like a weed . . .

I have a garden update! Mostly because I'm a little shocked about how amazingly well things are growing. Neither of us are *gardeners* per se. But we both love fresh organic produce, and we don't love paying premiums for it. When we first planted, we went back and forth about what to *feed* our little plantlings. Chemicals were out. But were we both too busy to really research what we should feed them then. So we chalked this first year up to experimentation and just left them as is. No food. Good soil. Lots of water. Apparently they're liking the environment we gave them. Here are the tomatoes two weeks ago: Doing well, but there space around them and you can still see the wire supports. Here they are today: No spaces, no wires to be seen. It's a jungle in there! I can't believe how much they can grow in that short of time. And, we have fruit! I can't wait till they turn red. I'm a little obsessive. Checking a couple times a day to see how they're doing. I wish I knew why they were thriving. I'm a little in the dark, but I'm super happy they're doing well. And, just for fun, here our enormous cucumber plant. Oh. wow.

yee-haw!

It happens every June. Work gets busy. Really busy. But, this is no excuse to neglect this space. I have tons of pictures to show you. I have projects we've been working on. Garden updates. Inspirations. And, I itching to play show and tell. But first, I'm going to share my weekend, because it fun. So fun. And, so relaxing. Just what I needed for crazy June. We went to our first ever rodeo! There were great friends. There was great food over an open fire. Oh yes. Those are oysters. There were calves. I wanted to take them all home. So cute. There were rodeo princesses. Oh, and there were cowboys. These little guys were just too cute. JJ the rodeo clown kept us very entertained. And there were horses. Beautiful. The older cowboys were pretty nice also. Aaaah. Loved. this. weekend. More inspiration to come later this week.

happy long weekend!

*from BL1961* We're off to the beach for the long weekend! We'll be surrounded by family and good, good friends. And, I'm looking forward to relaxing, reading, laughing, eating and more relaxing. Long weekends are good. I've been a little quiet lately, but I've been hard at work. After the long weekend I'll have a fun before and after to unveil. Enjoy!

all bottled up

I love bottles. I have them all over the house and they're still the first thing I reach for at flea markets and antique stores. But, as I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I wasn't sure about a large bottle display. How could I say no to these? Turn-of-the-century poison bottles. How cool are these? Plus, Barb, over at Knack Studios commented that I should. How can I say no to Barb? Really? Everything she touches turns BEAUTIFUL. If you haven't checked out her blog, you should. Right. Now. Well, after you finish this post. So, now they have a home in our kitchen. I like them. Alot.

functional garden art

How cute would these look in an garden? Way better than the flimsy plastic markers that come with the plants! Cool product can be found at Plants & Edibles* *As seen on Design Sponge*

Never roam alone

Happy Monday! :)

ta-da!

And, we officially have a garden! We built the beds last weekend. Today, we added veggies: - a couple different varieties of tomato -- early girl, roma and sweet cherry - walla-walla onions. yum. - red peppers - burpless cucumbers - cilantro - basil - and rosemary I'll update with the progress. I felt all grown up knowing I'm fully responsible for keeping these alive. It's like how some people get a dog to gauge if they should have kids. We're taking very mini steps. We're growing veggies to practice for our dog. We caught our *neighborhood* stray cat digging a hole in one of the beds tonight. So, maybe their well being is out of my control! Anyone have ideas how to keep cats out of the veggies? I'd love to hear them.

bottled idea

Chris used to collect poison bottles. Super cool, but I'm not sure what to do with them now. How hard would these be to keep dust free? *image from Apartment Therapy*

summer fun

I was already so excited about yard-saling this summer, but THIS: Yard Sale Treasure Map this just puts me over the edge!

inspired gardens

I love *romantic* gardens. Gardens that burst with flowers, leaves, greens and energy. Gardens you feel swallowed up by and that you can get lost in. They feel so cottage-y. This is a little surprising, even for me, because in every other aspect of my life I am very linear. So is Chris. We'll see if we can actually pull of a non-linear yard! Below is our backyard. Not so romantic or inspiring.. Actually not so much of anything! The veggie beds are in the back. The dirt patch in the middle of the yard is our makeshift fire pit. Some would call this *ghetto.* We call it *inventive.* These are yards/gardens I am loving: I love the mix of grass, plants and patio. Grass, at least a little, is a must. Veggie garden aspirations. Love water. photos from House Beautiful and Sunset

curb appeal

When it comes to curb appeal, our house is lacking a bit. Okay, a lot. On the one hand, because of the new paint, the house jumps off the lot and says *look at me!* On the other hand, upon closer inspection, the house is a bit dull and unlively. Yep. Not too exciting. But, last weekend I found a few super cute pots on craigslist for super cheap. Nice. So now upon closer inspection, the house looks welcoming and friendly with spring blooms. It's a good start. Welcome to our home.

inspired

I'd really love to have either, or both, of these in my home. They're early inspiration for our current color wheel. *both images, and a great article, from ColourLovers*

on being newly married . . .

. . . and picking your battles. Chris (partially under his breath): I don't know why I bother nesting the measuring cups when they're un-nested all of 30 seconds later. Me: really? You nest the measuring cups? Chris: it's not that hard. Me: I USE them. They un-nest when I USE them. Chris: well . . . Me: REALLY? You're going to get OCD about nesting?

and onto the next project

The weather was fabulous last weekend. It was the perfect for yard work. We're building a garden! I wish this were my garden. But I'm finding lots of inspiration here. Our reality*: Chris built two raised beds. They'll actually be raised one more level than this. *Please disregard the *grass*. It's not pretty. It's not even soft to walk on. It needs lots of love and patience at the moment. And, I filled the beds with dirt. Next weekend they will become the home of lots of lovely veggie plants. On a side note. The treacherous structure you see in the top right corner, just past the two white chairs, is our garage. Oh yes. We own that beauty. That is a project we'll be tackling this summer/fall.

funny story

For Christmas I received the Domino Decorating Book. Love it. With the book came a FREE subscription to Domino Mag. So exciting! But, right after I redeemed my subscription, the mag folded. (Insert frowny here.) I think I received one issue. Since it was free and all, I thought that was the end of the story. Oh was I wrong. On Thursday I received a postcard from the publisher letting me know that I'd now be receiving Glamour. . Really? Maybe I'll start telling you all about how those 131 little ways really DO blast my body!

happy easter!

beautiful flowers yummy flowers basket o' eggs Hope your day is filled with many happies :).

i heart . . .

. . . these chairs, and, this striped porch. swoon. *images from pure style home*

typography

As I've been posting pictures of the house, one thing that is glaringly obvious, to me, is our lack of wall decor. Our walls are barren. We need help. We have some severe decorating differences, but one thing we agree on is typography. We both love typography and fonts. I found the below picture the other day and was smitten. Chris also likes it. We agree! So, why isn't it hanging on our wall? It's HUGE. Too huge, I think. *from Pottery Barn* So, I started hunting on etsy for other typography prints. I apologize, I don't have sources today. They're at work. I'll update the post Monday with links. I really like this one. It's simple. I'm not sure about *Q* though. The above is similar to the Pottery Barn one, but smaller. I know these don't go on a wall, but I heart them none the less. Okay, I got sidetracked. This isn't typography, but I heart it so much I had to include it as a potential for the wall. Happy weekend!