NewlyWoodwards: May 2009

May goals: How'd I do?

>> Sunday, May 31, 2009

(Sigh) It's that time again. It seems that many of my goals didn't happen this month. Disappointing, but true.

The Wife's May Goals:

1. Do some sort of workout three days per week.
2. Begin composting. I really meant to start it on Earth Day... and it totally didn't happen.

3. ~~Make a new recipe.~~
4. Organize files in office.
5. ~~Start cash budget.~~
6. Finish family tree shadowbox.

Still waiting on information about some of our relatives.
7. ~~Plant rain garden.~~
8. ~~Plant vegetable and herb garden.~~
9. ~~Read "Young, Fabulous and Broke" (bookclub)~~ and another enjoyable book.
10. Read sewing machine manual and ~~find some online tutorials.~~

I really want to get to that this month.

On to June!

Fabric store score

>> Friday, May 29, 2009

Lookie what I found.

Doesn't this fabric look darn similar to the fabric I was oohing and ahhing over a month ago from Ballard Designs?

I thought so too. So, I had to grab a few yards when I spotted it at Hancock for 50% plus 10% off. So I got this pretty outdoor fabric for less than $9.00/yard. I did a little happy dance in the aisle when I saw it. I'm going to make a few pillows for the chairs. Any other suggestions for ways to use it? I love how close the colors mimic our existing outdoor color scheme.

I'll fill ya in when I finish this little project.

Flower Boxes and other curb appeal progress

>> Thursday, May 28, 2009

We are slowly but surely getting the outside of our home spruced up. We finally got our window boxes up on the side of the house. I planted some various annuals so hopefully they will take well in full sun.

(PS. The window boxes were cedar boxes from Menards that I picked up for $8 on sale. We drilled holes in the bottom for drainage.)

You can see that some of the plants in the ground are going crazy.

Salvia

Mums (? I think?)

Roses (I know)

Plus, my hydrangea and hostas are coming back in the front of the house.

They (as in the gardening gods) say you cannot kill hosta - you can, and I have. It's a gift. But, this one looks pretty good so far.

But, while I love all the plants - I have to admit, I've been seriously coveting some peonies. They are popping up like crazy around here. I'm getting a sudden urge to sneak into some stranger's yard and cut off all the blooms and bring back to my house so I can admire them.

Instead of doing this, I decided that I will just plant a plant or two this year so I can have my own blooms next year. No need to resort to criminal behavior. Right?

Sweet Summertime

>> Wednesday, May 27, 2009

The mister is back home (big cheer). Plus, the weather was beautiful last weekend, just in time to usher in summer. So, we had to have a barbeque with our parents to celebrate.

I busted out the apron and Ryan manned the grill.

Lola handled clean-up.

What did you do to celebrate the holiday weekend?

Garden progress

>> Tuesday, May 26, 2009

I thought it was time to show the progress of our garden with some photographs. It's really starting to grow.

Especially the side with the lettuce and broccoli.

And here are my little peppers, eggplant and pumpkins.

These are little pumpkins I picked up from the Silvis Garden Club

And peppers (which were started from seeds inside)

Eggplant (also started from seeds by yours truly)

Lettuce (bought in a 6 pack from Lowes)

Brocolli (purchased from Lowes)

Cauliflower #1

and the struggling Cauliflower #2 (both from K-Mart)

Radishes (started from seeds outdoors). I'm so excited to pick these babies.

Stawberries (from Home Depot)

Tomatoes (from Silvis Garden Club)

And cucumbers

How is your garden growing?

Why I've been MIA (Mojito in Action)

YIKES! Before yesterday, I hadn't blogged for five days. I have no excuse.

Actually... yes I do.

The Mojito... in all it's glory.

I knew there was a good reason to have herbs on the deck.

I had never made a mojito myself, so I dialed up my best friend (Google) and found a simple recipe. Through intense research, I modified the recipe to suit my taste. Easy, refreshing and yum-tastic. A must have for any summer gathering. (Or if you are just feeling the urge for a cool drink on a warm day. No one will judge you for drinking it by yourself, right?)

Ingredients:

-10 mint leaves

- 1 lime (juiced)

- 1 tbsp. powdered sugar

- One shot white rum

- Club soda

- Crushed ice

- Mint sprig for garnishing

Prep:

1. Put the mint leaves into a tall glass and squeeze the lime juice over them.

2. Add the powdered sugar and muddle the mint, lime juice and sugar together. (If you don't have the actual tool, the back end of a large utensil works well.) Add ice.

3. Stir in run and top off with club soda (to taste).

4. Garnish with mint sprig.

5. Enjoy it with all that is in you. No one will judge you. I promise.

I think I've found my summer drink of choice. And, if I disappear in the future, blame it on the mojito.

What's your favorite summer drink?

From our home to yours

>> Monday, May 25, 2009

Happy Memorial Day...

from our home to yours.

Wishing you a wonderful long weekend of family, friends and fun.

Calling all friends... (that means you)

>> Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Anyone interested in making this for me? I would do it myself, but ~~I'm lazy~~ I don't have a food processor.

Neapolitan Ice Cream Pie

Satisfy your sugar craving with this summery delight. Thanks to a blend of frozen yogurt and ice cream, this chilly treat only tastes sinful. So go ahead, indulge in seconds!

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

9 graham crackers
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 cups nonfat strawberry frozen yogurt, softened
1/2 Heath bar, broken into small pieces
1 1/2 cups mint ice cream, softened
1 1/2 cups crushed Oreo cookies
1 1/2 cups nonfat chocolate frozen yogurt, softened
2 fresh strawberries, halved

PREPARATION

Combine crackers and butter in a food processor. Press mixture into a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan to form crust. Chill in freezer for 20 minutes. Remove; spread strawberry frozen yogurt over crust. Sprinkle Heath bar on top. Freeze until firm. Remove. Spread a layer of mint ice cream over frozen yogurt; sprinkle 1 cup Oreos on top. Freeze until firm. Spread a layer of chocolate frozen yogurt on ice cream; freeze until firm. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup Oreos on top. Garnish each slice with strawberries.

(Recipe and photo from Self. PS - It has 286 calories. Not exactly healthy - but probably better than most sweets.)

Smile file

>> Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Ryan will finally be home for a while beginning this weekend. Living without a husband for 8 of the past 9 weeks stinks. I've gotten pretty used to talking to the dogs like they are human.
I have a clean house. It's been going to the dogs... literally. Between the garden, class and life - the house needed a good cleaning.
I'm on week three of partial cash spending and it's pretty empowering. I have the money in my purse and if it's not there, I cannot buy it. It's going well.
I made brownies.

Life is good.

What makes you smile this week?

Moving Beyond Organized Chaos: Garden Style

>> Monday, May 18, 2009

If the phrase "organized chaos" was in the dictionary, my mug would be next to it.

Organized chaos: the state of trying to be put together, when it ain't happening below the surface.

Symptoms include:

Having a place for everything and nothing in its place.
Having systems for all organization, but nothing simple enough to actually stick to.
Having paperwork, pay stubs and other materials all over the house, albeit out of sight.
Having a stash of things that you "just have to get around to filing/putting away," until you finally just give up and pitch it.

If Ryan asks me where something is, I can never find it -even though I have spent hours and day and weekends organizing drawers, closets and cabinets. The problem is - I have no real method to my madness.

Part of the problem is that I have too many systems and don't keep track of them very well. But, I'm trying to fix this. I think it's just something that I need to work on.

When it comes to gardening, I've been trying to keep it under control from the beginning. How?

1. Carving out my very own space to garden.

Ryan built me a space in the garage for all my gardening tools. If you know Ryan, you know this was a sacrifice - giving up prime space in his domain. I think this may be the sweetest thing he's done for his wife. (And that's really saying something.)

He put in a countertop and I put all my tools in a bucket organizer. The little blue cart was a birthday gift from my inlaws. It's perfect to tote around the yard. It's nothing fancy, but it's a perfect height to pot plants and keep everything at hand.

I also painted this little sign for my special area. (Patting myself on the back.)

2. Label, label and label some more.

In my veggie garden, rain garden and herb pots, I have labeled them right away so I don't forget what I've planted. It makes it look neater as well, which is a plus. Plus - friends and family can easily see what is where.

3. Write it down.

Finally, I knew I needed to find a place to put all the info I'm learning - class handouts, information from the Internet, inspiration photos... So, I started a little gardening journal.

I picked up this handy Five Star hybrid binder. I call it hybrid because it feels like a notebook but it has pockets, lined paper, graph paper, clear sleeves and more.

So, this means I can track all my gardening adventures in one place. (My tabs break up veggie/herb gardening, rain garden, general gardening, miscellaneous and garden inspiration.)

Things I'm keeping track of include:

Dates that I plant veggies and herbs in the garden.
Updates on how plants are growing.
Where plants were purchased (I'd like to track how they fare against each other. Is it worth spending more at an expensive garden center over the supermarket over the farmer's market?)
Diagrams of the different garden plots.
Tags from the plants for specific plant information (species, light preference, etc.)
Garden inspiration photos from magazines and the Internet.
The most important information I'm learning from books, classes and online. (It's not big enough for all of the materials I bring home from classes, so I just keep the best and file the rest in an expanding file for future reference.)

I actually think these are things I can stick to.

Do you have any handy tips for staying organized when gardening?

You had me at "cocktail"

>> Thursday, May 14, 2009

Better Homes and Gardens Rocks.

There, I said it.

They send the niftiest things into my inbox everyday. (If you aren't signed up for all their email newsletters, you are missing out.)

But, today took the cake. Or should I say, the cocktail. Today, I saw that they have a garden plan for a Cocktail Garden.

(Photo: BHG)

I did a double take. Then, I wiped my eyes. "I must be dreaming," I thought. "This is only a mirage."

But, no. The plan is for a bona-fide garden to make killer cocktails.

And, I felt pretty exuberant when I saw the plants it included, because many of them are already in our garden, our yard or our pots on the deck:

Lemon balm
Lavender
Marigold
Chives
Mint
Basil
Tomato

And, the sad souls that didn't make the cut in the garden this year:

Golden delicious pineapple sage
Lime
Strawberry

Go to BH&G to find out how to use these plants for cocktails. You will be glad you did. Trust me.

All this excitement makes me very curious to find lots of ways to use my own herbs for cocktails. I'll fill you in after extensive research.

What do you think? Would you love yourself a cocktail garden?

Sewing dreams

>> Wednesday, May 13, 2009

So, I still haven't had time to really read through my new sewing machine manual. And, I've made a deal with myself that I'm going to do this before I start any projects.

At first, I've was content with thinking I could hem pants, sew buttons and mend clothing. Then, I thought that it would be fun to start quilting again and maybe make a pillow.

Now, I've been going crazy finding tons of things that I want to make with my new beauty. Here's a sampling of items I've tagged as "I wonder if I'll ever be able to make something like this? I hope so."

Tea Towels Bag by Homemade by Jill