This is the now story.

aswewander.com

2011-08-30T17:16:00.001-04:00

Hello! After many years of dreaming of travel, we've decided to go for it. We moved out of our home (and away from our beautiful garden) and into a pop-up truck camper for the next year (or so). Yay!

At least for now, this blog will going into hiatus until we stop traveling. Instead, please join us and follow our traveling adventures on aswewander.com.

Cheers!

Garden freshness for lunch

2011-07-05T19:39:00.002-04:00

Before.

After.

Yum.

Other goodies.

And good friends too. :)

garden 6/18/11

2011-06-28T19:34:00.000-04:00

There are treasures in the garden! My favorite kind too - zucchini. :D

Ha. This photo makes it look like everything is blending in. However, the stakes and cages on the left are because the tomatoes are getting bigger.

Cucumbers! They look a little different than last year. More prickly than I'd like, but we'll see.

Mini toms!

SQUASH! :D

Here's a zuch.

And here's some baby yellow sqaush.

Watermelon vines.

Cooked this for lunch.

garden 5/11/11

2011-06-24T08:18:00.000-04:00

The garden is LUSH! It's also very hot, so the lettuce is a bit bitter. Not great for salads unfortunately. :( But, still nice in a sandwich.

looks like we needed to mow the grass... ;)

all the lettuce!

radishes growing

broccoli

a view from the other side

potatoes (left)! squash (right)!

radishes from before and speckled romaine lettuce (right).

from left: salad bowl, romaine, bibb

mesclun mix and more

hehe they are so pretty. the radishes kept getting bigger and brighter. the colors were marvelous!

that's what I like to call, an easter egg radish. :)

kate gets married

2011-06-22T08:12:00.001-04:00

We had lots of fun getting ready at the house for Kate's wedding. What a fun and beautiful day. Love you Kate!

broccoli rabe

2011-06-20T08:11:00.000-04:00

This was fun. We'd never made them before. We grew them in the garden, so we were pretty excited to finally have a taste.

We lightly sautéed them and ate them just like any other traditional leafy green. :)

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T11:14:00.000-04:00

Love and miss you, sweet Daddy!

Paris? Yes please!

2011-06-18T19:07:00.012-04:00

Yowza! Who wants to go to Paris? I do!

Click here to learn more.

garden (mid april)

2011-06-18T08:00:00.000-04:00

veggies for dinner

2011-06-15T19:58:00.001-04:00

Baked sweet potato fries?

Artichokes?

Roasted acorn squash?

Carrot juice?

May sound interesting...but it was devine.

jonathan's birthday camping adventure

2011-06-10T19:46:00.000-04:00

We decided to head to the cabin with some friends for the weekend to celebrate Jonathan's birthday.

garden 4/3/2011

2011-06-08T18:30:00.000-04:00

hehehe. here we go again!

radishes

spring has sprung

2011-06-06T18:30:00.000-04:00

We decided to go play on our bikes one Sunday afternoon. It was still a little chilly at the time, but the trees were in full bloom!

happy birthday!

2011-06-03T18:30:00.000-04:00

how fun to share your birthday with st. patrick's day! my sweet grandpa in California and my friend Jeremiah here in Tennessee both share this joy. here's a few photos from jeremiah's shin-dig.

(mostly of emily and i because we're silly)

garden 3/16/11

2011-06-02T18:30:00.000-04:00

this is how the garden started.

so cute!

little rosemary

little lettuces

panini

2011-05-31T18:30:00.000-04:00

oh yes. while leslie was here we also ate yummy things. in particular, we made these paninis with sweet potato fries.

how to choose??

2011-05-27T00:29:00.001-04:00

What's your pick?

all via uncommon

leslie came to visit

2011-05-26T18:30:00.001-04:00

Will you please come back? I had SO MUCH FUN! Love you friend.

we played lots of games.

and walked around Chattanooga.

and the trees were pretty. :)

burning old x-mas trees

2011-05-23T18:30:00.000-04:00

I think this happened back in February/March when it was still chilly out. Lets just say...the tree was VERY dry. It was amazing!

kids...don't try this at home. :)

cinnamon buns

2011-05-19T18:30:00.000-04:00

a had a baking adventure and made these from scratch. and oh my they were delicious!

i adapted this recipe.

birthday breakfast + fun

2011-05-17T21:45:00.000-04:00

I'm extremely behind...but, these are photos from my breakfast lunch (mid-February)!

My wonderful friends, Ansley and Bess, joined us for camping, feasting, and fun.

A little peak at what I've been up to!

2011-05-11T23:06:00.000-04:00

Taken today.

energy

2011-05-11T22:30:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I have lots of energy. This just happened to be the morning before we drove to visit family in Virginia last month. So, I learned how to create a gif, and viola! (Just click on the photo to view).

Ohio!

2011-03-08T20:30:00.000-05:00

We love Ohio. Particularly some people in it. :)

Last month we went for a quick trip. We also got to play with our new wide angle lens.

Viola!

We like root beer

2011-02-11T12:45:00.000-05:00

World Market had a root beer sampler pacl a few weeks back. We decided the Americana and Bull Dog had the best flavor. Yummmm.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup (kinda)

2011-02-07T21:51:00.001-05:00

Yum. I've recently found my new favorite (and go-to) food blog - 101 cookbooks. The author has won numerous awards and has a focus on wholesome, good-for-you foods. Plus, it's mostly vegetarian.

Last week Jonathan made this split pea soup and it was so good we made it again the next night. Today, my office mate Ashlea shared her experience making this broccoli soup (pictured above), so we tried it tonight. We modified the recipe a little - we swapped out the potatoes and used butternut squash instead. Also, we used extra sharp Vermont white cheddar, and only as a garnish.

I even took my own pictures, but I quickly realized that the lighting in our kitchen/dining room is not very condusive for pretty food pictures. At least not at this time of day. And lets be honest, I was too busy enjoying the soup to set up my lighting kit. :) Anyway, thought I would share. It's quite delicious and we can't wait to eat it for lunch tomorrow.

Get the recipe here.

Have a happy week!

Happy New Year! (a photo business related post)

2011-01-01T21:55:00.001-05:00

Hello and Happy New Year!

Exciting news to announce. I've finally launched my photo business! This means, I have a brand new photo website and new photo blog. This blog will stay, but will now be reserved for personal posts about the garden, dinner parties, and other fun things. The new blog will specifically focus on all things Monika Bliss Morris photography. To learn more about that, please visit the blog. While you’re at it, please stop by and like Monika Bliss Morris Photograhy on Facebook.

Snowy Christmas

2010-12-25T17:50:00.001-05:00

Chattanooga, Tennessee hasn't had a White Christmas since 1989, until today.

What a beautiful snowy day too! 3-5 inches in the valley, up in the hills a whole lot more.
Our neighbors made a snowman and I went over to a friends house. We threw snowballs and made snow angles.

Tonight when Jonathan gets home from work, we're going to eat dinner with the grandparents and then watch a Christmas movie together. I'm hoping the snow will stick around so we can plan in it together in the morning.

Merry Christmas to all!

lens braclets

2010-11-19T21:58:00.007-05:00

Husband found this today. Kinda fun huh?

Photojojo has lots of fun knick-knacks for photogs.

Happy weekend all! And thanks for stopping by.

Baby Jude | 8 months + Family

2010-11-17T09:38:00.002-05:00

Oh my goodness we love this guy. :) Eep he's a cutie. And he's getting so big!

***

[photos by monika]

Baby Aaron | 3 months

2010-11-15T09:20:00.002-05:00

What a joy to meet this new little guy! Looking forward to more fun.

Enjoy.

[photos by monika]

Baby Cooper | 6 days old

2010-11-12T09:08:00.004-05:00

Welcome baby Cooper! Congrats to Josh, Cathie, and Peyton!

[photos by Monika]

Engagement | Preview

2010-11-11T09:34:00.002-05:00

Ahhh! Love it.

Keith + Carrie + Abram + Lucas | Family

2010-11-10T09:15:00.002-05:00

What a fun family session this was! And those kids...oh my goodness cute!

Enjoy.

[photos by Monika]

Nathan + Jessi | Maternity

2010-11-08T20:19:00.002-05:00

We're so excited to meet this little one! Congrats to you both!

[photos by monika]
To see more from this session, click here.

garden 10/5/10

2010-11-01T12:30:00.000-04:00

This was an exciting day. We finally got to try the lettuce! And oh my. I've decided there's nothing like eating a salad straight from the garden to the plate 5 minutes later.

It's also gotten a bit cooler, so Jonathan built this amazing shelter for our plants. We like to think of it as a steam room to fast-forward plant growth (we got our squash seeds in a little late).

Enjoy!

Jonathan showing off his hard work. What a surprise is was to come home to this!

The tires are left over from the potatoes, and them seem to work well to keep the plastic down.

See those marigolds in there? Yeah. This plastic oven only made these babies bigger.

Ah. We pulled out the watermelons. Decided it was too cold. There were about 2 full sized ones. Some flavor, but really they needed a little more time on the vine. Oh well, we will try again next summer!

Yowza! The lettuce is continuing to grow. If you look to the left, you can see a little row that is just sprouted. Lots more of this goodness to come.

Romaine.

This picture isn't the prettiest, but I was running around too much to set them up in a row. Most of these were too small, but they were a pretty decoration for a week or so.

sneak peak | maternity

2010-10-30T23:17:00.002-04:00

garden 9/25/10

2010-10-29T12:49:00.000-04:00

Update.

Some butternuts are about 2 inches now.

Check that mini acorn in the middle!

Watermelon is still running wild.

Yum. Ever had bibb lettuce? It's so buttery.

Peaches

2010-10-28T12:23:00.000-04:00

Peaches are so good this time of year in the East. We bought about 25 pounds worth at a really good price. We blanched (to make peeling easier) and froze many then enjoyed the rest.

Here, Audrey and I make peach crisp via a Williams Sanoma recipe. Delish!

Isn't she cute?

tea

2010-10-26T12:01:00.000-04:00

It's not quite the typical fall in TN yet, but I think it's always a good time for some yummy tea. And how about some of these to set your cup on? Cute!

[photo via littleclouds etsy]

garden 9/22/10

2010-10-25T12:41:00.000-04:00

Everything is getting bigger and bigger! Can't wait to taste.

Butternut.

Butternut closeup.

Watermelon still taking over.

Eep! Almost ready!

Josh + Cathie + Peyton | Maternity

2010-10-25T12:13:00.004-04:00

We'll see more from this family very soon!

Enjoy.

'lil goofball!

[photos by monika]

to see more from this session, click here.

garden 9/13/10

2010-10-23T16:37:00.000-04:00

The Fall garden includes acorn and butternut squash, yellow squash, zucchini and various forms of lettuce. The bell peppers are still growing, as are the watermelons.

Butternut squash.

Little lettuce seedlings. So cute!

Mini watermelons all over.

And some bigger ones too.

We LOVE the garden. :)

Mini basketball size?

Marigold plant about to explode with flowers.

These ones already have.

Watermelon plant taking over.

Surprise! We have two cucumber plants grewing from fallen seeds.

Peanut Sauce Bento Bowl

2010-10-19T21:59:00.000-04:00

Yum!

Tonight we felt inspired to make something delicious.

I found this website, sproutedkitchen.com, and the entire site is beautiful. The lady who puts it together is married to a photog, so he takes all the pictures for the blog. I think I would eat almost anything on that site, just because it looks so beautiful. Ours turned out really pretty too. We'll make it again for sure, maybe next time for guests.

I think it's the best peanut sauce I've ever made. Sweet, a little spicy, and extremely creamy.

Click here to try the recipe yourself.

[photo by monika]

2010-09-17T00:01:00.000-04:00

I miss blogging.
Someday soon, I hope I'll be back.
Perhaps typing this has inspired me. We'll see. ;)

Monika

Jude at 6 months | Baby

2010-09-06T07:06:00.003-04:00

We went to the carousel for the day! Great idea Mom. :)

Enjoy.

Eep! Look at that little face!

[photos by Monika]

love this.

2010-09-02T07:25:00.000-04:00

We went to a wedding last weekend where birds and paper cranes filled the room. It was lovely.

Then I found this photo. So pretty!

[photo by paper stone scissors via what katie saw]

watermelons and garden update

2010-09-01T07:18:00.001-04:00

[squash bug]

[the squash bug eaten zucchini and yellow squash 8/28/10]

The squash bug tore up our garden. We we came back from vacationing in the Northwest early August, and all of our zuchinni were gone and any hope of our new yellow squash was lost as well.

***

[watermelon taken 7/28/10]

The bug was aggressive and started to go after our watermelons but I wasn't going to let that happen. We ran over to Ace and found an organic spray that we hoped would kill the bugs. It took a couple weeks and a few spray sessions, but I think the bug is gone. At least for now. Everything we've read about these bugs tells us that we need to hand pick them and spray. Unfortuntaely by the time we realized what kind of bug it was they had multiplied five times over and there were little babies covering the garden. It was a sad sight. (Hence the lack of garden blogging).

***

[garden 8/29/10]

Now that we have recovered from the squash bug disaster, it's time for our fall garden. We pulled out the tomatoes, even though they were still producing, because they kept falling over. We didn't realize the potential of our garden this year, and had no idea everything would get so big! Next year we plan to be more on top of it. We'll trim, thin, and pick more than we did this year. Anyway we pulled out the tomatos last Monday and by that point so many had fallen that we have lots of little tomato plants that have sprouted. I keep trying to stay on top of it, but they keep popping up everywhere! Ha.

We also pulled up any remaining carrots. The peppers and watermelon are all that are left. We'll see how they do.

***

[butternut squash 8/29/10]

I went ahead and planted butternut and acorn squash (both have sprouted!!) following the tomato pull up. Then last weekend I planted one row each of spinach, bib lettuce, and romaine lettuce. I also put in another round of zucchini and yellow squash. I'm on alert for the bugs, but either way I'm not sure they will do as well as this summer. I'm convinced that the plethora of hot nights made the yellow and zucchini thrive. We'll see. Either way I'm really excited.

***

[watermelon 8/29/10]

Our watermelons are doing well. We've got a handful of cantaloupe-sized watermelon and lots of little fuzzy baby ones. I can't wait to taste them! We're go to let them keep growing until it starts to get considerably cooler.

Happy fall gardening to all! I'm looking forward to a great crop.

18 pounds of potatoes

2010-08-31T08:10:00.001-04:00

Good gravy! We had lots. We woke up early and decided to rummage around in the garden. Then we found these babies. The following week included potato salad, hash browns, roasted veggies and more.

Little ones!

Kate + Colt | Engagement

2010-08-30T08:23:00.001-04:00

I love when my friends get engaged. These two are suuuuper cute.

PS, I really love morning sessions.

Congrats guys, enjoy!

Kate you're gorgeous!

[photos by monika]

blueberries

2010-08-27T08:15:00.001-04:00

It's one of the many reasons I love Tennessee.

When picking blueberries, it gets hot quick, so you have to start early. We like to start at 7 a.m.

Good morning!

breaded zucchini

2010-08-26T07:57:00.000-04:00

We planted zucchini from seed, and one month later we had these monsters (up to 18 inches in length)! Needless to say, I needed to find a way to cook these and fast. The next day happened to be the World Cup, so I made breaded zucchini for the masses. We invited friends over and piled into the tv room. We ate to our hearts content. Add ketchup and presto. Yum!

Canada Day

2010-08-25T19:37:00.003-04:00

I'm incredibly behind. This was a fun party though and I didn't want to pass it up. It's still summer so it's not that old.

Our friend Guian is from Canada. We love and celebrate Canada Day now that we are friends with him. It's pretty sweet.

Guian gave a marvelous speech.

Then we sang the Canada's national anthem.

...and toasted.

Then they were crazy. Shots of maple syrup followed.

Oh Canada Day.

The end.

dehydrating squash

2010-08-24T07:29:00.002-04:00

Back in July we had squash coming out of our ears. I borrowed a dehydrator from my friend Bess and went to town. I cut up handfuls of squash to dehydrate. I'm looking forward to putting them in soups, stews, or casseroles this fall/winter. I've never used dehydrated vegetables before but I'm looking forward to it.

The process was speedy thanks to the mandolin slicer I got J for his birthday. It's awesome.

Murray | Puppy

2010-08-23T09:02:00.003-04:00

Ahh puppies! Meet Murray (and owner Katie). So cute. Just a few months old and so full of energy (but I guess al puppies are.) Unfortunately Murray thought my lens was a toy and kept trying to give it kisses. Then he started eating grass. Goof ball.

Enjoy!

garden update

2010-07-28T19:26:00.001-04:00

Some of you wonderful followers have been asking about the garden. Well, it's been very hot so it's in somewhat of a sad state. It's still producing, it's just not as pretty and green as before. Here are some pictures from earlier in the season that are very fun.

Pictures taken on June 6, 2010.

carrots

cucumbers

We pulled up most of the lettuces before we went on our vacation, but left a few for some friends to come pick. Well, they forgot to come, and look at how big these got! Ha!

This was one day of picking. Crazy. Delicious.

Jude at 5 months | Baby

2010-07-21T18:19:00.000-04:00

Oh my goodness. We're practically in love with this little guy. He's growing so fast and it's been a joy documenting it. He makes this little giggle that about makes me want to squeal. I can't even really describe it, but it's so stinkin' cute.

Enjoy!

[photos by monika]

Jaimee + Aaron | Married | Chattanooga, TN

2010-07-19T23:03:00.000-04:00

Jaimee and Aaron were married in an intimate setting in Florida last month. After they returned from their honeymoon, they traveled up to Tennessee and gathered with a larger group of family and friends for a Mad Hatter Soiree to celebrate. Thanks for letting me capture your special day!

I'm so happy for you both. Enjoy!

Mother of the bride made these edible mushrooms out of meringue and Hershey's kisses.

They were beautiful and tasty.

[photos by monika]

Currently in love with...

2010-07-18T13:31:00.001-04:00

This Kelly Moore camera bag.

Oh my my.

The end.

potatoes!

2010-07-14T20:54:00.000-04:00

Ahh! I was seriously LEAPING for joy a minute ago. So much in fact that I had to post this immediately. Our potatoes are ready. And we picked a ton of carrots. And the cucumbers of course are doing grand as usual. Thank you Audrey for modeling those orange beauties. :)

sewing curtains

2010-07-13T20:14:00.001-04:00

These were taken on June 17

This was a very exciting day.

Laurie is fantastic. I could not have done it without her. On Mother's Day we spent the day shopping and found our way to the fabric store. I had found some fabric that I LOVED a week earlier and had decided it was time to go for it. I can't sew worth anything, so I asked Audrey's mom if she would teach me. Jonathan and I measured the windows in the living room, and Laurie and I figured out how much fabric we would need. Then a month later, we found the time to make them. Hooray! Here's the process. I was very excited the entire time. We made 4 panels and it took about 3 hours. :)

First we measured, trimmed and cut all the pieces.

Then we sewed!

I'm very excited.

Then we attached the rings.

And hung them up. Ta da!

Thanks Laurie!

Josh + Brittany | Wedding | Orlando, Florida

2010-07-13T00:12:00.002-04:00

There was so much love at this wedding. It was an honor to photograph it. This wedding was quite an experience doing this solo without J, but his mom offered to assisted me and she was fantastic! The temperatures were high, and humidity was even higher, but these love birds were all smiles and happiness. Thanks for all the fun guys. I wish you all the best Josh and Brittany! Enjoy!

***

[photos by monika]

Kaitlin + Jared | Engagement

2010-07-09T07:12:00.001-04:00

What can I say. Kaitlin is the best. She's practically my favorite and she's so silly that she always brings laughter so my soul. I love you dear! Thank you so much for coming all the way across the country to visit me. I'm so excited for you and Jared! Can't wait until your wedding.

The light for this shoot was incredible. I've been wanting to try a morning light shoot for some time and these two were willing to wake up and start at 7 a.m. You guys rock. Enjoy!

***

After a day of rafting and shooting at the range, we ran home to catch a few shots in their new t-shirts before the sunset. Jared's t-shirt says "I want to ride bikes with you," and Kaitlin's features a sweet cruiser with a basket along with some words in French we aren't sure of. J and I LOVE bikes so we weren't going to miss this opp. The bikes on Jared's shirt are the exact same as our yellow one in the garage. How sweet is that?

Now, I just need to find these shirts for ourselves...

[photos by Monika]

watercolor popsicle cards

2010-07-07T08:29:00.001-04:00

Last night we were talking about love languages. Words of affirmation on definitely high on my list. I love writing and receiving notes and cards. And aren't these lovely prints? I may have to get myself some and send them to you!

Happy Wednesday. :)

[finedaypress found via oh so beautiful paper]

flip

2010-07-06T21:58:00.000-04:00

Have you been to Flip burger boutique? It's nice. Our photographers introduced us to this restaurant and we've been back a couple times. Everything's good. The decor, the food, and the dessert.

We started off our vacation going here. We met up with Jonathan's brother Chris and his girlfriend Suzie who were visiting in Atlanta. For some reason we didn't take pictures of ourselves, but maybe the food will make you want to go try it. There are options for you veggie lovers too.

dinner party from the garden

2010-07-05T13:30:00.000-04:00

These were taken on May 25.

We eat dinner with the Coopers a lot. It's a weekly Friday night tradition. This time we called them over to our house to party. We had lots of food in our garden (and frankly I have missed entertaining since so many of our friends moved away) and wanted to have one last hurrah before we left for the Bahamas.

On the menu was yellow squash, spinach, and basil (all from the garden) paninis. I sautéed some onions too. We topped the paninis off with mozzarella cheese, tomatoes and avocado. It was seriously delicious. And now I'm hungry.

Lovely table setting thanks to the boys.

Yum.

We finished with Publix brand raspberry chocolate chunk frozen yogurt topped with blackberries.

Delish.

Oh I love summer. Such good food, friends, and the sunshine is seriously fantastic.

freezing spinach & kale

2010-07-02T13:30:00.000-04:00

First we picked it all.

Bags and bags.

This was a big process. The spinach took an hour.

First we washed, then cut off the stems, then dropped handfuls into boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

After this we'd drop the spinach into an ice bath.

It was fun. The next day we did the same thing with the kale. It was really easy. I think we'll do it again in the fall when it's cool enough for spinach.

garden update

2010-07-01T21:28:00.000-04:00

These were taken on May 25, before we left on our trip.

Blueberries! And the little rosemary plant on the right.

Our lettuces went crazy. We ended up picking all the lettuce and gave it away to people. The spinach we picked and froze them. I've had some since and it's yummy.

Cucumbers!

Kristen + Joe | Engagement

2010-06-28T23:09:00.000-04:00

You guys are cute. Thanks for an afternoon of fun! Enjoy!

[photos by monika]

June

2010-06-25T10:40:00.000-04:00

Ah. I think June has been the busiest month since planning our wedding. I terribly miss blogging but I realize that ultimately free time spent with my husband is more important. However, I'm still taking pictures of everything so I just need to catch up.

Since being on vacation I've had 3 photo sessions (in one week!), weeded and picked from my garden multiple times, sewed curtains for the living room, exercised daily, eaten more squash and cucumbers that I ever imagined, slept less than usual, gone on exhilarating evening moped rides with the boys (they have named themselves the Street Sharks), and designed lots of magazines.

I'm now preparing for one of my very best friends and her beau to visit all the way from California. In the midst of all the craziness, their arrival has prompted me to get our house into shape. She hasn't seen it since it was a bachelor pad (prior to my moving in). So we are organizing, donating, cleaning, etc. until we can't anymore. It's actually really fun (at least I think so).

I have lots of photos are stories to share. But until then, please sit tight. Because when I come back to blogging, it's going to come full speed!

sweet image via charis tsevis

Ingredients for the perfect Morris salad

2010-06-21T10:15:00.001-04:00

1. Morrises

2. Salad from the Morris garden

3. Salad spinner

4. Newman's Own Light Lime Vinaigrette

Yummm.

Happy Monday!

We're back!

2010-06-17T09:11:00.005-04:00

Orlando was fun.
The Bahamas were beautiful.
Dallas was hot. It was nice to have the family together. We're now the P90x family. It's pretty exciting.

Since we've been home we've harvested more squash than I've bought in my entire life. We have multiple reports of visitors coming by picking upwards of 27 squashes in one sitting. The cucumbers also have gone crazy. Before leaving we had 2 or 3 flowers. We came home to over 20 cucumbers ready for picking! Needless to say, it's been exciting.

We came home. I worked for 3 days then flew back to Orlando to shoot a wedding. It was so amazing. I loved every moment of it.

Now I'm back and I finally settling back into the normal life. We had a date night last night and ate the freshest pizza I think I've ever had. From there to frozen yogurt and then to BB&B to get a hammock stand. We finished off the night assembling it and laying in it until we almost fell asleep. Glorious!

I shall resume to blogging shortly. I have so much to show you!

In the mean time, here's this fab video. Ok Go, you never cease to amaze me. Thanks J for showing me this!

it's vacation time

2010-05-28T12:22:00.000-04:00

Apologies for the lack of blogging this week. We've been getting things ready for our trip. Our garden is doing well, we spent last night washing, blanching, ice-bathing, and freezing spinach and kale. We also planted lots of other things, so maybe when we get back we'll have some new sprouts.

We're headed out for a fantastic vacation. I'll return to posting regularly when we get back mid June.

[photo via Flickr]

Baby Owen | 2 weeks

2010-05-24T09:58:00.000-04:00

What a little bundle of joy! Congrats Eric and Sara!

[photos by Monika]

Our Vegetable Garden: Part 9b

2010-05-21T09:43:00.000-04:00

Ok I figured it out. Here's the rest.

Carrots.

The squash has covered the poor onions. I think we need to plant some more.

The spinach is massive. We are eating as much of it as we can. In fact this morning we both picked some to put in our lunches. I thought for sure the spinach would go sour after getting so big, but it's just as delicious.

Our Vegetable Garden: Part 9a

2010-05-20T10:38:00.000-04:00

[Taken May 19, 2010]

Yum. It's been so exciting to watch these little seedlings produce fruit. I think one of my favorite parts of the day is coming home, grabbing Jonathan's hand, and running outside to inspect the progress of our garden. This post is in two parts, because there are too many pictures and I've exceeded the upload limit. I'll be back as soon as I can figure out a solution.

Here's the latest:

Carrots in front, the cucumbers that survived, potato-filled tires, and then squash!

Broccoli in front, spinach, salad bowl lettuce, salad mix, peppers, then tomatoes.

We thinned these last week, now they are twice the size they were!

These babies are about 6 weeks old. Insanely huge yellow squash and zucchini.

Look at those fruits! (Yellow squash)

The squash leaves are bigger than my hands.

Our first tomato fruit this season.

To be continued...

Sweet Paul Magazine

2010-05-19T10:00:00.000-04:00

It's finally here! If you recall I've posted crafts and other things from sweet paul's blog, and now he's got his own digital mag. The photos are delicious.

Seems that there are more and more e-mags now. Decor8 just did a nice post about some.

Our Vegetable Garden: Part 8

2010-05-18T23:43:00.000-04:00

[These photos were taken on May 14.]

On my way home from work I got a phone call from Jonathan. The ice cream truck drove by the house and he got us two treats. When I came home we ate them and rummaged around in the garden. It was a blast.

Rains were in the forecast for the weekend so after looking at the garden we decided it was time to thin the lettuces and spinaches. We've learned that whenever it rains, the garden plumps up immediately.

Yum!

Huge!

Potatoes filled to the brim. We covered them the night before and by morning the leaves were popping through again.

The squash plants are covered in flowers and baby fruits. They were just little tiny plants with two leaves less than a month ago!

Thinning resulted in salads for the next day. Delicious! So exciting to eat our first batch from the garden.

Our Vegetable Garden: Part 7

2010-05-18T13:23:00.000-04:00

We also got some herbs and Jonathan planted them in pots while I was at work. We have sage, basil, and thyme. Also there are a couple pictures of our blueberry plants. We have so many buds! Also, our rosemary bush we got last year from our friend Shannon is flowering. It's so cool.

One Year

2010-05-17T10:28:00.000-04:00

Today we celebrate our first year of marriage. I couldn't be happier.

I love you Jonathan, with all my heart. I thank God for you everyday.

To see more from our wedding, click here.

[Photo by the lovely Tisdale's of 35atl]

Mel's Pow-Wow Party

2010-05-14T11:57:00.000-04:00

We had a blast. Happy wedding Melanie!

Our Vegetable Garden: Part 6

2010-05-14T09:33:00.000-04:00

It's HUGE! And I'm almost caught up. These photos were taken May 10.

Enjoy!

Check out these lettuces!

My co-worker Victoria gave us some onion bulbs and some potatoes. The onions shot up instantly and the potatoes are growing out of control. We have to recover them almost daily because they are growing so fast. Jonathan went and got some tires to put around the potatoes. It's almost time to get more tires because they are about full! It's really exciting.

The squash - it's out of control!!!

2 rows of carrots have sprouted.

We ♥ our garden.

Quirk giveaway

2010-05-13T15:43:00.000-04:00

Enter over at modish for a $50 gift card to Quirk! It's a cute online shop with so many goodies.

Here are a few things I'd love:

Awaken Necklace

Cityscape Stamp Set

Fabric Sandwich Bag

wall art

2010-05-13T10:23:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking lots about wall art. Jonathan was sweet and did get me this print that I blogged about earlier this year. I finally got it matted last weekend so now it hangs beautifully in my office. It's my perfect source of inspiration. I may just have to pick up my paintbrush and paint something pretty for our home.

Lovely paintings via Rachel Ann Austin. She also has an etsy shop here.

maps

2010-05-12T09:50:00.000-04:00

Pretty maps over at thesearethings.com.

[Found via designsponge]

2010-05-11T16:08:00.000-04:00

I'm not much of a cat person (they make me sneeze), but this picture is adorable (as is the bedding). I'd love to curl up in bed today and listen to the rain.

Happy Tuesday!

[image via piou]

Nice

2010-05-10T14:20:00.000-04:00

I was looking around on krisatomic and got really excited about her recent pictures from Nice, France. I honestly can't wait to travel and see lots of beautiful places like this. I love these colors. I also love the boats and water.

[images via krisatomic]

life

2010-05-06T09:27:00.000-04:00

I found this on a friend's blog and really liked it. It's creative and well thought out. I'm noticing a pattern with my stop motion likes, maybe I should try to make my own sometime.
Life goes by so quickly and I want to hold on to all the memories. J and I have been married almost a year and I'm not really sure where all the time as gone. I guess the saying is true, time flies when you're having fun! :)

Enjoy the video.

Thanks Hanna!

makeup bag tutorial

2010-05-05T10:04:00.000-04:00

I love sewing tutorials. I don't currently sew, but I'd like to. I remember sewing things with my mom when I was a little kid, but that's about the last time I've done something crafty with sewing materials.

My friend Audrey and I have decided to embark on sewing adventures this summer. We've planned to make a skirt and I want to make some curtains for the living room. I found this fabulous fabric at the fabric store a couple weeks ago, I need to go buy it all before it's gone. Anyway, this makeup brush holder also looks like something I'd be interested in.

If you want to try it yourself, go here.

[image via freshly picked]

Our Vegetable Garden: Part 5

2010-05-04T15:04:00.000-04:00

We recently put in some irrigation. Jonathan's really good at this and I mostly watched, but I did help some. It was so cool to turn on the water and watch the soaker hoses start to sparkle!

After we were all done we realized that we should have put the irrigation in the opposite side of the bed, since there is a bit of an incline. We'll fix that soon. And...the broccoli is seriously huge. I'm so excited.

The timer.

The plan.

Connecting the compression hoses. Tougher than you'd think.

Ta da!

Look at the water! It was like magic.

...and ladies and gents, we have irrigation!

2010-05-03T09:54:00.000-04:00

happy monday!

[via icanread]