how to build fairy houses!

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fairies are wonderful, magical creatures that live in the corners of gardens, under the roots of trees and through-out the woods. they rarely come out when us humans are around, but many children have shared stories of sightings.

there is no right way to build a fairy house.it’s all about exploring the land and environment surrounding you, using interesting pieces of nature to build the fairies safe, cozy places to rest. it is vital to remember not to kill anything living when making a fairy house; so do not break branches off of living trees or tear living moss from a rock. use items that are already dead.

fairy house from make happy
fairy and gnome house by my garden diaries
home for the faeries by juise
fairy house kit from mom fluential
fairy house from make happy
miniature gardening is a real trend from mr. brown thumb 
list of things you need to build a fairy house from list plan it

which one is your favourite?
enjoy your fairy house building projects! they are a great way to connect with the natural world and children

xo, mama lola

my mother’s day.

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mother’s day is drawing to a close.
our day was full, happy and overflowing with love. it wasn’t a mother’s day that was about fancy jewels or planned with anything extra special. but, there were just enough small surprises and just the right kind of special things going on to make it an awesome day!

i woke up to a quiet, still house, except for poppy who was meowing her morning song full blast. i waited for my guys to rise. once they did, i got songs sung to me by two adorable naked little boys. i was gifted a beautiful painting bear completed at school and a bunch of wonderful cards and crafts. my dear hubby got me a waffle iron, but what he got me that was the best thing ever was…. he brought his old childhood desk from his parent’s house and set it up in the basement for me. i realize it doesn’t sound like anything special, but i’ve been wanting a quiet, private space to do some sewing for along timenow. out basement is not finished, but i will make my wee corner cozy and an area for working.
i am so excited!


dear hubby whipped up some yummy (egg free) waffles and then we headed out to see my parents. we decided to meet in a town about half way between our two communities. we found an old textile mill from the turn of the 20th century that has recently been turned into a series of galleries and working art studio’s. the limestone building was so well preserved and maintained with touched of old and new, that each turn or gallery we discovered was exciting to view. even the outside space was decorated with interesting, beautiful art.


the weather today was wild; cold, wet, sunny, windy and an adventure of its own! it made it impossible to stay outside for long periods, because at times it felt as though we were being attacked by whatever was falling from the sky! it was hilarious, and we all had fun with it, but only because these temperatures that are hovering around zero will belong gone by mid week!


after the art we had a beautiful japanese lunch and showered my mum with all sorts of gifts. the biggest being a ping pong table as per her request. the actual table is too big to fit into our minivan with all of us in it, so we made a cardboard replica and dear hubby will deliver the real deal tomorrow! so hilarious! my parents starting with ping pong! haha! the kids of course are excited and cannot wait to go play!


we ended the day at home with quick naps on the couch for lion and myself. quick, easy dinner made by dear hubby; grilled bagels with brie, tomato, avocado and dijon! yum!

not that i want to compare one special occasion with another, but i think i have to admit this was definitely one of the best mother’s day yet! although, truth be told it’s also only my fifth, but who cares. we had a wonderful day and that’s what matters most!



HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

xo, mama lola

this moment.

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as inspired by souleMama; one photo from our week, no words, only an image to sum up our time as a family. one that captures a moment in time and is a visual reminder of where we were at this time in our lives. 

this is a picture of myself (second from the right  trying to hold back tears) and some of my fellow  brain tumour survivors at our towns spring sprint last sunday. it was a beautiful spring day, a perfect day for a run or walk to raise funds for the canadian brain tumour foundation. we raised over $39, 000!!! wooohooooooooo!!!! so awesome!!!

my parents came, which meant a great deal to me. i think it was very cathartic for my mum, especially, to see so many people involved in such a great cause. people who are living with or have survived a brain tumour surrounded by all of their friends and family! surrounded by so much love!

my kids came and now at 5 years of age bear was asking some tough questions. luckily dear hubby was there to answer them. he told bear we were there to support survivors of brain tumours and that the people wearing blue shirts had had a tumour and had been sick. (there were also people wearing white shirts who were family or friends of a survivor and people in orange shirts were volunteers). 

bear saw me in my blue shirt all day, but never made the connection. 
not yet anyway
one day soon it’s a conversation we will have to have with the kids. 

anyhow, let me hear three cheers for all these survivors in blue shirts…
HIP-HIP HOORAY!
HIP-HIP HOORAY!
HIP-HIP HOORAY!


i would love it if you left a link to your { this moment }. 

xo, mama lola

treeplanting, at home this time!

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our backyard is great. it’s enclosed, gated and safe for the kids to run around in. there are smallish beds for me to garden in and even room for our sweet shed in one corner. Our home came with it, but a friend had to repurpose repo storage buildings for sale they found, and it works for them. Still, we love our shed, and we love our backyard. but, it’s always lacked in the pretty fence department. on one side of the yard there is a simple, cheap, but pleasant to the eyes wooden fence. the other side has the shed and a neighbours garage wall, which is all fine, but it’s the back of the yard which has a rusty old horrendous thing that pains me to look at! A friend from the UK had told me when they needed their fences redone they’d gone to Hillsborough Fencing because they had composite fencing that would last a lot longer than metal or wood. makes me wish my family was over there. i have been bugging dear hubby for a few years to do something about the fence or lack thereof. I spent a long time looking on sites like https://www.trustdale.com/roswell-ga/services/home-services/fencing to try and find the perfect fence but we were tight on budget. so finally this spring we got a quote from an awesome local carpenter. unfortunately, his quote was more than this single income family could afford, so we had to come up with a plan B.

then the other day i was at the grocery store and saw hundreds of potted cedar trees and that’s when it hit me… let’s plant a cedar hedge along the back fence.

dear hubby and the boys thought this was the greatest idea ever!

so on saturday morning dear hubby headed out first thing to buy the trees. we wanted to get a head start on the day. it was snowing that morning and there was snow on the ground, but dear hubby was excited to get planting! We started by clearing all of the leaves and debris from the garden so we had a clear space to work in – we borrowed a friend’s leaf blower last minute for this that they got from The Best Leaf Blowers – it was a real time saver. Raking all those leaves up or picking them by hand would’ve been a pain!

here’s bear digging a hole, with dear hubby’s treeplanting shovel from back in the day. i can’t help but ooze some sappy mama pride watching my kids planting. for those who don’t know, dear hubby and i met and fell in love while working as treeplanters in northern ontario about 12 years ago!


it is a bit cliche to plant trees for earth day, but i think there’s something really important about it. the soil was freezing, the air cold but the guys got to work and planted 10 trees into the back yard. they learned some valuable lessons along the way and saved a bunch of worms, too!

in this pic you can really see the nasty chain link fence, but look how beautiful and green these cedars are! and, they were only $16 each and came with a years warranty! we may pop some trellis back behind the cedars for added privacy.


happy hump day y’all! it’s pouring rain here and i am thrilled about that, as the cedars need lots of water to get rooted properly into the soil.

xo, mama lola

10 mother’s day craft ideas!

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my boys love to get crafty for special occasions and mother’s day isn’t any different. i don’t actually sit with them to make me something (cuz that would be weird, right?), but i do help them get creative for gifts for their mummo and grandma. i will not be revealing our plans for may 12th, just in case one of them reads this post.
 
1. i love you this much card from a day in my life
2. hand print apron from little page turners
3. mama portraits from inchmark
4. decorate pots with fabric from shelterness.com
5. mother’s day silhouette’s from happy home fairy
6. hand print wall art from babble
7. garden stepping stone from a learning experience
8. flower bouquet from balancing home
9.  butterfly candle holder from etcetorize
10. picked, felt flowers from my plum garden
xo, mama lola

hop-hop easter recap.

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easter has come and gone. we had a fantastic weekend, with friends and family, and the sun decided to join us in all its glory, as well! 


we started good friday at home with chocolate filled croissants and an easter table with all sorts  fun, colourful things for the boys to look at.


then we we walked to the park. there is a super fun easter egg hunt that happens at the park up the road from us. we went and joined over a hundred other kids and their families. neighbourhood volunteers had about a thousand easter eggs hidden all over… plastic eggs with all sorts of wonderful treasures hidden inside.


the park is scattered with plastic eggs and the rule is only up to 8 eggs per kid. so, once you’ve collected your loot, then you need to empty your eggs and return them so they can be re-used next easter. check out the dudes below comparing their finds. it’s so funny watching the kids at this event!


we spent the rest of the weekend with my folks. the men and women separated on saturday. the guys went to a huge park in town, and saw llama’s out for a walk with their keepers! my mum and i went to the one of a kind craft sale in the city. it was such a nice time with just my mum, away from the kids and the chaos they bring. 

the sun was so warm on the weekend. we spent hours and hours outside soaking up the rays and the warmth! the boys really loved it! my mum had a beautiful easter table set with delicious food, which we all enjoyed a lot!


our weekend was fun and spring like, filled with so much laughter and joy, that it’s hard to get back into the routine of things!

hope you enjoyed your long weekend!

xo, mama lola

theme thursday :: this years garden ideas!

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although it is actually snowing outside as i type this, i have been busy on pinterest looking for ideas on how to improve our garden. we have a decent sized backyard, but it is quite shaded. this is good for the kids, as they can play and not have to be in the direct hit of the blaring sun, but it is not so good for my tiny, pathetic veggie garden.

so, the plan is to rip out some patio stones next to the wall of the house that gets the most sun and build raised bed for some veggies and flowers. it will probably look a lot like the picture below if all goes according to plan. We can then use the stones in different ways. I got inspired after looking to see some examples of traditional flagstones here, and there’s plenty we can do with them! Anyway, this picture is from flickr, so no instructions, just looks pretty. I hope that our finished product looks like this as it really will help to improve the way our garden looks. After this has been completed, I may decide to enlist the help of somewhere similar to these landscape design services in Torquay to help give the other parts of our garden a much-needed makeover, so that it can be conveniently used by everybody. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with how the garden looks, but I just think that it could do with some updating. There are so many different things that could be done to a garden to improve it, so it’s important to keep an eye on the latest garden trends. Something I have noticed is a growth in the popularity of garden furniture, like the adirondack chairs for sale at The Charming Bench Company, so I’m seriouly considering adding one to my garden once I find the perfect space for it. One of my friends actually got some concrete walls built around her property the other day and that looks really nice. She said that the builders didn’t take long to build the wall, apparently, they just used some chemical for concrete fastening purposes, and the wall was basically done. Apparently, concrete fastners are so important as they keep the wall secure for a longer period of time. That’s good to know, maybe we’ll think about getting a wall for the garden.






But on saying that, this raised bed below is similar and comes with great detailed instructions on how to build it from old town home.


for plant markers, i actually made these last year for some seeds i started. click on the picture to take you to the original post. how cute and easy are they to make!

we have some stone paths and i love way the cracks are filled with thyme and look so soft. i found this picture at scravings, and apparently the thyme fills the air with a wonderful aroma as well!


i love how lush this garden is from simplypix. there must be a flurry of activity with butterflies and insects and birds; my boys would love that!


i love big containers over flowing with greenery and bursts of flowers. daisy’s are some of my favourites. so unpretentious, simple yet a true sign of summer! this picture is from vibedekdesign.


how about using old logs as planters? i think something like this would look great at the cottage! found this idea at the rabbit factory.
i will leave you with this funny, but true sentiment. i actually find gardening very therapeutic. it allows me to lose myself in my thoughts, providing new ways of seeing things and it is another creative outlet for me. i am not a good gardener, but each season i learn a little more! turning the soil with my bare hands and feeling the pulse of the earth in my hands connects me and grounds me. perhaps, that is why am so anxious for spring to arrive, because i feel like i need some garden therapy!


what will you be planting this year in your garden?

happy thursday everyone!
here, check out my pinterest board: grow THIS

xo, mama lola
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