Well hello Mother Nature!

Fun fact about me:  I'm a bit of a photography buff.  For as long as I can remember I've always loved taking pictures.  People shots, action shots, still shots...you name it, I'll shoot it.  A 'professional' I'm most certainly not, but I've been told that I'm quite talented with a camera.

Lately my camera and I have been venturing out to Lake Katherine in Palos Heights, Illinois.  Lake Katherine is a man-made nature preserve with waterfalls, botanical gardens, walking trails, wildflowers, and of course, a lake.  The preserve is also home to a number of birds, ducks, geese, fish and various other critters.  I always go snap happy when I'm there!  Here's a few shots from a recent trip to the lake.

Enjoy!
~Jean

Wednesday Wishlist: Farm, Sweet Farm

You can take the girl out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the girl.  Maybe, but how about if you take this girl out of the city, and plant her on a farm out in the country.  Surround her with rolling hills and big skies and land where she can grow her own food, plant a beautiful flower garden, tend to her chickens and goats and pigs and sheep.  Watch as she sits on her porch at night and gazes up at the stars.  Yeah, that's my dream, and one day I hope to have my own farm and live off my land.  I love the city (Chicago will always be my home), but I long for the tranquility and slower pace of country life.  Less noise, less pollution, less distractions.   Soon, very soon.

Image courtesy of farmkitchen.com

Image courtesy of picture-newsletter.com

Image courtesy of scgaproperty.com

Image courtesy of thelocalharvestdish.wordpress

Image courtesy of michigansweetfarm.com

Image courtesy of gwarffynnon.co.uk

Image courtesy of cache.boston.com

Image courtesy of scrapetv.com

Image courtesy of bizios.com

Image courtesy of photobucket.com

Wednesday Wishlist: Every Bloomin' Thing

The arrival of Spring brings one of my favorite tasks:  gardening!  All winter long I anxiously await for the temperatures to rise so I can finally get out in the yard and prepare the earth for my gardens.  This year I  plan to relocate my veggie garden from behind the garage to a spot where it will get at least 8 full hours, if not more, of glorious sunshine a day.  But that little patch of earth behind the garage will not lie fallow.  I will be transforming that spot into my Serenity Garden, a tranquil place just for me, where I'll be surrounded by a lush variety of both annual and perennial blooms.  This week's Wishlist features some of the beautiful bloomin' things I'd love to have growing on my land.  Enjoy!

Cornflower

Dahlia

Hyacinth

Lily of the Valley

Delphinium

Geranium

Gerbera

Madonna Lily

Cosmos

Field Forget-Me-Not

Gladiolus

Tuberose

Mother's Day Specials -- LIMITED TIME OFFERS

Mother's Day is fast approaching and JMO has a few beautiful and affordable offers just in time to honor Mom.

Handmade Soap Bundle

JMO now offers handcrafted bar soaps in a variety of scents and colors. Made using only the finest ingredients, our soaps are lather-rich with superb moisturizing properties that are a luxurious treat for your skin. For a limited time only, and just in time for Mother's Day, May 10, we are offering 2 full size bars (approx. 4-5 oz.) in your choice of Pink Sugar (pink), Ocean (robin's egg blue), and Coconut (pale yellow). In addition to the full size bars, Mom also gets 2 guest-size "candied" soaps in Mango Papaya, as well as a Mini Crocheted Cotton Scrubbie. The entire set will be beautifully packaged and ready for giving. Regularly $25, we are offering this set for $20, and that includes shipping & handling! All soaps are made to order to ensure freshness. We ship anywhere in the U.S. via USPS First Class Mail. (Sorry, no international shipping at this time.) Hurry, this offer expires Friday, May 1, 2009, so we encourage you to order NOW to ensure delivery by Mother's Day.

Everlasting Bouquet

A fresh flower bouquet is a lovely and thoughtful gift, but unfortunately a short-lived one. So we've created the Everlasting Bouquet, a collection of 3 crocheted flowers complete with it's own bud vase and rock filler. These beauties will never wilt, never need watering, and last year round. This is one bouquet that will last forever!

To introduce this newest item to the JMO Home Decor collection, we are offering an Everlasting Bouquet for just $20 (includes shipping & handling). If intended as a Mother's Day gift, we MUST receive your order no later than Thursday, April 30, 2009. We realize it's really short notice, but we want to be sure we are allowed enough time to create your flowers and ship your package so that it arrives before May 10. We ship anywhere in the U.S. via USPS First Class Mail. (Sorry, no international shipping at this time.) Flowers will be created using our choice of colors--we promise it will be FABULOUS!

These offers are not available on our website. Prices good through May 1, 2009. The only accepted method of payment for these offers is Paypal. To place an order for a Soap Bundle or Bouquet, please send us an email at jmm@jmayoriginals.com. If ordering soaps, please include your 2 color/scent choices. We will send a request for payment within 24 hours. ITEMS WILL SHIP ONLY AFTER PAYMENT HAS CLEARED.

Give Mom the gift of handmade this Mother's Day!