The yard has remained untouched during April. I guess that’s what happens with a newborn! Instead, we’ve just been enjoying what’s already here: ancient camellias, masses of violets covering every square inch of ground, and all of the azalea’s that are starting to blossom. Hoping May brings more flowers and more time to weed, prune, and work on some container pots for the deck!
Garden
April 29, 2013
April 24, 2013
Four Spring Bouquets
I’m not usually a fan of chrysanthemum’s but when I saw a massive bouquet at my local grocery store for only $9.99, I decided to snatch it up with the intent of dividing it up among some yellow tulips I had just found for $7. I was able to make four separate vases – 2 small and 2 large for a grand total of $4.24 a piece. The small vases went next to bathroom sinks and made such a difference. Hooray for spring!
| |
|
April 08, 2013
March Garden {and a Giveaway!!}
It’s been quite a long time since we’ve visited the garden {last October to be exact!}. We were living in a different house and had a completely different yard. The one thing that I’ll miss most about our old place is the landscape – it was flat, lush, sunny, and we worked hard on it during the 6 years we were there {here’s a snapshot of the layout}.
Now? We are living in my grandparents old house.
This yard has its pros and cons. It’s much more established, with large, old shrubs and huge trees. But, it’s also shady, damp, slopey, and overgrown from a few years of neglect. Here’s a peek at what it looks like right now:
I love that the yard has quite a few things we didn’t have at our last house: many azaleas and rhododendrons, a fig tee, a forsythia, 2 giant camellias, 2 very old Japanese maples, and a towering lilac that’s been there as long as I can remember. I’m looking forward to working on it this summer and trying to make it a little more kid-friendly while also maintaining a lot of the shrubbery. My current plan is to create more of a shrub/perennial border around the perimeter and open up the middle area of the yard for a small patch of grass. We’ll see how far I can get! There is a great possibility my gardening will be limited to small chunks as I juggle a newborn and a 3 year old!
Speaking of gardening and lack of time, Sunset Publishing {aka – the makers of my plant bible: The Sunset Western Garden Book
Wouldn’t you love to be able to implement some of these ideas in your own yard? Or, better yet, give this book as a gift for the gardener in your life? Well, you’re in LUCK!
Good luck!!
Congratulations to Terumi who was selected as the winner!
| |
|
October 24, 2012
October Garden + Pumpkining
The really big difference from our September garden to our October garden is that everything is mostly gone – the leaves, the flowers, the green. We’ve endured several rain and wind storms and what was once full and lush is not barren and brown. Here are the last bits of what remains:
My sweet witch hazel.
A few asters that I thought were dead….apparently not!
Our happy smoke bush that went from purple to red.
The maple that turned red overnight and then gave us 9 days of beauty until the wind took it all away.
The giant sunflower that the birds have been enjoying.
Outside of our home garden, we recently went over the mountains with my parents to enjoy the sunny side of the state, take in the fall color, and pick out fresh Washington apples at Smallwoods. It wasn’t quite as warm as when we went last year but the rain held off for most of the day and we were able to have a good time despite the crazy Leavenworth Oktoberfest crowds and traffic. Sky and I had ice cream for lunch {Josh had to work}, and we came home with some apples and a butternut squash to cook.
Playing in the gravel – one of Sky’s favorite hobbies.
I love it when he insists on wearing rain boots all day…..my favorite!
| |
|
September 28, 2012
September Garden
I hate to admit it but I’ve been a little neglectful of the garden lately. Minus re-potting the front planter with some pansies and chrysanthemums, and adding more bark to the perennial border, everything else has been left alone do its late summer business.
My favorite picture of the month is the glorious sunflower that I started from seed many months ago – taken on manual with no editing required. Straight out of the camera! For some reason, this sunflower looked particularly fluffy to me.
Should I dig up the raspberries when we move or leave them? They haven’t done very well and are pretty cheap to buy. But then again, they do take a few years to mature and we are already 2 years into these. Hmmmm.
One of my favorite things about fall are the spider webs. I’m not a fan when they are IN the house but outside, among the trees and braches….it makes me so happy; especially when the little dew drops collect on each carefully spun strand.
2 flowers missing from my fall garden that I need to get someday: Dahlia and Amaranth. Oh the bouquet possibilities….
| |
|
August 31, 2012
Bits and Pieces
I feel like this has been the longest week ever….anyone?! I’m so happy Friday is here and much like my life at the moment {chaotic}, my brain is also a mess of jumbled thoughts. I’m still editing camping photos and preparing for a garage sale this weekend so in the meantime, here’s some random things that I wanted to share!
……
I just joined the Roost Tribe put together by Bonnie of Going Home to Roost. Not only is she one of my favorite bloggers {and I love her paper shop!}, but for only $5 a month, you can get an full dose of helpful blogging tips, e-books, digital graphics, patterns, and special coupons for advertising and etsy shop discounts. It’s worth MUCH MUCH more than that cup of Starbucks, I promise. You can check out the entire list of what you get HERE and sign up HERE. Such fun!!
……
I failed in the August garden and never really got a chance to photograph much this month other than my black eyed susans that I love so much. In case you want a glimpse into the rest of the yard, here’s what things looked like exactly a year ago.
……
There’s been some discussion lately about the use of commenting platforms like disqus vs. other types of comment programs vs. the built in comment functionality that comes with each blog platform. Is one better than the other? Does having one produce less comments from readers because they are required to “login”? I don’t know the right answer but I’d love to hear if anyone has thoughts on this topic! I’ve been using disqus for about a year and I think it’s been ok {?} but then again, I don’t get too many comments to start with so it’s hard for me to tell if people think the comment process is annoying or too much work.
……
I really want to eat an entire pan of this right now.
……
I’m overly excited about fall. Sweaters, boots, scarves, crunchy leaves, pumpkin spice EVERYTHING, brisk mornings, gourds all over the house, changing leaves, harvest moons….it’s my favorite season!
Photo by me
Happy Friday!
| |
|
July 23, 2012
July Garden
My very favorite surprise in our July garden was the perfectly tiny and sweet robin’s egg left on the low fence that divides the main yard from the veggie/fruit area. It looked a little lonely and hopefully it found it’s way back home somehow. It’s so amazing to me the things nature makes! All I know is that I want a wall this color….or an entire bathroom….it was just the most beautiful hue.
This is our man-eating clematis. It dominates our front steps. In looking at these pictures from 2010, I can’t believe how much it’s grown in 2 years. AND, I cut it down to the ground nearly every year! Beastly!
Last year, our plum crop was miniscule. This year? The entire tree is LOADED. There is so much fruit I need to get busy to finding some good recipes. Any suggestions? I thought this stone fruit cake sounded scrumptious!
| |
|
June 25, 2012
June Garden
Happy summer! It has finally arrived!! All of the flowers in the yard are happy at the moment. What’s NOT happy is our veggie garden, or lack thereof. After getting behind in the planning schedule, and then accidentally planting seeds packed for 2011 {which did not sprout}, we have peas at the moment and that’s about all. Since our summers are not too hot, I think I can still get away with planning some lettuce and fall greens soon. The strawberries are in full swing and I’m hopeful that we will get our first few raspberries on our 2 year old bushes! Here’s what the garden looked like at this same time last year. As you can see, my peas were much farther along! What’s blooming in your garden right now??
| |
|
June 22, 2012
Strawberries, S'mores, and Oysters. OH MY!
Things have been busy these past few weeks and I feel like I haven’t had a moment to sit down and take stock. Most of the “busy” has been good: weekend excursions, play dates, blog meet-ups, and checking items off the summer bucket list just to name a few. Here’s a peek at what’s been goin’ on!
Strawberries
We have the juiciest strawberries in our garden right now. I’ve never had a store bought strawberry that amounted to HALF of what these are….the taste is indescribable and they are actually red all the way through like a real strawberry should be. They are even better when they are a little warm from being in the sun. We only have a little patch so are looking forward to picking in the real fields very soon.
Hydro’s!
Taking Sky to the hydroplane races was on our summer bucket list so we hit up tastin’ and racin’ on Lake Sammamish. It’s not as big as Seafair but I’m ok with that. We had a great view right on the shore and Sky enjoyed watching the cranes lift the boats into the water {in addition to the giant corn dogs and lemonade we had, yum!}
Living with a 2 ½ year old.
Sky is officially 2 ½ now. We have good days and bad. It’s like living on a roller coaster, literally. One minute he is the best little angel and listens and acts like a normal human and the next minute he is a completely horrid {insert your favorite expletive here}. Sometimes I wonder if he’ll be mad at me one day for describing his behavior to the world but you know what? Kids are just this way and everyone experiences it, some people just don’t talk about it. If anything, I’m preparing him for when he has kids one day, right?
You think he’s cute?? Just wait….
Sky’s vocabulary, comprehension, and memory seem to be on the fast track to first grade. He’s talking in full sentences, cracks jokes, and knows nearly all of his letters, numbers, colors, shapes, animals, construction equipment, and any character on the Disney channel. He is such a chatterbox and nothing gets by him. Gone are the days of me skimming book pages, that’s for sure.
Play dates are really fun now as Sky seems to be getting more and more into playing with others vs. clinging to my leg. Our buddy Gage came over a few weeks ago and listening to them babble is pretty much the cutest thing ever. There was also that time where we let them sit on the kitchen counter and eat whipped cream…
Seattle bloggers!
One of the wonderful things about blogging is making new friends and getting to meet people in person {especially when you’ve read their blog for so long}! On Tuesday, I met up with a group of Seattle area bloggers at Makers, a co-working space in Seattle, to learn photography tips from Ashley, who writes a gorgeous food blog, not without salt. While the session itself was fun and I was able to say hello to a few people I’ve come to know from the interwebs like Lyndsey and Melanie, it was the time spent before and after really made my night.
Before the event, I met up with Brianne {half of the lovely Ravenna Girls} for a quite bite + drink at Local 360. We’ve been blog buddies for a while now and it was so nice to finally talk face to face! I love her and her laugh {Brianne if you are reading this I don’t think I told you that but it’s true….}!
Afterwards, I was spontaneously invited to the Walrus and the Carpenter in Ballard by new friends, Kimberly, Ashley, and none other than Stephanie….a blogger who I have followed for a very long time and love and admire and didn’t even know would be there! After getting very lost on the way over, I eventually bumbled my way in late {but the timing was ok because they had to wait for a table} and pretended to know the intricacies of what I was eating, but because I’m not much of a foodie, I relied on their expertise to guide me. Not only was the food some of the best I’ve ever had, but I ate raw oysters for the first time…..and they were GOOD! Rather than slide the entire thing down my throat, I chewed it and it was {surprise!} NOT gross! I GET IT NOW!
The company was equally as good as the food. Rather than go into detail about how a lot of times I don’t feel like I fit in…or that I feel 12 {but really am 30…} or how I second guessed everything I said all night….I’ll just tell you this: being in the presence of these amazing women really made my week. In fact, it made my month. Just listening to them talk or hearing their thoughts on the state of blogging….or raising children….or balancing life….or that Kimberly lives on an amazing farm {my dream!}….it’s just…sigh…SO GREAT.
S’mores
I’d like to note that this s'more isn't perfect. The marshmallow is not cooked enough! But, it was the only picture I had.
Look what we found in Grandma’s garage! Totally hazardous and probably illegal…but fun to throw on the fire.
One evening, we spontaneously decided to have a fire in the backyard and toast marshmallows. In case you aren’t aware, I have a strong affinity for s’mores. These things always seem fun in theory but between gathering the wood, making the fire, preparing the supplies, dragging the lawn chairs into the back, and trying to calm a melting down toddler….it was exhausting. The fun part lasted about 10 minutes and then it was all over and time to take little one to bed after he decided to have a tantrum for all the neighbors to hear. He wasn’t THAT into his delicious dessert sandwich so we may need to re-try this sooner rather than later.
And lastly, to round out the week, some random cell phone pictures as of late. I REALLY WISH I HAD INSTAGRAM. I love my Windows Phone….except for that teeny tiny detail.
{Linking up with a good life and life rearranged}
Whew! I feel so much better now that I’ve gotten all of this out of my brain! I hope everyone’s summer is off a wonderful start! Here in the Pacific Northwest, we’ve had 2 sunny days this week and are back to a little gloom until mid-week next week {I think}. Summer usually kicks in on July 5 so I’m not worried. Happy Friday friends!
| |
|
June 18, 2012
Big Blooms
One single giant peony flower from our garden – a little beaten by the rain, but still gorgeous. I’m in awe.
Fluffy, papery light pink and cream peonies from my Grandma’s garden. She isn’t here to enjoy them so we brought some home and their smell has filled the house for days.
Every year, in this early June not quite summer season, I’m reminded why Peonies are my favorite. They are so beautiful, smell SO GOOD, and are HUGE. Nothing makes me happier than a pile of puffy petals so large, one bloom can take up an entire vase. One day, when we live in our final house {you know, the one we stay in for eternity on acreage that has push out windows and a ginormous garden}….I’ll have a section entirely devoted to peonies. I’ll get one of those special cutting baskets that are flat and be outside in the early morning cutting stems for my day of flower arranging….and then, Martha Stewart will call me on the phone and ask if she can come over for coffee and a craft project. This is my brain on peonies.
| |
|
