Blooming Where I'm Planted - Starting with Candles

In light of my last post, thank you for all of your comments and stories about homes and houses. I was encouraged by your confessions and your cheering-on, so onward it is!

Over the weekend I had a memory of an old friend who deliberately cultivated a signature smell in her home; one of a beautiful fragrance called Bird of Paradise from Circle E Candles and I decided to start there in my blooming where I'm planted phase. 

Smells are so powerful, and we are brought through spaces in time, just by the memory that a smell can bring and I want my house to smell good and fresh and pleasant to those who come through the door. 

 So I invested in a scent that I could enjoy, but it wouldn't be too overbearing. There are a few shops around town that sell the Circle E brand, and I headed to the one with the biggest inventory to choose my signature scent.

I almost chose the Bird of Paradise, but it is really too sweet for my taste. I would get a headache if I burned it too long, so after smelling all the choices and then walking away for a bit, I came back and chose one that was fresh and fruity, but not icky sweet. 

These candles are an investment, money wise, so I wanted to make sure I chose carefully and brought home one that I could live with, but also giving myself grace to choose a different scent (next time), if this one doesn't turn out the way I hoped.

So far...it's been delightful!

Every evening after dinner, I light the candle and let it burn until we turn in for the night. It has just enough fragrance that I can smell it, but it's not over powering. I learned that candles have memory and the proper way to burn a candle is to let the wax melt all the way to each corner or the burning will start going down, like a tunnel, and you will lose the longevity of the candle. I never knew that!

So each night, I burn it for at least two hours before putting it out. 

Just in the past few days, it's become something I look forward to doing and especially knowing that I'm intentionally making this a part of my home, to look and feel cozier and more my own. 

I have some other simple plans coming up and I plan on sharing them here as they unfold. We've already done the heavy lifting of having the house painted on the inside, before we ever moved in, so now it's really just a matter of adding personal touches that make it feel like our cozy space. I'm excited to share those with you all, in the near future.

🏡

In other news, we had a wonderful Easter Sunday. We attended church with our kids and got to watch both of our boys lead worship and sing. We will never not marvel at the way the Lord uses them both. We then had lunch at Ted and Alex's, with great food, Easter basket toys and chocolates everywhere. Toddlers running around, babies being passed back and forth and lots of good conversations. 

I made a dirt cake, which the girls requested, and they couldn't wait to get a plate full. Here's a picture of Ella ready to dig in 😅

We had pulled pork sandwiches, potato salad, homemade mac and cheese, chips and deviled eggs, all of which were delicious! We had desserts and chocolates and most of all, just enjoyed all being together. 

We have failed the past few holidays at taking a family photo, so it's bits and pieces of the gang, as we can capture special moments, but we will get one soon, I hope. 

In the meantime...here are some special moments I did manage to get on "film"...

Asa trying out Addie's new goggles

Collin and Sunday James

The girls excited over their basket

Millie (me) with Asa and Sunday James
a few days before

Sunday James

A basket for the gang
Emmy, Ella, Addie, Calem and Eden

A basket for Asa and Sunday

And that's it for this post.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and a special Easter. 

Thanks again for indulging my meltdown about my house. That's what friends are for, huh?

Until Next Time...

Blessings!