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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

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March 8, 2019

Just Sweet and Simple

I attended a university that was two hours away from home. It was the perfect distance for me. Far enough to feel like I was “away” from home but close enough to be able to get a break from campus life and do my laundry for free.

Every time I would leave to go back to school, my mom would take pity on me and hand me some spending money. Without fail, I would take some of that money straight to the farmer’s market to buy fresh flowers to take back to my dorm room.

My mom would laugh and shake her head at me, marveling that a college student would use extra cash to buy flowers instead of food.

But, in a stage of life where I was on the threshold of adulthood, those little $5 bundles of joy were a symbol of comfort and of home. And all of these years later (twenty to be exact), I would still rather spend a few dollars on fresh flowers than on a cup of fancy coffee. Not that you can’t have both, right?

They just do my soul a world of good every time I walk past them and it amazes me that something so simple can have such a powerful impact.

So, here’s my question for you today. What is something small and simple that you do around your home that fills your soul with joy? I’d love to hear from you!

Happy weekend dear friends!

21 Comments Filed Under: Good Ideas

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  1. Kathy M. says

    March 8, 2019 at 4:18 PM

    I agree a fresh flower arrangement brightens my day. Another thing that I love to do is make seasonal vignettes for my kitchen counter and coffee table. Just makes a room look better. I almost always use a real or faux candle as part of vignette so have a bright spot in the evening.

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      March 8, 2019 at 4:47 PM

      I love vignettes too Kathy! They are such a simple way to add seasonal touches and make spaces feel cozy. Hope you have a great weekend!

      Reply
  2. Wanda says

    March 8, 2019 at 4:49 PM

    Classical music to suit my mood is my simple joy that I don’t do every day. Watching the birds flit and perform around the backyard feeders relaxes me. Both together can be a symphony or a simple melody.

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      March 8, 2019 at 9:15 PM

      Wanda, we just started hearing the birds chirping again here in Oregon which gives us so much hope of Spring coming and you are so right that it’s truly a joyful sound. I listen to classical music while I work which is definitely calming. Hope you have a great weekend!

      Reply
      • Mimi Matthews says

        March 11, 2019 at 9:17 AM

        Our birds have begun chirping again too!! Don’t realize how much I miss that until it starts again! Yay spring! (Michigan)

        Reply
  3. Shannon says

    March 8, 2019 at 6:09 PM

    I love to have fresh scented candles and christian music playing.

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      March 8, 2019 at 9:13 PM

      That sounds absolutely divine! 😉 Have a great weekend Shannon and thanks so much for stopping by! ~ Vanessa

      Reply
  4. Michele M. (Finch Rest) says

    March 8, 2019 at 6:20 PM

    Funny you mention this. Just yesterday I bought myself some flowers – I need have been having a rough go with health, and I needed some flowers. I have the prettiest bouquet with roses and tulips – and all sorts of color….not me at all…..I usually like to buy white and green only.

    So I love this post and am happy to say I have a pretty flower arrangement I am enjoying too. Spring will come, sometimes we have to just buy it, haha.

    Snow melted a bit today – so there is hope. There is always hope. : – )

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      March 8, 2019 at 9:16 PM

      Michele I’m so sorry you’ve been having a rough time lately! I’m glad you are enjoying a lovely bouquet and that it is bringing you joy. And yes, there is definitely always hope! Much love to you friend and thanks so much for coming by. ~ Vanessa

      Reply
  5. Susan says

    March 8, 2019 at 7:03 PM

    I’m the same way! Love fresh flowers! Makes me smile!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      March 8, 2019 at 9:17 PM

      They really do just brighten everything up don’t they. Both my home and my mood! Thanks so much for coming by Susan!

      Reply
  6. Barb says

    March 9, 2019 at 9:48 AM

    I just made two terrariums for my table.. love the green color it adds to the room!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      March 9, 2019 at 4:17 PM

      Oh I need to try making some too Barb! They seem easy and so perfect for adding that pop of freshness to a room. Hope you have a great weekend!

      Reply
  7. Esther says

    March 9, 2019 at 11:50 AM

    It’s fresh flowers for me too! (And since I got a Keurig – I do love to have chai tea pods on hand).
    By the Way, do you know of any ladies going to the Becoming Conference from Salem?

    Reply
  8. Helen says

    March 9, 2019 at 12:58 PM

    I love flowers too! ❤️💐

    Reply
  9. Peggy says

    March 10, 2019 at 3:55 AM

    Light a candle

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      March 11, 2019 at 9:57 AM

      Yes! I love candles! Thanks for stopping by Peggy. 🙂

      Reply
  10. Lynn says

    March 10, 2019 at 7:42 AM

    I love having fresh flowers on my kitchen table! it is just one of my “things.” I almost always pick them from my yard, although I don’t really have a beautiful garden or even an abundance of flowers. Sometimes it’s actually only greenery, but it still brightens my day. I just enjoy bringing the outside in, where I can enjoy its beauty even more. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  11. Mimi Matthews says

    March 11, 2019 at 9:19 AM

    Flowers! Always flowers. I miss being able to cut my “yard bouquets” so I buy them at the grocery. Also, like mentioned, I love to make little vignettes around them.

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      March 11, 2019 at 10:00 AM

      Yes to flowers!! I totally agree Mimi!

      Reply
  12. Karen says

    March 14, 2019 at 10:15 AM

    I love having a Saturday morning to myself to leisurely clean house while listening to Christian music. Love to put essential oils in my diffuser to get a springy, clean smell going on at the same time.

    Reply

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Yesterday on the way home from school I had the ra Yesterday on the way home from school I had the radio tuned to my daughter's favorite station and a song that was playing had a line in it that really stood out to me. It made reference to a 'season of the sticks' which I think its safe to say must mean winter. I thought that was such an accurate, albeiet kind of depressing, picture of this time of the year.

While we definitely have more than our fair share of evergreen trees here in Oregon, we also have plenty of trees and bushes that are reduced to sticks during the cold months. But, this morning as I looked out my kitchen window, greedily sipping from my mug of coffee, I marveled at the beauty of the winter sunrise. The sky was all pinks and oranges with frost on the rooftops and a little bit of fog. And, I realized that part of why it was so amazing is because I could see it more clearly through the sticks. The bare branches allowed me a view that I wouldn't be able to see if those same branches were covered in leaves. Being stripped down to almost nothing revealed something magnificent.

We have seasons of the sticks in our lives too, don't we? Times when we feel as though we've been stripped bare and left exposed. It's easy to think that this is a place where all is ugly and dark. And yet, just like the winter sunrise was more visible because of the bare branches, the vulnerability we feel in the winter season of our souls allows us to get a glimpse of beauty that we wouldn't see otherwise. In the lush, warm seasons it's so easy to become comfortable. But in the bare, cold seasons we recognize just how much we need to rely on the One who placed the stars in the heavens and is sovereign over all.

If you feel like your soul has been stripped bare and you've been left exposed and vulnerable, may I encourage you today to ask the Lord to help you to see the beauty in this 'season of the sticks'.

“Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." Psalm 143:7
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