watch my garden grow

seriously, i think my whole hand is turning green. i literally go to sleep thinking about waking up to see what's new outside! its not been long at all and everything is thriving. literally ALL of the seeds i planted have sprouted. the carrots are slowly but surely popping up, and my precious husband even built me a raised garden bed to transplant the extra seeds in... plus an eggplant and another pepper. the peaches are the size of a golf ball. strawberries are ripening every day. I. LOVE. GARDENING.

so this is our mint plant that was just re-potted less than 2 weeks ago. it has already filled the new pot and im not re-potting again! so basically, the larger the pot, the larger the mint = the more mojitos you will be graciously blessed with!!!

our potted rosemary is ginormous... even with cutting it atleast twice a week. we planted this last summer and it has been thriving ever since. 

hibiscus blooms are forming by the dozens.

knock out roses that stand about 5 feet tall and have hundreds of bright and beautiful blooms! 

many beautiful iris bulbs are popping up along the fence.

strawberries

growth of two pots of green bean seeds.

 pea seeds are growing fast! 

zucchini plant is the size of a basketball.

romaine lettuce! 

broccoli

 tomatoes are doing great and ready for a cage.

the raised bed my sweetie built for me... perfect! 

tomato blooms on the upside down tomato plant

the straw bale garden and the raised bed garden... all looking super! 

hope everyone's garden is as happy as mine :)

gina's low fat chewy chocolate chip oatmeal cookies

i know that anyone who reads this blog has heard my many mentions of Gina from Skinny Taste. she is the queen of remastering recipes and making them much lighter... she recently posted a recipe for a lightened up oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, and while i was out doing some retail therapy - my husband jumped on the opportunity to make them. OH. MY. GAWD. these are beyond words. they lasted no time at all because one is never enough... two either. the applesauce makes them extremely moist and the oatmeal and chocolate in every bite is just enough to leave you longing for more.
the fact that they are a healthy cookie is brilliant... and if you have enough will power to restrain yourself, then eating just one would be the perfect chocolate indulgence while watching your calorie intake. HERE is where you can find Gina at Skinny Taste and see all her amazing recipes.

Low Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 15 • Serving Size: 2 cookies • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 5 pts
Calories: 190 • Fat: 6.3 g • Protein: 2.6 g • Carb: 34.2 g • Fiber: 2.0 g • Sugar: 19.3 g

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unpacked brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups quick oats
• 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°; line two baking sheets with parchment paper or use a silpat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

In a large bowl, with a mixer, cream together the butter and the sugars on medium speed.  

Add the egg, followed by the applesauce and vanilla extract.

Working by hand, stir in the flour mixture and the oats until just combined and no streaks of flour remain; stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop heaping tablespoonfuls (approx 3 tbsp each) of the dough onto prepared baking sheets, flattening each cookie slightly (I forgot to do this). Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until cookies become light brown at the edges.

Let cool on baking sheet for 3 or 4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container so you don't eat them all in one sitting!

Makes about 30 cookies roughly 3 tbsp each.

Splenda Lovers: Substitute all the brown sugar with 1/4 cup Splenda brown sugar blend, and all the white sugar for 1/4 cup Splenda sugar blend. Points remain the same.

homemade garden markers

we have all seen the cute garden markers people are using to tag their plants with... im especially in love with all the stamped spoons! (you can find a billion of these handmade and sold on etsy.com)

i wanted to try my hand at making my own... currently we are using clothespins that i wrote the name of the plant on, and those are working just fine, i would just like to look at something cuter!

so here is what i did... 

took polymer clay in different colors, my letter stamps and an exacto knife. i kneaded the clay just like dough until it softened up a bit then ran it through my pasta machine to flatten it out. i cut and formed it into the shapes that i wanted, then stamped the name of my plants directly into the clay. i then stuck a small wooden stick in the back and baked it for about 25 minutes on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. when it was cool enough to handle, i used acrylic paint to paint over my stamped letters. let that dry for about 15 minutes, then wipe it clean with a wet cloth to remove the excess paint. simple!

here is how my garden markers turned out...

and here are some that are looking adorable in my garden.

super cute, super cheap, and super easy to make!
i love gardening more than anything else in the world. it makes me so unbelievably happy to see something that i planted take life and GROW! its always a fresh start to my day to walk outside and admire the new growth that formed just over night. it also makes me appreciate all the greatness in my life. yes, all that from a garden. it is just meditative. yesterday my dad started his last round of chemo. 6 months ago i prayed day and night for this outcome, and now it is here. he will have a continued schedule of checkups and scans for years to come, but he is cancer free. cancer free. cancer free. i could say it a million times and it keeps sounding better.
im just so proud of him and completely grateful.
on another note, david and i are working our way through jillian michaels 30 day shred... today is day five and also the first day that i can walk up/down stairs without feeling like my legs are going to give away. but we can both already feel a difference in our bodies, and our endurance in just 5 short days is unbelievable. if you haven't heard of 30 day shred, its a 3 circuit training cycle, and only 20 minutes in length. you do 3 minutes of strength, followed by 2 minutes of cardio and ending with 1 minute of abs. and believe me, its no joke. the first workout was a hot mess... but we did it. then collapsed. and seriously, five days later its so much easier. there are 3 levels, each one done for 10 days. im already dreading the next level, but also excited at the same time. beach bods.... here we come!

straw bale garden - freshly planted

the straw bale garden is planted and doing wonderful!

we fertilized and soaked our straw for daaaaayyyyyysssss... then finally got to enjoy putting our veggies in. we are finding it near impossible to water enough, so we are installing a soaker hose and a possible drip irrigation system to keep everything good and moist. 

i plan to take weekly photos of everything so we can all track the progress.

here is some photos from planting day.

updates to come soon! 

planting, thriving, and straw bale gardening...

it's only the first week of april and my yard is already booming! we have strawberries ready to be picked, a tomato plant that is thriving, cilantro that we have already cut and used twice, a mint plant that is screaming to be made into a fresh and delicious mojito, and a peach tree that has literally hundreds of beautiful green fuzzy fruits ALL over her! the wooden pergula is crawling with wysteria vines that are smelling so sweet and looking amazing. and we have azaleas in about every color imaginable. i love spring so much for this very reason... life is blossoming everywhere you look! 

 what started out so cute and small are now growing and turning red and ready to be picked!

our rosemary that is potted in an enormous pot has been growing strong for a year now. i can't imagine cooking without rosemary. it just makes everything so much better.

 the wysteria vine that is climbing all over our pergula... and smells fantastic!

the mint plant that is already in need of a bigger pot.

knock out roses are opening up every day.

azaleas in every shade of pink.

my peach tree that i admire every single day... just waiting to pick that first one and taste the freshness! if you look closely at the photo, you will find about 15 peaches... and this is barely three limbs of the tree... we will have more than we know what to do with.

ground cover is seriously covering... and hydrangea should be blooming any day.

and now for my favorite part... vegetable gardening.

we have been planning on what kind of garden we want to do, and dreaded the idea of digging up our yard to find the best soil and places to plant. instead, we found a genius way of vegetable gardening: straw bale gardening. if you google this, you will find many sites that describe how this is done. for a quick overview... you buy your straw, and it cannot be hay because that carries seed, and you fertilize and compost the straw for about 10 days. i have read posts where people started the straw in winter, and i have read about fertilizing in as short as 7 days. you have to keep it soaked with water, and gradually decrease your fertilizer. when it's ready, you just dig out a little hole and plant your veggies and herbs! ours is coming along amazing and we will be putting our plants in tomorrow! let's pray this works!!! so far we have two tomato plants, big boy and roma, broccoli, red lettuce, romaine lettuce, squash, zucchini, red pepper, green pepper, cucumbers, oregano, parsley, chives, basil, and thyme. those will be going in the bales of straw. then in pots we are starting seeds of carrots, string beans, and snap peas. i also have a pot with sweet banana peppers and jalapeno peppers. i am more than excited and will blog weekly progress of the garden! 

here is all our plants sitting in the sunshine just waiting to be planted.

those were the beginning of the seeds - minus the carrot seeds, those just looked like dust they were so tiny. i read that you should soak your seeds for about 30 min before planting them. then when they are buried in the soil, mist them with water, cover with plastic wrap and poke holes in the top. that allows the germination to begin (hopefully). 

these are our planted carrot, snap pea and bean seeds... just patiently waiting to see some little green sprouts. and the mint also got a new pot... a larger one!

 the banana and jalapeno pepper plants are looking good so far.

and this is our amazing straw bale garden... being fertilized and watered about twice a day! 

happy spring and happy gardening to all!

upside down tomatoes.

what is all this business about growing an upside down tomato plant? supposedly its a more effective way and leads to a greater production of tomatoes. 'topsy turvy' has been the chosen name for these tomato plant contraptions, and can be purchased pretty much any place that sells plants and vegetables. so i googled this method of growing and was astounded at the number of folks testing their thumbs at this genius idea. i came across MANY eco-friendly DIY'ers, and decided that instead of purchasing a 10-15 dollar 'topsy turvy' (which aren't very pretty), i would follow their method.
it starts with using a recycled or a used hanging planter - or if you must, buy one. drill a hole in the bottom opening of the planter about 2 inches wide, or have your handy man hubby do this part for you like i did! carefully... and i mean CAREFULLY push your tomato plant through the hole from the inside of the planter. that is the tricky part. i have seen some people wrap the tomato plant in wax paper before shoving it through... when it's through the hole, cut a piece of mesh to fit around the bottom of the planter so no dirt or root will come through the hole. last, fill your pot with a good soil mix and your done. i also added cilantro to the top of mine, but you can add anything, or nothing!
Hang your upside down tomato plant in full sunshine, water, and watch her grow! (quickly)
after four days, the tomato plant was already trying to raise up... but gravity is winning!!! i hope we get lots and lots of sweet cherry tomatoes!
Here is some photos showing our steps -

once your plant is through the hole, center your pot between two chairs so you can add your dirt and any finishing touches.

two years strong

today is my wedding anniversary.

two years ago today, i was standing before the people i love most, marrying the man that i love the most.

i will never ever forget that day and how my body was overwhelming filled with a happiness that i had never known. 

two years later, i feel even more love from this wonderful man that found his way into my life.

"All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love." 

-Leo Tolstoy

this weekend, we had the great honor of seeing my all time favorite band, Band of Horses, with the Jayhawks in Atlanta. it was such a great weekend with great friends, and as always - band of horses blew my mind! this was a pretty special event on our anniversary weekend considering our first dance at the wedding was Detlef Schrempf by the horses...  we saw them in January 2008 at the exit/inn in nashville... there were about 350 people there... then we saw them last september in los angeles at the Greek Theatre (when he had only half of a voice and still put on a great show)... and now at an amphitheater... i just really love them!

a little pre-show tailgating

ready for the show!

wishing that everyone on this fabulous planet has a husband as great as i do!
to two amazing years... and SO many more.

*wedding photos by eyerisphotography.com