Peppers...we are growing peppers

Okay, so I must admit that when we planted all of our veggies sent from Burpee Home Gardens I had no idea what all we were planting. From what they had told me I thought we just had a variety of tomatoes and basil. Well, I was wrong.

As we were doing our daily survey of our veggie garden Chase spotted a beautiful green bell pepper, almost ready for harvesting! We are growing peppers! I was SO excited. How cool is that?



We have both already decided to drastically expand our garden in the near future. In the meantime take a look at our ever growing tomatoes and our new found peppers.

backyard before and after

The backyard project is complete!  Chase and I finished up the final remaining pieces this past weekend.  It looks great and we are very proud of our makeover.  For first time homeowners and pretty novice DIYers we feel pretty good about what we accomplished.  Enjoy all the before and after pics.











Project Complete!

weekend plans

What?  Its Friday?  Awesome.

Mellow and domesticated weekend for us here in Dallas.

Weekend plans:

• Finish the backyard- we have to finish up an area on the far side of the yard and finish up the area by our veggie garden.  Lots of mulch and a few plants should do the trick.  We also have to get some pavers to lay by both our fence entrances by the alley in the back and at the side of the house.
• Carpet cleaning- our child dog Paisley got sick in a few areas of the carpet and it needs to be cleaned so I am renting a steamer and getting it done.
• Bed- yes, we are still on the hunt for a bed.  This weekend we are heading to West Elm to check out their options.
• Whole Foods- a new Whole Foods that is supposed to be HUGE opened up on our side of town so we are going to check it out.  Wine tasting, cheese tasting= yes please.
• Date night- Dinner and going to see Robin Hood at our fav movie theater (where we sneak in our own wine!)
• Under the sun- still deciding on what outdoor activity we will be doing this weekend...probably some mountain bike riding.

Happy Weekend Everyone!!

Circa 2005

bootcamp and carbs

In preparation for Chase and I's big day I have made a few life changes to try and look my best (he has too).

The biggest thing is my new bootcamp class. I joined a small personal gym close to our house that has daily bootcamp classes designed to push you to the edge and really focus on getting you healthy and fit. It has been great. Not only am I in much better shape, I have also gained a lot of flexibility (I had zero before). It kicks my butt most nights but it feels great afterwards and I am starting to see and feel serious results.

The next biggest change of late is saying NO to carbohydrates. This has been extremely hard for me because I absolutely love carbs! I am an addict, always have been. I decided to completely give up carbs for the month before our engagement photos (June 13) and then after the photos focus on using carbs sparingly and in the right way. Luckily, Chase has a wealth of knowledge about pairing the right carbs with the right foods and at the right times of day. I really want to learn how to eat right without completely depriving myself of all things good. Chase and I together also made the decisions to really limit the intake of red meat. Chase still has a cheeseburger every now and then but for the most part we are trying to eat more fish and chicken as our protein sources.

The upcoming wedding has really made us take on some life changes but these are things that will make us healthier, happier people in the long run so we welcome the challenges.

tomatoes!

We have some serious progress in the veggie garden...tomatoes! They are SO cute and I can't wait to eat them. Almost all of the plants have at least one tomato, most having two or three.



We are beyond excited that we are actually producing food in our own backyard.

veggie and yard update

A few days ago I posted about our first veggie garden.  Well its growing and growing!  Here are a couple shots of the progress.  We are starting to see a few buds on the tomato plants, hopefully those will continue to grow into something we can eat!  The only issue we are having is with some bugs...its been very humid here and not quite hot enough = breeding ground for plant eating bugs.  Going to hit the local nursery today to see if they have some knowledge to impart.



Our yard and plants are also looking great!  We went out of town the week after we put the grass down but our fantastic neighbor watered for us so its looking healthy and green.

greek proverb

Yesterday when Chase and I were walking our dog Paisley through the lakeside park we came upon a little memorial garden. The garden was full of different quotes carved into stone and I came across one that I really loved.

“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.”

our first veggie garden

A couple weeks ago, before our sodding project, Chase and I built and planted our first veggie garden.  Its just a small beginner garden that we plan to expand on but its a good start.



We decided to do our gardening in a raised box bed made with our own bare hands. A couple untreatd 2x6x8 and a piece of untreated plywood with holes drilled in for drainage. Simple and effective.



We used the plants provided by Burpee Home Gardens and Paisley even helped me plant them.

Right now the veggie garden is made up of 4 different varieties of tomatoes and some basil. We can't wait to use our own home grown tomatoes!

neighborhood ride

One of the highlights of my visit home to OKC.  I had to share it.

Why?  Who knows.  But it really makes me want some Reese's Puffs cereal.

weekend plans

Friday is here and my time back home in OKC is drawing to a close. So far I have had an absolute blast. I was able to hang out with several good friends, hit some of my favorite local OKC places, celebrate some birthdays and get some wedding planning to-do's crossed off my list. So what's left for the weekend?

1. Fancy dinner: Mahogany Steakhouse- part of our Proposal Contest winnings.

2. Marriage prep: Forever. For Real. workshop with the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative. We get our marriage license for $5 if we complete the one day class.

3. Mothers Day: breakfast with my mom, my grams and my soon to be mother-in-law.

4. Sunday drive: a Sunday cruise back home to Dallas.


Hope everyone else has a fabulous weekend.

My mom and I from long ago- Happy Mother's Day!

cinco de kathleen

Yesterday was my good friend Kathleen's birthday.  I was so excited I was home in OKC to help her celebrate.  It was a fun, sombrero wearing, fancy dinner eating, tequila shot taking evening!



Hope everyone had a great Cinco de Mayo Kathleen!

its official

I am now an official 'Garden Blogger' for Burpee Home Gardens.  My very first blog was posted on their site today along with my bio and my Twitter introduction!!  How cool is that?

Here is my Burpee bio.

And my Burpee tweet.

Read my first post at Burpee's blog!

I can't believe it actually happened...I still feel like somehow its a scam and all the money just got transferred out of my account and to some exotic island somewhere.

bed hunting

When Chase and I moved to Dallas we took his bedroom set from highschool. It wasn't exactly our current taste but it was nice solid wood furniture and it was free. After having the bed for a couple months we noticed a squeaking problem (and no, not from that). We decided that we wanted to sell the bed and the dresser and nightstand that went along with it and start rebuilding our bedroom furniture piece by piece.

We are now living like college kids with our boxspring and mattress on the floor while we search for a new bed. Its harder than you might think.

We want a platform bed, something low profile but not uber modern and contemporary that we won't like it in 5 years. Something made of solid wood that is an actual 'piece' of furniture. Our wish list is harder to find than we thought when we factor in our budget, $800 and under. Most beds that fit in that price range don't get past Chase's shaking and lifting inspection.

So this is where I am at now...

Jackson bed from Crate & Barrel

Como bed from Macy's

Wood platform combined with low wood cut headboard from West Elm

What are you thoughts?  Any other good sources for beds?  We need help.