Success!

Finally!  We got one!  It only took three years for us to have tomato-growing success but we finally made it!

Excuse the photo quality, I took them on my phone.  Now let's hope we get some more!  A few are looking like they are getting ready to turn, so we may be in luck!

Happy gardening!

Gardening Update

I was inspired by Meg's gardening update yesterday - I'm so envious of her raised vegetable beds and hope to work with hubs to make some for us next year!  After trying to grow everything we possibly could last year and having zero success (too much stuff and not enough knowledge!) we're trying to focus on just a select group of plants this year.   

Here's what the tomato plants looked like right about a month ago...

And here's what we're working with now!

I'm just worried that there's hardly any fruit on them yet - and none of it close to ripe.  Plenty of flowers, though.  Tomato growers - are we on track?  Are we going to see some ripe fruit this year?

And that's not all.  Since I blogged about gardening last, I picked up a green pepper plant.  It is getting SO BIG!  It's a monster!

The best part of the entire plant, though, is the lone pepper we have - it's kind of funny hanging there all by iteself.  I have no idea how big it's supposed to get or when to pick it (will it get as big as a grocery store sized green bell pepper?) and I'm kind of wondering why it's the only fruit on the entire plant thus far.  Something is better than nothing I guess?  : )

As you can see - the pots and plants are taking over the back steps.  If we have success this year we are going to have to for sure make plans for next year to have some raised beds in our side yard for veggies.  I really am longing for homegrown veggies all summer long! 

Bandana Picnic Blanket & Weekend BBQ

Hubs and I hosted our annual summer BBQ this past weekend.  It's a lovely opportunity to get all of our friends and family together - some of whom we see all year long and some that we only see a few times a year. 

We have many friends that have young children - and I always like to try to accomodate them.  One of the things I did this year was to sew a little picnic blanket for them.  I found this great idea over at Aesthetic Nest, and featured it in one of my Week In Review posts a little while ago.  You can see Anneliese's post and directions HERE.

I made mine three by three bandanas big - and picked the bandanas up from Hobby Lobby for 99 cents a piece.  I plan on backing it later in the summer to give it a little more weight - but overall I was really pleased with how it turned out.

I had a crate of outdoor toys for the kids, and a little kid-size table and basket of coloring stuff, bubbles, and play doh.

I think they liked it...

We provided the burgers, hot dogs, ribs, condiments and buns, and everyone brought a dish to pass and some beverages to share (we provided some drinks, too)  I've found potluck style is far and away the best way to go with almost any large get together - it's less stress for me, and with very little planning there always ends up being a huge selection of food! 

I wish I had taken a picture of the food table when it was full!

I used brightly colored re-usable tablecloths, and summery colored  glasses, straws and drink stirrers.

We had a great turnout...we counted about twenty-five people in our little backyard at the height of the action.  It was a really lovely evening - I'm so glad that we do this every year!

I hope that you all have the opportunity to spend summer evenings with friends and family at gatherings big and small this summer!

My (not so) green thumbs

Since we've owned our home - I've had really good intentions of growing our own vegetables each spring/summer.  (Yes, I do realize that gardening isn't technically a craft - but it's working with your hands so I'm thinking it can count for now... stay with me!)  Only problem is... well, there are actually a lot of problems!

We purchased our 1920's craftsman style home in the Fall of 2008.  Everything was in really good shape for the age of the home, but the yard (both front and back) was a little (lot) bit of a disaster!

The backyard was a hot mess.  Kind of jungle-like actually!

Our first summer here the back yard was top of the list to fix up.  We needed a space for Bella to roam, and for us to entertain.  So the jungle turned into this...

New fence, new patio, new grass, etc. etc.

That same year I got a little crazy with starting seeds and trying to grow things.  I think I had about 20 different types of vegetables and herbs growing.  Not one plant survived.  Seriously!  Yikes.

This year marks the beginning of the front yard re-do.  Here's what it looked like when we bought it...

Phew!  What a mess, huh?  Now, where we hired professionals to do our back yard, we're going to tackle the front ourselves.  The funny thing about this is, as you can tell by my seed-starting last year, I don't know the first thing about gardening.  BUT - I have the attitude of jumping right into things and acting like I know what I'm doing - always hoping I'll just figure it out as I go along.

Here's the beginning of front yard phase one (it's going to take two years for sure...)

It doesn't look like much - but it's a start!  I have some lilies starting to open - I LOVE lilies!

We hung baskets out front and on the back steps...

And I've chosen just a few vegetable/herb plants to grow in pots that I picked up from the farmers market.  I figure that based on my past luck - I should go with quality rather than quantity!  Two types of tomatoes...

And a couple of spinach plants and a parsley waiting to be planted...

Wish me luck!  I'm hoping that this year's plantings will be a little more successful, and that I'm not destined to be a gardening failure for the rest of my life!  : )

MSCE April Days 7 & 8

So the last few days have been hectic, and there hasn't been much crafting around here. BUT - there has been some "creating" or "MAKING" (hence MAKE Something Cool Everyday in April) that I'll share with you...

I started transplanting my seeds from my starter greenhouse into individual pots. I left it later than I should have (again, I've been busy...) so I'm hoping they make it. If nothing else, my green beans are growing STRONG.


My apologies for the crappy photo... it was late at night... obviously... : )

Today I'm cheating a little bit... it was hubby Travis who made something cool. We're working together to lose some weight before the summertime (ah, the contentment pudge gained from our almost first full year of marriage...) by eating better and exercising. Trav cooked up a Weight Watchers lemon herb chicken recipe with asparagus that was delicious, filling, flavorful, AND healthy. I'm lovin' it!


I have a big event I'm hosting at work tomorrow -- wish me luck! Then I'm looking forward to the weekend for some quality time in my craft studio : )