Apparently I've Been Domesticated

Got Extra Mardi Gras Beads?

2011-12-29T08:50:00.000-08:00

The Peanut had a pretty boring vanity (actually, it's not a vanity, it's a side table w/ matching mirror my friend was getting rid of, whatever, it works).

I had a bucket worth of Mardi Gras beads from my youthful days of bar hopping. For the record, I never flashed anyone for them.

Almost everyone single strand was broken so I sat down with a pair of scissors one night and cut them into beads. Then me and my trusty hot glue gun glued them to her mirror.

Pretty cute, right?

Five DIY Book Rails for Under $10

2011-11-05T13:54:00.000-07:00

I usually keep the Peanut's library books on a table in the living room, but it's hard for her to go through the stack to find a book for bedtime that she hasn't read yet. So I decided to use the less than 2 1/2" inches of space behind her bedroom door to put up book rails.

My initial thought was to use furring strips which are very economical, but came across 2x2x36 balusters for .89 cents each. They were the perfect length and depth for what I wanted. (Keep in mind when buying wood, it's never the size it says. It's almost always smaller, so measure it before you lug it home.)

Then I thought I'd get some pretty trim to make the front part of the rail, but trim is surprisingly expensive. It gives me sticker shock everytime I try to buy it. So I went back to find the furring strips and stumbled upon these fill strips for .97 cents a piece.

I hate pre-drilling, but wound up needing to pre-drill the holes in the fill strips or they split. I should've pre-drilled holes in the balusters too, but I was lazy. Then I screwed the fill strips and balusters to the wall with 3" screws at both ends. I used a tapping block from my laminate floor installation to keep the fill strip at the same distance from the bottom of the baluster on each rail. It was tricky holding everything together, making sure it was level and screwing it in by myself, but it was obviously doable.

In the end I needed 5 balusters and 3 fill strips, totaling $7.36 (not counting tax). I'm not counting the price of the 3" screws since I bought a 5 pound box ($4.37) and only used ten of them. And I wasn't going to paint them, but I painted the trim around my front door and used the leftover paint from that. Since I'm not going to bother figuring out how much the nails and paint added to the total, let's just round up to about $10 for the five. Pretty good, right?

I don't think it took me more than an hour to put this together. She loves being able to see all her books without trying to maneuver through a heavy stack, and I love not having to search the house for her books when they're due.

Cooking Spaghetti in a Frying Pan with Cold Water?

2011-11-04T18:05:00.000-07:00

We go through a ton of spaghetti in this house. It's one of the Peanut's favorites, and I get to scrub down the whole kitchen in the time it takes to boil a pot of water. Then I saw this.

Holy crap.

Maybe other people knew about this and won't be so excited, but I didn't. Honestly, I thought if you didn't boil a huge pot of water, you'd wind up with a big clump of spaghetti; but, that's apparently, that's not the case. I didn't time it, but she barely had time to get settled in with her art supplies at the kitchen table before it was done.

Maybe it's sad, but I feel like this video just changed me life.

Don't Give Me Crap for Not Weeding

2011-08-08T05:53:00.000-07:00

Honestly, I have no idea why I've been so crappy about weeding. I'm home and I have my action hoe. It's just been so hot. Whatever. I'm just saying, don't give me crap because I don't want to hear it. So blah.

I already harvested a the potato plants I was growing in pots. They didn't produce as much as I hoped, probably due to uneven watering. But there were several pounds of potatoes. And let me say, so much more delicious than the ones from the store. Definitely growing them next year. Here is one of the five I have in the garden. I wanted to see which did better, pots or in the ground.

Despite being eaten, the cauliflower continues to grow. I don't know when it'll start looking like an actual cauliflower, but I'm happy it made a come back.

I did a lot of heirloom tomatoes this year. Here's a beefsteak. The other plants are doing okay...couple of tomatoes here and there. They are moving much slower than...

...the tomato plants that I started from seeds I saved from gardens of previous years. The Roma tomatoes are bigger then ever and I don't know that I've ever had as many as there are on this one plant.

Oh, btw, the corn is over six feet tall. None of the ears seem very full. So I haven't picked any yet.

Back to the tomatoes. Remember last year, I grew way too many cherry tomatoes. This year I planted just one plant from the seeds I saved. Holy crap. It's gotten so big, we're up to three cages and these two stakes the Hubby haphazardly threw together just to get the plant of the ground. It's a monster sized. I guess even with one plant, I'm going to have to spend hours harvesting cherry tomatoes.

I've been sending the hubby to work with handfuls of cherry tomatoes in his lunchbox.

I'm not sure what's up with the cucumbers. They grow, then they get misshapen. Maybe I'm not watering enough, but I really think it's these seeds. I'm going to try different ones next year.

The cucumbers like the trellis, the cantaloupe absolutely loves it. I can't believe how these two plants are halfway to completely covering it.

We have four cantaloupes growing, but I bet there are more in there.

We have never planted pumpkins before. I assumed this was going to be a spaghetti squash. Nope...it's pumpkin. It's taking over the corner of the yard.

The Hubby has taken it on as his own special plant. Here's the first pumpkin we found.

Here's another little one just starting out.

Not counting the little ones that may or may not make it, we have four that we are aware of. I guess I won't have to spend thirty plus dollars at the pumpkin patch this year, we can pick our own in our yard!

The carrots in and beets in the pots are taking forever to be edible. Makes me crazy.

Can't Wait for the IKEA 2012 Catalog?

2011-07-27T11:21:00.000-07:00

I can't either. It's like porn for me. Sad, right?
Whatever. I haven't gotten it in the mail.
And I guess as little as I've been blogging, I'm no longer cool enough to get the catalog early.
But here it is online! Just found it and wanted to share.
xo

IKEA Catalog 2012

How to Fix Hard as a Rock DIY Dishwasher Detergent

2011-07-05T06:16:00.000-07:00

Remember when I wrote this post about making your own dishwasher detergent? I said I wasn't having clumping problems. Yeah, well, within a day or two or writing that post the whole thing turned rock hard. I thought, there has to be a way to fix this, so I searched the comments at Jabs. Most people either said suck it up or add the citric acid to each load w/o mixing it in w/ the rest of the recipe. Yeah...I'm not doing that. I'll forget for sure.

Ever hear of Occam's Razor? That sometimes the simplest solution is the best one? Well, I dumped the contents of my very airtight Tupperware container into the food processor (I thought airtight would mean no clumping, obviously I was wrong) and ground the stuff back up to a powder. Then I dumped it all back into the container and it's been a few weeks and so far, it's not re-clumping.

So, yes, extra step. You know I hate those. But whatever, consider it an easy solution that will help you keep making your own dishwasher detergent and a way to really clean your food processor.

My only other problem is that the glassware is not always crystal clean...that's kind of hit or miss. Sometimes it's a little cloudy, but I think more citric acid would probably fix that. And seriously people w/ the vintage stuff getting etched...don't put vintage anything in the dishwasher! If it's valuable, hand wash it always and you won't have to worry about it scratching...Yeesh.

And for the record, I'm using a very rounded heaping tablespoon of it since I use an old scoop from one of the Hubby's powdered sports drinks. So, I don't know how that's affecting the cost breakdown. But all in all, I like this stuff. I think making dishwasher detergent yourself is too easy not to do.

Our New Cucumber and Cantaloupe Trellises

2011-07-01T13:14:00.000-07:00

I was searching for a better way to trellis our cucumbers and cantaloupes when I came across this as well as some others that were very tall, similar to a pergola. I was inspired!

Using some deck wood we picked up from Craigslist's free section, the Hubby built me these.

They're about 4x5 feet and 2 feet tall. I only planted two regular cucumbers and two pickler cucumbers, but next year, I'll definitely start more. I took these pics the day he built it...it's been a week or so since they went up and the cucumbers seem much happier than before and are slowly creeping along the top.

Even the cantaloupes which were looking a little downtrodden are perking up. Although, I think I need new seeds, only two out of the eight I planted actually sprouted.

I'll keep you posted on how well they work.

A Garden Update

2011-06-28T14:02:00.000-07:00

I'm suppose to be studying for my LSW exam. I thought I'd slack and post some pics.

I don't know what's up with the strawberries but so far they're not doing so great.

The peas have been doing awesome. But they're competing for space with the asparagus. I didn't realize how tall the asparagus got or how much space the peas need. We're going to have to move the trellis to the strawberry box next season.

How cool are the asparagus! I'm so glad I finally planted some.

Do you remember the great seed experiment? Probably not, that's okay. But here are some random lettuce that popped up. Love when the garden does it's thing w/o me.

Carrots in pots. I have to. My soil is too dense and rocky, the carrots just grow into these weird mangled looking things that no one wants to eat.

I know, I need to weed. It's been raining a lot, so whatever. But for my first attempt at onions and shallots, they look pretty good. I love that I caught the Peanut in the back chasing after Big Head Pete.

Potatoes in the ground.

I had a ton of spaghetti squash pop up. I gave most of them away. I was going to give this one away, but by the time we came home for our honeymoon, it was too big. So I moved it away from the tomatoes and over to the corner. Turns out there were four or five of them, not one. It looks very sad now, but it seems to be making a slow but steady come back. We'll see.

Summer squash and zucchini are doing great.

Corn! Hopefully this year will be more successful than last. If it's not, then I officially give up on growing it.

I have tons of tomatoes. But unlike last year when I wound up with 5000 cherry tomatoes, I planted a ton of heirloom tomatoes. I do have a lot of tomato plants that popped up on their own. I'm guessing either cherry or yellow bell...I guess we'll have to wait and see.

This is a pepper. I don't know what kind, but a pepper. The eggplants all died. And I forgot to take a pic of the only surviving cauliflower.

Cucumbers, both pickling and regular. More on that large wood trellis later.

The cantaloupe is looking kinda sad. It did last year too. I think I need new seeds.

The chive flowers have all dried out. I keep forgetting to get them and make chive vinegar before it happens.

Potatoes in pots. We'll see which do better.

We are guessing this is a spaghetti squash, but I don't really know...and no, it's not growing anywhere near the garden.

Now that the garden is bigger, I didn't plant as much stuff because I'm attempting to space the plants out properly instead of just cramming stuff in. I'm curious to see if they produce more. So far it's just been nice to be able to walk around the garden w/o worrying about stepping on stuff!

The Great Baby Bird Rescue!

2011-06-11T14:40:00.000-07:00

The day after we came back from the Family Honeymoon, we found three baby birds on the ground next to our neighbor's tree. After we all freaked out a bit about what to do, we (now, when I say we, I actually mean the Hubby under my "supervision") put them in a t-shirt lined box. I did some googling and found out that if we tried to take care of them ourselves, they'd only have a 5% chance of survival. I did not like those odds. So we hatched a plan to get them back in the tree.

Their original nest was destroyed, so we took an old nest that we found on a bush we just trimmed. It was too small, so we placed it in this Easter basket, broke it up a bit so they'd all fit, then wire tied it to the tree. This pic is from a few days later. It's amazing how they went from small and scrawny to almost full sized so quickly.

Here's a pic I caught of them being fed. We were worried they're parents wouldn't come back. Apparently it's a myth that they won't come back to their babies if humans touch them. Birds don't have a great sense of smell, so don't be scared to don some gloves in put them in their nest if need be.

Maybe three days later, we noticed only two birds in the nest.

This one was on the ground now, bigger and healthier looking and not interested in being picked up. I read that birds will spend 7-10 days on the ground when its learning to fly.

Here's a video from the cell phone of the bird trying to fly.

It took about two days, but eventually he took off. One of his siblings flew away too; we never even saw him on the ground. Unfortunately, the third one that the Hubby was calling the Runt, didn't make it. We're going to bury him tomorrow. I know I'm crazy. What an adventure.

We also have love birds in my pear tree who've been sitting on a nest. I hope all their babies manage to stay put. Lesson to be learned...always check the ground before you mow and look where you're walking.

DIY Dishwasher Detergent

2011-05-23T10:46:00.000-07:00

Remember way back when, I wrote a post about Jabs Homemade Laundry Detergent? Well, I decided to give their dishwasher detergent a go and after using a full batch, I have to say it totally works!

Jabs Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

Mix together:

1/2 cup Borax
1/2 cup Washing Soda
1/4 cup Kosher Salt
1/4 cup Citric Acid

It may clump over time, but that's just the citric acid. No big deal. And use vinegar as a rinse agent. I was leery about that, but it works great. He says to use a tablespoon per load, but I use an old ice tea scoop...about 2 1/2 tablespoons. I'm going to have to try using a tablespoon and I'll let you know how that goes. I use a 1:3 ratio per load...2/3 in the main section and 1/3 in the pre-wash.
A note on Citric Acid...you can buy this stuff online or at a place they sell beer making supplies. I am too lazy to do that. So instead I picked up Lemi-Shine at Target. It was roughly $3 (if I remember correctly) for a 12 oz. container. Some people reported in the comments section on his page that they were getting a white film on their glasses. I haven't had that problem.

The cost savings is astronomical, but more importantly, when you're out of it, it takes too seconds to whip up a batch instead of having to run to the store. This definitely gets my stamp of approval!

The Garden: DIY Compost Bins and Pre-Soaked Peas

2011-04-29T10:33:00.000-07:00

The garden is officially expanded. Sod turned. Garden soil dumped and raked through. About 500 square feet. I think this is going to be the perfect size.

I set up a make-shift greenhouse by the sliding door. They are coming up way faster than they normally do. I think the IKEA shoe rack/fish tank set up will need to be improved for next year.

Let's see...there's tomatoes in the bottom tank, summer squash, cucumbers, zucchini, cauliflower, cantaloupe....I have more stuff I haven't gotten around to starting yet.

The summer squash is definitely doing the best.

My first asparagus! It shot up out of nowhere.
Too bad the rest of the roots don't seem to be doing anything.

Look at the peas! I soaked 40 for an hour or so, and left the other 40 unsoaked. The soaked ones all came up, and most of the unsoaked ones did. I think the soaking helped.

I am still working on painting the fort/swingset. I painted the inside white and let the Peanut paint whatever she wanted. Then I tiled the floor w/ vinyl tiles. I'll take more pics later.

I can't have open compost bins. There are too many rats around. Yes, rats. Ugh. I had compost bins that looked like upside down garbage cans that did not work. Got rid of them and bought a garbage can, drilled some holes in it and voila! Instant and super cheap compost bin! I'll let you know how it goes.

Our Expanded Garden

2011-04-14T14:08:00.000-07:00

This was my garden in 2008. I think each bed was about 4' x 6'.

The following year I expanded it by two more 4' x 6' beds.

In 2010, the Boyfriend helped me expand it to about 15' x 25'...give or take.

And this is it as of today. The Boyfriend just emailed me a pic while I was in school. He finished cutting out the sod and is about to turn it over. It is now around 500 square feet...about 16 x 32.

When he moved the fence, I thought it was too big. Then he pointed out that last year, I said the same thing when we made it bigger. Then it turned out to not be enough room...

I think this will be the last of our expansion. We also have two 2' x 8' beds on the side of the house. One for the asparagus, the other for strawberries. One has a trellis for my peas. I also have a couple of large containers I previously used for beets and carrots, but I think the potatoes will go in them this year.

And for the record, yes he put in the fence and cut the sod in the back, but I turned over eighty percent of the soil myself. Just saying...

Like My New Area Rug?

2011-03-26T20:09:00.000-07:00

I love my old old one, but after my dog passed away, I thought I needed to throw it out. So then I got one from someone, and it was too small and always looked dirty and I hated it. But I'm cheap and I couldn't bear to spend all sorts of money on a new one.

Then I was at Target the other day, and here was this beautiful 78 x 120 rug, normally a couple of hundred dollars...as my daughter would say,

...wait for it......

.....on clearance for $31.49. Can you believe it! I wasn't even sure if I liked it, but for that price I had to buy it. The Peanut loved it...blue is her favorite color. And now that it's been in the living room for a few days, I have to say, I'm kinda loving it.

Literally Painting a Family Tree on Your Wall

2011-03-10T10:09:00.000-08:00

I love the idea of doing something like this.

But I'm not sure if I'd do it in the living room...

or in the dining room.

I've heard you should keep artwork in the dining room simple.

These are all so pretty. I'm struggling with our dining room. I hate a love/hate thing going on with the chocolate suede paint I used. Maybe it is too dark. Ugh.

Best Xmas Present Ever

2011-03-01T10:24:00.000-08:00

I meant to blog about this a while ago, but it didn't happen. The Boyfriend was determined to buy me a Kitchen-Aid Professional 6 quart mixer. I wouldn't let him because they're so expensive. So then I found an amazing deal on it at Christmas time. So I said, okay. His winning argument to buy it was that my hands hurt everytime I bake (I screwed them up when I tiled the floor). He said it upsets him to see me in so much pain doing something I love to do. I am so glad I agreed to spend the money. It is so amazing.

Clay Pot Cooking

2011-02-23T06:55:00.000-08:00

I picked up this clay pot cooker from freecyle. OMG, it's amazing!

On my first attempt to use it I soaked for for way longer than the 10 minutes they recommend. Then I put a whole chicken rubbed w/ 21 Seasoning Salute from Trader Joe's and some butter, threw it on top of some potatoes and carrots. Then it goes in a cold oven set to 425 for an hour. I think I left it in for closer to an hour and a half. I took the lid off (holy crap was there a lot of liquid in there) and let it sit for ten minutes to crisp up the skin. I make an amazing roast chicken, but this was easily the juiciest, most amazing chicken I ever made.

I've also done a beef stew (I shouldn't have added any stock, it wound up boiling over, hence the stains on the bottom) and a rump roast. Both were awesome!

When I first got it, I was searching for recipes online. There's a lot of variance in temperatures and times. What I will say is don't stress it. This is like slow cooker cooking, but faster. Probably a great solution for those of us who forget to plug in the slow cooker and come home to cold food...not that I ever do that...

Soak it. Dump the stuff in. Put it in the oven. Turn it on and go about your day. So far everything I've put in has been fully cooked in 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Temperature...I've been sticking with 425 and that's been working for me. It has an enamel coating inside, which makes clean up easy. I would definitely recommend picking up one of these.

AskMen & IKEA Presents

2011-01-06T16:04:00.000-08:00

Have you seen this yet? Pretty cute. Short videos to help men decorate the IKEA way.

AskMen & IKEA Presents

DIY Laundry Detergent

2010-12-23T13:35:00.000-08:00

Are you still buying laundry detergent? I'm not. Not ever since I came across Jabs Homemade Laundry Detergent. I was skeptical at first. But I have to say when you read the site, the breakdown of the average store-bought stuff at 21 cents a load compared to 5 cents or less a load for this stuff, how can you not at least try it out. I made it while sitting on my couch watching tv. It really takes no time at all and saves a ton of money.

It's simple...1 cup of washing soda, 1 cup of borax and 1 bar of grated soap. They say you only have to use 1 tablespoon, but I use the scoop from my old OxyClean tub...it's probably closer to 2 tablespoons. I throw it in, run the hot water for a minute, then switch to cold and put my clothes in. My friend adds some extract or tea oil or something for fragrance, but I'm fine with the no-smell approach.

There are a million and one comments on their site, so read through and see the things people did and didn't like, and the substitutions they made. (BTW I know I sound info-mercially but I just like to share the cool stuff I find.)

Jenn-Air Island Hood Review: Don't Buy It!

2010-10-08T14:57:00.000-07:00

Remember back in September when I wrote that I loved my Jenn Air Island Hood...I've changed my mind.

It was great at first. Not only pretty, but man it sucked up every last ounce of steam and smelly fumes of all kinds from my kitchen. It rocked. Seriously.

Now I bought this way before I was ready to install it, so it sat around for a few months. Then around a year after it was finally installed, it started working less and less. You'd hit the button...and nothing. Or you'd hit it and it would sound like it wanted to start, but nothing. Or the lights wouldn't go on. Or they'd go on and wouldn't shut back off.I finally had time to check the User Manual...it only has a one year warranty! I spend almost $2000 on this and it worked for barely a year?! I'm not a happy camper.

I emailed Jenn-Air customer service to see what they say. I know I've had it for over a year, but it hasn't been installed for over a year...not that they'll care. I bet they'll say, tough luck. But I'm hoping they're better than that. I'll keep you all posted.

UPDATE: So, basically their response was here's a number for customer service. Hmm...not exactly standing behind your products are you Jenn-Air? I bought this because Consumer Reports said it was great...and it is...when it works. My advice to you remodelers out there...DO NOT BUY JENN-AIR PRODUCTS!

I will eventually write a post about American Standard...but let me just say this as a comparison...I bought one of their toilets several years ago and had a plumber install it since I was pregnant and couldn't do it myself. A few months later, I noticed water coming from the ceiling under the toilet. I called the plumber...he never called back, so I assumed he screwed up. Well, a year or two later, I finally take the thing off so I could redo the floor and discover that the water was coming from the vent hole in the back of it. So I write them a letter explaining what happened. They called me back immediately, didn't request any proof or receipts or anything. The rep said, I'm really sorry for the inconvenience, what color, size and style do you want? I'll have one out to you by the end of the week. And they did. I will ALWAYS buy American Standard products.

New Garden Pics

2010-08-05T16:37:00.000-07:00

We are overrun with cherry tomatoes. The Peanut is the official picker and I have to say she does a great job...but won't eat any of them.

I have no clue what kind of tomatoes these are. It's a mystery plant year.

Summer squash...mmm...I've been putting it in everything.

Layers and layers of cherry tomatoes.

This cantaloupe won't ripen. It's making me crazy.

The acorn squash plant is getting big, there are always bees buzzing around it, yet we only have two squash. What's up with that?

The spaghetti squash plant continues to take over, but the squash bugs are taking their toll. The Boyfriend is putting in quite the valiant effort at eradicating the garden of them. Stupid bugs.

No clue what these tomatoes are either.

Lots of bell peppers popping up.

Fresh beans are so nice. Def using trellises next year.

I love zucchini.

The plants up at the community garden are not doing well. The pumpkins are okay, everything else, not so much. I took the best four that weren't overrun with squash bugs home. The Boyfriend built me another planter box and set up this trellis. So far two out of the four look like they might make it.

Tomato Hornworm

2010-07-28T12:51:00.000-07:00

I was about to tie a top heavy tomato branch to the cage when I saw this thing and almost had a heart attack. The Boyfriend picked it off, branch and all. It ate an entire row of cherry tomatoes. Well, not an entire one, you can still see a part of the last one on that row in this pic.

Look at its mouth! I think it has big jaws and teeth! Argh!

We didn't have the heart to kill it, so he relocated it across the street in the woods. A little google-ing led me to discover it's called a Tomato Hornworm and would eventually turn into a huge moth. Additionally, they leave behind poop droppings similar to rodents and can be found amidst your garden via black light at night. There is also a man on gardenweb (I think) who will pay for the shipping if you mail him them.

IKEAfans Video of New IKEA Kitchen Products

2010-07-24T14:27:00.000-07:00

If you've never checked out IKEAfans site and you're doing anything w/ IKEA products, you're crazy. They are awesome and helpful and have tons of info on their site. They recently posted a link to a youtube video they did about the new kitchen products. Check it out!

IKEA NYC Fan Event

2010-07-24T09:41:00.000-07:00

We almost didn't go because of the torrential downpour, but we parked in Hoboken, hopped the PATH and hoped for the best. We were early and being a mommy blogger didn't get me into the media viewing time slot, so we walked around the city for a while, then got in line. Yes there was a line. I wasn't expecting one...duh.

Let me say that I wish the people that worked at the IKEA in Elizabeth could be half as happy and friendly as the people working this event. Everyone was super nice.

Yes, that's us "in a drawer." When in Rome...

A lot of stuff makes it into my house. Not much makes it out.

Everyone writing about the new 2011 IKEA Catalog shows pics of these salt and pepper shakers. Their pics are better. I don't care. I'm posting my pic anyway.

Apparently kids like their own dining options. I like the pastel kid sized dining stuff, but I know, they're not new.

I liked these magnetic circles. Pretty pics. Great option if you like to print your photos but you don't necessarily want to stick them in an album.

I was sure these were picture frames. Now I'm not so sure...

New bathroom stuff for people with very small bathrooms.

I thought this was cute. My kid could hang her five million bead necklaces instead of leaving them on the floor.

There were drinks and hor d'oeuvres. Huge AC units working very hard to not let us die from heat stroke. A woman from Better Homes & Gardens spoke, as well as some IKEA people. Someone from IKEAfans was there, but we ducked out. It was getting too hot for me.

They even gave us some pretty awesome gift bags.

All in all a fun afternoon. But I have to say, I kinda underwhelmed by the new stuff. There wasn't a lot of new or innovative items. I struggled to figure out what to take pics of that you guys wouldn't have already seen in an old catalog.

They did give us advance copies of the new catalog. Again...okay. I think it's all that anticiaption for the new catalog that makes you expect a lot. A handful of new things just isn't enough.

Anyway, we ended out evening with a walk through Hoboken and dinner at Bangkok City Thai Restaurant....very good food btw.

Our Garden in July

2010-07-16T14:17:00.000-07:00

When we drove down to pick up the baby, I was worried about how the drought would affect the garden. Well, it didn't...I came home to this jungle. It was pretty awesome.

(BTW if there's a big weird white box around the pics, I didn't do that. Idk what's up with Blogger but uploading pics is taking forever, so I had to do it through Picassa and the white boxes won't go away.)

The best part was finally finding out what I planted since I forgot to label the new batches of seedlings and it was all going to a surprise until stuff grew. I wouldn't recommend this method, but I got lucky that it all worked out.

Bell peppers. Great, but they seem to be getting brown splotches...

One summer squash and one zucchini.

I thought these two were cucumbers. Apparently, I know nothing.

I thought this was a zucchini but it turned out to be a acorn squash.

I have three pole bean plants, but two big ones have no beans and are being surrounded by spaghetti squash vines, while this little one won't stop growing beans.

Can you spot the two bean plants amidst the squash?

There's quite a few spaghetti squash but I noticed some squash bugs in there today. I should probably do something about that...

And man do we have tomatoes. Lots and lots of tomatoes. I don't know what kinds, but I guess we'll find out. So far the only red ones are the cherries.

It was so sad the beginning of the season when everything was so small. But now that it's all lush and full, I'm so loving it.

What's Growing in Our Garden

2010-07-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

After we left to drop the Peanut off w/ the family in AL, many of my seedlings didn't do well. So I stuck a bunch of seeds in two ten gallon fish tanks. Worked great! Unfortunately my lazy ass didn't label anything so I have no real clue what's what. Here are my guesses...

Obviously tomatoes. I either have a bunch of varieties or...well, who knows.

I love these tiny bell peppers! Too cute.

I think we started with six cantaloupe plants. Four survived. They are slowly taking over.

Amidst this bunch is a cantaloupe, some kind of zucchini, I think and possibly watermelon.

The spaghetti squash is competing with the cantaloupe. I think they're going to wind up having a turf war. Or they're just going to scale the fences and make a break for it.

Peas. I should've planted more than the ten or twenty I did. Next year for sure.

Pole beans...string beans...french beans...I'm not sure...

It's hard to tell, but I have five? cucumber plants there...a couple of regular cucumbers and a couple of pickling cukes. Definitely going to pickle stuff this year.

If you were around last year, you know my garden was much smaller. The Boyfriend dug it out...it's about 20x25. Give or take. I didn't plan it out as well as I usually do, but I figured this is a learning year. Once I get a better idea of the plants sizes, it'll be easier to create a more efficient layout next year. Regardless, I'm happy to have so much space!