Tuesday, April 17, 2012

D.I.Y. Tutorials // Painted Utensils


diy painted serveware



Mimicking Ladies and Gentlemen, there is diy over at Creatively Christy. I just might have to do this too.

Remember how our Grandma's had spoon collections with a spoon rack? Wouldn't this be a modern fix to keep that sentimental spoon rack alive in current decor?! I think yes!



Monday, April 16, 2012

Garden Seeds // Attracting Hummingbirds in Your Garden



Each morning I stand at my kitchen window and watch a parade of hummingbirds visit my patio fountain.  Thirteen of the sixteen species of hummingbirds found in North America have been sited in Arizona according Ron Dinchak, author of "Southwestern Landscaping." (an excellent resource, BTW).

Hummingbirds are hard workers.  They hover like a helicopter while eating, drinking, bathing and feeding their young.  As a result of this continuous effort, they must obtain nectar from 1,000 - 2,000 flowers each day.  Wow!

I have filled my kitchen patio beds with the following plants that attract hummingbirds:  
Firecracker Penstemon, Penstemon Eatoni

Mexican Honeysuckle
    Penstemon Parryi















    Red Hibiscus

    They adore these plants and many more.  Pick from this list and create a themed garden for these wonderful birds in your yard:
    • Texas Mt. Laurel
    • Fairy Dusters
    • Baja Red Fairy Duster
    • Bottle Brush
    • Ocotillo
    • Chuparosa
    • Sage
    • Arizona Yellow Bell
    • Ruellia
    • Trumpet Vine
    • Century Plant
    • Aloe
    • Desert Bird of Paradise

    Happy Monday!


    Thursday, April 12, 2012

    Organize Your Life // Plan The Perfect Garden



    Have you heard of Smart Gardener? I just discovered it from Pinterest, and let me tell you, it's the best thing to happen to gardening in a long long time.


    There are so many great features on this website, and it literally holds the beginning gardener's hands the entire journey of starting your garden. To sign up, you enter in your email then your zip code so they can tell you what planting zone you are in, when your first and last frosts are, and what plants are recommended for your area.



    Once you've created your profile, you can map out in detail the layout of your garden. Choose in ground plots, raised beds, and containers in any size to completely customize your yard.

    After you've mapped out your space, you can then choose which plants you want to grow, from vegetables to herbs to fruit to flowers. Smart Gardener will show you what to plant where, give you a calendar and to do lists to make all the stress and uncertainty of sowing, growing, and harvesting disappear.




    They also have a fabulous community where you can tour other people's garden plans, find recipes for the edibles you are growing, and they even have a marketplace where they sell the seeds for you to plant in your garden!




    This is a dream come true for a planner outer like me, I've spent all day on the site and can't wait to waste away weeks designing my dream garden!



    Wednesday, April 11, 2012

    Kitchen Revival // Lemon Harvest

    Citrus season in Arizona is coming to a close and I am trying to make the most of it! My in-laws have a lemon tree that bears a large quantity of fruit every year. And some are huge! As you can see, this one is the size of my face! I got an entire 8 oz out of this baby!

    I have been juicing these beauties and freezing the lemon juice to use year round.
    I have frozen some in cubes...

    ...and frozen some in baggies (8 oz juice per bag, get all the air out, zip tight, lay flat on a baking sheet and freeze).
    Each baggie will make one pitcher of lemonade. Recipe below:

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