The Children's Peace Garden

This past weekend we took our first trip out to 

Growing Garden's and The Children's Peace Garden

for the Kid's Bee Earth Day Festival.

We got up close and personal with baby goats.

Turns out they are a lot like puppies.

They want to play and snuggle and eat.

We also mastered the art of a "creative" butterfly mask.

The little girl in the background made it very clear to 

Ash that she didn't approve of his thinking out side the box,

BUT I totally dug his crazy mask.

We even got to dig into the earth in the great pursuit for earth worms.

We found none in the heat of the afternoon,

however we did find a millipede, a large part of a rib bone, and a small pool ball.

We even ran into some of our favorite friends,

and climbed and explored all the farm equipment for a while.

We learned about bee hives, and how we can help keep the bees healthy.

And then I learned that not only do I have one brave little boy,

but also the cutest dang bee keeper in town! 

After a stroll through the community gardens,

the hubs taught he boy how to use a magnifying glass to start a fire….

…and search for bugs in the plants.

We had the very best time and if you are local and never seen the 

Growing Gardens, I suggest that you go! 

Like them on Facebook to keep up with

their upcoming events

Like summer camps for kids,

plant sales, and cooking courses for the grown ups. 

I can't wait to hang out in the gardens more often! 

We will be hitting up their plant sale in the next few weekends as 

well as heading out in early May to help plant the 

raspberry and strawberry fields! 

Not to mention the magical 2 weeks of  summer camp 

that the boy get to spend their! 

DIY: hanging succulent baskets

At this point I don't think that I need to 

tell anyone who reads here regularly that 

I am jumping up and down for spring! 

In this house,

spring = plants... 

it also equals yard sales.

Two of my favorite things.

About a month ago I found this amazing 

vintage tri-level basket hanger.

You know the kind that hangs in the kitchens of 

hipsters and grandmothers everywhere?

I've been dying for one, and when I 

saw this one for less that $1

I had to have it, even though there was no where

in my kitchen to hang it.

That's where this project came from.

A way to have lots of beautiful succulents 

on our tiny apartment balcony….

all wrapped up in an adorable hanging basket.

So here's a simple gardening DIY! 

Hope you enjoy!

What You Will Need:

Some sort of hanging basket

Coconut husk liners 

cactus soil

enough succulents for fill your baskets

Step 1:

First I fit my coconut liners into the baskets.

This took quite a bit of cutting and manipulating.

I used a total of 2 liners for this project.

The middle liner needed quite a bit cut off that I

used in the top tier.

Step 2:

Then I filled each basket about 2/3 full of soil.

Step 3:

I next arranged each of the succulents 

in their respective baskets while there were still in

their individual containers.

I had a pretty good idea of 

where each plant was going to go when 

I was purchasing them,

making sure to get a good variety 

of tall and short plants

as well as getting some with some hang to them.

Step 4:

After breaking down each root ball

to allow the plants to breath a bit,

I carefully arranged each

plant into its new home.

I made sure to give the succulents some space

so that as they grow they can fill in the baskets.

Step 5:

After everyone was in their new homes,

I gave them a heavy spray down

with a water bottle. 

Took a few steps back.

And fell in love! 

Enjoy!

Dirty Girl

Yesterday, after sandy salty day at the beach,

the hubs and I did a little backyard rearranging.

I found a great deal on some new plywood at a yard sale over the weekend.

We had talked about switching sides for a while.

His side of the back fence got such better day light,

and my tomatoes were suffering from lack of sun.

So he bolted up his new wood while I dug holes and re-potted some plants.

By the end of it he was covered in paint, and I was covered in dirt.

My garden is happy in it's new home 

and I love having his old mural space hanging above my potting station.

let's talk tomatoes

we all know that i love tomatoes! i love eating them. i love growing them. i love the way the plants smell. i love it all. last season i had quite a bit of success with my outdoor tomato plant, that is until the pests took over. so this year i thought i would try an indoor 'patio' plant. 

let me just say...i am not so thrilled. i have yet to taste the fruit of my labors.  i have two tomatoes on the plant that are almost ripe and ready to picked.  but these two little guys (and i mean mean little) have been growing for what feels like months now. last year i was picking tomatoes on the regular.  

these better be the best tomatoes i have every grown! why can't i just have beautiful raised beds like these?

(source)

some day. ah some day!

green {and purple} with envy

my friend mary has the most beautiful vegetable garden.  i snapped a few pictures from our recent stay with them and wanted to share some of the beautiful egg plant with you!

10 things i couldn't live without this week

1. it had been about 3 full weeks of no dancing until this past monday! finally, i was better from the death cold, the studio was back open after the holiday break, and in was time to dance.  it's amazing what that many days off can do to destroy what you have been working so hard for. but none the less it felt amazing to be back at it.  although i came to the realization this week that i really need some new dance clothes.
2. we made some new friends on new years day....the irony is kind of awesome. we ran into the mongol family at john d. mcarthur park. they are just in the process of moving to the area from texas. well, we swapped emails and met up a couple time this week to hang out. they have an awesome son that's the same age as the boy.  i love new friends! our new friends introduced us to a new park in the palm beach gardens area. super cool play structure that's a little different than your average park. it amazing to me the excitement that we all get from new playgrounds.
3. i have an awesome giveaway going on this week. ends friday so please to wait to enter! you could have your very own pair of earrings made by yours truly!
4. on a totally different play structure experience, we finally went to "a latte fun" and i have to say.....we will NEVER be returning. i had been pretty clear in the past with my thoughts on this place, and pretty firm in my standing that i would not be paying the insane admission fee to go, but some friends had free passes....so we went. what a nightmare. there were far too many kids, zero supervision, and a terrible cafe to boot. at least now i know what we have been missing out on all this time.
5. well i finally did it...i purchased www.turquoiseviolets.com. it's something that i have been meaning/wanting to do for quite some time, and just never bit the bullet. well it's mine now folks. i feel some pretty amazing things to come this year!
6. the bachelor started this week! want to know a little secret - my bachelor/bachelorette obsession is thanks to my dad....yup that's right my dad. i had been really looking forward to this season for some reason... nothing like a train wreck love story to make you really love the one you're with.
7. we had an awesome cold snap this past week. it was so nice to have a break from some really hot winter days and have a taste of some seasons. we got to wear jackets and scarves and put the heater on. pretty awesome if i do say so myself. but no worries we are back to normal 80° weather.
8. with the above noted cold snap i had to bring all of my plants inside. this really opened my eyes to how much i really love having a lot of plants inside. so when it was time to move them back out i was a little sad. so i made some changes in the homes of all the greenery. and now.....i have a ton of plants in side - and i am happy.
9. oh man, i made my dark chocolate zucchini snack cake this weekend. but i got a little crazy with it this time. i used the same recipe from here, but i added a cup of dark chocolate chips, and instead of topping it with greek yogurt i covered the entire cake in cream cheese frosting. the changes really took this cake to a whole new level. i am pretty sure that i managed to cancel out any sort of healthy factor that the cake used to have, but on the flip side i didn't hear the hubs say "there are vegetables in this cake" one time.
10. one of the hubs restaurants is now the sole food vendor at the international polo club in wellington. today was the first match of the season, so to make sure that everything was going smoothly we made the journey west to see our first polo match. i have to tell you....i had no idea everything that went into this sport. i was really hoping to come home with an amazing story about the beautiful animals, the thrill of the sport, and overall excitement....but we had to leave before it ever even started. next time i guess.

10 things i couldn't live without this week

1.  a double dose of dance class again this week. so my classes are on monday nights, and i am still sore from last monday.
2. wrapped up an amazing week long "stay-cation" with the hubs. we got so much done around the house and so many fun family moments!
3. got to join the amazing davidk space crew for staff movie night at the blind monk.  chris rock's good hair was hilarious and my new co-workers are awesome!
4. got some amazing thirfty finds this week! check them out here and here.
5. i found myself up to my elbow in potting soil a few times this week.  i finished my hanging succulent wall garden, added a ton of new succulents to the garden family, and repotted a ton of clippings.
6. the burton's hosted a kids craft day where we started to make paper mache pumpkins! i can't wait to share pictures from this super fun day! unfortunately we didn't have time to finish the pumpkins, but i guess that means that we are going to have to have another play date!
7. i would like to proudly state that we are out of diapers! the boy has proven that (with the exception of sleeping time) he is a big boy who doesn't need those stinkin diapers any more!
8. i don't ever really do much shopping for myself, but with the new job comes new work attire! i have had so much fun this week seeking out the best deals and steals.
9. the annual stitch rock was this weekend! i just love to go see all the crafters and talented people. we ate yummy gourmet watermelon popsicles, i picked up some spicy pickles from our lady of perpetual pickles, and found the perfect earrings at the lemoree booth!
10. with the first cold front of the fall season there is nothing more perfect than heading to the beach.  a "cold front" in south florida basically means you won't die of heat when you walk outside....it's still hot, jut not as hot.... i may try to convince the hubs to take a late afternoon bike ride to the beach today!

DIY: succulent wall garden

i've been crushing over these living art wall hangings and just had to make my own....and i thought i would share. so here is what you will need. to start you need a shadow boxed picture frame.  i found this one a while ago thrifting and it worked perfect for the project. you are also going to need quite a few succulent clippings, enough to almost fill your frame. you need potting soil, hardware cloth, wire cutters, a staple gun, and a pencil. 

step 1:

a few days before you are ready to start your wall garden, 

clip you succulents and strip the bases to allow them to callus.  

step 2:

measure and cut your hardware wire to fit on the inside of the picture frame. 

if you have a file, file down the sharp edges of the hardware wire.

 (note: for your own safety your should curl back the edges of the 

extra hardware cloth....that stuff is deadly!)

step 3:

you need to best water proof the inside of your shadow box. 

i tried using modge podge, but next time i may try to line it with plastic.

step 4:

staple the hardware cloth the inside of the frame. 

attach the shadow box.

step 5:

fill the frame with potting soil. 

begin to plant your succulents using the pencil to poke holes in the soil.

step 6:

continue planting the succulents giving them ample space to grow and fill in.  

once they are all planted, keeping the frame laying flat for about a week

 to allow the clippings to begin to take root.

after it's rooted you are ready to hang it.

take down and water once a week, 

or if you are keeping it in a humid place you can water less.

garden update

thanks to my best ma ma pal, i was just reminded that i haven't updated you guys on the garden in quite some time.

"ma ma weeks" just threw in the towel

after some crazy bug took over her squash.

oh "ma ma weeks", i am right there with you! i don't know how organic tomatoes are not $100 each. it is impossible to keep all the crazy tropical insects off them! i broke down early and bough some eco-chic spray, that didn't do anything! then i was over taken with assassin bugs. i was so scared of the little f'ers. they moved so fast and were aggressive and loved my tomato plant. after doing a bit of research turns out that they were actually helping me keep other bugs away, so i thank them for that, but i was so scared of them. mostly i was afraid the boy was going to get bit in the face, because that's how assassin bugs like to attack, and his face was always right up in my tomato plant. finally, one day i got brave and gangster. what i did to one of these guys looked like that scene from american history x. it was a great way to release some tension, but i might have gone a little over board to prove a point to the other assassin bugs that were watching. you know i was showing dominance over the garden.

none the less the tomato plant reached the end of it's harvest and died. over all it was a huge success. we ate about 20 tomatoes off the plant, so the $5 investment really paid off in the end. i learned some valuable gardening lessons and had some of the most delicious tomatoes ever.

it also gave me the confidence to try out some more gardening. i got into some peppers, pineapple, and strawberries as well. most recently i added some rosemary to my kitchen window sill.

growing what you eat has become something that will be apart of our family forever now. i realized how important it was to me that the boy know that strawberries come off a plant, and not out of a plastic container. i learned that i would rather use a little pesticide in my garden than deal with the preservatives that are covering the produce section at the store. most importantly i've learned a few things about myself:

i feel at peace when i am gardening.

i don't like wearing gloves

because i like to feel the dirt on my hands.

picking up worms with my bare hands

is worth it to see the excitement on the boys face.

10 things i couldn't live without this week:

1. getting my new mk watch sized so i can finally wear it.

2. a long over due water park play date.

3. the boy stealing mangos from the neighbors tree...i will continue to send him on covert missions for the rest of the summer.

4. some fantastic thrifty finds from vita nova, and an amazing $2 yard sale find.

5. my amazing new double whammy dress. i have been doing some research on fabric, trying to price out the best quality jersey so that i can make some of these for you guys! the first run is going to be all black.

6. a ton of fantastic homemade alfredo sauce. the hubs had a hankering for some yummy alfredo, so i combine a couple of recipes and oh boy was it amazing! and there was a ton of it so we have been eating it all week.

7. friday evening swimming with the ladies. there may have been spiked crystal light.

8. a long night of laughing till we cried with the hubs.

9. all my freshly repotted plants. finally separated my violets, repotted the plumeria, and made a beautiful arrangement of succulent clippings.

10. my super duper clean car. the hubs got freaky on the cars today, and boy do they look and smell amazing.

someone stole my strawberry.

surprisingly enough, it wasn't the boy. he loves the garden and listens very well about not picking things until they are ready. but i am missing a strawberry...must have been a little birdie. i keep a close count on the fruits of our labor, and it is great to see the strawberries growing and ripening, but it has become increasingly obvious that i need more than one strawberry plant to feed this family. this one a day production isn't cutting it. we currently all take a small bite of our homegrown fruit and pass to the next watering mouth. they are the most delicious berries. on a side note i think that the tomato plant has reached the end of it's life cycle. tomato productions has come to a screeching halt and the plant seems to be self destructing.

10 things i couldn't live without this week:

sorry for being a day late here guys. this week was so full of travel and company, beach and family. it was a great week. hope you all enjoyed the week without words. it was a lot of fun for me, had so much fun taking all of these pictures.

1. road tripping with my boy across s.r. 80. growing up in fl, and having family spread out all over the state, i think that i have taken every back road from hear to the pan handle. i can now check s.r. 80 off my list. lots of fields, lots of singing with the boy with the windows down, lots of cows, and a whole lot of nothing. it's so amazing to me how so much of florida is still real land. i drove through a town called belle glade, and the city motto read "the richness is in her soil". i want to farm.

2. lot of long, slow walks on the beach in search for the perfect shell.

3. late night chats with my sisters. i am considerably older than all of my siblings. there is a 20 year age difference between my youngest sister and i. but they are finally getting to the age where i am the cool older sister, and not just someone that they really couldn't relate to.

4. celebrity. this is my all time favorite group game. and there is no box required. it's my families favorite night of vacation every time. we laugh, we all swear that my dad makes people up, it's full of stupid one liners and me saying "um" a lot.

5. greek tacos. i'll post the recipe soon.

6. surprise visit at the beach house from my family's best friends, the burgess's. betty burgess is my idol. her confidence, her humor, her effortless yet supremely chic sense of style....and on top of all of that this woman is one of the most caring people that i have had the pleasure of getting to know over the past few years. this woman has got it all. oh and did i mention that she is a designer? talk about dream homes!

7. the boy got to see almost all of his grandparents in one week. while on vacation at the beach we saw 3 sets of great grandparents, plus his patchie and lala (my dad and stepmom). then we got to meet nana (the hubs mom) for brunch on saturday. the only one missing was my mom.

8. matt and sandy came for a visit, finally. they are some of our closest friends from orlando and we have been missing them very much. it was so great to spend a couple days with them catching up and soaking up the sun.

9. eating the first pepper from the new plant, and some of my tomatoes on a turkey burger that was so loaded up with veggies that there was a complete upper bun blow out (yes, that's the technical term). they were some amazing burgers though.

10. getting to see the hubs after being gone all week. that was for sure the best thing that happened to me all week.

10 things i couldn't live without this week:

1. a very long, sleepy, pajama and movie filled monday.

2. sewing sewing and more sewing time.

3. my very first tankini

4. doing things as a mother that i swore i would never do (i.e. wear a tankini)

5. 2 pairs of pants for the price of one. took a pair of thrifted pants and turned them into a pair of shorts for me and a pair of pants for the little man.

6. $2 yard sale finds. i am getting good at making $2 stretch pretty far.

7. the most delicious tomatoes i've ever had.

8. new additions to the garden. we now have tomatoes, bell peppers, strawberries, and pineapple.

9. seeing my grandparents for dinner tonight.

10. sanibel island sunsets. arrived today for our week vacation with my parents and sisters. keep reading this week for "a week without words".

...and then there were 12.

so i have been feeling a sense of triumph lately with my plants. i have never had much of a green thumb, as a matter of fact i could kill about any plant you put in front of me. but at the end of my pregnancy we bought a tiny tiny aloe plant. it was about 3" tall. it was more of a cute joke than a serious gardening endeavor. but over the past two years, my has that thing grown. it's now about 2 feet tall and recently blossomed. (i am not going to lie, i didn't actually know that aloe blossomed until this happened.)

so with the internal gloat of this aloe success, paired with the other small success of not killing any other plants recently i decided it was about time to venture into edible gardening. deep down inside i would love to have this huge lush garden of fruits and veggies to fest on. so i bought a tomato plant. i decided on one that was already a full grown plant and had a few tomatoes on it, just to see if i could keep it alive. starting from a seed seemed a little too advanced just yet. so for the past few weeks i have meticulously cared for this plant. i didn't realize just how hard it was to keep a healthy tomato plant. there are so many factors that i didn't expect. but despite all the challenges i would say that i am doing pretty good. the plant started with three tomatoes, then i had 16. one morning i went out to check on the plant, and low and behold after counting and recounting and recounting again, there were only 15. my plant must have fallen prey to that damn possum that lives in our back yard. i grieved for a moment for the fallen tomato, but quickly recovered. and everything was looking great until yesterday.

after a beautiful afternoon of tending to my "garden" and playing outside with the family, we had a 3 tomato tragedy. and this time it was my own clumsy fault. that's right i accidentally broke 3 tomatoes right off the plant. i almost cried. i am keeping them in the kitchen window sill to see if they will ripen anymore so that they don't go to waste. if not i guess we will be having some fried green tomatoes soon.

but for now, we are down to 12.

10 things i couldn't live without this week:

1. irish fest! still can't believe that i got to see paddy noonan and he remembers my great grandmother! paddy is an irish entertainer who also does guided summer bus tours of ireland. my great grandmother went summer after summer for longer than i can remember, and her last tour she brought me with her. it was so nostalgic seeing him again, and just being at the festival. grandma would have loved it. what a great F.F.D.

2. fining out angela & james got engaged. wish they lived closer so we could do an engagement shoot.

3. the arrival of baby kaleb.

4. the 90 minute shirt. even though it took me a whole lot longer my first try making them.

5. making clothes without patterns.

6. my recent obsession with grooveshark. if you don't know what it is, check it out.

7. chocolate chip cookie dough pop tarts. they are evil and delicious.

8. harvesting veggies at the pioneer garden. i applied for their volunteer program so hopefully this will become a regular event for me and the boy.

9. tonights cold salmon and raw veggie pizza.

10. this weeks trip to the "apple store" (that's what the boy calls it....it's just the produce stand though). ash had so much fun there this last visit. he asks every day if we can go there. he likes to help me carry the basket and pick out what he wants to eat. i also think that he's really into the mariachi music that is always playing there. oh that reminds me that i want to check out the band mariachi el bronx on grooveshark.