Bricks ‘n Blooms Weekly 140

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I hope you had a great week!

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Random Things Happening Behind the Scenes at Bricks ‘n Blooms

What a week it was!

When we last left off, I was on my way to Michigan to visit Proven Winners and Walters Gardens.

Well, that trip never happened because my flight was canceled about 15-20 minutes before I was supposed to board the plane.

I started out at terminal C97 at Newark Airport. Only to be told about 25-30 minutes before boarding the gate was changed to C115. If you are familiar with Newark Airport, you know that’s a far dash across the terminal to the other side.

So I ran with my bags to get to the new gate. And when I arrived, they said the flight was canceled. Go back to customer service (pretty much where I was at C91) to figure out what to do.

I went all the way back to Gate C91 to at least 1000 people standing in a very long line looking pretty upset.

I tried calling United from my phone but couldn’t get a hold of anyone. so I asked Chris to come back to get me because there was no chance I was standing on that line when I live about 40 minutes away from the airport.

While waiting for him, I was searching for flights out of Newark later on or the next day but couldn’t get anything. Which makes sense because massive storms were rolling through the northeast and noone could get out.

Nothing was available out of Newark until the 12th. Since I was suppose to fly back on the 13th in the am, that made no sense.

So I searched local airports like La Guardia, JFK, and Philadelphia and couldn’t get anything out on the Monday 10th.

I found some flights on the 11th from those other airports but they were really expensive and not direct. So I wouldn’t get there until really late in the day and would have missed the whole first day of events.

Believe it or not, I considered driving but it looked like a 12 hour ride for a 3 day trip. That would have been a bit exhausting for me to do on my own.

So, I guess this trip was not meant to be and I am pretty bummed out. I was really looking forward to going too.

The Consolation Trip

Wait what?

While I was frantically searching for flights out to Michigan and realizing I couldn’t fly out there, I mentioned to Chris that I was all packed with no place to go.

He suggested we book a quick trip somewhere in a few days after flights resumed.

So you know what?

That’s what we did! We left on Thursday, and I am currently in Nassau, the Bahamas!

Not too shabby right????

Oh my, this place is amazing too. We are staying at the Grand Baha Mar and it is one cool place. I’ve never been to Nassau before and I’m so glad we did this on the fly.

We were able to get a direct flight, a hotel room with an ocean view, and while I couldn’t get to Michigan earlier in the week, I am glad we made up for it with something fun.

The weather has been great, the food is amazing, and we are having the best time.

We didn’t celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary a few years ago due to travel restrictions during that time we all hung out at home, so we decided this was the trip we didn’t take to celebrate.

And I am loving it!

I’ll share more about it next week. Right now, the beautiful sandy beach is calling my name!

In the Garden

The flights were canceled from some massive storms that blew through the northeast. My gardens took a bit of a beating.

But I cut some of the flowers back that were damaged and hopefully, they’ll look pretty again when I get back from my trip.

On Monday when I went out to check things, the first of the Dahlia Fleurel blooms arrived and seriously, the flower is like 5x the size of my hand!

What I’m Shopping For This Week

A flight to Michigan and a trip to the Bahamas.

But seriously!

I did a lot of Amazon Prime Day shopping too. I hope you found all the deals that you were looking for too.

If not, you can check out what I was shopping for this week as I curated a good list here.

And if you are already doing back-to-school shopping or your child is heading off to college, Target is having a serious sale until 7/31! You can check it out here.

When we get back from our trip, I’ve got to start getting Tori ready for her first year at college. So even though it is still July, back to school is in the back of my mind!

What’s Happening at Bricks ‘n Blooms

It was a fun week on the blog!

Earlier in the week, I shared some beginner tips for growing a vegetable garden.

If you aren’t already growing your own vegetables, I hope this post inspires you to start one in the fall with some cool season varieties.

Want to keep the color in your flower garden going from spring through fall?

Plant these 5 late summer garden flowers to help bring your garden into fall with extended bloom times and beautiful fall colors.

I also shared some 10 easy-care companion plant partner ideas for the vegetable garden.

Because one of the key principles to keep in mind when growing a vegetable garden is the concept of companion planting.

Wait until you see how companion planting improves the overall health of your garden without the use of harsh pesticides.

And finally, I shared this weekend’s favorite summer cocktail.

I am definitely enjoying where I am vacationing right now!

Amazing Inspiration from Around the Web

I love finding cool inspiration from around the web and wanted to share some of what I’m loving right now.

This DIY rustic birdhouse idea is so creative!

This coastal walk in Maine is beyond gorgeous!

These garden journal ideas.

This painted floor inspiration.

And these vintage and repurposed vintage junk projects you should make now.

If you enjoy these posts, you can find past Bricks ‘n Blooms Weekly posts here.

And… If you’re catching up on blog posts you may have missed, be sure to sign-up to get my newest posts via email to stay up to date with everything that’s happening here on the blog and more.

Garden Supplies I Use

I’m often asked about the garden supplies and tools that I use most. From pruners to deer repellents, here are some of my favorites in no particular order.

• I like to use good-quality garden soil, compost, and perlite when planting.
• I have used this deer repellent with great success. But now, I’m all about this deer repellent that is systemic instead of topical. This means the plant takes it in as opposed to it just smelling bad.
• Hands down this is my favorite hand-weeding tool. You can use it to get underneath roots, loosen soil, and it cuts down on the weeding time because you work much faster.
• But I also love this long, stand-up weeding tool to really get around roses from afar.
• I like to use THIS ORGANIC FERTILIZER for roses because the blooms are more prolific and it’s organic.
• You need a sharp set of pruners when working with plants and flowers. I buy a few so I can stash them around.
• Where pest and disease problems are concerned, I generally use this insecticidal soap or neem oil to help control infestations depending on the issue.
• This is my favorite set-and-forget slow-release fertilizer for houseplants, annuals, and container gardens.
• Whenever I stake my peonies or other plants, I generally use these grow-through garden supports because they work really well and keep the blooms upright.

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Enjoy a beautiful day! xo

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