It seems like everyone’s growing something this year, doesn’t it? I love it! I’ve been comparing garden notes with friends just as often as I’ve been swapping recipes and kiddo activities lately, and it feels springy and hopeful. So, let’s dish the dirt today, friends! :)
Our primary growing spot is our 4×8 garden bed in our backyard, carefully positioned to take advantage of as much sun as possible. John installed it in this spot the month after we moved in, and a few years ago we replaced our original raised bed kit with one from this Etsy shop, which we LOVE – super high quality, lovely details, and easy to install. The boards are really thick and it feels like it will last a long time.
Though we’ve experimented with a bunch of different vegetables over the years, we’ve settled into a consistent rotation that reflects what we like to eat and prioritizes produce that is expensive and/or tastes noticeably better when grown at home. For us, that mostly means tomatoes and herbs.
This year, we’re growing eight tomato plants: three cherry varieties (Sun Gold, Husky Red, and Super Sweet 100) and two medium varieties (Patio and Better Boy). We’ve found we don’t get enough sun for the bigger guys, so we stick to our sweet spot! We’re also growing basil, rosemary, jalapeno, Lacinato kale (for our beloved chickpea pasta), blueberries, and a few different kinds of lettuces.
Elsewhere in our yard, we have jasmine, coneflowers, lantana, scabiosa, heliopsis, Knockout roses, daisies, azaleas, hydrangeas, gardenias, and our beautiful Golden Celebration garden rose, among a few other things.
If we were to have more room some day, I’d love to grow peas, more berries, more tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, and zucchini – as well as many more flowers (zinnias, cosmos, dahlias, peonies, clematis, sunflowers, more roses, lilacs!).
One tip: though we enjoy watering with the kids almost daily, John installed drip lines last year, and it made a HUGE difference in the productivity of our plants, especially with our summer travels. The lines are not that expensive and take a half hour or so to set up. Totally worth it, in our opinion! We bought this kit, which was plenty for our 4×8 bed, and this hose timer.
Now, friends, I’d love to hear: what are you growing this year? Or, if you haven’t had a chance to get plants in the ground yet, what do you dream of growing in the future?
As I’m sure so many of you experienced this weekend, to me, the truth of Easter has never felt so immediate, so needed, so poignant, so prominent as it did this year. In the midst of such pain, it’s clear that this world is not as it should be. What a beautiful and welcome message that the worst thing is never the last thing – and that hope is the very surest thing. Stripped of much of the dressing, removed from our church home, and without even the usual space to contemplate (hello, small children!), this weekend didn’t feel as “set apart” as holy occasions often do – but, God still made his truth known.
While this Easter will always be remembered as unlike any other, in many ways, it looked like so many Easters we’ve experienced together, especially living so far from our families. I thought I’d share a little peek, if you’d like to see!
On Saturday morning, I did our usual grocery run, this time with mask in place. Had to document this very surreal, now semi-normal, occurrence.
Then we headed out for a family bike ride – we’ve done one for the last few Saturday mornings, now that the weather is warmer, which has been glorious!
After naps and quiet time, the boys planted a last bush in our back bed (lantana! come on, butterflies!) and the girls painted wooden eggs. Then, we headed to a woodsy path in our neighborhood to cut down a branch for our Easter tree. We ended up cutting down a rather large branch (it was quite a production carrying it back), but it certainly made a splash on our table. Here it is in action on Easter morning, pre-eggs being hung!
After the baskets were unpacked and enjoyed (the watercolor palette was a big hit and June immediately stripped off her pajamas and put on her “twirly dress,” haha!), we sat down to breakfast – cinnamon rolls, fruit salad, bacon, and a carrot orange smoothie.
Knowing we’d want them on Easter morning, I searched for weeks for Pillsbury cinnamon rolls at the grocery store — to no avail. The week before, I broke down and bought Sister Schubert frozen rolls, and they were surprisingly good! John even said he liked them better than the Pillsbury ones :)
P.S. Those gingham placemats are on super sale right now! We LOVE them and they come in a really pretty blue color, too!
After breakfast, we changed into our Easter finery, lit candles, and watched our home church’s live stream. The choir prerecorded the anthem over Zoom, which was a fun touch :)
Then, we headed to our backyard for an egg hunt! Our eggs were stuffed with bunny grahams, frosted animal crackers, and fruit snacks. What worked well for our differing ages: we told June that only Shep could collect the blue eggs, but everything else was fair game (and I hid the blue in easier spots). Seeing the rocks Shep gathered in his basket made me laugh so hard, ha!
We made our best attempt at family photos, Zoomed with both sides of the family, took a walk around our neighborhood, listened to a Triduum playlist John put together on repeat, and ate Easter dinner: deviled eggs to start, then ham, twice-baked potatoes, asparagus, rolls, fancy sparkly drink, and our favorite raspberry pavlova.
Two more sweet moments from the day I want to remember: the first bloom of the year unfurled on Jack’s rose Sunday morning, and on Sunday evening, right before bed, John flipped to this Andrea Bocelli concert, broadcast on Youtube. Something about the soaring music paired with the imagery of vast, beautiful, empty spaces around the world was surprisingly moving to me. I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a peaceful way to spend half an hour.
If you celebrated, I hope your Easters were joyful and reflective, friends! I’d love to hear something you’ll always remember from this year’s celebration, or a highlight from your weekend, if you’d like to share.
It appears the world actually IS ending, because yesterday I forwarded to 20 friends a “chain email” for the first time since approximately 1999. Yes.
I was sucked in by the promise of 36 recipes*, but also by the innocently throw-back vibe of a chain email showing up in my inbox in 2020.
*Let’s pause on that math for a sec. If I sent the email on to 20 friends (which I did), and they each sent it on to 20 friends (doubtful), and those friends each sent me a recipe (extremely doubtful), then I would hypothetically receive… 400 recipes?????
Though that math is a little more intimidating than exciting, this whole chain email situation did inspire me. I’m always looking for fresh recipes (plus, one of my yearly goals is to streamline meal planning!). While my in-person meal planning potluck is on hold, I thought we could have a virtual recipe exchange right here, right now!
If I was able to invite you all to this potluck (that would be fun!!), what dish would you bring?
Just like my future potluck, let’s consider this a chance to come together and share our blue-ribbon, sure-fire, 100%-guaranteed, all-star dinner recipes with each other – the ones we make when friends come over, the ones that never let us down on a busy weeknight or slow Sunday.
If you had to pick just one dinner favorite, what would it be? Drop a link in the comments (or type out the whole recipe, if not online!) and tell us why you love it!
I’ll go first: the obvious pick is our sausage, kale, and chickpea pasta. But since y’all already know that one, I’ll add this one. It’s a yummy, easy beef ragu that also includes a boatload of zucchini, so you can feel good about getting your veggies! We like to serve it with garlic bread and a green salad.
Your turn! Can’t wait to see your favorites, and for all of us to snag a few new recipes to try in this season at home!
Well, clearly my March did not go as planned. (You, too?) This is reflected in my goal progress last month, but instead of being frustrated, I’m feeling grateful for all that we did experience in this memorable and unusual month, especially when so many are suffering in so many ways.
In April, I’m choosing hope – simple moments of joy with my family, at our home, out in the sunshine. I’m wishing the same for you.
On my calendar this month: — Holy Week and Easter. This is certainly going to look different than usual, but I’m looking forward to making it special. — While our Florida vacation has been postponed, we’re still taking two of those vacation days as a family. Looking forward to getting outside and enjoying each other and the sunshine! — A virtual baby shower for a friend. My first one! :)
What I’m loving right now: — We planted our backyard vegetable garden and have been checking on growth every day! My favorite thing to plant is Super Sweet 100, a cherry tomato that has always been prolific for us. — We brought this sweet potato burrito recipe out of the vault last week and it’s delicious! A great meal option when meat is hard to find. — The Threshold by Shea McGee collection looks beautiful! It launches tomorrow – I particularly like this, this, and this!
What I read in March: — Southern Lady Code: This was my fiction pick for March, and sadly it did not live up to the hype. Not only did I not howl with laughter, I merely chuckled once or twice. Not my cup of tea. — How to Raise a Wild Child: I am loving how practical this book is! Such great ideas if you’re hoping to get outside more with your family and connect your kids to nature. — The Golden Hour: My Mom left this book at our house after her last visit, and since pickings are slim these days, I picked it up. It’s enjoyable and engrossing, switching between a woman in early-1900s Germany and one in mid-1940s Bahamas.
My reading list for 2020, if you’d like to follow along!Though my plans have been a little derailed with our library closing, I have a copy of The Tattooist of Auschwitz in hand and am excited to dig in this month!
Revisiting my March goals: Send invites for meal planning potluck (The e-invite has been designed, guest list inputted, and we’re sitting tight. The date we’d picked out is at the end of this month, but we’re not sure if that’s going to be possible.) Assemble friend dossiers and brainstorm ideas for get-togethers Book May camping trip (on hold for now) Finish craft table organization in the loft (More progress here, and still more to go!) Finish reading Matthew with John (We’re on chapter 16 of 28. There is so much packed in there!!) Finish planning our trip to Florida (postponed until next year)
April goals: — Finish printing out Pinterest recipes and rearrange boards — Clean out our garage — Make spring recipe cheat sheet — Design and print our first family photo album! — Finish reading Matthew with John and begin Mark — Connect with each of my 8 focal friends in a meaningful way — Roast s’mores in our backyard — Make an Easter egg tree with June for our dining room table
Friends, I’d love to hear what you have planned for this stay-at-home month ahead. Hoping you are all staying safe and well!
