Friday, February 5, 2016

FMM - #WelcomeToWinning!

How often do you see me use a hashtag on my posts?  Considering that I still think of them as the number symbol, hardly ever, right?  But I was offered something really fun, and the hashtag came along with the prize, so there's the explanation.

Look what arrived on my doorstep recently:
A succulent garden!  

As part of the ProFlowers #welcometowinning campaign, I was given the opportunity to choose anything from their selection of Valentine's Day flowers, and while they had me at flowers, once I saw the option of a succulent garden, I was all in!  I have been wanting one for years, but never managed to treat myself.

While February is the month for lots of big winners (Oscars, Grammys, Superbowl), ProFlowers wanted to remind us that we are all winners.  My winning comes in the form of running - not only have I found a form of exercise that I like enough to do it year in and year out, but I'm getting outside of my comfort zone with racing, which is a big deal for me...I like my comfort zone, quite honestly!  But here's where I get to pose in my Houston half marathon shirt and my beautiful bonus prize:
OK, so I managed to cover up most of the t-shirt graphic, but I know it's there.  Take THAT, comfort zone!

As soon as the delivery arrived on my doorstep (I'd forgotten that ProFlowers delivers via UPS, so I was a little perplexed when a big box came early one evening), I immediately went to work in setting up my little cafe table in the kitchen:
All set for a pretty Valentine's-themed breakfast.  Now I just need to do something about the food...

Another way I do a little #welcometowinning victory dance is whenever I manage to pull together what I own into making something pretty, be it rearranging my living room furniture and making it work without buying anything new, or like this table setting - I already had everything, and was especially pleased to pull out the beautiful antique tablecloth and matching napkins that were a gift, several years ago, from my running buddy Erica's mother, Blanche.   I love how this all came together so nicely and the pink color in the succulent garden container looks perfect with the tablecloth!  I get an extra jolt of happiness every morning when I walk into my kitchen and see this pretty setting - revel in the little things, I say!

Thanks, ProFlowers, for helping to make my February extra special!

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Hey, speaking of the Superbowl - here's some fun trivia:  I grew up in Santa Clara, where Levi's Stadium is located!  It's so surreal to hear all the talk about Santa Clara on the news, because back when I lived there, no one knew where it was.  I got so used to saying "it's 50 miles south of San Francisco" - and now it's all grown up!  The area where I lived is still really nice; whenever I go back to visit my BFF we usually take a drive around our old stomping grounds, and in seeing how good my old neighborhood looks, I have to say that my parents chose well, way back in 1965, when they bought their first house.  Anyway, I really don't care who wins the football game (I know Lori just recoiled in horror!) but it's great to see my hometown showcased so nicely.

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Today's knitting update is hats.  I got into a groove with making hats for Christmas and I pretty much had one pattern memorized:
Pattern is Hibernate, yarn is Malabrigo Chunky, for the purple (I actually made two purple hats), blue and pink hats; pattern is A Gentleman's Fancy for the brown hat - colorway is Pearl Ten, yarn is Malabrigo Chunky.  I fell in love with the squish and colors of this yarn and couldn't stop knitting with it!
A hat flower?  Colorways are Purple Mystery, Buscando Azul (blue) and Damask (pink), along with the aforementioned Pearl Ten (brown).

I sent hats to my parents for Christmas gifts:
They texted me a selfie while wearing their new hats!

And about a week ago, when it was really cold here, I got the itch to knit up another hat, so I pulled out some leftover yarn from my stash and made this:
 
Yarn is Malabrigo Rasta, colorways are Azules, Baya Electrica, and Abril (in the pompom), pattern is my own.

I don't buy yarn unless I love it, and when I've finished using it for a project, I hate seeing the pretty colors just sitting around, so I was happy to combine these three bits of leftovers into one hat.  Plus, the pink came from the hat I made for Helen, and the blue and purple came from the hat I made for Julia, so it's like I'm connecting with my friends all over again with this hat!

Have a great weekend!

16 comments:

  1. I love all the hats! Your knitting has really come along nicely.

    I love your succulent garden. The tiny plants are so cute! I bet they get big quick and you have to put them into bigger containers. I have a succulent garden to and all mine started out as babies and now they are so big every year it seems like we have to put them into bigger pots don't think we will ever put them in the ground they would get really big then. We have been at growing them about 11 years now so it takes a while for them to get all that big.
    Have a great weekend I'll be knitting trying to stay warm.

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    1. Hmmm, I never thought about the succulents growing out of that container! I'll have to keep an eye out for that.

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  2. My pink hat is my favorite hat! It came in handy this morning as I scraped snow off the car - we're getting about 8" today. Blech.

    I think this is the first time I've seen a photo of your dad - and now I know who you look like!

    I love your table setting! How fun to have it set up and waiting. I have to admit your photo caption slayed me. "Find the food" would make a good slogan for a running shirt.

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    1. I do love your pink hat - the colors are so pretty. Happy I was able to incorporate some of your pink into my hat. :)

      LOL, yes - I do look more like my Dad and his side of the family, that's for sure.

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  3. Your flower/plant arrangement is lovely! How lucky to get a free arrangement near valentine's day. Love the heart container as well. Honestly I did not know where Santa Clara was (not a superbowl fan really) but I figured by the name it was in California. It sounds lovely!

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    1. I never get flowers for Valentine's Day (and really, I don't want Jeff spending the usually over-inflated prices on them)(although I have to say, ProFlowers didn't seem ridiculously high on their pricing), so this was a really nice treat for me. :)

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  4. I really love the succulents completely filling that heart shaped container. Evidently the succulents I planted were not frost hardy. Even the Jade tree. I liked that, so I might get a jade tree, and plant it in a container that I could bring inside during the winter.

    Love your hat-o-rama. That's my pink hat I see there, right? My neighbor (babysitter) took up knitting, and made me a pink scarf that is almost exactly the same color. I keep them in the mudroom, so they are ready for me to grab and go on my walks!

    Love your table. You're inspiring me to clear off my cluttered little table. I might actually sit at it and eat once in a while if I did that! I really like the way you make arrangements/re-arrangements. You make it seem almost easy.

    And now I might need to check out those Boboli crusts!

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    1. Last spring, we planted succulents in clay pots and then put them in the ground (like bedding plants) just so we could remove them during the winter because we lost all of our previous succulents due to freezing temps. So far, so good - they're in the garage, near a window, and are alive. Fingers crossed!

      Yes, that is your pink hat - I love that color so much! Glad you are getting some good use out of the hat. :)

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  5. I want some succulents! I hardly ever get fun offers like that. It's alway pills or junk like that.

    Love all the hats, especially the pattern name Gentleman's Fancy. It sounds so victorian.

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  6. Awwww, love that Mom's gifts came in handy!! I love it!!

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  7. LOVE LOVE LOVE all the hats! And the beautiful succulent pot!!!! Have a great weekend Shelley!

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  8. Charming. Your breakfast area looks charming and it feels all Valentines-y.

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  9. What an awesome gift...a homemade hat!!! :-)

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  10. Wow that's a really nice succulent pot and you set the table so lovely, it matches perfectly.

    It hasn't been cold at all here this winter so I haven't been able to use the lovely hat you knitted for me once this winter.

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