.

What do you wish you knew when you started blogging?

Be a Better Blogger is a weekly link up dedicated to helping you be a more intentional blogger. Want to be a better blogger but don’t know where to start? Head over to the Be a Better Blogger page for daily prompts and a weekly linkup to help get the creative juices flowing! Oh, and use #beabetterblogger on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook to keep the fun going even after you hit Publish!

Be a Better…Organizer

I have a hard time letting go of things.  If there’s a possibility of saving it, I will.  (Just ask all of my DIY projects.  I’m the queen of saying, “I can make that instead of buying it,” buying the supplies, then never making it.)  So I have to practice great restraint when I try to get rid of items that no longer serve me.

Everyone has heard “If you haven’t used it in a year, get rid of it,” or, “If it was in the back of the closet, clearly you don’t remember you have it, so get rid of it.”  But I have a different set of criteria when I’m organizing.  I think they help me to be better organizer.  I don’t know if anyone who has been in my house would agree, but I say it works for me!

Not everyone is born with an organizational gene. Some people are just messy or hold on to things. I have 5 questions that will help you to be an organizer.

When I need to organize and pare down, I ask myself these five questions.

Can this be used for its intended purpose?

At some point, I adopted an Alton Brown-ian philosophy that everything I bring into my house should have multiple purposes.  If you don’t know, he has an adage, “The only uni-tasker in the kitchen should be a fire extinguisher,” meaning everything else should do at least two tasks.

If it can be used for its intended purpose, and you still have use for that intended purpose, keep it.  Just make sure it has a place to live and you put it back in that place.

Can I do something with it?

This is the question I struggle with the most.  I feel so bad getting rid of something just because I’ve upgraded or no longer am using something for its intended purpose.  If you’re looking at something saying, “Well, I have a new wine rack, so I don’t need this old one anymore, but it’s good so I don’t want to get rid of it…” see if it can fit elsewhere.

For a long time, I used a 12-slot wine rack as a shoe organizer.  It was small and compact and it provided some extra storage space on top, too.

That said, if you can’t re-purpose it naturally and it would be an even bigger hassle to tinker with it to turn it into something else, get rid of it.

Would someone else want it?

On the other hand, if it’s a good piece and you just don’t have a need for it, see if someone else wants it.  Put it online, ask your friends, or do what I did and send an office-wide email saying, “Hey, I have a houseful of stuff that’s gotta go.  If you need something, let me know!”  I felt so much better knowing that items that were perfectly good just no longer use to me would be taken home with someone who needs it.

They save money, we both get to practice Reduce, Reuse, Recycle…win-win, right?

Do I have space for it if I save it?

This is a biggie…  Let’s say your wine rack is perfectly good, but you don’t use it anymore and no one wants/needs it.  Maybe you want to try to re-purpose it elsewhere, but it’ll take some time to figure that out.  Do you have space to store it?

Trying to pare down my father’s house is proving such a challenge and storage space is going to be at a premium if and when he moves.  This is a big question when trying to figure out which serving platters are staying or going.

Do I already have these?

Okay, I know I can’t judge here.  I have backup pairs of my favorite jeans so when one wears out, I can jump right into a new pair.  But, if you’re looking at something and debating whether to get rid of it, see if you already have something that does a similar job.  If so, keep the one you like better and try to let go of the others.

No one will get me out of my gray t-shirts, though; yes, I need multiple pairs.

What are your organizational rules?

Be a Better Blogger is a weekly link up dedicated to helping you be a more intentional blogger. Want to be a better blogger but don’t know where to start? Head over to the Be a Better Blogger page for daily prompts and a weekly linkup to help get the creative juices flowing! Oh, and use #beabetterblogger on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook to keep the fun going even after you hit Publish!

Save

Favorite Quote, Part Two

Today’s post is going to be nice and short to make up for yesterday’s sprawling post.  To be a good quote, I think it has to be short, simple, impactful, and incredibly direct..everything this sentence is not.  To be a favorite quote, it has to carry power and meaning to the reader / person whose quote is their favorite.

Last month, I really wanted to share Baron Batch‘s line, “Be aware when your time is up,” because it was perfect for the day I shared it.  While I absolutely love that saying, another quote that I always come back to this one by Abraham Lincoln:

Whatever you are, be a good one. - Abraham Lincoln

Whatever you are, be a good one.

I always liked that saying from Abraham Lincoln.  Whatever you want to be, just make sure you’re really damn good at it.

It’s like what I heard Jenny Blake say during my Nicole Antoinette No BS Lab podcast binge.  She wrote a post about having a life purpose.  She says if you need a life purpose, take this one: Be as helpful as you can to as many people as you can.

Jenny is just about echoing Lincoln here.  Whatever you choose to do with your day, make sure it’s done to the best of your abilities.  However you choose to make yourself useful, be really useful.

Spread this around as far as you can, so long as it’s still doing good for someone else.

Just don’t spread it too thin.  If it’s too thin, it doesn’t do anyone any favors.  And when you get to the point where you’re sacrificing your doing good in the name of profitability, that’s when you need to turn back around and remember where you started.  That’s a very Dale Partridge thing to say, but I’ll get there later.

What are you doing today to be a good one?

Be a Better Blogger is a weekly link up dedicated to helping you be a more intentional blogger. Want to be a better blogger but don’t know where to start? Head over to the Be a Better Blogger page for daily prompts and a weekly linkup to help get the creative juices flowing! Oh, and use #beabetterblogger on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook to keep the fun going even after you hit Publish!

Let’s Play

           

People Really Dug These

We Belong in the Garden Together