My mama told me there'd be days like this

And man she wasn't fooling. 'Cause, Steven Tyler forgive me, I just can't believe how addicted I am to gardening.

I started out a few weeks ago with one gardenia plant, an orange mint, and a trio of incorrectly identified herbs. In my defense, I was correct about the basil and the rosemary. However, the plant pictured on the right in the post a few articles down is actually oregano.

Sadly, the oregano kicked the bucket. Thankfully, the farmer's market lady who sold me the orange mint sold me a pretty little replacement. It's hanging out quite nicely along with the real thyme I picked up from the same lady.

I'm definately losing the plant addiction as you can clearly see in the picture above. I added a spearmint plant to make friends with my orange mint and float very prettily in a pitcher of minted margaritas I'll be sharing the recipe for just as soon as I've tested it. My herbs are sitting pretty in some wire stand I picked up from Big Lots over the weekend.

I'd take this moment to brag over how big my basil is, but I liberated some for my Cumin Lime Pork. Instead, look at my pretty bell pepper plants! They're in those two pots on the bottom left. Maybe I'm on crack, but I swear they've added leaves overnight. The tall, dark leafy plant on the right is my baby tomato plant.

That grill has to go. I wonder if I could turn it into a planter. I imagine the metal would get too hot and I've have to water it like a mofo, yes?

Lest you think this is one sad, sparse excuse for a plant addiction, tomorrow I'll tell you all about the four container gardens I'm up to from the two I showed you before and we can discuss the sweet pea seeds I just started.

Tomorrow, I'm planning to dig up my front yard and sow some seeds.

Is there some kind of twelve step program for beebee gardeners who bite off more than they can chew?

stuck on you

Someday I'll own an amazing camera that will take amazing pictures and do the dishes all at the same time. Until then, this will have to do. And omg, I'm feeling like a goodyear blimp because I absolutely cannot stop picking at the pork roast. Wanna know how to make it?

Cumin Lime Roast Pork

3 cloves of minced garlic

3 tbsp of olive oil

1 tbsp fresh chopped oregano

1 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary

2 tbsp lime 

1 tsp of cumin

2 tbsp of brown sugar

Mix all of the above in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Actually, go just past to taste. It should be a little saltier than you like it, especially if you're using a really fat hunk of meat. If your roast has skin on one side, score it with a sharp knife in a diagonal grid pattern. If you're like me, you'll try every knife in your drawer and even the scissors before it occurs to your dumb ass that you own a knife sharpener. Then you'll feel like a moron and second guess you're ability to turn out this pork roast. So I'll spare you that moment and tell you ahead of time to make sure your knife is sharp as hell.

Back to the roast. Shank the crap out of all the non-pork fat sides then bathe it with the sauce/marinadeish stuff. Now it's time to get up close and personal with your roast. Rub it all over, into the slices, into the pork fat, the curves, etc. Then lay it in a foil lined pan fat side up. Pour the excess sauce over the fat and cover with more foil, sealing it up night and tight.

Drop in a 350 degree oven and cook for about 45 minutes or so. Peel off the top layer of aluminum foil and return to the oven. Cook until the fat on top is really brown and crispy. If you google it, you'll find out temp you should cook pork to but I just eyeball it. If it's a thick roast, it will take longer. If it's thinner or boneless, it will take less time.

Pull out the roast and set aside. Please don't cut that bad boy too soon. You did not spend all that time making it all tender just to slice into it fresh out of the oven and let the juices fall out every where. So let it sit at least ten minutes. Trust me, as big as that beefy, I mean porker is, it's not gonna get cold in ten minutes.

While you're doing that, pour off the drippings into a pan. Let it cook on high until reduced. I know, I know, it's making that weird bubbling thing that makes you think you might be killing it. You aren't. Let it go. When it's about half or so, pour in about a quarter cup of vermouth or you could use chicken broth if you aren't a total lush like me. Let it cook a bit more then taste. You might need to add salt or you might want to add a bit more vermouth/chicken broth.

Slice up the roast and arrange on a platter. Drizzle three to four tablespoons of the sauce over the top.

And there you go. Pork you could hold hands with as you take a long walk on the beach together.

I served it with green beans sauteed in garlic and my friend Amy's Smashed Potatoes, the latter of which my husband adored best of all. So thanks, Amy.

For dessert, pinky helped me pack up a cobbler made from fruit I bought at the farmer's market. Strawberries, blueberries, and peaches. It was just a standard cobbler recipe but I was out of cornstarch and used flour instead. I totally Sandra Lee'd it up though and used Redi-whip.

Pretty good for a Sunday dinner, if I do say so myself obviously.

Do yo really want to hurt me?

In the navy by raspberriberet featuring a studded leather handbag

Dorothy Perkins white embroidered dress
28 GBP - dorothyperkins.com

Paul Smith batwing top
135 GBP - paulsmith.co.uk

Jessica Simpson white pumps
$80 - heels.com

Balenciaga studded leather handbag
$1,795 - mytheresa.com

1928 silver plated jewelry

15 GBP - johnlewis.com

 

Not only have my posts been sparse but I didn't get a picture of mr man's homecoming. His unit handled the whole deal with a spectacular stupidity only seen in goverment work. So I rushed around like a chicken with my head cut off only to get there late, drippy from my shower and still miss the ceremony.

Oh well. I have my man. So you'll have to deal with an approximation of what I wore via polyvore.  Please note there is no possible way I own a Balenciaga bag. I don't even own Jessica Simpson shoes. Too rich for my blood, or so they say. My dress, jewelry, and cardigan came from Maurices. My white bag came from shoedazzle, I think. And my shoes were bought on sale from J.C. Penney.

Just a note, don't ever buy anything online without googling for coupon codes. It's worth the effort, trust. 

How green was my valley

Remember Annabelle?

She was ::gasp:: STOLEN from my doorstep. It's sort of my fault. I wasn't even moved in when I stuck her out there and then I wasn't able to come back to the house for a few days. So who knows? Maybe someone felt bad for her and liberated the poor abandoned dear from her perch outside my door.

However, my need for growing things will not be denied so allow me to present Annabelle Too.

Don't ask me why the picture is wonky

And while I perusing the gardening section of Home Depot, I came across these lovely companions to the orange spearmint plant I picked up at the farmer's market a few weeks ago.

Basil, Rosemary, and Thyme

Annabelle whispered in my ear from her spot in the shopping cart and told me she didn't want to be alone either. So here are the Cleavers and the Waltons. I have no idea which is which. And I've never had a container garden or any kind of garden in my life so if you will, say a prayer for them. I guarantee you they'll need them.



What's in them, you ask? Uhm petunias, impatiens, carnations and some other stuff I can't remember off the top of my head. But they both have a plant called Dusty Miller. They are those pretty little green things that look like they are covered with silvery fur. When I was young and walked around everywhere, I was drawn to those bad boys like a moth to a flame. If I saw them, I'd always stop and stroke their leaves. And now I have some of my own.

If I don't kill them.

My friend Anna will be sad to hear of Annabelle's demise. However, oftentimes, the second edition is an improvement on the first. May Annabelle Too be so lucky, at least luckier than Isabelle Two and her run in with her husband's bootlegger friends.

Today is the greatest

Maybe you've noticed, maybe you haven't but I rarely talk about my husband. There's a very good reason for that actually. Not because I don't like him or because he tosses me down the stairs on the regular but because he's in the military and was deployed to Afghanistan. I think I'm pretty good about not putting identifying information on my blog  but just in case, the last thing I need is for the entire interwebs to know I'm living by myself with two kids and failed attack dog.

But that all changes today.

Today, I get to pick up mr man!

Wooohooooo!!!

Wanna see a pic from the last time I picked him up?

Wait until I post the one I'll take today. That short kid's head is not up to my shoulder.

I'm still here

Still moving into the new place.

I promise an update very, very soon.

For now, watch this:

It's getting hot in here

It's getting warmer, thank God.

So I painted my nails a nice spring color and cracked the first wine cooler of the season.

Hurrah!



Oh yes it's ladies night

Do you know how long it's been since I sewed anything?

It's time to break the drought and what a perfect opportunity.

Pinky and I are taking a ride on the church bus to go to a dinner theater. Can you guess what we'll be seeing? I adored this movie as a teenager. My bff had it and every time we went to her house I'd make her watch it with me. I'm excited to share it with pinky. Her girly little behind will adore the ever living biscuits out of it.

This means I have a whole week to sew up two dresses. Totally doable.

Yeah, I'm moving in two weeks. What's your point?

Do you know what that's worth?

You ever make a dinner so good you wanted to run up and down the block and force complete strangers to taste it?

It was supposed to be Sunday dinner but pete's playdate kind of pushed back the plan and I shelved the steak for a later time. His cub scout meeting was cancelled so I found myself with some free time tonight to really lay out a good one.

Thank God for ribeye sales. Add some roasted garlic and herb potatoes and some oven roasted asparagus and it was YUM TIME.

I die.

I'd provide pics but I'm eating off paper plates in the lead up to the move and my dining room table is carefully decorated with moving boxes. Or something like that. What you don't know won't hurt you.

Wanna know how to make it?

It's simple. Buy yourself a couple nice thick with ribeyes or whatever cut of steak you prefer. Sprinkle on some kosher salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder. I'd tell you how much but honestly, I really don't know. Go liberalish with the salt and pepper, lightish with the cumin and chili powder. Drizzle on some extra virgin olive oil. Heat up a grill pan nice and hot. Lay on the steaks. Be patient and let those bad boys cook without moving them. Flip. Finish cooking on the other side. If you like a well done steak, you'll probably need to drop the heat a couple notches once you get a good sear on the first side.

Remove steaks and set them on a plate or cutting board. Then pour in about a quarter cup or so of dry vermouth to the empty pan. Allow it to bubble for a few, swirling the pan to loosen the browned bits. Set aside. Slice up your steak and pour the vermouth and drippings over the whole shebang.

Try not to die.

As for the rest, I diced up red potatoes, yukon golds, and half a vidalia onion. I put it all in a ziplock bag and added minced garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, and a tsp each of basil, oregano, and tarragon. Shake it all up and pour out onto a foil lined cookie sheet. Bake at 425 until the potatoes are tender, about twenty minutes. Easy enough, right?

The asparagus is even simpler. To prep the asparagus, take a stalk and snap off the bottom end. About where it breaks is where you should slice the rest of them and throw out the bottoms. Soak in cold water for about 15 minutes. Remove from the water and spread out on a foil lined cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss the asparagus then throw it in a 425 oven and roast until bright green and tender.

Ta-da!

Doesn't get much easier than that.

The dirt under my feet

Be it ever so humble

And here she is!

Cute, right?? I adore all of the trees. Their shade keeps the house nice and cool on the inside, at least this is what my no nothing brain things as I walk around on the hardwood floors inside.

See the second story awning on the left? That's my sewing room. Plenty of sunshine to spill over me as I cut, cut, cut. Yes, I suppose I am meant to sew in the sewing room but I bet money I end up downstairs sewing in front of a Tudors marathon. Oh season four, where art thou? Although, a more pressing, narrowly on topic question comes to mind. When on earth is netflix going to pick up Mad Men for instant????

But I digress.

The all important curb appeal. 'Tis less so for a renter but I couldn't resist the call of tiny little plants lining the edges of the garden center at wallyworld today. It took a few minutes of searching but I finally spotted a flat of flowers perfectly suited for my full sun front corner. Zinnias ftw!! Combine those with my recent, albeit hasty and unnecessary purchase of gladiolus and freesia bulbs and I was reading to get my hands dirty.

The foyer in progress

I went home, donned my trusty owl apron and got to work, Sunday dress and all. Between the cool cotton and the nice full skirt, working in a dress was surprisingly easy. I got to feel the sun on my legs without worrying about all the uncomfortable places the seat of one's pants end up when your rustling around in shorts.

Dirty legs, too!

I needed a bath when I got home but at least my yard looked pretty. There are some bricks in the backyard that I'll probably end up using to section is off but so far, so good. Now cross your fingers that the newly transplanted zinnas take root and my bulbs come up.

Wanna see my front door?

Hi, Annabelle!

The white paint needs some perking up. Nothing a magic eraser won't cure. I also need to trim back that shrub/bush/obnoxious green bidness taking up my bitty porch.

My photographer was off on a playdate after church so I don't have a good OOTD shot for you. I think you get the general idea. Instead of a proper pair of stilettos, I wore a comfortable pair of little black ballet flats. I volunteered in the nursery this morning and didn't want to risk maiming small children or falling on my face. Combine all that with a smart black cardigan and I was looking very June Cleaver sans pearls.

To make up for the lack of an OOTD, may I present my home made accents in their proper place.

I need to clean that mirror

Don't get used to it. I can't guarantee I won't change my mind once the furniture is in there.

You know, I just realized why I love this fireplace so much.

Aww or Eww?

Perhaps not the best picture to illustrate my point but mr man and I said I do in front of a fireplace. If you squint real hard you can almost see it in the background.

Now let's have a moment of silence for my skinny little behind.

Giving it the best that I've got

As always happens with a new house, even a rental, I'm on a fresh decorating tear. I'm seeing everything with new eyes and loving the possibilities. It's hard to sleep I'm so full of ideas. I'd share them with you now but what would I have to write about?

So we'll take it one step at a time.

I thought Annabelle could use a friend. I picked up this oval shaped wreath of twisted branches from wallyworld for only three bucks. The silk flowers were collected from various craft stores/sections. Don't ask me what kind of flowers, except for the roses. I'm floral stupid. They looked pretty and coordinated with my colors. Good enough.

I spent the better part of a half hour snipping off all the little buds and leaves. Pete was nice enough to let me borrow his school scissors.

Using a hot glue gun, I wrapped some pale green grosgrain ribbon around the branches. After that, came the flowers. And then came my two girls, always ready for the camera. If I'm not careful, people will think I love the pinker more than the peteness. Truth is pinky loves to pose while pete's more of a behind the scenes kind of kid.

Pardon the mess. Moving and all that.



After the wreath came a few accent pieces I plan to use on the fireplace mantel. I used two styrofoam floral cones that I bought from Michael's. If you go that route, you'll have to use a low temp glue gun. If you go at it with a regular one, you'll melt the styrofoam into nothing. And trust me, it's not too good on the lungs.

Take your time and apply the glue over about an inch of the surface at a time. I glued the bigger flowers first then filled in the empty spaces with the smaller ones. Add a delicate butterfly or fashion a couple bows out of ribbon and glue them back to back on the top. Finish with a leftover flower and voila! Handmade home decor.

Cause I'm crazy for you

This is Annabelle.





Yes, I named my plant. I've wanted one for a very long time but I had nearly no confidence in my ability to keep one alive. I'm still not sure Annabelle will make it however, I'll never know unless I try, right?

So here she is, Annabelle the gardenia.

Say a pray for her, will ya?

It's been a long time since I left you

You like my new bathroom? Don't get used to it's pristine, orderly condition. I've yet to put actual bathroom stuff in there. But I'm totally in love with the colors. I have this really adorable owl picture to hang up but alas, I forgot my hammer when I went over there last.

We are still not yet moved in. I'm slowly packing and carrying things over here and there but I don't expect to actually be moved in for another two weeks. So I'm afraid you'll have to deal with my sporadic posting for a while yet.

Wanna see what I wore to church on Sunday?

So would I! But my new camera cord doesn't work. Boo, yes?

How about a pic from the week before? It's not as if I don't owe you a couple weeks' worth of Sunday OOTD. Truth is it's been a while since I put something really cute together. Except last week's. Go figure, right??

I should have taken a better picture of pinky's dress. I started it last summer and only now got around to finishing it. It was a fairly simple dress, just one of those things I lost interest in midway through. It's made from the leftovers of last year's Easter dress. See? Fabric hoarding can be useful, no?

Excuse me, miss

I know my posts have been few and far between of late but I promise you, I have not fallen off the wagon. I am still housewifing away, slowly but surely amending my habits as promised.

So what has kept me from posting?

Perhaps you guessed by the header picture but I'm moving.

Yay to a new place, a new cute place, mid-century little Tudor-y looking house nestled on a tiny plot downtown. Room for the woo woo, a garden, and an opportunity to start anew with a fresh place.

And yet, booo to the actual process of sorting, packing, dropping off clothes I haven't worn much less seen in years at the goodwill and all sorts of general irritation that comes with moving.

Despite my grumblings I am thrilled we found a place and one with a vintage flair. As a bonus, I'll be living in a two story house for the first time in more than fifteen years. I'm not sure why but two stories are my absolute favorite.

Oh! I almost forgot the best part.

There's a SEWING ROOM!!!

Ooooooooooooooooo!

today is the greatest

Spring has sprung!!

For you in the Northeast, you're looking eagerly for warmer weather, for daffodils and such poking up through the cold, cold ground.

Unfortch, I live in the South. Granted, it's nice and warm here, 80 and above most days. What's so unfortunate about that you wonder? I was blessed with a wretchedness called ALLERGY SEASON. It might be warm but who the hell cares about warm when you've gone through an entire box of kleenex, have to dab vaseline under your nose despite fancy promises from thoe obnoxious puffs with lotion commercials and every surface of your house, car, and dashboard are coated with a fine layer of pollen?

::sigh::

I'll stop whining . . . eventually.