Container Garden

My hesitation and confusion with blogging in the last couple years has been due to the fact that so much has gone on that I have not blogged about that almost anything I say seems to need a backstory, which I just don't have the energy or the determination to put down in words everytime.

Until I get back into the swing of things, I'm just going to post fairly brief updates. Heavy on the photos. If you have any content or "life" questions, ask.

This is what the porch at the "new house" looked like before I set everything up:

Here's my container garden this year:

I've got 4 varieties of tomatoes, 2 peppers, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and broccoli.

 

The varieties of cabbage are not doing well, I had little worms and some sort of aphids that pretty much destroyed them. I got rid of the pests with soapy water, but the plants aren't bouncing back well.

 

The Currant Sweet Pea Tomatoes are doing very well:

 

They were the first to flower and the first to fruit, but nothing has ripened yet. I thought maybe I'd gotten a weird variety that didn't turn red, so I ate one. Ugh!! Nope, not ripe. Don't try that at home. Icky.

 

Heirloom Isis Candy Cherry Tomatoes: 

 

 

Looking good! These were actually the last to start flowering, but they're really coming in nice now.

Heirloom White Tomesol Tomatoes:

 

 

I'm excited for these to ripen!! My mom is going to be vexed at the concept of my growing a white tomato and I find that concept entertaining.

Heirloom Opalka Tomatoes:

 

 

I'm not sure what's wrong with these, but they look more like peppers than tomatoes. They're fuzzy and pointed and super hard and every last one of them seems to be rotting at the bottom pointy end. Just weird.

Heirloom Banana Peppers:

 

 

Yum, yummy! These are looking great!

 

Sweet Chocolate Bell Pepper:

 

 

 

I don't like Bell Peppers, but the boyfriend does, so these are just for him...

 

I just love the little chalkboard signs I bought from Pick Your Plum. They're really cute and fun and add an extra little detail!

 

Next year we have big plans for a "real" garden, finance permitting. We'll see.

 

What are you growing this year?

Short List - Update

So I said I'd get back into the swing of blogging regularly. I lied.

Here's the list I present back in June with an update on what I've actually accomplished:

• Paint a bench for the foyer (I found it in the garage, score)
• DONE!!! I painted it black. Actually I painted it Beluga by Behr, cause it was leftover from the kitchen at my house. I was also apologizing for my absense in that post. Shocker.
• Paint and maybe add a little sparkle to some coat hooks I ordered for the foyer
• DONE. And sparkled. LOVE.
• Repack some items that will go in the china cabinet that has yet to be relocated to the foyer (K unpacked a multitude of boxes one night, in a fit of insomnia, and my trinkets and pretties have been cluttering the kitchen countertops for weeks now, driving me slowly insane.)
• DONE and undone.
• Move china cabinet from the basement storage area to the foyer
• DONE. The china cabinet has been moved. It is still dated and ugly. BUT he did agree to let me paint it. WIN! I'm thinking white with a black glaze to bring out the funky details.
• Paper/decorate back wall of the china cabinet (he won't let me paint it and it's depressingly dated)
• DONE. Man, I really suck at taking pictures step-by-step (day by day. Name that show for ten points), eh? I have a tendency to think in all or nothing.
• Possibly get new hardware for the china cabinet(?)
• Not gonna happen. It's got that heavy duty, super-70's hardware, but the hardware fits it. So I guess I can cross this off, since I'm not going to do it. Score.
• Unpack and position items in the china cabinet, along with some of K's things
• Not DONE, but doneish. Things are going to move around, but it looks ok for now.
• Paint curtain rods in the master bedroom
• DONE! Hey, I actually have accomplished things! I don't give myself enough credit for the little things I do get done.
• Iron and hang curtains in the master bedroom
• DONE enough. I didn't iron them, but I did hang them damp and they have that linen-ey look to them anyway, so a little wrinkle just adds texture, right? Right? ;)
• Eventually remount curtain hardware in the master bedroom higher and wider
• Not even remotely DONE. That would involve new anchors and I don't know where the wall paint is and if K notices huge holes in the wall from shoved in anchors, he may kill me. But I could just not shove them in and leave them and they'll be covered by the curtains. Hmmm... Next time he's out, I'll have to whip out the drill. Except I don't know where that is either. wop, wop Moving into someone else's already established home is hard.
• Try out the paint dipped trend on the hall table I painted back in 2011
• Nope. But I'm trying to decide if I want to do it to the hall table OR the leopard print chair with the gold gimp trim that sits next to it. Everything can't have gold feet... Unfortunately.
• Dismantle and "remantle" my Expedit shelving unit in "my" bedroom upstairs (the unit is too big to fit up the staircase, it needs to be taken up in pieces. I am lazy. Shocker.)
• Eh. Giant FAIL. I can't really do this alone. And someone else is busy with his own stuff.

But hey! HEY! 9 out of 12 ain't bad, right? Fo sho. I'm feeling pretty accomplished right now, actually. Now I need to go home and take some AFTER pics so I can show you my handiwork, cause we all know we only read blogs for the pictures. ;)

Short List

I mentioned two weeks ago that I am in the process of trying (sometimes in vain, it seems) to get my things organized at K's house. He's a bit of a hoarder, so there's not a whole lot of space, even with the sizable square footage of the house. I made a little list of somewhat minor things I need to accomplish, which will hopefully allow me to feel slightly less disorganized and possibly more settled and at home.

• Paint a bench for the foyer (I found it in the garage, score)
• Paint and maybe add a little sparkle to some coat hooks I ordered for the foyer
• Repack some items that will go in the china cabinet that has yet to be relocated to the foyer (K unpacked a multitude of boxes one night, in a fit of insomnia, and my trinkets and pretties have been cluttering the kitchen countertops for weeks now, driving me slowly insane.)
• Move china cabinet from the basement storage area to the foyer
• Paper/decorate back wall of the china cabinet (he won't let me paint it and it's depressingly dated)
• Possibly get new hardware for the china cabinet(?)
• Unpack and position items in the china cabinet, along with some of K's things
• Paint curtain rods in the master bedroom
• Iron and hang curtains in the master bedroom
• Eventually remount curtain hardware in the master bedroom higher and wider
• Try out the paint dipped trend on the hall table I painted back in 2011
• Dismantle and "remantle" my Expedit shelving unit in "my" bedroom upstairs (the unit is too big to fit up the staircase, it needs to be taken up in pieces. I am lazy. Shocker.)

As I'm typing, I keep coming up with more and more and more and more things to add to the list... Ugh. I really hate moving and reestablishing, in case I hadn't mentioned that before. You'd think I'd stop doing it.

Vince Camuto Rocks My World.

I love Vince Camuto. I adore the colors that he uses, the cut of the clothing, the basic-turned-up-a-notch designs of his shoes. Yummy... I have multiple pairs of his shoes that I wear all the time. They're great and surprisingly comfortable.

Point being, I ran across these beauties last night while I was returning something at Macy's and after trying them on, I just could not leave without them. Even though I have no money right now. I even paid full price for them, less the 20% off coupon I convinced her to give me. Again, even though I'm a broke-azz biotch.

At first glance they are flashy and over the top, but when you put them on, they are really subtle. At least the black and nude-ish ones are. The turquoise and hot pink ones are a bit much. lol

I wasn't 100% sold on keeping them, simply for the fact that they are only a 7 and I wear a 7.5. The salesgirl did her best to convince me they fit, which they do, my feet don't hang off the back or anything, but I just wasn't convinced they'd be comfortable to walk around in all day without that extra half-size.

Today I was looking at the sale page for shoes at Nordstrom and as it turns out they have them for 60% off! In a 7.5! In black! So I made them mine. And I will be taking back the 7's. Sorry Macy's.

Awesome. I love it when something comes together. Funny thing is? They're actually on sale on Macy's website, too. For significantly less than the original retail price. The girl told me they only had the one pair of 7's in black because they had been an internet return. So they put them back on the floor at full-price, even though they are onsale on the website. Well played Macy's. But not well enough.

Ch-ch-changes...

There is no way I can recap everything that has happened since I stopped posting regularly, so I am not even going to try. Some bullet points:

• I lost my job in early April 2012
• J moved out at the end of April
• I decided I liked being unemployed and proceeded to remain that way until August
• I ran out of savings and began working as a temp at the end of August
• I met a new man in September

That's pretty much it. I still have Gidget and Dozer, but no longer live in my house. There is no way I could afford the payments comfortably on my own. The dogs and I live with my boyfriend, let's call him K for now, in his house.

Not a great picture, but the only one I can locate at the moment. It's a nice house, but not my style. He's been great at compromising and my stuff has been slowly but surely taking over! lol

His daughter, her boyfriend, and their nine-year-old daughter are renting my house. That's right, I technically have a nine-year-old step-granddaughter! Hahahaha! Yes, it's a bit weird, but K is actually 5 years younger than G, so it's not too odd for me.

My life has been turned upside down in the past 14 months, but I am the happiest I think I have ever been. Let's hope I stay that way this time. :)

I've been working on getting things organized around the house. We just finished moving my stuff like two weeks ago and it's a mess of boxes and trinkets and wall decor... It's like my house exploded inside his. It's a disaster, but I'm trudging along.

I've been working on a few small projects here and there, also, that I'm going to share.

Update

So. Since March everything has changed. I have a new job, a new boyfriend, basically a new life. I am still in MY house, you know, cause it's actually mine. I still have the puppies. Things are really good, but very different.

Until I have time to sit down and figure out where to start, feast your eyes on the furbabies:

 



Me from A - Z

 I haven't been very good at keeping up with blogging or reading lately. Work is still beyond crazy and doesn't appear to be getting any better anytime soon. Plus, the guy I've been with for a year now recently told me that he loves me, but he's not sure I'm "the one". Yet we're still together and exclusive and I'm afraid to push the issue, so I'm letting it ride for now. Long story short, shit's been stressful and while projects and blogging and chatting and strengthening friendships should be what I focus on to take me out of my day to day crap, I just haven't been able to find the energy. I just saw this over at The Happy Home Blog, so I thought I'd snag it and maybe it will inspire me somehow.


A. Age: 29, as of January.

B. Bed size: Queen. Not quite big enough for two people and two dogs, but the bedroom is small...

C. Chore that you hate: Cleaning. oh, and painting, but that's not really a chore.

D. Dogs: Two Pits, Gidget and Dozer.

E. Essential start to your day: A shower. It gets me motivated, even if I'm just going to get dirty again.

F. Favorite color: All of them, really. But I despise beige. And brown.

G. Gold or Silver: Both. And I love rose gold, too. I'm equal opportunity for shiny prettiness.

H. Height: 5'4", but I always wear heels or platforms.

I. Instruments you play: Nada. I'm not very musical. I used to play the Clarinet, though. Apparently I was pretty good.

J. Job title: Officially I'm "just the Receptionist", however I've been waiting for a job title promotion to HR Administrator for about five months now...

K. Kids: None. Probably never.

L. Live: Saint Louis, Missouri. Affton specifically.

M. Mother’s name: Her real first name is Karin, but she goes by Heidi. Her parents wanted her to be named Heidi, but Heidi Karin sounded silly, so...

N. Nicknames: None.

O. Overnight hospital stays: Once to get my tonsils out when I was 18 and once to have my jaw reconstructed when my ex-fiance (not G) punched me in the face when I was... um... 22 I think. 

P. Pet peeves: People who talk to me when they know I am busy doing whatever. I have a temp at work right now who is answering the phones while my new boss and I try to catch up on years of HR backlog and she talks to me constantly. Reeeeeaaaaaallllly bugs me. Oh, and people who don't use their blinkers.

Q. Quote from a movie: "She's a full-on Monet"

R. Right- or left-handed: Right

S. Siblings: One. A brother who's 8 years older.

T. Tattoos & Piercings: Lots. Where to start? Let's start at the top, shall we? Piercings: I have a barbell in my right eyebrow, three holes in my left ear, two in my right, my septum, both nipples and my belly button. All of which are at least 8 years old. Tattoos: I have angel wings on my backs that stretch from the tops of my shoulders to my thighs, a heart with a keyhole on my chest, a tiny heart with batwings on my wrist, a large tribal with two roses (one of which covers my first tattoo, a winking Care Bear star, lol) that stretches from hip to hip and navel to pubic bone, and a bad tribal on my lower back, which I would love to have removed, but I can't see it and I hear it's painful, so I ignore it.

U. Underwear: Any type, as long as they don't cause VPL.

V. Vegetable(s) you hate: Bell Peppers, blech.

W. What makes you run late: Anything and everything.

X. X-Rays you’ve had: ? Lots. I was a crazy kid. I broke every finger at one point or another. I broke my foot and a few toes on the balance beam. I was born without four of my grown-up teeth, so many, many, many for braces, titanium implants, more surgeries, etc. When I had to have my jaw put back together...

Y. Yummy food that you make: Almost anything. I'm a good cook.

Z. Zoo animal: Lemurs, monkeys, tapirs, warthogs... I like animals, so pretty much all of them.