Fall Blessings

So now that we have all of our Fall vegetables planted, I'd like to take a second and share how much I like Fall. Cause I like it a lot. Seriously, how can you not like the cooler weather? And the turning leaves? (Well except for that whole raking thing.) And all things pumpkin... jack-o-lanterns, pumpkin scents, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin bread, pumpkin beer (try Dogfish Head Punkin Ale... yum). And the hearty cold weather meals... soups, chilis, stews... comfort food at it's best.

And then there's Halloween. Although I must say I prefer the cute kidlike Halloween over the scandalous adult Halloween festivities. I hear Halloween night is always fun in our neighborhood. Lot's of kids and candy. Ooo... and there's Hocus Pocus. I love when they start showing that on ABC Family every year.

Halloween is basically the start of the Holiday Season. Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then New Years. Fabulous. Thanksgiving is wonderful. Great food and fun times with family. Jason and I always do two Thanksgivings on the same day. It's pretty impressive.

I especially like all of the Fall decorations. Our house already has a lot of browns, greens, oranges, and golds in it, so it's pretty easy to work fall decorations into the scheme. It's kind of hard not to get carried away with all of the cute decorations.

Scarecrow wreath to welcome you in. Who can see Radar?

Dining room decorations.

Place mats, napkins, and centerpiece.

Buffet table decorations. I love my Write Plate.

I had been thinking about adding a tale vase to the corner of the room for awhile now. After seeing all of the pretty foliage at Hobby Lobby, I decided to try my luck at it. Jason will probably hate it because he's not a fan of fake flowers, but I like it. I think it will be kinda fun to change out the flowers in each season.

And lastly, there is this cute little guy.

I hope you all have wonderful Fall seasons.

How to Build a Raised Garden Bed (Part Two)

Other than working in drizzly rain, today went relatively well.

We started the day by expanding our beds. We decided to use regular cinder blocks, stacked two high. This design is kinda neat for several reasons: 1) you can sit on the edges to help you plant and weed, 2) you can plant herbs in the little squares, 3) they are still very cost-effective (sometimes you can find them free.) Only downside was that we needed 20 blocks and they are very heavy, so we had to take 2 cars to load them in.

Our cinder block garden bed.

Next comes the dirt. We headed to Buchanan's in the Heights for the soil. Buchanan's is by far my favorite garden store in Houston. The selection is great and the displays are wonderful. The sales persons are knowledgeable but not needy. You have to ask for help if you want it, but once you do they are very nice and attentive. When I asked for help on picking soils, the salesperson suggested a mix of quality potting soil, cow manure, black humus, pine mulch, and fertilizer. We could have bought already mixed bags of soil, compost, and sand, but they were nearly 3x the cost.

Jason spreading the soil.

Once you decide what types of soil and compost you are using, it is important to thoroughly mix it with your existing soil. This way the roots don't decide to turn around and start growing up once they hit your original dirt.

Jason mixing the soil.

Next, you decide what you want to plant. We bought some herbs from Buchanan's and headed to Quality Feed Store for the rest of our veges. I have to say, the guy at the feed store was also very helpful. He helped us pick our plants and gave us tips for planting and harvesting. They have seed packets, buckets of seeds (because they "have been selling seeds before seed packets existed"), and potted vegetables. We got a variety since we don't really know what to expect.

Our herbs.

Our plants and seeds.

Now it's time to start planting. We already have some herbs and veges planted in pots which we transplanted from our backyard when we first moved in. One of our tomatoes didn't survive our Hill Country vacation, so we replaced it.

Jason planting the tomato.

Next we planted the herbs in the cinder blocks. Since mint and cilantro tend to be evasive species, the blocks are perfect to control their growth. Now we have three varieties of mint. Plenty of mojitos for everyone.

Planting herbs.

Finished planting the herbs.

Next we planted the rest of vegetables and seeds.

In case you can't read the picture, we have mint, cilantro, onion chives, basil, cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage.

We also have Swiss chard, peas (which need a fence to grow), beets, onions (red, white, and yellow), and some sort of bunched onion that you use like chives.

Finished product. Another neat aspect is that it is basically all organic and all Texan - from the soil to the plants.

So overall a productive day. BTW, just because Jason is the only one in the pics, it doesn't mean that I don't work. I just happen to be our photographer. Plus, doesn't Jason look cute in all these pictures - being the Mr. Gardener that he is?

How to Build a Raised Garden Bed (Part One)

Step 1: Pick a spot in your yard that you would like to build the garden beds.

We picked an area at the end of our driveway. There were a few dead trees that I had been contemplating removing, so I convinced Jason that this area would be great for the vegetable gardens we have wanted to build.

Our driveway.

Dead trees.

Step 2: Remove any obstacles.

For us, this entailed removing the dead trees.

First I clipped all of the branches. This process only took about 20 minutes. Those limbs would practically just snap off.

Dead trees - branch free.

Step 4: Pick a design for your garden bed.

We researched several designs, but chose one that would entail using untreated redwood or cedar 2"x12"s anchored by 4"x4"s.

Step 5: Determine and locate materials.

Since we had a drill and the bits we needed, all we had to purchase was the lumber and bolts. After calling several lumber yards that only had pressure treated lumber, we found a place in the Heights that carried the lumber we were looking for.

Step 6: Break your windshield while loading your materials.

Feel free to skip this step if you so desire.

Awesome.

We originally wanted to use 10' foot boards. We folded the back seats down and laid the lumber all the way from the trunk to the windshield.

After this happened, we replaced the 10' boards with 9' boards so they would fit in the Civic.

Step 7: Pay for your materials.

So after the whole broken windshield debacle, I headed inside with the sales clerk. He rang up our 3 2"x12"x9' and 1 4"x4"x8' redwood boards. I sat there thinking that I really hoped it cost around $50 and that $100 would be a bit expensive. Before he even told me the total, I glanced at the screen. It was over $1,000. That's a one with three zeros. I checked the date on my phone to make sure it wasn't April 1 and this was some sort of bizarre joke. Oh no, that's what they really cost. Apparently we had chosen some fancy shmancy wood that was fit for a palace.

I consulted with the clerk for a bit about our wood options. The only wood that would come even close to the $100 price tag would be pressure treated pine. Everything we read had told us not to use pressure treated lumber because the chemicals could transfer to the food.

Step 8: Flag down your husband and remove the materials from your car. Carefully.

Jason thought I was mad for flagging him down and telling him to carefully remove all wood from his car as if it was our first-born child. I didn't want to take any chances damaging it and having to buy it.

We left the store empty handed with a broken windshield.

Step 9: Rethink your whole design.

Repeat steps 4, 5, & 7. Avoid step 6.

So obviously, fancy shmancy redwood was out and we still didn't want to use pressure treated wood. We headed to our good ole' local Home Depot store to check out their options. Once again, we were told that while they had untreated pine, it wouldn't last long. I had heard of using cement blocks instead of wood, so we headed outside to their garden section.

We found some cement blocks that we thought would work. Our only concern was about the weight in Jason's car, but it worked out okay. We bought 14 cement blocks for roughly $30. We put our savings from buying cement instead of wood in Jason's replacement windshield fund.

Step 10: Fix yourself a margarita.

Because, after all, at this point in the process you deserve it.

Step 11: Finish preparing the area you are going to put your garden bed.

We had to remove the stumps and roots from the area.

Jason removing the stumps. He requested that I do not post shirtless pictures of him on the blog, so I designed him nice replacements shirts. While he removed the stumps, I removed the old bricks that had outlined the area.

We had to stash the dead trees behind our garage for the time being. Tree limb pickup day isn't for another three weeks.

Step 12: Cultivate the soil.

I removed all of the weeds, and Jason turned the soil.

Step 13: Build the garden bed.

Lining up the bricks.

We had to slightly modify our design to get around the 4"x4" fence post. Ghetto? Yes, but functional.

Step 14: Run in the garage to avoid the rain and admire your work.

So this is where we left it today.

Tomorrow should bring soil and seeds (weather permitting.)

Labor Day Weekend

Sorry for the lapse in posting lately. We just don't have that much to report. Labor day weekend has been pretty quiet. Friday night we went to our favorite sushi spot for dinner then had coffee/ wine at a nice Montrose cafe. After a bit of a hiatus from reading, I'm immersed in a another Haruki Murakami book, so down time has been nice this weekend.

Saturday we lazed around until the afternoon when we headed to Galveston for Brewmasters International Beer Festival. It was held at the Moody Gardens conference center. An entrance fee of $35 got you 24 1 oz. tastings of beers from around the world. I only tasted about 7 beers. I decided while I can enjoy a nice beer, I prefer wine tastings more. They did have a neat Texas Beer/ Cheese Pairing class that I enjoyed though.

Jason with his mini-tasting cup.

Sunday we headed to the mall just to get out of the house for a bit. I bought 3 new shirts, so I thought it was a fun trip. Then we stocked up on groceries and invited a few friends over to the house for dinner/ games. Jason grilled veges & chicken and we played a nice game of Scrabble. I was in the lead for most of the game, but Jason made a comeback with a final word that was like 46 points.

Today's pretty boring. No big plans, and I kinda like it that way. We could go buy the car we've been looking at, but we're not really in a rush. My car is still drivable for the time being. I figure we'll go sometime in the next few weeks. I'm not really worried about someone else buying it... it's not a very popular model. Plus, I figure I could find a dealer to order it for me if it does somehow get bought. I think I'm just not looking forward to seeing the big decrease in the checking account and the addition of a monthly car payment - even if it does mean I'll have a nice shiny toy out in the driveway.

Food Pictures

I always enjoy it when we cook at home. Jason is pretty creative, so we end up with some neat meals sometimes. Here are a few things we've cooked over the past few weeks.

Caprese Salad - This has become one of our favorites. You take a nice, red tomato and pair it with fresh mozzarella & basil (from our garden). We usually top it with fresh ground pepper, EVOO & balsamic vinegar.

Cheese tortellini with spinach, garlic, Parmesan cheese & EVOO. Paired with rosemary grilled shrimp.

Grilled fish with onions and mushroom with a side of green bean casserole. I made the green bean casserole - so easy to make and quite delicious!