2000-late!

Well I certainly won't be winning any Blogger of the Year awards in 2011! So here's a post to stop my mom from nagging reflect on what exactly happened last year!

11 for '11

1. Life with a puppy!  There were a few Ellie-related challenges like this....

but mostly lots of love...

2. Daddy-Daughter time! For most of the year, my dad was working in Columbia and stayed with me a few nights a week.  Despite the fact that we ate out way too much (and the scale shows it,) it was great spending time with my dad.

3. iPhone! I made the much anticipated plunge into the smart phone world last spring! I went with the iPhone and haven't looked back. I. LOVE. IT.  More to come on my favorite Apps.  

4. Pin, Pin, Pin! I discovered Pinterest and it might have taken up my blogging time. Here's our Pinterest-inspired Thanksgiving centerpiece with fresh veggies (green beans, artichoke, upside-down turnips, and kale)...

If you need a Pinterest invite...leave a comment with your email address.  But you've been warned, it's addicting!

5. Junior League!  I'm joining the Junior League of Columbia.  Well, technically, I'm a provisional member this year, but so far so good!  I completed my group provisional project in December where we helped out with a Christmas party for Family Connection families.  I've enjoyed meeting new people and learning more about getting involved in my community.  

6. New Girl!  This new, funny, and quirky show on Fox is a new favorite!

7. Work!  My job kept me busy with some big projects like a successful advocacy training that got rave reviews and an almost finished website project.  I also attended a really good social media conference called Social Crush (now known as CrushIQ) and learned a TON.  

8. Out with the Old!  The purging, organizing, and cleaning started around this time last year when I carefully went through all of the Christmas decorations I had acquired. If it wasn't used, I didn't LOVE it, or I didn't have room for it....it was donated. I continued at the end of each season with clothes and other things cluttering my apartment.  Sadly, a lot of my clothes no longer fit (we'll get to that in another post.) The false hope of getting back in to those smaller sizes was taking up too much space in my closet. I finally resolved that WHEN I'm back in those sizes, I'll want new clothes anyway...so out with the old and in with a functioning closet and dresser. 

9. Gardening! OK, it was actually at the BF's house...but I helped! All the fresh veggies of last summer has motivated me to do more gardening in the coming year. Fresh salsa made with veggies from the garden...

The cayenne pepper plants produced a TON of peppers.  We used them in everything and dried some like this...

and made pepper vinegar and red pepper flakes....

10. Festivals around Columbia!  I loved going to the Oyster Festival, Crawfish Festival, and St. Patty's Day in 5 Points...

11.  New addition!  My sister is having a baby girl in May!  Here's my mom's reaction when she was surprised by the news...

So the family picture will look different next year!

A time to Sow

I was inspired by a Southern Living article about planting strawberries. They made it look sooooooo easy. Their version was simply planting 3 strawberry plants in a metal colander and hang it up, letting the strawberry vines grow down the side of the container.

I already knew I wanted to plant some herbs in a window box container (had to get them off the ground so the dogs won't bother destroy them.) So on a trip to Lowe's, I picked up these hanging baskets ($5 each) and a package of 10 strawberry plants ($4.) We'll see how it goes! Hopefully in a few months, we'll have fresh strawberry shortcake galore!

On to the Herbs...

It's been 2 years since I had my first little garden. I missed it last year. So I'm getting an early start and planted Basil, Rosemary, Cilantro, and Oregano seeds ($5 for all the seeds) in these window-box type planters. It might be a tiny bit early to plant the herbs...but I can easily bring them inside if the weather gets too cold.

And that's the beginning of the summer garden!

For more herb garden inspiration- how fun is this one....

Image (and building instructions) from Hubpages.com

or this one perfect for a small space...

Image from Apartment Therapy

My First Garden

I planted my first vegetable garden! Okay, it's small, so more like a mini-vegetable garden. But it's just me, so I don't need much.

My garden idea started with my absolute love of tomatoes. One of my favorite things in the world are my grandfather's fresh tomatoes. There's something about the ones from his garden that taste so much better than any other tomatoes I've ever had. Now that I'm nurturing my own little tomato plants, I'm going to have to sit down with Papa and get the low down on his gardening secrets.

Originally, I thought I could handle a few tomatoes in containers. As things usually go, when I talked to my mom about this, she had a few other suggestions. And then I got a package in the mail from her that included some other vegetable seeds. (This is because I told her that I had no idea where a seed store would be in this yankeefied place.)

We have a space beside our house where tulips and daffodils bloom each spring. But nothing grows here in the summer, so I thought- why not?

I bought 3 tomato plants, 2 sweet red pepper plants, 2 cucumber plants, a variety of herbs. I planted all of this along with the okra seeds my mom sent me. I have no idea how this will turn out and am slightly concerned with how much sun this space really gets. But here's to hoping!

The basil plant grew FAST!

So here's the progression of my beloved tomato plants. I didn't understand the concept of snapping off the "suckers" until my plant turned into an unruly bush. I think I got them under control though.

I'm patiently waiting for the day I can walk outside, pick a ripe tomato off the vine, and indulge in one of God's great creations- the tomato sandwich.