Fave Flowers

This Mother's Day, I got a pitcher full of my all-time favorite flower:



And a new favorite flower:



I also got a long nap. Wonder if there will ever be a Mother's Day when that isn't the first -- and really only -- thing that I want?! Besides Mexican take-out for dinner, of course.

What about you? If you could have a pitcher full of any flower, what would you choose?

CPH // My Top Three

Here it is, my top 3 experiences in Copenhagen:

1. KONGENS HAVE [The King's Gardens]



We were fortunate enough to have some nice weather while we were in town, so we spent most of our time outside [which is excellent when you are traveling with a 10 month old; museum hopping isn't really her thing;)]. My favorite spot [we actually went twice because I liked it so much] was these gardens. They are beautiful, and reminded me of a mixture of London and Paris. There are sculptures everywhere including in the playground area.





2. NYHAVN CANAL // Boat Tour



Nyhavn Canal is glorious. We decided to see the city from the water, so hopped on the Netto boat tour [only 30 Kroner/person, which is about $5]. I can't remember what all these buildings are, but they are beautiful nonetheless...





From the water we could see national landmarks like the Amalienborg Palace and the new Opera House [below]. We would have seen the iconic Little Mermaid, but she is in Shanghai at the moment. How they managed to get her over there I haven't a clue.



Even if you don't take a boat tour, definitely make your way over to the canal. Charming architecture, cafe-lined streets, street musicians, wooden boats -- a must see. We had lunch and fed the pigeons after our tour, the latter being the most entertaining for our littlest traveler.





3. THE ROYAL CAFE

We ate lunch here, and I have to say it was one of the most interesting lunches I've ever had. They serve a speciality called Smushi, which is supposed to be a mix of the Danish open-faced sandwich and sushi. It's definitely in a category all it's own!



The middle one that we ordered was described as having "an exciting topping." Oooooo -- let's try it! When it came out, my sister and I looked at each other like what is that, and what are we supposed to do with it? Turns out, the exciting topping was a quail egg that you were supposed to drizzle all over the top. We ended up passing on the drizzle, but the presentation was spectacular.



I also ordered Black Tea from India. Not only did it taste delicious, but it was served in an equally delicious cup:



Another delicious thing about the cafe? Gold painted high chairs. Maggie liked them too.



Those are my top 3, but truly, Copenhagen is the kind of place you can just set off in with no agenda and have a ball. Needless to say, it was hard to come back, and hop straight into the first day of school!

Backyard Living

Now that the weather is warming up, we've been spending lots more time outside, which has got me wanting to transform our backyard into another living area. Some spaces that inspire me [most of these come from Cookie. sadness.]:



[This deck = idyllic, and I'm all for year-round Christmas lights. Why shouldn't every day be festive?!]





[The ultimate see-saw adventure. For reals. And the back of Rachel Griffiths' house. We've just started watching Brothers & Sisters on Netflix, and Sarah is one of my favorite characters, so I was excited to see Rachel Griffiths' house in the last issue of Cookie Magazine. She has a beautiful outdoor space. I couldn't find any pictures online from that article, but I did find these from Living Etc. Not sure if it is the same house, but it has her style of blending indoors and out that I really like.]



[Hammock? Yes, please! and this rolling sandbox is genius.]



[there has also been talk of a tree house...check out these -- one from the UK and one from Germany]

Since this is our first year with an actual yard, I really want to plant some veggies, too. I'm trying to start small so I don't get overwhelmed, and think we may stick to tomatoes [although I've heard they don't grow well here], cucumbers, peppers and some herbs. Have you seen the portable garden sac by Bacsac? The picture on their home page [below] cracks me up -- could you imagine driving around like that?! Those containers would be a great way to get started, though.



Yowzers -- this post is getting long! I'll let you know how our transformation goes...and will hopefully have some pictures of produce in the coming months!

Succulent

How much do I love Succulents? Very much. The boys have made friends with "The Succulent Lady" at the Farmer's Market, and come home with some beautiful and interesting plants. Now I'm just trying to figure out how to make them look something like these from Modern Economy:


How great would those look on our dining room table??! Plus, if I can muster up the patience for dirt all over the place, the boys would love putting these together...I'll let you know what happens!

Go Garden Green

In honor of Earth Day, I'd like to celebrate the fact that the Obamas have started planting a vegetable garden on the South Lawn of the White House. Obviously, I don't think that Michelle and Barrack are going to be out there everyday weeding, what with all the other responsibilities that accompany that office, but I like the symbolism of it. That they think it is a worthwhile endeavor may encourage others to do the same. [Find out more here]

We are putting an offer in on another house today -- it's a real fixer-upper, but it's got potential. I made sure there was a spot, though, just in case, for a patch of veggies -- nothing beats homegrown tomatoes and cucumbers in my opinion! And in Florida, the growing season is so long, too. I'll let you know what happens.

Here are some other veggie gardens that have been inspiring me lately...

There's a good little article over at Southern Living with some basics for growing your own veggies, complete with pictures...

[mmmmm....]

This next one is a garden by Marney Bean that was featured in Martha Stewart...

She does such an amazing job of mixing ground covers and flowering plants with her cabbage, kale, tomatoes and onions. And in this next one, she surrounds an artichoke plant with flowering herbs.

Happy Earth Day!

Banish Apartment Blues

Bring the yard inside! These grass squares were designed with just that in mind -- to blend the indoors with the out in order to make spaces more breathable. Recycled products were used for the whole project.

[via thedieline.com; find out more about the project here]

Moss Packaging

You know about my obsession with moss [for those who haven't heard, click here and here], but did you know that Coto --"fine accessories for the creative thinker"-- uses moss in their packaging?! Reindeer moss is their version of packing peanuts. Genius -- I love it.




p.s. they are having a 50% off sale right now -- their cuff links would make fun, unique Valentines...

[Images via thedieline.com]