Over Labor Day weekend, we took a day trip to Wildseed Farms, the largest working wildflower farm in the United States. Located in Fredericksburg, in the heart of Texas’ wine country, the farm features enormous fields, lush landscapes with fountains, lily ponds, shaded passages, and a butterfly garden. It also has a large plant nursery with native Texas plants, a gorgeous general store, and a biergarten that sells homemade jellies and desserts.
Best of all, it’s free to explore and photography is encouraged, so we spent several hours chasing after the boys and shooting hundreds of pictures. Thanks to our rainy summer, many of the plants were still in bloom, and as long as we stayed in the shade, the heat was tolerable. April is the peak month for wildflowers on the farm, but we are hoping to head back this fall, too. It’s about a two hour drive for us, and the experience is definitely worth it. Here are just a few pictures of our day.
(I love that it’s an adventure, because we always tell the boys we are going on one.)
(A view of the plant nursery.)
(A cute owl lawn decoration.)
(Exploring a bridge over the lily pond.)
(A field of wildflowers.)
(A “secret” passage.)
(A view of the orchard.)
(These gorgeous creatures were scattered throughout the farm.)
(Just a few of the native plants for sale.)
Exploring Wildseed Farms was truly a fun adventure, and I can’t wait to go back in a couple of months when the weather is cooler.
In preparation for going back to school, we paid our regular visit to the local Stride Rite store to find some new shoes for James. This is normally a very easy experience, where Ryan and I find a pair we like that fits our budget, James tries them on, we pay, and leave. Easy as pie.
This time, our mission was the same, and the only requirement we had was that James could easily put on and take off the shoes we purchased, since his last pair of shoes were insanely difficult and left us all feeling frustrated. Not a good thing when you are three and learning to do things independently.
While Ryan kept Rhys busy, I found a really cool pair of blue and gray tennis shoes that would work well for school and playing at home. James put them on by himself in record time, ran around the store a bit, and when the salesman asked if he liked them, James replied, “No.”
What?
I tried to convince him that the shoes were awesome, that they would make him jump really high and run really fast, but James was having none of it. He pointed to another pair on the shelf, some old-fashioned, canvas sneakers with a wide, white band, and I immediately envisioned the dirt that would cover these as soon as we got home, the bright blue that would clash with his school outfits, the flat bottoms that wouldn’t support him as he climbed the playscape at the park.
James struggled with the shoes, but finally put them on with a little help from the salesman; then he ran around the store, grinned from ear to ear, and announced that THIS was the pair he wanted.
I wanted to buy both pairs, but Ryan wisely pointed out that James loved the second pair so much that he would, in all reality, probably refuse to even wear the first pair. My pair, the ones I had picked out.
So, we came home with the second pair, which James loves, and which, as I had expected, are already dirty from our trip the very next day.
(James’ new shoes, already a little dirty.)
But he adores these bright blue shoes and has to wear them every day, so who am I to say anything? I know this won’t be the last time I will have to keep my opinion to myself, and it was good practice for me. If James can learn to put on his own shoes, then I can learn to let him wear them.
And when we got home, he asked if I would paint his toenails, since mine are always painted, and I was more than happy to oblige!
We may not agree on his choice of shoes, but we do agree on this: rainbow toes are awesome!!
Before we updated our home this past winter, I started my own mini-makeover of things around the house, largely because, as a stay-at-home-mom, I was really bored with the way things looked. I wrote about researching slipcovers, eventually settling on these, which have been an amazing, affordable alternative to buying all new furniture. They are really durable, fairly easy to use (though fitting three cushions into a giant pillowcase is kind of like THREE pigs fighting under a blanket!), and truly do bring a new look to our living room.
But while I still dream of French settees upholstered in Belgian linen, my reality is far, far from that. I live with two preschool-age boys who are incredibly active and dirty, and they will only become dirtier and more active as they grow. So, my dreams of ivory and beige have to take a bit of a backseat to their couch diving and stinky feet.
And also, I’ve become bored with this.
While first researching slipcovers last year, I became convinced of their transformational powers after seeing the very set I wanted on the sofa of lovely Texas designer Amanda Carol. Her review sealed the deal for me, so I ordered the slipcovers and lived happily with them for almost a year. But things have started to feel a little too beige for me, and I’ve been craving small doses of color, like hot pink and purple. And flamingos. (Because I believe you should keep a sense of humor when decorating, and what is more hilarious than a silk pillow cover with a flamingo on it? Oh wait, a silk pillow cover with a seagull!)
And then I read Amanda’s recent post, in which she is throwing caution to the wind by embracing her couch’s original color, and I realized that maybe I should do that, too. So, I spent an afternoon searching for ideas, wondering how to combine my dark green couch and loveseat with my new neutral decor.
Then I remembered Karl, of Young House Love fame, and realized that maybe I was on to something here. Of course, Karl the Sofa is more charcoal grey, but he is still quite dark, and looks absolutely lovely in the Petersiks’ light living room. So I took the plunge, removed the covers in record time, and welcomed my old “new” couch and loveseat with open arms. I’m pretty sure I heard an audible sigh of relief from both pieces as they stretched their legs and breathed again.
(Well, hello there, color and texture!)
(Nice to see you again, piping and structure!)
I was pleasantly surprised with how well it works, at least for now, and the color is a warm addition for fall. The temperature is still hovering near triple digits, but the calendar says September, and I love the extra coziness the green furniture brings to the room. I cashed in some West Elm points and bought a few velvet pillow covers, so those will definitely add some autumnal flavor to our favorite space, too.
And who knows, maybe by next spring, I’ll feel up to wrestling with pigs, I mean slipcovers, again.
