September Garden Update

I was so excited about all the new stuff in my garden last month.

The herbs were thriving and the flowers looked great,

but then a darn heat wave hit Los Angeles recently
and I ended up losing almost everything!

WOMP WOMP

While I do love having a garden on my balcony,
I've made the difficult decision and won't be keeping it up for now.
I don't have the time I used to have to keep it up,
and if I'm being honest it's become more of a chore than fun.

So with all the above said,
I won't be doing monthly updates after this one.
It's a little sad because my garden is what got this blog going,
but I'm looking forward to spending more time on cooking, baking and DIY projects.

Now that I have that outta the way,
let me show you how my poor little garden looks now!

Empty pots and window liners make me a little sad.

But I'm not getting rid or them or anything.

I have hopes that one day I'll have a garden again!

Maybe soon, maybe not - we'll see.

My basil is the last herb that's still around.

The heat knocked out all the rest sadly.

I almost got rid of the jalapeno plant,

but noticed a few new teeny tiny new leaves.

This plant has amazed me before,

so maybe, just maybe, it'll start producing again!

This could very well be the last jalapeno from my garden for awhile.

There haven't been any new buds or blossoms on the lemon tree in awhile,

but I'm hoping they start coming when the weather cools down a little more!

I know I say this every month...

but I am shocked by how big this Christmas tree is now!

It started so small and is just HUGE now!!!

And since this is the last garden post for some time,

I had to include my cute furry garden helpers!!!

June Garden Update

A month ago when I posted my May Garden Update,

I mentioned that I was having problems with my lemon tree.

Something was eating the leaves and I didn't know what!

Just days after posting the May Garden Update, 

I figured it out when I spotted a green little culprit!

I now knew what was eating the darn leaves!!!

See that lil sucker???

No wonder I couldn't find him for a long time!

He just blended right in with the leaves!

I'm not normally squeamish about bugs,

but this time I was for some reason!

I was scared it'd jump or fly at me and I'd freak out.

So I tried to use tongs and scissors to remove the leaf it was on,

with the hopes that I'd just remove the lil sucker from my tree.

I tried, more than once, but sadly I failed.

Shortly after, I recruited a neighbor kid to help me out.

He's in elementary school and bugs are no big deal to him.

He wasn't hesitant at all and went to work helping me.

He tried to pull the leaf the bug was on off of the tree.

The bug wasn't having it and just moved to another leaf!

So he tried cutting the leaf off and the bug moved again!!!

I was frustrated and just wanted the darn bug gone.

So when the neighbor kid asked "Can I just cut it in half?",

you can bet that I quickly replied with "YES!"

Two halves of the bug that was destroying my lemon tree!

A little gross, but both halves kept moving for a few minutes.

I'm not usually one to flat out kill bugs, but this one just had to go.

About a week after finding and getting ride of the leaf eater,

I decided that I needed to give a little TLC to my lemon tree.

It just didn't look happy with all the munched on leaves. 

So what'd I do?

Grabbed my pruners and went to town.

All the leaves that were affected would get pruned.

BEFORE PRUNING!

It looks okay from afar,

but close up you can see the damage!

AFTER PRUNING!

I'm aware it currently looks like a sad Charlie Brown tree.

But I'm hoping it starts to fill out again soon!

Shortly after I did all the pruning,

I noticed a few new buds appearing.

I hadn't seen new buds or blossoms in weeks!!!

While the lemon tree was needing some help,

that wasn't the case for my GIANT Christmas Tree.

This thing is huge and only keeps getting bigger!

Can you believe this was once less than a foot tall???

I recently moved it to a more shaded area of my balcony,

and I think it's actually doing even better than before.

While the jalapeno plant is still doing well,

it's not thriving like it was last month.

I keep hoping to see new buds, but I haven't recently.

As a reminder -

I will be blogging about garden updates 

every last day of each month.

It may not be a complete update each month,

but it will be about something in the garden.

So keep coming back to see what I have growing!

Last Minute Gift: DIY Fingerprint Snowmen Ornaments!

With only two days left until Christmas,

I'm done buying and wrapping all my gifts,

but I know there are people that wait until the last minute!

And if that's you, I have a super easy and fun idea for you.

Last year, I started a tradition of making homemade ornaments.

I made Thumbprint Reindeer Ornaments to give as gifts.

I liked the idea and decided I would do it each year!

So I knew this year I had to do something equally as cute,

and after looking online for ideas, I decided to do

FINGERPRINT SNOWMEN ORNAMENTS!!!

And this year, I personalized them depending on who I was giving it to.

For example, friends with a new baby got one with three snowmen - one tiny of course!

I've been a busy little elf this December, doing lots of crafts and baking,

and when making these I forgot to take a picture of "The Goods"

I'm sorry. Please forgive me! 

Just know you'll need the following supplies...

Clear Ornaments - I use glass, but plastic is probably more safe.

White Paint - any kind will do and I just used what I had.

Paint Pens/Markers - used for all the snowmen details.

White/Iridescent Crinkle Filler - optional, but I ended up using.

Now keep reading to see how I made all six of them!!

You can make your snowmen one of two ways.

You can paint your fingers and place them on the ornament,

or you can be a little more OCD (ahem - like me!) 

and use just your fingertips to make your snowmen.

Either way - make your snowmen and let dry completely.

Once dried, add your eyes, nose and buttons.

And then get creative adding accessories however you'd like!

This one is for the family mentioned above.

All six decorated and ready to be given as gifts!!!

Now that you see how simple it is,

get to work and make some of your own!!!

And since I've decided to make this a tradition,

I'd love some suggestions on ideas for next year's DIY ornaments!

I like the thumbprint/fingerprint them so I'd love to stick with that.

That Time Christmas Took Over My Apartment

Yup! You read that right, folks.

Christmas has officially taken over my apartment!

It started the day after Thanksgiving and has continued ever since.

I'm pretty sure I'm done decorating for 2014, 

so I figured it was about time I share my Christmas decor! 

Please keep reading to see all the holiday festiveness.

Going to the local lot and getting my Christmas tree!

A girlfriend went with me to get my tree this year,

and she was SHOCKED they strapped it to my sedan!

Now that I have the tree, let's start from the front door.

Getting festive with my DIY yarn wreath that I made last year.

And the DIY copycat PEACE sign I made this year.

Detailed post on the sign coming soon, so check back!

Little Christmas knickknacks scattered around my apartment. 

Christmas kitchen fun!

My wonderful Christmas tree with and without the lights on.

My TV stand gets decorated for every holiday.

And my mantel gets decorated too!

Even my bathrooms get decorated!

Love me some festive towels.

Homemade snowflakes that have amazingly lasted a few years!

LOVE these banners, but I can't get them to stay put!

Every time I walk by the den, the darn thing is dangling.

Ahhhhhh flannel sheets! I put them on this past weekend,

and have loved climbing into my cozy bed every night since!

See? Holiday towels once again!

And last but certainly not least,

GIANT ornaments hanging outside.

Hope you enjoyed my Christmas decorations tour.

And if you'd like to see past year's decorations,
then check out 2013 and 2010! 

My Poor Forgotten Garden

When I was talking to my mom recently, she said to me, 

"You haven't posted about your garden in awhile".

I know, it's been a long time - almost five months in fact,

but if I'm being honest there hasn't been THAT much to share.

Yes, I still have a garden growing on my balcony, 

but it's not what it used to be.

I'm pretty sure I'll always have fresh herbs

and I do enjoy the beauty of fresh flowers,

but I don't think I'll ever have "crops" growing

like I did when I first started this blog 

over FOUR YEARS ago!

So without rambling and saying much more,

let me show you what I do have growing  in my garden these days. 

Four different views of the balcony.

And of course a little appearance by Kahn!

My two balcony trees!

A lemon tree with FIVE lemons growing.

And my Christmas Tree from a few years ago.

It started off less than a foot tall,

and is now HUGE!

Can't wait to decorate it this Christmas!

A mixture of flowers.

And another mixture of flowers.

LOVE the dark purple pansies!

Some red geraniums with a cute little harvest sign.

And pink geraniums in hanging baskets.

My collection of Fresh Herbs!

I currently have the following in my garden:

Basil, Rosemary, Dill, Chives, Parsley, Oregano and Sage.

My jalapeno plant!

I thought I lost this one earlier in the year,

but then it came back and is doing so much better!

And I currently have a handful of peppers growing too!

A recent addition to the garden.

A Thai Chili Pepper plant.

I have yet to use the peppers,

but I'm betting they're HOT!!!

A mixture of other plants between the two trees.

I have two little mum plants (that aren't currently blooming),

two little gardenia plants that are very fickle and 

another that used to have flowers in in with some ground cover,

but I lost the flowers when the ground cover took over!

Oh and I can't forget!!!

One last thing before I go...

I MUST introduce you to someone!

With Halloween being just around the corner,

there's a little visitor in my garden!

Keep on reading to see who it is!

I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Ahhhhhhh!

Got'cha!!!

My hope is to return to posting about my garden more often,

at least more often than every five months that is!

2013 Christmas Decorations

If you haven't figured it out yet - I really like to decorate for the holidays!

I think Christmas is my favorite holiday and this year I've gone ALL OUT! 

My parents will be here for almost a week and I couldn't help but make my place pretty festive. 

I'll have to say - I'm pretty happy with the outcome and I am quite certain that I this year's decorations are my favorite yet!!! 

Take a look below at all the fun things I have around my place.

I got my FIRST real Christmas Tree as an adult! 

This beauty is a little over five and a half feet tall and smells quite delightful.

After having a real tree, it's going to be quite difficult to go back to an artificial one...

The front door is pretty decorated! 

I, of course, have the my homemade yarn wreath hanging on the outside.

Along with some other cute touches - lights, cinnamon pinecones and a Santa decoration!

Inside I have my Dear Santa list on the chalkboard wall.

The Christmas bible verse is framed and placed on the table my dad made me!

(I got this and other fun FREE printables online, but now I can't find the links for the life of me. I'm sorry!!!)

This view is one of my favorite view this season. 

The top left picture is what you see while standing in my kitchen - and I do that quite often!

I made the "Believe" banner and it was 100% all me!

No online inspiration for this fun DIY decoration. :)

Some more fun Christmas touches around the living and dining areas!

I bought the Santa printable from here, but the "Hark the Herald" one is another FREE printable that I can't find. 

Again - SORRY!

I painted the smallest nutcracker years ago and decided this year that I need more nutcracker decorations.

I could use some more snowmen and Santa decor as well!

(Hint, Hint!)

Another favorite view right now is my TV stand. 

I love the pinecones, I love the red holly berries and I especially love my nativity!!!

My grandma painted the nativity just for me and I am SO happy to have it.

This tree is about three years old and I bought it when it was less than a foot tall! 

I can't believe it's still living and it's SO big!

The garland at the top is new this year and right over the den's french doors.

I think it looks great and can't believe I haven't done this the last two years!

The rest are garlands/banners that I either made this year or last year. 

I have a thing for these kind of decorations, can ya tell?

Bathroom, bedroom and kitchen decorations!

I am SO happy I finally switched to flannel sheets. My bed has been extra toasty!!

I adore the wine bottle that lights up, but I cannot take credit for it.

I received this as a gift a few years from one of my oldest friends. 

That's it! 

Well, that's it for now at least.

I really think I'm done decorating, but you never know...

I added a red poinsettia to the front door display today and that's not pictured,

so who knows if I'll do anything else.

I'd love to see your decorations.

I need some inspiration to create for next year!