Finds & Buys -- Searching for Sunshine Edition

I can't speak for every corner of the Midwest, but I'll take a stab at summarizing the past several months in my corner:  longest winter ever, followed by the wettest and coldest spring.  I don't know if official weather data confirms my summary, but I can say that with the exception of a handful of glorious days (or at least parts of days), it's been fairly miserable.  I admit to medicating with some retail therapy in the form of unnecessary but not super expensive perk-me-up purchases. 

I've written about my love of Nora Fleming products before.  I couldn't resist the rain boot mini Nora Fleming came out with this rainy spring.

Grocery store flowers are always a good perk-me-up purchase.  I perked up a tube vase from Dollar Tree with some colorful spring washi tape. 
 

My kids don't need sunshine to enjoy popsicles.  We love the Wyler's Italian Ice ones.  They have the perfect texture and come in lots of delicious flavors (the orange is the best).  They're always available at Walgreen's, but I also bought a huge box at either Sam's or Costco.  Apologies that I can't remember which spot.  One warning -- if you don't clarify expectations with your popsicle eaters, you'll find abandoned popsicle tops throughout your house and every pair of scissors you own glued together with fruity goodness.
 

Good smelling cleaning products are a real perk-me-up purchase for me,  I am loving the Vetiver & Tea Tree scent from Home & Planet.  Really fresh, clean unique scent.  No, I don't know what Vetiver is either.

 

I was at Wal-Mart in search of a baby gate for our new puppy when I spied this giant insulated jug.  So far, I have used it to keep Diet Coke chilled and it has worked like a charm (even over several hours).  Actual goal is to drink more water this summer and this bottle will serve me well.  It was $14.95.  

Knock on wood, but it seems we are finally entering a season of reliable sunshine.  Best news?  Sunshine is a free perk-me-up and you don't have to de-clutter it later.

#instajoy -- Doodles with @diane.bleck

We're on Spring Break ... in the snow.  My husband and kids are spending most of the day skiing and then returning to our lodgings for plenty of downtime.  Yesterday, so that all the downtime didn't default into device time, I pitched a creative activity to the kids and two of them took the bait.

I showed them the Instagram of @diane.bleck, where she includes lots of doodle ideas and brief how-to videos for doodling inspiration.  We decided on the cabin and skis for obvious reasons.  We were working with a Walgreens sketch pad and the contents of my daughter's travel backpack (hint: lots of gel pens).

 

We all had fun with the activity.  The kids' doodles turned out better than mine.  I think because they added more personal touches whereas I stuck to the program a bit more.  I love how my daughter drew multiple pairs of skiis and branded them.  My ten year-old son added sun and snowflakes -- I was surprised by how he enjoyed the doodling. 

My daughter and I moved on to bunting doodles next.  The ones featured above are mine.  I can see adding some bunting flair to a thank you note, journal page, or bookmark.  So fun!

 

My daughter turned the bunting doodling into a real party!  I couldn't be more charmed by her disco ball.

 

If you're on Instagram, follow @diane.bleck for creative inspiration!  I checked out her website and  it looks like she also offers a variety of online courses, which I can see us enjoying in the future. 

This doodling afternoon was another reminder of how fun, relaxing, and satisfying it is to carve out time to do stuff, create stuff, try new stuff, etc. 

Circle back for future #instajoy posts wherein Instagram inspiration and action will intersect.  And, of course, for #bookstajoy posts where I follow up on literary inspirations from #bookstagrammers.