Kiss my Aster!

Got some credit in the straight world:

2012-01-25T12:55:00.002-06:00

New post on the Proven Winners website by yours truly...

Check it out right here.

ok, I swear I'm done now...

2012-01-20T15:10:00.001-06:00

the last of the "Hey girl..."s at FineGardening.com...

Hey Girl-- Part 2

2012-01-11T09:37:00.001-06:00

Hey Girl... The Garden Series

2012-01-10T16:45:00.004-06:00

I'm on a podcast at FineGardening.com

2012-01-03T13:47:00.002-06:00

The ass-kickin' Andrew Keys let me record a rambling and it's on this podcast...

Found at the thrift store...

2012-01-03T12:21:00.002-06:00

It's blank inside, too..

Proven Winners | Introducing Amanda Thomsen - Midwest Garden Guru

2011-12-29T12:40:00.000-06:00

Proven Winners Introducing Amanda Thomsen - Midwest Garden Guru

Check out my first post on the Proven Winners blog. You know you wanna...

Winter pots! @FineGardening.com!

2011-12-22T13:38:00.002-06:00

Check out this step-by-step I made of this winter pot.

Thrift Store Finds 12/15/2011

2011-12-17T10:41:00.003-06:00

One of the things that has made me a successful thrifter/or vintage wearer is that I really know what will fit me and look good on me, just by looking at it on the hanger. Well, since being pregnant and popping a baby out- things aren't quite the same. So I haven't bought much for me lately, I'm going to wait until my body catches up with my brain (or vice versa) and just buy baby clothes for a while.

Vintage cotton velvet set and Winnie the Pooh brand smocked dress, along with a no-name pinafore and a pink sweater. New stuff: Icky Baby dress for when she's older, a Zutano top, Baby Gap sundress and a bathing suit cover-up... because why not? Also? A thousand Indian bangles...
I forgot this vintage knit dress in nautical colors. Um, sooooo cute.

New post on FineGardening.com

2011-12-17T10:37:00.001-06:00

A Ticking Pine Bomb. Man, I'm gonna get in a whole lotta trouble over this one...

Good Enough Gardening Winter Containers Video

2011-12-08T15:43:00.001-06:00

We make containers out of things that are really just... bad ideas...

Add to my resume: SUPERMODEL

2011-12-05T00:01:00.002-06:00

Okay, okay. It's not modeling (count yourself as lucky!) - but it sure is SUPER! I'll be blogging at the completely new blog section on the ProvenWinners.com website, starting today and I couldn't be more stoked. Come on, the flavor combination of Kiss My Aster plus Proven Winners is truly something to be devoured!

I asked myself, "Amanda, do you really want to associate yourself with a company and product line?" and I thought about Zooey Deschanel making cotton commercials (it's the fabric of our lives, you know) and Gwen Stefani selling hair dye and lipstick for Revlon and I thought to myself, "I actually really LOVE Proven Winners so that makes me totally authentic and Gwen isn't ever going to use an $8 box of dye over the bathroom sink, so I rule and she drools." And it was all settled- and so here we are.

Basically, this gig means I get to make more containers to show you and I get to think of other weird ways to use plants for your amusement, so that's a win for you. And I get to see what Proven Winners has got coming down the line before you do, and that is a TOTAL win for me.

I still have my street cred, right?

P.S. I'm part of a small flock of bloggers, one for each region ... Here is the link to the first post, by Genevieve Schmidt.

New post on FineGardening.com

2011-11-30T17:43:00.002-06:00

I can't get Dan to move this birdbath and put it together. I can't think of why.
Read about it here.

New post on FineGardening.com

2011-11-29T17:59:00.001-06:00

Hey, I posted my ideas for Christmas gifts for gardeners over at FineGardening.com, yo. Check it out.

I'm going all "mommy blogger" on your aster....

2011-11-14T17:03:00.004-06:00

I'm working like a squirrel trying to put away some nuts over here. Soon will be the long, lazy landscapers' winter where I can blog my face off. But for now, I gotta make the doughnuts....

In the meantime- here are some nutty baby things that are rockin' my world...

The Podee- Stupid name for an ingenious gadget. It's a bottle that takes 10 minutes to put together but then your infant can feed itself and you can go back to Facebooking. You just sit the bottle next to them and that's it-- We pack one for long trips or if we go out for dinner. It takes her about 40 minutes to suck it down and that's 45 minutes of silence. Terriff for in the car, yo.

Chewbeads- Hazel likes to yank on and suck all my fine, fine Betsey Johnson finery. Well, maybe it's time for me to play my cards right and just wear chewbeads until she grows out of it- By then my BJ necklaces may be considered vintage, but whatevs. I have the Jane in chartreuse so far but I see more in my future...

Harajuku Mini- HOLY GUACAMOLE. Cute as @#*%!! is what it SHOULD say on the back of that panda bear jacket... I bought one of everything that didn't have a cartoon of a kid's face on it. I may go back for the next size up of everything... Yeah, it's THAT good.

Angel Dear's Monster Blankies- THANK YOU for making a pink robot blanket. I get to sing to myself "Oh Hazimi, they don't believe me, but you won't let those robots defeat me"

Practical Designs shopping cart cover- Great in high chairs and shopping carts and everyone says it's super rad...

Alright. That's it for me, I have to go tailgate for tonight's new episode of Gossip Girl.
Aster, out!

Kiss My Aster's Secrets: Getting to Sleep

2011-10-30T13:23:00.004-05:00

This may be one of the weirder things about me. It originated from having a very aggressive cat who would find my appendages in the night and a) would try to get me to pet him or b) would attack any twitching hands and feet c) he'd sleep on my kneecaps, which was uncomfortable... So based on when I got that cat and when he was at his weirdest, I've been sleeping this way for more than 10 years.
Step 1- While laying on my back, I rotate my shoulders backwards
Step 2- I put my palms on the mattress and then slide them under my legs, just under my butt
Step 3- I cross my legs at the knees, like I was sitting Indian-style

I call this "The Boxing Helena". It is impenetrable to cats.
I wasn't bouncy enough to be able to sleep this way while I was pregnant and it nearly drove me insane.

I Like Dead Stuff

2011-10-28T13:56:00.001-05:00

New post at Fine Gardening: check it out!

Compost Bins 10/25/2011

2011-10-25T18:25:00.003-05:00

New Garden Dispatch Column in Green Profit

2011-10-22T13:28:00.001-05:00

Read it here, it's about vertical gardening and why no one actually has one.

Thrift Store Finds 10/20/2011

2011-10-20T16:38:00.005-05:00

Sorry I've been so scarce, I'll be up in yer face starting in November but for now I'm working on something secret that is eating me alive.
And I've been 300% busy at work, too. So much so, that I haven't been to a thrift store in a LOOOONG time, but I stopped on lunch today and.... Whoa.

Ok, here we have a yellow ceramic deviled egg tray (I never have one when I want one)
a baby stripey jumper and stripey top
a ceramic Hello Kitty something-er-other
a chenille (made in France) vintage baby union suit- take that Missoni!
2 vintage dresses, one floral chiffon with clear blue buttons and one with an interesting waist detail and a cute but new dress for work
a pair of barely broken in Doc Marten Mary Janes
a pair of BRAND NEW Danskos

And these 3 giant bells. I am going to paint them acid green and hang them in the tall crap Mulberry tree in the yard... They will be loud and also loud.

Get it?

How much do you think I spent on all this??

New Good Enough Gardening Podcast: The Aster Alert

2011-10-02T19:39:00.001-05:00

Yeah, I remember mentioning Dan's butt.... You can listen HERE.

Manicures. Gardening. Hard hitting journalism.

2011-10-02T16:50:00.001-05:00

Yeah, this post at Fine Gardening has it all...

Proven Winners let me write an article about spooky colored plants!

2011-09-29T12:02:00.002-05:00

Man, I can't believe they fell for it.
Here it is.

I'm going to make a play room...

2011-09-17T10:28:00.004-05:00

I have decided to make a creepy room of our basement into a play room for Hazy- with all my spare time this winter. I'm very excited by this- and I'm scanning Google and Pinterest for retro-riffic ideas.

I came across the idea of hanging vintage shovels on the wall.... if I can find some cheaper than these!

New post at FineGardening.com...

2011-09-03T10:02:00.002-05:00

A Gardener's Guide to Swearing- How do you know when you have a black walnut tree in your 'hood? Listen for chaos from above.