These pictures of my house seem like one of those crazy commercials where there is a little asterisk and it says results not typical. I can’t believe how much my yard has grown up this first year. This was July last year:
And late June this year:
We only lost a little lavender plant (you might notice the small gap) and our vine maple. The Guy (his name is Guy Countryman) who did our rock and everything brought us a new one this spring. It is pretty amazing if you consider that we planted on one of the hottest days of the year last year. My landscape designer told me this little rhyme, “The first year they sleep, the second year they creep, the third year they leap.” Um… I don’t know how much more leaping these plants will do, they all ready wow me every time I walk up to the house.
Before:
And now:
Are you kidding me with those plants? I had to move some of the little ones because these guys (Lady’s Mantle) went ca-razy! I love them, and have put them in loads of bouquets. Oh yes, bouquets. I can step out and make one whenever I like!
If you’ll recall when I was planning my yard I worked to find someone who would raze the whole top layer because I didn’t want to use any chemicals to kill the weeds/grass that was already there. I planned on having an organic garden and I’m happy to say I do! I love to be out in my yard so taking the time to weed and get to know my plants is very enjoyable for me. Luckily Tuesday loves it as well. She has caught the weeding bug so bad that she points them out everywhere, even on city property or other people’s yards! Ha! And you can’t see the slug damage on plants or powdery mildew on my roses in these pictures. Both things that I’ve had to find natural solutions for. I also had root weevil and used beneficial nematodes (that totally freaked me out).
I am in my soil and looking through my plants nearly daily. This gives me a pretty good idea of the condition of the soil (great, tons of worms!) and plants. At the bridal shower I was asked who my gardener was. We don’t have one. Bj and I do everything ourselves in the yard (including setting new drip lines, building things, electrical work—he’s put in some lighting, etc.). We have long workdays out there, but more often it’s mornings or evenings working together. Believe it or not it is a zero stress environment. We may not agree on everything decoration wise inside (oohhh wait until you see what I dug up to hang on my wall), but out here there is room for all the things we want to try. And if it doesn’t work out we’ll move it . When I planted this garden I knew so little about what to deadhead and when to prune. I’m paying for a that a little this year as some of my things got quite “leggy” from not doing it properly. Lucky for me we’ve had tons of rain this spring and I think that was very forgiving to me in a lot of ways. Can you believe looking at this lush loveliness that we’ve only been watering for a few weeks? Those rumors you hear about Oregon and rain are true (it is raining as I write this!)!
So yes, those plants will grow. Yes, you’ll kill a few. Yes, you can organic garden. And yes, it adds so much beauty to your life!
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Celebrating crafts, kids and the everyday through photographs.
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Celebrating crafts, kids and the everyday through photographs.
My dear friend Erin is getting married this summer. I am so excited for her because it is a perfect match, and also she is awesome and I love weddings. So when I took Tuesday to the carousel and noticed a little bee/honeycomb dish set in their gift shop (Erin is an amateur bee keeper) I had to pick up a few pieces for her shower. The next time I talked to her I asked her who was going to throw her shower and volunteered myself. She said she wasn’t thinking she would have one. Ok, I live for stuff like this so I was shocked! Who would pass up the opportunity to have a party thrown in their honor?!?! Eventually I wore her down (and I found out her BFF was working on her too) and was able to throw her a shower this last weekend.
I wish I had a picture of everything all set up, I am getting a little better about coordinating everything so it is ready when guests come, but I didn’t have a chance to snap photos before hand. I did run to get my camera when we started playing games because they were so funny.
For this one they had books on their heads and had a minute and a half to draw Erin on her wedding day.
We did another drawing game. I got a big pad of paper on an easel and had each woman draw a card that had a wedding word on it with a point value. The person who got people to guess the most cards (points) was the winner—like wedding Pictionary. The game before that was one where we stood in a circle and I said a rhyme while a gift was passed around. The last one was the most fun. It was called purse game when I found it online. Basically you have each woman sit with their purse and read a list of things that might be in there, along with a point value. So lipgloss 1 point, Target gift card 7 points:
This lady was awesome. She had everything, except for the condom which I valued at 20 points, and if anyone had one they were not owning up to it! 🙂
We had some yummy food. Erin’s best friend suggested the menu and it turned out great. A curry chicken salad (made from a beer can chicken of Bj’s, so yum!), and a spinach strawberry salad with vinaigrette. I added some fava greens which we got in our CSA box and I actually ate a bunch and liked it (huge for me as I’m not usually a fan of vinaigrette).
Edited to add the recipe:2 tablespoons sesame seeds1 tablespoon poppy seeds1/2 cup white sugar (did you know you can get a huge bag of organic sugar for $7 at Costco now?)1/2 cup olive oil1/4 cup distilled white vinegar1/4 teaspoon paprika1/4 teaspoon worcestershire sauce1 tablespoon minced onion10 ounces fresh spinach1 quart strawberries cleaned hulled and sliced.1/4 cup almonds blanched or slivered.In medium bowl whisk together (we used an immersion blender) sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, oil, vinegar, paprika, worcestershire and onion cover and chill for at least one hour.Toss dressing with salad ingredients just before serving. Enjoy!And the curry chicken salad:Chicken (we used a beer can chicken that had been shredded, you could just use chicken breast if you wanted)1 stalk celery, choppedgreen onions, choppedsmall apple, peeled & choppedhandful of dried cranberriesseedless grapes, halvedground black pepperteaspoon of curry powder…. actually I think I used more, I really like curry.mayoMix it up and adjust as needed! easy! You can also add pecans.
Bj is killing me with all these cake pops! I helped decorate them, and just did a rainbow of sprinkles. These were the left overs.
Tuesday wasn’t invited (well she would have been welcome but I thought it would be easier to focus on the bride this way), but here she is after her nap scrounging on the left overs while I was cleaning up. The big poofs were from the tea party (and have already been loaned out once). They are holding up pretty well. The garland is from her first birthday party and I use it for every event, I love having it. I even put some on the porch this time:
So fun. I want to make a forth of July garland. My mom made one and her packs of ribbon and jars are on sale so I just might have to get on that! I’ve got a week right?
So yes, fabulous shower for a fabulous friend. I am happy to throw one anytime. Ah babies and brides… the good things in life! -
Celebrating crafts, kids and the everyday through photographs.
Joining in on Amanda’s this moment project. A moment from the last week. A slice of life.
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