(boxwood) beauty in the midst

Whirlwind.  That’s what life has resembled at our home for months.  And it shows.  From the outside to the inside, things are not in order.  And I am an order-loving gal.  The culprit?  My co-laborer, my #1 mess-wrangling partner, my hubby husband has been traveling…a lot… and that leaves me flying solo with my beauties in tow.  And that staff I don’t pay and like to pretend I have doesn’t show up just because Beau is on the road.  No cook, no gardener, no cleaning team, no nothing!  Where are they anyway?  I could really use a hand right about now.

You may be thinking…how bad can it really be?  Let’s just say that my dear neighbor drove over last week, rang the doorbell and gently asked, “Is everything alright?”  My response?  “Yes, of course, everything’s alright.”  Then as my legs began to itch from our grass I realized that our normally manicured lawn was nearly to my knees and, in that moment, I knew our whirlwind had officially spilled outside and become public knowledge.  “Oh.  The yard?  Sorry about that.  Beau has been traveling so much and hasn’t had any time to tend to it.”  My neighbor: “Don’t mind the yard.  I was just worried that something was really wrong, that someone was ill or injured.  I am just glad to know everyone is OK.”

Yup.  So much of a whirlwind that we have good people worried.  Worried.  So what’s a family to do?  Beau took a vacation day and spent it getting reacquainted with our yard.  And I decided to tend to a little landscaping.

Enter my small, yet slightly helpful, contribution to whipping our outdoor space into shape.

Operation: Trim those boxwood shrubs!  Seriously, look at these.  This photo doesn’t do this hot mess justice.  We had a mild winter so the shrubs didn’t take a beating like they can when winters are tough.  In fact, they just picked up where they left off in the fall…growing, growing, growing!

So I got about the business of giving these babies a little haircut.  Boxwood shrubs are just lovely.  I love their color, their ability to be sculptured and their enduring class.  I love them so much that I’ve planted them, potted them and bought faux versions of them.  Once I even potted dwarf boxwoods into urns and had them flank my fireplace.  I know they aren’t normally found indoors.  But my love for them was blind and I decided to give it a whirl anyway.  That was until the unpleasant odor they emanate opened my eyes right up and they promptly found a lovely new home outdoors.

I took a few of the trimmings and placed them in a vase.  And crossed my fingers that boxwood in a much smaller quantity wouldn’t overwhelm my nasal sensibilities.

And I am happy to report that it worked!  Stink-free beauty.

Boxwood, Beaut.one, and a monogrammed candle pot.

I wish my ‘haircuts’ would have such home decor enhancing results.

Yes.  Those are rabbits.  More rabbits.  Shocking, right?  (To read more about my apparent rabbit decor obsession click here.)

A jar of old antique keys and my book club’s latest reading series keep the boxwood (and the bunnies) company.

I decided this little chalkboard would join the fun.  I bought two of these square chalkboards for our family’s photo shoot last summer.  They came framed in unpainted wood.  For the photo shoot I painted them blue.  Now one has a fresh coat of white.  We use these all the time to leave messages for one another and send birthday or celebratory greetings via text photo messages.  They are so fun!

(Boxwood) beauty in the midst.  Sometimes it really is just the little things.  Here’s to finding beauty in the whirlwinds of your life.

Stacey