the ocean

ATX to Chicago

every flower must grow through dirt

seedlings: roma tomatoes week 1

As an newbie gardener, I'm not insanely well versed in knowing when the right time is for plantings. I have a feeling that Sept. may not be the most ideal time to begin a new crop of plants, but I'm hedging my bets. Here in Texas, it's still 100 degrees on most days, and it will be for awhile. My limited botanical knowledge tells me as long as I keep the plants away from frost, they should be just fine. Sitting in today's sun, I can say that frost is a long way off...

These roma tomato seedlings are all of 1 week old. I saved the seeds as I cut into some juicy romas. The seeds were then rinsed and dispersed onto a damp paper towel I placed in a plastic bag. After about 5 days I had sprouting little seedlings. 

The tiny seedling roots became slightly embedded in the paper towel, thus a ready made planting strip. I cut the towel to size and transferred to a planter.

After only 1 day the romas grew nearly half and inch and seem ripe for some hearty future growth....even in Sept!

summertime texas sunsets

fave of the day: spring bouquet

A springtime bouquet I put together this weekend. Thinking these will be for sale in my etsy shop in the near future

fave of the day: purple flowering basil

The purple flowers spawning from my Thai basil plant were quite lovely today

yogurt popsicles

In Texas, summer is here - bring on the frozen treats! I utilized some 3 oz. plastic cups, assorted flavors of yogurt, and some bamboo appetizer sticks. (The bamboo sticks are the perfect size for the 3 oz. cups!) Everything I needed was readily accessible at the grocerey store.

For some I used one flavor of yogurt per cup; for others the flavors were layered. Load up your cups, insert a bamboo stick in the middle, pop these in the freezer for a few hours and viola....sweet, frozen, healthy-ish summer treats! The flavors pictured: key lime pie, a layered peach & vanilla, and a layered banana cream pie & vanilla.

gilded biz card inspiration

via

patterned biz card

Via

how my garden grows

Texas wildflowers:
days 4 - 18

skinny oreo milkshake

Ingredients

1 cup reduced-fat (1%) milk or ½ cup fat-free and ½ cup reduced-fat 2% 2½ reduced-fat Oreo cookies 1 tablespoon instant vanilla pudding (dry mix) 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 package Splenda or Equal 1½ cups ice cubes

Directions

1. Add all the ingredients in a blender. Blend on high until smooth. Add a few more ice cubes if the shake isn’t thick enough. 2. Serve at once. Makes 2 (1 cup) servings

for 1 serving 118 calories, 2.5g fat, 3g protein, 20g carbs, 0g fiber, 181mg sodium, 8g sugar

triple choco mouse cake

via Martha's dessert of the day