Casual Fridays Part 6

Posted in 2015, Casual Fridays by Megan

I haven’t done a casual Fridays post for awhile – and since I’ve been under the weather this week, I just haven’t really had a chance to do much in the way of gardening, or cooking, or crafting. But I have had lots of time to sit around reading the internet! Here are a few things I found around this week that I really enjoyed:

1. You Grow Girl on Earth Day. I was driving to work on Wednesday morning and as I listened to the radio hosts talk about Earth Day, I definitely found myself rolling my eyes and groaning “Yes people, let’s give the earth its very own day along with National Cat Day or Secretary Appreciation Day”. But that’s not really what it’s all about – and this article really resonated with me.

2. 30 Surprising Stars Who Were on The X-files Before They Were Famous – I can’t say that I am at all excited for the upcoming X-files reboot, although I was a huge fan of Seasons 1-5. I’m not saying that I won’t watch the new episodes given the opportunity, but I’m not having kittens over here. I’m not usually a re-poster of these types of internet articles, but I did enjoy this one. My favorite not-so-famous-then-but-famous-now appearances were Giovanni Ribisi, Bryan Cranston, and Luke Wilson. Also, Michael Buble?! Who knew.

3. The Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo last weekend had record breaking attendance! I’m definitely not a crowds person but I attended because I really, really wanted to meet the boys of Beverly Hills 90210. And I did! And I touched all of them! Haha. But seriously, Jason, Ian and Luke did a great panel (I wish it would have been longer!) and I was pleased to find out that they are all very nice and down-to-earth people, thankfully not crushing all of my teenage dreams.

4. I’ve been thinking about getting one of these mini patio greenhouses for a few years now but I’m still waffling. First of all, they are a bit pricey, and second, do I really need it? I already have a greenhouse in my back yard, but it is primarily for growing hot peppers. I think a mini greenhouse would be ideal for growing things like eggplant in a brighter/hotter part of my yard (I’m actually thinking right on my upper deck), but I haven’t had any success with eggplant in the past, so would it be worth it to try again? Feel free to chime in if you have any experience with these greenhouses, or if you think I shouldn’t even bother. I’ve also thought about building my own similar greenhouse, but I just don’t want to take on another project, especially since our growing season is so short already, I kind of just want to enjoy it and focus on ripping out the remaining sod in the front yard. I guess I have a problem committing to a large-ish purchase like this that may or may not yield results.

5. I’ve been reading along with Banjo’s Daughters and I’m really, really enjoying it. You need to start right at the beginning though – but luckily the archives do not go back very far yet!

I’ve been trying to post gardening photos on my instagram as much as I can. This week I am over the moon with my tiny dwarf tomato seedlings (pictured below) – they are the most adorable! These ones are called Red Robin. I grew them last year and while they aren’t exactly anything extraordinary taste-wise (better than a store bought baby tomato, but not as good as most of the other varieties I grow), I do love them because they are petite and grow a million tomatoes on one tiny plant. Plus, I am doing an experiment with them this year which I will explain in another post.

Aren’t they just the most adorable?! I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

30Jan2015

Casual Fridays Part 5

Posted in Casual Fridays by Megan

What a busy week it has been! I wasn’t feeling well at the beginning of the week so I guess I lost a few days of accomplishing things so I’m really looking forward to getting caught up on things! In the meantime, here are a few things I found on the internet this week that perked me up a bit!

1. This Ontario home tour on Design*Sponge is pretty wonderful. I love all of their vintage furniture pieces.

2. I don’t get too excited about new music anymore, but a new Hayden album is coming March 24th! And there are sneak peaks here and here. I’ve loved Hayden since I was a teen and have seen him multiple times live (not to brag or anything, I just really love him and he is amazing live). Needless to say, I’m very excited about the full album.

3. 10 Things I’ve Learned About Sewing – I’ve been trying lots of new sewing projects lately and I’m really looking to challenge myself this year (look forward to a future post about this!), but after going through all the challenges with my blouse, I was feeling a bit deflated. This is an old article, but it really hit home for me. Especially “When you start, it will look like crap” and “Can you make me one too?”. A great read for any sewer but most of the points work for basically anything in life.

4. I’m going to try making the ultimate veggie burger. A few years ago my sister and I took a day trip out to Field BC just to eat at Truffle Pigs and had the best beet burger ever. While I wish I could go to Truffle Pigs every day, I’ve had to resort to trying to find a recipe I could make at home. Fingers crossed!

5. So buying a white couch was a horrible idea – it just doesn’t stay clean (#homedecormistakes). And even worse is that Ikea no longer makes slip covers for the model that I have. I usually throw a quilt or something over it but I’ve been really liking the look of these Mandala wall tapestries and think they might make a nice couch cover. That paired with a vintage kantha throw would be a nice touch of color and pattern.

Wishing everyone a wonderful and restful weekend!

9Jan2015

Casual Fridays Part 4

Posted in Casual Fridays by Megan

I don’t know about you, but this has been a long week and I think it is safe to say that I miss the days of sleeping in and not having to leave my house. But I am excited to work on a few projects this weekend and I have picked up a bit of inspiration online here and there throughout the week:

1. I love this woven circle mat tutorial via A Beautiful Mess and I have added it on to my projects list. And is something I would actually make! I can just imagine the possibilities with this.

2. Planning on paper via Uppercase. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been feeling somewhat uninspired and unmotivated this week – I think it has to do with coming out of vacation mode, as well as the terrible weather we’ve been experiencing the last couple of weeks. I really want to sit down and make a planned out schedule of my personal monthly goals, as well as for my upcoming gardening season (seed starting dates, transplant dates, etc), so I’m going to put all of my pretty stationary to use and actually accomplish a plan for my future accomplishments (if that makes sense). There is just something about putting it down on paper that makes the process so much more inspiring for me.

3. Seamwork Magazine Issue 2 has come out this week! The best part is that I finally broke down and bought myself an iPad (RIP to my poor 6 year old Macbook), so I’m totally in to reading magazines online and watching knitting tutorial videos on my lap while I have a set of needles in my hands. Anyway, this magazine is a wonderful read for the sewer as it teaches lots of various techniques I would not have even considered before – plus the photography is beautiful.

4. Jerrica Dishcloth via Knit Picks for the 52 weeks of free dishcloth patterns. This looks like a totally quick and easy knit, plus I need new dishcloths so why not make some. I’m going to keep my eye out for some inexpensive cotton yarn.

5. Caramelized onion & goat cheese tart via Go Make Me looks really good! And simple. I think I need something delicious, new, and simple to make this weekend!

I’ve got a few really good posts planned for next week so be sure to come back and check them out. In the meantime, I hope everyone has a wonderful and restful weekend – stay warm!

26Sep2014

Casual Fridays Part I

Posted in Casual Fridays by Megan

I decided to end this week with something a bit different. The gardening season is winding down, and although I am a year-round gardener, my focus shifts a bit this time of year and I start to think about the long season I have ahead of me that will be spent mostly indoors. I also start to spend a bit more time puttering around the internet catching up on my favorite blogs, putting together project ideas and checking out my favorite online shops. I’ll continue with the regular gardening posts again next week but I wanted to share some of the things that have attracted my attention lately. My hope is to do similar posts about once a month. Enjoy!

1. Manhattan Nest bought a new house! I started following this blog about a year ago and it is truly one of my favorites – I’ve loved following along with Max’s chronicles about living in and restoring a 100+ year old home and I’m excited to see what he’ll do with this little house.

2. Winston The Walrus knitting pattern. I have got to make this.

3. Le Parfait jars are my favorite and I just picked up a few more. The last few years I have slowly been transferring all of my dry goods (baking ingredients, spices, nuts, etc) into pretty jars with labels. Overkill? Probably. I don’t care.

4. Schoolhouse Electric just released their Fall line. I’ll have one of everything please!

5. Jamie Oliver just released a new cookbook called Comfort Food and I have resisted purchasing it so far – we’ll see how long that lasts. There are a few recipes from the book on his website which I am looking forward to trying (I have never met a Jamie recipe I didn’t like).

6. I’ve got clocks on the brain. Ever since our microwave met its demise a couple weeks ago, I have felt the absence of a clock on our main floor and I’m exploring options. Wall clock or smaller clock for the counter? I’m leaning towards a classic schoolhouse inspired wall clock.

7. You win some, you lose some. This article from You Grow Girl really hit the nail on the head and I’m sure all gardeners can relate.

8. I have several entomology themed brooches and I’m always on the hunt for vintage ones. I came across this one from Anthropologie and had to settle for just pinning it – unfortunately way out of my price range.