Playing in the Dirt

We are wrapping up a non-stop, totally exhausting weekend right now.  A cookout, a garage sale, a Cinco de Mayo impromptu cocktail gathering, a birthday party, two tournament ball games  AND a whole lot of playing in the dirt. 

 

Honey put the end caps on the garden beds and I hung two darling solar power carriage lights at the gate.  I am simply smitten with this garden (so unlike me, for those who know me.)  That being said, I’m about to go stark raving mad over this horrific caterpillar called a cutworm.  In ONE NIGHT it took out two cucumber vines and an entire tomato plant (full of baby green tomatoes).  I cried real tears when I saw the devastation this morning.  I read all sorts of craziness online today about how to get rid of the monster but, to be honest, not much of it made a whole lot of sense to this novice gardener.  I sprayed all the stems down with Captain Jack’s Dead Bug Brew and Honey and I are about to go out there tonight after it’s good and dark to try to kill the darned things ourselves.  Any advise would be much appreciated.  [See my first garden post here.]

The other major accomplishment of the weekend was tackling the bed along side the house in the back yard.  It had these awfully overgrown shrubs, waaaaay too much stringy, ugly monkey grass and three lovely in-ground trash cans that were undoubtedly quite the luxury back in the 1968.  Honey dug out the bushes and monkey grass and Mother helped me plant annabelle hydrangeas (one in one of the aforementioned trash cans…ugh), confederate jasmine to train up the arbor, a little bird bath (Home Depot for about $30), hostas and some ground cover.  We then mulched right over the rest of the trash cans and concrete to give the illusion of one long bed.  I took an old frame from the basement and did a DIY antiqued mirror treatment to the glass (more on that soon) to fill in some of the space over the bird bath.  I’m not sure I LOVE that just yet, but it’s good enough for now.  Oh, and I strung up a little strand of solar powered lights on the top of the arbor.  That, I’m super excited about.

Last but not least, JuJu (Honey’s mama) took the boys (all three of them) to Target for water guns this afternoon.  They came back home grinning from ear to ear and a massive water fight ensued.  A good time was had by all!

  Wish me luck in Amanda vs Caterpillar.

xoxo

 

PS. Just got in from poking around in the garden and now I’m just soaking wet (it’s raining) and totally mad.  No sign of them.  Oh, and one of my sweet little carriage lights isn’t working and neither is the strand on the arbor.  UGH!

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I Couldn’t Have Picked

…a better TEACHER!

After our day at Southern Belle Farm, the PCP trotted off to school with a fresh picked pint of strawberries for each of his teachers. 

I recycled cherry tomato containers printed out tags (using last year’s Independence Day invitation) to cover the cherry tomato labels that read “I couldn’t have picked a better teacher!”.  Topped off with some red twine, they are gifts ripe for giving.

Inside is another little tag that reads “Hand picked yesterday with love and care by the W family at Southern Belle Farm.”

Happy Friday, y’all!
xoxo

PS.  The wording is a shameless copy of the adorable printable from the ladies over at eighteen25 that’s been floating all about blogs and Pinterest for the last week or so.

Southern Belle Farm

Good Clean Fun

Fruits of Our Labor

Ripe for the Picking

Blackberry Palooza

Flattered for the feature at Design, Dining & Diapers and The Greenbacks Gal!!

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A new favorite in my house tour collection...

This Ohio farmhouse is chock full of second hand, vintage, and antique furnishings and accessories, which simply make it really fun to tour. More than the house though, I love the grounds...

I love this shot...so peaceful

I adore this birdcage as decor, but I'm not really a fan of caging birds...

They scored the four poster bed on ebay.

This chicken coup used to be a cupola.

A shed is used as guest quarters.  I would probably use this as a painting studio though....

The sink is an old soapstone basin.

what do you think of the house and grounds?


via Country Living

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How Does Your Garden Grow?

At home, finally!! 

After two years of sharing space in our community garden, we are so excited to bring our fruits, veggies and herbs home to a sunny spot in the back yard!

We have more space than in past years AND we can just step out the back door to enjoy the fruits of our labor.  Here’s how we did it:
- After clearing the overgrown weed infested bed that previously resided there, Honey constructed three raised garden bed kits from Home Depot, giving us a 12’x4’ planting area.
- Honey constructed a basic fence of 2’x4’s and hardware cloth and painted it black.  We left a 3’ border on all sides to be able to easily maneuver inside the fence.  The completed size is 18’x10’.  The obvious goal of the fence is to keep out the rabbits and other large animals roaming around but it’s probably already saved our tender little vegetables one thousand times from stray soccer  balls and children in pursuit.
- The littles and I shopped for all sorts of organic fruits, veggies and herbs to fill up our plots.  After planting, we mulched with wood chips from our very own oak tree that fell flat out of the ground a few weeks back. 
- We fertilize with E.B. Stone Organic Tomato & Vegetable Food and in past years have used Captain Jack’s Deadbug Brew to fight those pesky garden invaders.  I found both at Atlanta’s Pike Nurseries.
- I labeled our garden tags with vinyl letters.
- And, when the top came off the deck for the porch building project, we found a pile of slate stones left over from when the previous owners put in our front and back walkways.  We hauled a few over to make a nice little entryway.
- We’ve had two frost scares since planting.  In preparation, we thoroughly watered the garden and then covered the plants with newspaper tents. 

We’re growing squash, eggplant, red and green peppers, three varieties of tomatoes, strawberries, cucumbers and okra.  In the herb department, we’ve got basil, cilantro, mint, lavender, dill, chives, rosemary and oregano.
 

It was honestly a LOT of work and took a LOT of time, but we couldn’t be happier about it.  We planted everything at the beginning of the month and have already watched our squash sprout from seeds and everything else double in size (at least).  We count the flowers popping up every day and can’t wait for them to turn into tomatoes and peppers.

But it hasn’t been all work and no play around these parts!  Yesterday sorority big sis and her littlest headed over from across town to play, lunch and catch up.  Just look at these two handsome boys…

And last night I celebrated THREE friend’s birthdays on a fantastic night out at a local pasta joint.

Have a great week!
xoxo


Sharing at The Polohouse.

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Table inspiration and eye candy

Pretty uses for one of the most versatile pieces of furniture.

The most apparent use - for dining...highlighted here by a conversation-starting chandelier and a salon style wall.

If you're like me, you can never choose just one book to read. A table gives you the space to spread out.

My office desk is more like a table, because the surface space is so vital to my productivity.

1. House of Fifty 2. Traditional Home 3. & 4. Ryland Peters & Small

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To have a space for dreaming and solitude...

You know how some people get all of their energy from being around other people, and how other people need "alone time" to energize? Well, I'm definitely one of the later. I grew up on an almost 200 acre farm on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, so being alone and outside was a part of my daily life and something I really took for granted. Obviously, living in NYC for 3 years I never experienced that, and though I loved it - I never truly felt unwound. I have found a happy in between where I am now, but looking at these gorgeous retreats makes me long for a hidden spot in nature where I can go and decompress.

What do you do or where do you go when you need to decompress and unwind?

so, so, so pretty

perfect

heaven

a retreat in Sri Lanka...

and in France
1 -3 via Pinterest  4-5 via Richard Powers

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A month by month plan to get your home storage organized: May is the garage

Yuck. The garage. Not a very fun one to organize is it? Unfortunately it's one of those chores that must be done, and being that it's a long weekend you might have more time to get it done. Here is BHG's plan for organizing your storage in the garage.

Create Task Kits. Create kits for various outdoors projects by filling 5- and 10-gallon plastic buckets with all the tools, products, and accessories you need to complete specific tasks such as car-washing, weeding, bicycle repair, and more.

Stash Sporting Gear. Fill tall kitchen trash cans with large and odd-shaped sporting gear. Drill holes in the bottom of bins if drainage is important. Stabilize containers by securing to a wall with short bungee cords.

Organize the Trunk. Clean out your vehicle's trunk. Toss every item that is expired or damaged. Place all trunk gear in a canvas bin or box. Make sure the container doesn't slip by adding rubber or hook-and-loop tape to the bottom.

Tidy Up the Tools. Hang hand tools on a wall near your workbench from hooks on pegboard, magnetic board, or a wall-mount strip system. Label each tool's spot. Put extra tools in a tool box or clear plastic boxes and store on floor underneath workbench.


I've rounded up a bunch of images that I hope you find inspiring and help you rally the motivation to organize the garage.

The chalkboard cabinet and drawer fronts is a great idea.  You could always paint yours with chalkboard paint.

A magnetic kitchen knife strip works great for holding drill bits too

Use magnetic spice containers to hold small hardware in the garage

This space has to be the prettiest garage I've ever seen

In the garage, bins and hooks and boxes are our friends

A rolling cart with most used cleaning supplies and tools is a great idea!
images above via BHG

Take a cue from Julia Child's kitchen and do the same for your tools!
via Martha Stewart

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