The home stretch......

4.29.15- 

What's the saying?  So close but yet so...... far.  That's how I feel about Summer approaching.  Only 30 more days but 30 MORE days!! My girls are so ready to be done with school & already dreaming up ways to spend their Summer days & nights.  So that's lead to a little bit of slacking on school & homework around here. For the past few days I've been trying to come up with a way to encourage them to do their best, focus on what they need to do & finish before they start daydreaming of care free days. I wanted to introduce a concept that will hopefully inspire them & help them finish the school year out STRONG.  

 At breakfast this morning they were greeted by 4 letters T.T.F.T. They have heard me talk about them before but this was their first time actually seeing the letters right in front of them.  Made the whole idea more meaningful I think.

 I heard about these 4 letters growing up, my Mom would always tell me & it's something she learned from her Dad.  I used it so much in school that I had the letters engraved in my college class ring, that I still wear everyday.  The letters stand for Think Through Follow Through.  Such an easy concept but sometimes a hard thing to actually do.  That's where my girls are right now.  They think about what they need to do but sometimes following all the way through on assignments, projects or papers doesn't happen.  It's tough, I remember & kids now a days {oh, boy that made me sound old!}  have so much more on their plate everyday than I ever did anyway as a 7th or 11th grader.  I told my girls that for the next 30 days I was going to put, hide, & display TTFT in lots of different ways around the house & into their lives during the day. I encouraged them to be on the look out to find them & when they do remember what the letters stand for. Oh, this is going to be fun!

-A few magnets on the back door an easy way to start!  Bonus, it's the last place they see as they walk out the door for school each morning- 

 After the girls left for school & I cleaned up breakfast this morning, I wanted to find a spot to display the big letters until school got out for Summer.  I found the perfect spot up above their pictures in the study nook right off the kitchen.  Hopefully it will be a cute reminder when they get home from school & unload their backpacks to Think Through Follow Through on what they need to start, work on, or complete before they head back to school the next day.  Love good visual reminders, sometimes that's all you need to jump start, focus & finish. It's a good reminder for this Momma too. 

Do you have favorite quotes, sayings or things you use in your home to motivate your family or yourself? If so I'd love to hear.  It might even inspire me too.

Happy Wednesday! 

{M}

Stocking the online shelves!

4.21.15- 

Posting pics all this week of H&H items available to order. I'll also be doing a GiVEAWAY sometime during the week for your chance to WiN an H&H frame. So be on the lookout! All the details will be coming soon. Follow @hollyhocksandhoneybees on Instagram & my online shop @shophollyhocksandhoneybees so you don't miss out on a thing. 

 

 -You can NEVER have too many frames in the house & pics of family & friends on display! My decorating philosophy- 

{M} 

Inspiration overload!

4.20.15- 

Whew!  What a couple crazy weeks it's been for this honeybee.  Ever since The Hive, last month, I have been here, there & just about EVERYWHERE! The best thing about traveling, & one thing I know to be true, is that you can be inspired all the time in unexpected ways. When you start looking for inspiration, you for sure find it just about everywhere you look. Thought I would share some things that I snapped with my iphone along the way & tell you what's up next for me & how all this inspiration is going to come in handy, I'm sure. 

So when you travel to the Nation's Capitol there are the "traditional" things to see & be inspired by obviously.  But the surprising thing is what I wasn't expecting to find while traveling through the city.  My 2 youngest were with us on this trip & they discovered a new favorite spot, so much so that we went back 3 times.  They just had to soak it all in, look around & of coarse want everything they saw. 

-These 2 were in heaven with all the clothes in this store.  I loved all the cement, wood, patterns, textures & ideas I saw!-

 Funny that we have a store here but for some reason this Urban Outfitters in Chinatown was uber cool! As I was walking around waiting for them to try on clothes & browse the store.  I couldn't help but be totally inspired for "a project" the hubby & I are undertaking the next couple of months  

{I'll be sharing more about this under a secret code name in the future}

-Geo shapes & pegboards- simple as it gets but really, really neat to look at!-

 Was really drawn to all the wood features, modern industrial feel of the store. Loved the white back ground to all the wood, metal & glass that was around.  Gave me LoTS of ideas for our "secret project" Getting excited just thinking about it.  

 

 Ok, another unexpected gem in DC was going to lunch & couldn't focus on the food.  There was so much eye candy, everywhere!  Wish I could have taken more pictures but I think people would have started talking & wondering what in the world I was doing.  Again,  another very cool industrial space {just something about it that just gets me I guess} Lots of huge glass windows, metal, wood accents & the coolest vintage light fixtures you ever did see!  Loved getting to eat here & if you're traveling back to DC I would highly recommend it.  Yummy comfort food & an amazing atmosphere to dine at.

 One of the first thing I noticed were these ginormous muslin & cotton billowy clouds hanging from the ceiling.  They were actually lite from behind & were simply dreamy to look at.  Our table was right underneath them & I was just smitten by them. 

 Where you sat to wait to be seated they had a library of books to thumb through & look at.  This one immediately caught my eye but again was drawn to the cool shelves it sat on.  Such a great idea.  My daughters & I enjoyed reading the books while we waited during the lunch rush hour for our table.

-Really liked this cute picture book.  Makes you think & appreciate where are food comes from-

Be still my heart!  Oh, if I could have this kind of shelving all through my kitchen I'd love it!  The openness of it, pretty glass jars to display food in. Loved looking at this display.  This wasn't the only one they had, they were everywhere through out the resteraunt.

Loved are time in DC & so much I could show you but I won't bore you, I think you get the idea.  From the cool, dark shades of the East Coast we came home, hopped on a plane & headed to to sunny, bright & hot Phoenix for Spring Break. WoW!  Such a contrast between what we had just seen but being completely inspired in a whole different kind of way.

 We completely lucked out with stumbling upon this great place to eat with amazingly, beautiful bright murals painted all around.  A teenagers playground!  So fun watching these 3 get out there phones, pose here & there, angle their cameras to get just the perfect pic.  Such a fun afternoon that we weren't expecting to happen at all. Thought we were just stopping to grab a bite to eat.  If you're traveling to Phoenix check out the Barrio Cafe.  You won't regret it. Amazing food & terrific local atmosphere, fun to walk around.  Here are just a few pics that I snapped of pretty things that caught my eye.

-I always like to find a 5.-

 I guess we were hungry this trip because I'm sharing so much of the places we ate at.  Funny how things happen like that.  I reached out to my friends on IG & asked for places to go, try, eat & explore while we were here & we got recommended to go eat here.  So glad I asked! 

 Again another really great place with a unique vibe about it.  So fun to look around & see so many things that were inspiring.  Ok, first off this huge palm tree was right above us as we ate, amazing!  I don't know what it was about this particular palm tree but it was just massive & pretty. Such a beautiful canopy to sit underneath.  

Loved the color combo of our booth.  First of all, I grew up in the 70's so the olive green material, hello..... LoVE! Paired with the cement brick & wood simply groovy!

 My girls walked around & discovered an entire wall of cassette tapes!  How cool & artsy is that?  We even had a little history lesson to make sure they knew what they were. {Haha} Another idea that's going to be put to use in the "secret project" coming up. 

Bonus for eating at Windsor is that there is the most adorable little sweet shop connected to it called, Churn.  There is ice cream, cookies & other sweets.  As soon as I walked in, saw cookies displayed on a vintage green cake stand, I knew I would like this place! 

 Just had to try the Salted Chocolate Chunk cookie because it looked so pretty on the cake stand & happy to report that it was gooooooood!  

 All the beautiful things in nature in Arizona inspired me.  Miss Mace & I toured the resorts herb garden & got to see some artichokes growing.  I've never seen the plant before, it's very big.  Fun to see them in their natural element. 

 Even walking down the street was fun to snap pictures off.  I think every city should have the name of where you're at on the side walk or on street covers, you'll always know where you're at. Good thinking, Gilbert!

 Oh, Cactus I think I love you.  These beautiful plants are really amazing!  How they thrive & survive in the elements they do is really remarkable. The things we can learn & apply in our lives from these incredible plants. 

{If you want to know what I'm talking about my cute friend, @Stef_littlefield posted about it on IG, you should head over & read for yourself}

  & well, just because it's never too early to start thinking about decorating for Halloween I snapped this picture at an antique store.  Thought "I'm going to do that, so cute!"  Where I saw this skeleton on display by the counter.  Something to mark, put away & store until October rolls around. 

Thanks for letting me share a bit of my travels with you.  Fun to have a desire to sit down & blog again.  Excited to reveal more about my "secret project"  & more inspiration behind it with all of you.  Now, I've got to get to work so I can update the H&H Shop over on IG.  

{@shophollyhocksandhoneybees}

Have a terrific Monday!

{M}

Throwback Thursday- Tradition

4.2.15- 

Throw back Thursday probably isn't a "thing" in the blogging world but I'm making it happen today.  Sharing with you something that is an Easter/Conference Weekend tradition in our home.  I've shared this with so many over the years & they all love it.  It's a family recipe & one we enjoy often. Hope you like it to.  

Thanks, {M}

  Still "BuZZed"  from a terrific Hive & wanted to hop on the blog to say THaNK You to everyone who came by, I really appreciate your support & friendship. 

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I had the sweetest comment said to me on Thursday as I was checking out a customer at The Hive.  She said to me, " I think you should write a cookbook."  She kind of caught me off guard a bit with that statement. I said, "Oh, I don't know about that." & then she said, "Well I think you should."  How sweet is that!  Her comment made my day {got me thinking a bit too} & filled up my bucket for sure!  So kind of her.  Thanks, {T}! I love sharing things with you on this blog that I love to make. I'm glad my readers enjoy what I share. It makes me happy to hear from all of you too. 

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If I did ever write a cookbook this recipe would be one of the first that I would include- it's a family favorite & the perfect thing to make on a wintery, snowy day like the one we had today.  Winter is here, I think! 

-Just pulled this out of the oven, it smells heavenly!!-  

If you haven't tried this yet- you should!  The perfect thing to make & eat on a Sunday afternoon.

{Just a thought ;)} 

Sweet Petal Roll 

Scald:  1  1/2 C. milk 

Add to warmed milk:
        6 T. shortening 

        1 T. salt 

        4 T. sugar
Cool & add: 5 cups of Flour 
Dissolve 2 T. yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Let rest a few minutes & then add to dough mixture & knead for 5 minutes 

Let raise for 1 hour. 

After dough has risen melt 1 cube of butter & place into a shallow bowl.  In another shallow bowl combine 1 c. Sugar, 2 T. Cinnamon, 1/2 C. Brown Sugar. 

Rip off a ball of dough & roll into a worm shape, about 6- 8 inches long. Dip into butter & then into sugar mixture.  Put them round & round in a pizza pan with a side on it. {or you can divide the dough & make 2 -9 inch rounds}  DO NOT use a pan without a lip around it or you'll be cleaning your oven after. *if you have extra dough after making the petal rolls, just roll a piece of dough into a ball, toss in the butter & sugar & then place them in a muffin tin to bake while the rolls are still raising.  {I usually get about 5-6 cinnamon balls when I use the 9 inch cake rounds} 

Raise for 45 minutes, pre heat oven to 350. Bake for 20 min & then ice with a powdered sugar glaze {powdered sugar, milk & vanilla}

Enjoy!

{M}