Friday, March 30, 2012

Sowing the seeds of love....

On the list for gardening in March? Sowing lettuce and greens seeds.


I started this up about two weeks ago. I've been trying to stagger my plantings so we'll have fresh, young lettuce for a longer time in the spring. Typically, I pick a variety of lettuces so we'll have a bunch of different kinds.




My seeds spread out on the dirt...




I like to do a few rows every few week or so.




So far....we have some germination, but the warmer temps we've had lately are not helping my lettuce to germinate. Lettuce is a cool-season crop, so we need it to cool off a bit to help my babies along.


We'll see what happens. Stay tuned. This planting season has been unconventional, to say the least.....

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Got a frittata?

What up?????


We came through the frost OK. I know you were all as worried as I was! ; ) I got up extra early to spray down my plants. The therm said we were at 34 degrees. That could have caused a freeze....but I did not notice any plant damage. Yee haw! Here's hoping we can get through the next month and a half without doing this many times.


So...I was making dinner the other night and was a bit tired of making the same old stuff.


Tacos? Check.


Egg sandwich? Check. (egg sandwiches do not count as breakfast food to me; I could eat these daily)


Then it occurred to me that I had a bunch of eggs in the fridge. We love breakfast for dinner at our house (see also egg sandwich)....omelets, French toast, bacon. It's a good way to get some protein, especially for the kids.


So, I made a frittata. Which is kind of like a quiche, but a little leaner and it takes less time.


You will need:
6 eggs
1-2T milk
filling--veggies, meat, potato, beans, etc.....whatever you like or have on hand!
1-2T olive oil
salt, pepper, garlic powder
1/2 c shredded cheese
oven proof skillet (or wrap your skillet handle in aluminum foil)


Set oven to broil. First, you will need to cook your veggies in olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste (you could add some cayenne pepper or Italian seasoning if you like also). If you are using frozen veggies, I would defrost in the  microwave first to cut down on cooking time. Anything fresh will take a little longer and you should cook it to desired tenderness.






I chose broccoli and cauliflower. I also threw in some farro, a rice-like grain.


Beat eggs in a bowl, adding milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper.




Pour into the pan, making sure it reaches the edges. Cook 5-8 minutes over medium heat, until set at the edges. I jiggle the pan a bit to see if the edges are set and the middle is still a bit soft.




Add your cheese on top and put in the oven to broil. This will finish the cooking in the center and brown over the top of the frittata.




Remove when slightly browned over.




And there you go. Easy and a great way to use up leftover veggies or meat....and totally customizable. : )

Monday, March 26, 2012

Jersey scarf

I hope you all have had a good Monday. Somehow those two words just don't go together, huh? I am sitting a bit on pins and needles here....we have a freeze warning tonight and I'm a little nervous about how all of the plants in my garden will be affected. I'm considering waking up a bit earlier tomorrow to spray down the plants if necessary to help them through this cold snap.

It's a bit unreal to me that we are doing this in March....usually, freezing temps in March are par for the course. This warm stretch of weather has done nothing for keeping the plants going through early spring after spurring so much growth. I'll let you know how it all turns out.

I tried something new with fabric recently.....I was inspired by this pic that I had saved on Pinterest. Click here for the link.


I also thought about making a scarf.....so I googled it and found a few tutorials. After checking out what they did, I decided to put together my own version. If you'd like to check out their tutorials, that might help you, should you try this yourself. I left out pics of steps in my photos. Click here for a link to the tutorial. There are some other tutorials linked there as well.

I bought a length of jersey about 60" long. I cut two pieces that were 7" wide first (so they were 7x60"). Cut a little piece off the end to use to cover seams later.


I put the wrong sides together and ran a seam down the side. I did two and then I turned them right sides out.


Here I am sewing the seams for the above pic.



The next part, I cut a few wide and skinny pieces, which I then cut into three pieces up close to the end, leaving about 1-2" to keep the ends together.



Then, braid all of the pieces to the ends, hold them together and run a seam through the loose ends to secure them.


Once you have done all of the pieces, you will match up the ends and run a seam through them all. Use your little piece to hand sew on a cover for the spot where the seams will connect in the back of the scarf. Sorry no pics of that!! : )




Here is the finished product....



Mine is long enough that it can be worn long or doubled up.


On me. Please excuse my pjs. ; )




I gifted this one to my friend.....I'm looking to make one in a blue or pink color next for myself!

Party Time......
Time Travel Thursday at The Brambleberry Cottage
Fridays Unfolded at Stuff and Nonsense
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
Show and Share Day at Just a Girl
Simply Creations Link Party at Simple Home Life
Addicts (not so) Anonymous Addicted to Decorating
Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table and Dreaming
Project Parade at The DIY Showoff
Creative Bloggers' Party and Hop at Homemaker on a Dime
Tip-Toe Thru Tuesday at Crayon Freckles
Pinspirational Thursday at The Artsy Girl Connection
Make the Scene Monday at Alderberry Hill
Sunday Salvation at Sassafras Salvation
Tuesday Talent Show at Chef n Training
Flaunt Your Flowers  at Tootsie Time
What I Wore/What's Up Wednesday at Rae Gun Ramblings
Sunday Roundup at A Rosie Sweet Home
Overflowing with Creativity at It's Overflowing

Saturday, March 24, 2012

About that groundhog.....

So....spring is here. It's amazing. We are about one month ahead of schedule here. The combination of a mild winter plus the warm temperatures we have had in the last two weeks have caused everything to explode with growth. I don't think I've ever seen so many flowering trees in bloom at one time. The only one I've noticed that has not gone into bloom are some of the crabapples. Almost all of my bulbs went into bloom at the same time. 


I usually like the plants to come on a little bit at a time....spread the wealth a bit, if you will. Not so much this year. Mother Nature is giving it up all at once. I prefer it when she plays hard-to-get a little, you know? 


Typically, my favorite months of the year are April and May.....this year, it may be March and April.


I walked around one day this week and took some pics of what was in bloom. Get ready for a show....first up, a little sand cherry.




Daffodils....my neighbor gave me some extra bulbs and this is one of them. I like the whitish outside with the darker ruffled center.




Pink hyacinths....




Grape hyacinths. I love the bright blue blooms on these and their unique shape.




Pansies....I bought these for my front door pots.




Pansies overwintered from last fall.




Love this white hyacinth. Reminds me of weddings!



Purple hyacinths....I love the coloration on these.





Ornamental pear.




Tulip tree. This tree was moved to a new spot in the landscape two years ago and struggled at first. It's doing much better now, thankfully.




The warm weather has thrown my wardrobe into a tailspin as well. More on that next week.
Have a great weekend!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Spring door decor

Well, spring is underway here and thankfully, my door reflects it. Which makes me ever so happy whenever I look at it.

It was about time....my poor winter pot arrangements were looking so tired with dead-ish looking kale plants. But....I liked them over the winter and I'm planning to do use them again next winter.

Here is our door currently......



I am super excited about my pansies! (yes, I freak on gardening) It is about the best day of the year when I see them at the garden center. The wreath I bought at a garden center that was going out of business. It's showing its age a bit....it might need to get beefed up with some extra faux forsythia sometime.


I didn't realize how much the pansies matched the door until I brought them home. Sidenote.....I am thinking about repainting the door. It is a bit to turquoise for me? Maybe a darker blue or a darker red. Thoughts?


The detail on pansies is so beautiful and the breeders are coming out with new ones every year.


And....here we are with pots of flowers and spring bulbs to boot.


Hope you are enjoying spring wherever you are. : )

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Flamin' and fresh

Hey! I hope you all are having a great week. Thankfully, it is already Wednesday night, so the end is in sight. We have two more weeks of school before spring break and I am ready. The warm temps have not helped the kids focus, shall we say, at school.


There are a few new followers out there, so welcome! Please let me know of your blog as well...I always follow back.


I have a new centerpiece for our kitchen table. I've updated a bit since the warmer weather has sprung, but I noticed the other day that I still had my spray-painted pinecones in my candleholder. Usually, I put colored eggs in, but since we haven't done ours yet, I decided to do something a bit different.


Lately, I've been trying to focus on using materials I already have--rather than going out to buy new stuff each time I want to do a project. I'm actually going to do a project this weekend and I think I have everything on hand already. We'll see how it goes!


For this particular project, though, I did buy some sheet moss. I used a 40% off coupon, so it was fairly cheap.




I also picked out some rocks from my rock bucket. This is where I put rocks that I dig up from the garden. Since this is a fairly new house, there are a lot out there in the dirt. : ) I chose some that I liked and washed them off.




I originally meant to hot glue the moss onto the rocks, but decided that would be rather labor-intensive. So instead, I layered the rocks and the moss.




I laid in rocks and moss, then adjusted it until I liked the arrangement. I added until it reached the part that holds the candle.




Add in a fresh candle my SIL gave me.....it's lavender. Yum!




On the table.....




And with the light.




I like the organic look. And....it was super easy. : )




Party Time......
Time Travel Thursday at The Brambleberry Cottage
Fridays Unfolded at Stuff and Nonsense
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
Show and Share Day at Just a Girl
Simply Creations Link Party at Simple Home Life
Addicts (not so) Anonymous Addicted to Decorating
Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table and Dreaming
Project Parade at The DIY Showoff
Creative Bloggers' Party and Hop at Homemaker on a Dime
Tip-Toe Thru Tuesday at Crayon Freckles
Pinspirational Thursday at The Artsy Girl Connection
Make the Scene Monday at Alderberry Hill
Sunday Salvation at Sassafras Salvation
Tuesday Talent Show at Chef n Training
Flaunt Your Flowers  at Tootsie Time
What I Wore/What's Up Wednesday at Rae Gun Ramblings
Sunday Roundup at A Rosie Sweet Home


Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Mantel madness...spring edition

Almost all remainders of winter have been eliminated around here...both inside and out. That includes our mantel.





I had some leftover dried parsley from last fall, so I added that in a jar for some greenery. The dried parsley holds its color fairly well.

I love this old yellow teapot that belonged to my great aunt. The color is very cheery and I love how it balances out the yellow from the forsythias on the other side.


The other side....


I had been dying to use this old metal toolbox my dad found somewhere and gave to me. I've thought about repainting it, but I like the old look to it. It's holding the forsythias. I made the letters last spring for some fun and texture.



I just stuck some jars down in there to hold the faux branches.


I love fresh flowers in my home and these were clipped from my garden. Love!


I'm loving the fresh, spring look that matches what's going on outside our windows. : )



Party Time......
Time Travel Thursday at The Brambleberry Cottage
Fridays Unfolded at Stuff and Nonsense
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
Show and Share Day at Just a Girl
Simply Creations Link Party at Simple Home Life
Addicts (not so) Anonymous Addicted to Decorating
Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table and Dreaming
Project Parade at The DIY Showoff
Creative Bloggers' Party and Hop at Homemaker on a Dime
Tip-Toe Thru Tuesday at Crayon Freckles
Pinspirational Thursday at The Artsy Girl Connection
Make the Scene Monday at Alderberry Hill
Sunday Salvation at Sassafras Salvation
Tuesday Talent Show at Chef n Training
Flaunt Your Flowers  at Tootsie Time
What I Wore/What's Up Wednesday at Rae Gun Ramblings
Sunday Roundup at A Rosie Sweet Home


The Lettered Cottage