" Welcome to Lavender Dreams ": About Me

Greetings from sunny Florida!

I'm Diane, the Lavender Dreamer.

After 15 years of blogging, I wanted to change my 'About Me' page but then I decided to leave what I had written over the years and do an update instead.

Time passes and things change! Our interests change and so does the way we spend our time. It's nice being retired and living in North Central Florida where there are so many choices.

We've been blessed with good health and have discovered many hiking trails near us to explore. We take a lot of day trips but also enjoy jumping in the Jeep and driving to a trailhead nearby for a hike.

Some of our favorite hiking destinations now are Halpata Tastanaki Preserve, Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway, Withlacoochee Bay Trail, Ross Prairie State Forest, Blue Run Park in Dunnellon and sections of the Florida trails all across North Central Florida. (online searches are great for finding trailheads)

I've had a lot of neat encounters with wildlife and taken thousands of photos. The blog is a great place to share my favorite photos and our love of the great outdoors. So for those that would like to discover the 'real Florida', I welcome you to my Lavender Dreams blog.

I don't decorate as much and rarely go to a thrift store now. I spend some time working on art journals but at this time of my life, my passion is hiking! I love getting out in the forest or walking along a path by the river or swamp. It's amazing what you can see here in Florida! It's WILD out there! And I love it!

(the little shadow of a heart on my shirt was in this photo, I didn't add it)

So instead of writing over my 'About Me' page, I am bringing it up to date with what I spend my time doing now. I hope my blog will encourage you to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors.

(taken on my birthday January, 2014 at Canaveral National Seashore, temp 70 degrees, photo untouched)

I started my blog, Lavender Dreams in 2008 as a ‘creative blog’. I love to sew and make things and also like to collect, so I thought this would be a fun way to share my interests. I’m retired and love life and I call it ‘happy blogging’.

(Ross Prairie State Forest, where we hike)

We retired and bought a home in North Central Florida in 2005 after living many years in the mountains of Western North Carolina.

(and yes, I have a lighthouse painted on my wall!)

I blog from my lanai so, ‘come on in’!

(my netbook on the sofa)

One of my goals in life is to take advantage of the beauty that surrounds me.

(a walk at the park with my honey)

So I share trips to the beach and day trips to state parks. One of our favorite parks to visit is Canaveral National Seashore and we try to go there as often as possible.

I have a sweet husband that loves to drive and see new places so we are always on the go. I’m thrifty and usually pack a picnic and snacks to take with us.

(Another favorite spot near our home, Rainbow Springs State Park.)

I love to decorate and enjoy thrifting. Here in Florida we have a lot of wonderful big thrift stores. It seems like a lot of people come down here to ‘downsize’ and bring too much stuff with them, so there are lots of great items in the thrift stores. I love anything vintage and buy things that look ‘neat’ to me. They may not have the most value but I like to surround myself with things I love.