Tomatoes, Jalapenos & MORE!

My tomato plants are blooming like crazy. New clusters of buds pop up all the time on both plants. I don't know if either of them will be as successful as last year's cherry tomato plant, but one can only hope!

The tomato plants are doing great, but the jalapeno plants are doing even better! I have between ten and fifteen peppers at different stages of growth on the four plants right now. In addition to the peppers, I have SOOOOO many buds and blossoms, which means even more peppers to come! 

 

The garlic and shallots are doing very well too. I still haven't dug down to see the tops of the shallot bulbs, but I will soon!

Garlic

Shallots

The green onions are growing like crazy! They really took off in the last week and it's only a matter of time before I'm going to harvest a few to enjoy.  Maybe I'll plant more in another container because they're so easy to grow and they are ready for harvest so fast!

I remembered to photograph the strawberry plant this week, but sadly there isn't anything very exciting to share. Maybe next week, but I'm not holding my breath...

Lastly, my herbs are are dong fabulous like most of the rest of my garden.  The flat leaf parsley has finally started to come back and there's a lot of it at the moment! The rest of the herbs continue to grow and are really starting to spread out.

Flat Leaf Parsley

Thyme

Rosemary

Mint

Basil

Chives

My Magnetic Chalkboard!

One of my best friends gave me Magnetic Primer and Chalkboard Paint for Christmas this past year. I didn't use it for months, and they threatened to take it back to use themselves if I didn't use it soon. So I did just that! 

I had originally planned to put the Magnetic Chalkboard in the Den, but I reconsidered after realizing that the chalk dust would get ALLLLLL over my carpet and that would not be good!

After very little thought, I decided to put it in the entryway to my apartment instead. It's a much better place and will be used way more often! And the chalk dust drops onto laminate, which wipes clean easily.

The area taped off.

Starting to apply the first coat of primer!

I started the project a few weeks ago and somehow believed I would have it done in one day. After one day I realized it might be a longer process, but hoped to get it done that weekend!

HAHAHA

It's a much longer process than I thought because of all the waiting time.  That and the fact I had to use 10 coats, yes TEN coats, of primer to make it magnetic enough. Don't believe the box folks - the two or three coasts they recommend is no where near strong enough to hold any type of magnet. Lies, all lies! 

After applying the final coat of primer!

The next day after drying for houuuuuuuurs.

And it's magnetic!!! 

After the final coat was applied, I had to wait three days before I could condition the chalkboard.  In order to do that you take a piece of chalk and rub it all over the chalkboard using the side of the chalk instead of the tip.  Once that's done, you remove it all with a felt cloth or felt eraser.  Finally, you wipe it all down with a damp cloth and let it air dry. THENNNNNN you can use your chalkboard!

 Beginning the conditioning process...

Wiped off with a felt eraser...

And finally with a damp cloth!

A close friend informed me that Endust works wonders when cleaning the chalkboard. I picked up a bottle and sure enough they were right. The Endust does WONDERS!

The painting part wasn't the end of the project though. I wanted it to look pretty so I decided I'd frame the chalkboard!  

I would have had the project finished much sooner, but I worked at a very slow pace after the first weekend.

I painted and hung the moulding frame one weekend.

Frame HUNG!

Filled in the imperfect gaps on the corners the next weekend.

And finally this weekend I did the very LAST coat of touchup paint on the frame.

More taping - but for the last time!

Andddddd FINISHED! :)

I'm very happy with the outcome and I am glad that my friend threatened me to do it or lose it. It got me to stop putting it off and now that it's done I wish I'd done it sooner!

Celebrating 4th of July With Food!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend celebrating the Independence of our Nation! I had a great weekend and food was not forgotten... I had multiple friends over to enjoy all the goodies below throughout the four day holiday weekend.

Since I LOVE to cook and bake, I went CRAZY doing both those thing this weekend. 

On Friday night I made a few things to enjoy over the next few day, and then continued to make things each day until Monday night! :) I'll be eating great for the next week - that's for sure.

Here's all the goodies made over the course of four days and eaten by many!

Old-Fashioned Potato Salad

Broccoli and Snap Pea Pasta Salad

Cole Slaw with a Kick

Chex Mix My Way

Chicken Apple Sausages

Chicken Apple Sausages With 

Whole Grain Mustard and Cole Slaw with a Kick

Fresh Strawberry Muffins

Fresh Squeezed Lemonade Popsicles

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

Fried Chicken Strips

And Finallllllllllly...

Corn on the Cob from the Farm.

So sweeeeeeeeeet and tasty.

Now I'm off to try to see some fireworks to complete the wonderful weekend I've had.

It's Summertime And The Plants Are Thriving!

Thriving when they aren't drooping and in need of water from the excessive heat we've been having recently. I'm starting to think I may need to do a round of watering in the morning AND my normal one in the evening when I get home from work. We'll have to see if these temperatures continue.

Even with the heat my plants all seem to be growing like crazy.  The jalapeno plants just get bigger and bigger every week and I'll be able to use the peppers in no time!

The cherry tomato plant has TONS of new blossoms and it's only a matter of time until those turn in to many clusters of little tomatoes.  

And the other tomato plant is doing just as well. The sole big tomato is going crazzzzzzzy! I can't wait until there are more big ones on the plant. Soon, I hope, soon.

The strawberries, like usual, are just ehhh.  So ehhh that I forgot to take a picture of it this week! Ooooooops. I can't seem to grow big berries for the life of me though! The little ones I do get are so sweet and juicy. I'll never be able to use them in a recipe, but I guess it's just a nice little treat every now and then.  

My shallots and garlic are so hearty right now. I'm going to dig down just below the soil soon to check on their progress. I know shallots thrive when the tops of the bulbs are exposed, so I'm hoping it's almost time for that stage in the growing process.

Shallots

Garlic

And while we're in the onion family... my green onions are doing AMAZING. I think having the tomato plants drip on them is doing something extra because they're getting so thick and so tall!

The herbs are very happy it's Summer too and they are all doing so well. 

The basil is doing so great that I took some clippings to work on Friday for my co-workers to take home and enjoy!

The chives are thriving and begging to be used soon. Maybe on a baked potato sometime in the next week or so...

The rosemary is doing amazing, but I've recently realized it may do better if it weren't in the same planter as the mint. I've never had to buy rosemary, so until that day comes I guess it's not too big of a worry.

Speaking of the mint - it's going crazy. It was a little bare for awhile, but now it's really growing and wants to take over the entire planter.

The flat leaf parsley is FINALLY starting to come back and I'll hopefully be able to use it again soon without completely depleating my crop!

And finally - the thyme. The mint grows like crazy, but I think the thyme grows even faster! I don't use either herb nearly as much, so pleast let me know if you have some good recipes that use either. :)

Even though it's not a food-bearing plant, I had to share the dahlia. It has grown SO big and I can only hope that once it starts to bloom it'll be amazing.  

Yes, that's a normal size chair I have the planter sitting on and it's taken up the entire seat!!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Wishing my two AMAZING parents a Happy Anniversary from California with LOTS and LOTS of love!!!

Here's to 31 great years together and to many more in the years to come. 

xoxo