It's a mystery...

We had perfect weather this weekend. Woke up Saturday to a warm, but drizzly day. It was just right for going shopping for plants for the flower beds and some hanging baskets. There were very few people out and about at the garden centers, so the election was much better!

One of my favorite flowers is the peony.

We found a fabulous deal on a herbaceous peony plant at Home Depot...originally $35, but most recently clearanced to $3! We picked one up on a whim. Now mind you, we have no idea what color of peony we picked (which is why we only got one...), because over time someone had probably switched tags around and the tag on the bucket and the tag on the plant say different things. So, it's a mystery that will have to wait until next summer, but no matter what shade, I'm sure it's bound to be a beauty!



Just a few tidbits I found out while browsing for info on care of this beauty...

Apparently peonies are important in feng shui. Putting a picture or a real peony in the southwest corner of the living room is supposed to bring good luck in marriage to daughters in the house...and potentially romance to the wife...hmmm...but it's a bad idea to put them in the bedroom, because the man of the house may stray. So, better watch where that gets planted...and keep my 3 year old DD away, LOL!

And, the origin of the name "peony" is kind of neat, too...
The peony is named after Paeon (also spelled Paean), a student of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine and healing. Asclepius became jealous of his pupil; Zeus saved Paeon from the wrath of Asclepius by turning him into the peony flower. I'm not sure quite how it was good fortune to be turned into a flower when your teacher got mad at you...but, oh well, they're still beautiful!

There, a botany lesson, Greek history, and feng shui all rolled up in my mysterious, mistagged bargain!

Everything in its place...

Part of my project this week has been trying to (re)discover all the cool stuff in my "stash". I have so many things, but once you have so much it's easy to let it become overwhelming!

I've wanted to create some kind of storage for all the inking sponges, holders, felt pads, and make-up sponges I use for inking. I found this cool (and CHEAP!) storage case at Hobby Lobby.


(the pic is linked to the online listing if you want more details)

I think it was with the crafting/beading storage, but I picked it up when it was 50% off (all storage) and it was only $1.99 to begin with!

It has nice small spaces to keep each of the colored sponges separately, and I could label them with my Dymo label maker. The only problem was that none of the spaces fit the handle/holder for my sponges or felts. The dividers are relatively tin, though and I was able to snip out a slot with a pair of heavy kitchen snips. The handle now rests in the groove I made.



So, what do you think? What's your recent "bargain" solution?