On My Nightstand: Summer Edition

Hope you all had a happy 4th!

It's been a few months since I've done a nightstand post (Christmas actually! Goodness.) And now that I have fresh summer flowers, I just had to restyle it. :) I love bringing in a big armful of flowers from our yard,and arranging them in vases to place throughout the house.

Lately we've had peonies, which are peetering out now since the rain. They are some really lush, extravagant flowers, with a pretty lush scent too!

Here's a previous snapshot of the early June lilacs. They look so nice arranged in a blue Ball jar. Lilacs also have a glorious, heady scent. Oh, I miss it already! Until next year, I suppose.

So, back to the current vignette...

What I'm Reading

Larkrise to Candleford by Flora Thompson

My family watched all of the Larkrise episodes back when it aired on PBS. Such a good show! The book is largely based on Flora Thompson's own experiences growing up in a small hamlet in Oxfordshire, England. I find it endearing how she made only tiny changes to family names for the novel. For example, their last name, Timms, became Timmins, Flora herself became Laura, and her brother, Edwin, was called Edmund in the book. It's a beautiful story so far, rich with detail about their humble lifestyle.

Journaling

I found this beautiful Italian paper notebook on sale at Barnes and Noble, and decided to use it for journaling. I used to journal back in high school, but grew away from it over the years. Recently, I was inspired by reading President Reagan's diaries. It's been fascinating to learn about the more mundane details of his life, like what movies were playing at the time. Some entries were actually quite brief, but he still took a moment to reflect on the day. I mean, Reagan held the country together during the Cold War and still managed to scrawl a short paragraph on a regular basis. Certainly I could find a couple minutes each day to do the same. :)

What do you keep on your nightstand? I'd love to hear in the comments!

'Til next time,

Eva