Ugly Winter Garden

I thought it was about time for a little winter garden update and it's ugly, that's all you need to know. It got super cold so much earlier than I expected and most things died.  I covered a few things like my artichoke plant which I am hoping will produce more next summer, and my cilantro because I'm not ready to give it up just yet.  Everything else was on it's own.

 Luckily my carrots, beats, mustard spinach, swiss chard, and daikon radishes all still look good.  Guess what we'll be eating this week....

 My potatoes on the other hand died....way too early.  So I figured that was the end of that and decided to dig up what I could.  By that I mean I was hoping to find as many potatoes as I could before my back gave up and I froze.  Why is it soo cold out? and why is it so hard to dig up potatoes?  Well here's what I found and there's a huge possibility there's more out there, but I gave up.  

Our mandarin oranges are also starting to ripen which I'm pretty excited about.  Now if only the lemons would hurry up...

Our Thanksgiving

Well hello there stranger.  I hope you had a great thanksgiving, we did and ate too much but it was worth it.  My hubby smoked a turkey and it was amazing.  I grew a pumpkin for my pies, but had no idea how much pumpkin I would have left over.  I have a freezer full, so I better figure out some new ways to cook with pumpkin.  Here's a few picks from the day, and our Christmas tree.  This is our first year with a fake tree.  My hubby was not terribly excited about it, but I told him to give it a try for a couple years, if he hates it we can always go back.  I promise more posts for December....

Fall is finally here...

Fall is here, but it sure doesn't feel like it.  Okay maybe a little, it's been in the 90's instead of the 100's.  I have been pulling out old plants from summer and starting some new things for fall, like pumpkins.

...this guy will not be ready for Halloween, maybe thanksgiving?

...the plants have taken over my yard...

...this big guy is fully grown and just starting to turn colors..fingers crossed he's ready soon...

...in this bed I'm starting carrots, beats, cilantro, and acorn squash..

something keeps eating the leaves on my seedlings, hense the jars...

...in this bed I'm experimenting with potatoes...

 ...I finally have peppers! I have poblanos, pasillas, and jalapenos ....

...I am also trying to grow mini white pumpkins, but something keeps eating them...

that something is white and fluffy and named Leo...

Besides gardening I have done a tiny bit of fall decorating.  I have very limited storage space and most of it is taken up by Christmas decor so Halloween and other holidays sorta get the short end of the stick.

...I reused some old flowers and this container I saved from an edible arrangement..

I knew I would use it someday...

...have you tried the pumpkin spice latte M&M's yet? so good...

...the only little pumpkins that survived Leo...

I have also brought home a few vintage treasures...

...I think Morty has his eye on that Coca-Cola tray...

...I found the sweetest little ironstone dishes...

...Rose bouquet Made in England by Johnson Bros...

...so pretty they had to come home...

...silk prints with gilded wood frame handmade in Florence, Italy...

I should have some of the dishes and the pictures up on etsy in the next week...if I can part with them...

My new $10 nightstand...

As soon as I had my new bed I realized I needed a new larger nightstand.  In my dream world where money is no option I would like this...

 ...found on 1stdibs... or even this...

             ......also on 1stdibs...`

....but those are completely out of my budget, actually most things are out of my budget since I spent all my money on my new bed.  So while visiting the local Habitat for Humanity store with my mom one afternoon I spotted this...

...best part, it was only $10.  Hello new nightstand!  I went out to pick up some white/cream chalk paint but was distracted by this beautiful color...

My room is slowly becoming quite eclectic and colorful....and I love it.

I painted it right away but couldn't figure out what to do with the feet.....

They were wrapped in bronzey/brassy metal that I really liked but one side for sure, and maybe both, had to be replaced.  I thought about it, researched it, and after a while came to terms that I didn't have the tools or the skills to do this right now.  So I ripped all the metal off, sanded down the wood, and painted it gold to match my lamp.  The only thing left to do is cut and paint a piece of wood to replace the shelf that used to be there, but that can wait a little longer....

Quick Tea Review....

I was enjoying a cup of tea and thought I would share...

One of my mom's favorite vacation spots is Carlsbad, California and whenever she goes she brings me back this really good tea.  It comes in these resealable bags or cute tins.  The tea is called The Loose Leaf and you can find it online, at various stores in the area, and at local farmers markets.  So far I have had Jasmine Green Tea and these herbal "teas" Chamomile Lavender and Heavenly Hibiscus.  I say "teas" because, well there's actually no tea in an herbal tea is there??  Either way they have all been wonderful, the Chamomile Lavender is currently my favorite.  Oh and best part, they are all organic.  

.....getting low, gonna need some more soon....


This has nothing to do with tea but since I was taking pictures I just couldn't resist.  My doggie Morty has the hardest time keeping his tongue in his mouth while he is sleeping and it is just so darn cute.  Oh and never mind his one slipper sock, he's not very good at dressing himself and gives up after one sock.
 

My summer so far...

Blogs are a tricky thing and I have no idea how the great bloggers manage to churn out posts weekly if not daily.  I have been keeping busy this summer, which means I should have things to blog about, but I seem to get caught up in the doing and forget to do the writing.

One thing that needs my attention every day is my garden.  Things grow surprisingly fast out here in the desert, I imagine its from all the sunshine.  I can barely keep up, but I really enjoy spending hours out there, except for the days when it's 115 degrees out.  Those days I curse the garden and say desert gardening is the dumbest thing ever.  This year was sorta a giant experiment and I have learned ALOT.  I cannot wait until next year to try some new plants and new ideas.  My cute little garden turned into a jungle in a hurry and I have been researching tons of ways to keep it under control next year.  I have also been planning out what I will plant this fall and winter.   

...see it's a complete mess, but it gives me veggies so it can stay for now.  My cucumbers over grew the trellis I gave them and have now started climbing up and pulling down my sunflowers....

...for awhile I had more summer squash than I could eat, but they have slowed down and now I finally have acorn squash and cucumbers.  I grew two kinds of cucumbers this year, armenian and pickling.  I was able to make a small jar of refrigerator pickles but other than that the armenian ones have way out produced the pickling.  I'm hoping for at least another little batch of pickling cucumbers so I can attempt to ferment them.  

I took a small break from the garden to travel back to Ohio for my brother's wedding and to visit family.  The wedding and the bride were absolutely gorgeous and it was in such a beautiful church. 

It was such a fun time getting to see everyone.  

While in Ohio I spent some time with my grandma and the older I get the more jealous I get of her little farm.  As a kid I grew up thinking living surrounded by farms was nothing special and that most people experienced this.  How wrong I was.  I am very grateful for the childhood I had in her garden eating more of every thing than I picked and being surrounded by her animals.  I now dream of having my own little piece of land someday.  

...Malaysian Ayam Serama Chicken...smallest chicken breed in the world..

...even poultry deserve to have a pretty house..

My other hobby this summer has been dyeing.  

If you have ever eaten at my house you know I am a huge fan of cloth napkins.  Paper napkins rarely make sense to me.  You buy them over and over just to throw them out.  It's a waste of money, bad for the environment, and not as pretty.  I have a large collection of napkins that we use on a daily basis.  Most people's response is.."but isn't that just more laundry?"  No, it's not.  I keep a basket in my laundry room that holds dirty kitchen towels, napkins, etc.  Whenever I do a load of bath towels, which we all have, I throw them in.  No extra loads.  What about kids? "You can't use cloth napkins with kids" you say.  Well I am super messy and I promise you that a cloth napkin cleans up and absorbs so much more than a little paper napkin. 

Oh yeah, before my little tangent about napkins I was talking about dying.  Well to go one extra step and make my cloth napkins extra green and good for the environment, I buy vintage napkins.  Yep, old used napkins.  Most come with stains or look a little sad so I decided to start dyeing them pretty colors. 

I may have gone a little over board and now have too many napkins....

Please visit my etsy shop if you would like your own pretty napkins.