9 Space Saving Herb Gardens

Hello! Been by your local nursery lately? Yep - the baby plants are arriving by the truckload and I want every last one of them to come home with me.  Every year since the dawn of time I've had a vegetable garden, and since we're in a new place this year, it's time to start fresh.  I'm not exactly sure what part of the yard gets the most sun, but I DO know that our front deck gets blasted for about 4 hours a day - which to me means it's begging for an herb garden.  Which, being right off the kitchen, will be extremely handy! So I've got a blank slate, and took a minute (OK, two hours...) to trudge through the internet and find some pretty neat planter ideas.  All of which either have DIY instructions (yay!) or could easily be figured out how to make. Here are my 9 favorites.

For me, vertical really gets my attention. I want maximize my planting space without sacrificing the whole deck, take a look at this beautiful planter wall that's been incorporated into a pergola:

Source: Susan Cohan Gardens

Or  how about something hanging? This example is for indoor plants, but I can see adapting this for the outdoors fairly easily. Longer pieces of wood to hold maybe 2-3 pots per shelf, and perhaps a way to anchor the bottom to the ground so they don't fly all over in the wind...

Post a Comment

How To: Reverse Tie Dye

Have you ever done tie-dye before? Most likely, but I bet you haven't done reverse tie dye..... OK maybe you have, but if so - then you know just how fun (and easy!) it is.  This is much much faster than tie-dye, and the results are just as cool.  Today, in the on-going (and almost finished!) guest room saga, I'm going to add a fun detail to the bed-scape, which I thought was a word I just made up to mean something like, "landscape of the bed" - until Google told me someone already thought of it and it means the exact. same. thing.  That's the catch 22 of the internet I guess.... oh well!

 

This is such an easy project, the part that takes the longest is waiting for it to dry.  Here's the finished product, in the practically finished room!

 So you want to make it? Simple! You'll need:

Post a Comment

Foodies: Asian Marinated Cucumbers

Friendly reminder: It's Friday....This, is a very easy, very simple recipe.  No cooking required, just ingredients, and they are done in under an hour.  You know - I buy cucumbers with the best of intentions, I love them - I swear. But it's a race with those things! You think you have time to enjoy them, then you go to grab one and it's gone mush... and, not to toot my own horn here or anything, but I eat a lot of vegetables, and these things still escape me.  The cucumber has been one of those vegetables (fruits?) I have to hurry & eat for fear of losing it - until now! I give you, Asian Marinated Cucumbers:

Japanese quick pickles, sesame oil pickles, I've heard a few names.  You've most likely had this as an appetizer in a Japanese restaurant or Sushi house, while you order.  They are delicious, and they are friggin' easy. 

I wish I had the time & dedication to pickle, really I do.  One of these Saturdays I'm going to set aside the whole day to pickling a million wonderful different recipes that we can all be amazed by, but until then, this is my stand-by.   As soon as I see my cucumbers threatening the end is near, I whip up a batch of these.  I've brought these to parties, and they've been a big hit.  Plus, you can add other vegetables: Bell peppers, shredded carrots, go wild.

Head over to Reckless Abandon for the full recipe, one of the great things about these is that they only get better as they stay in the fridge.

Enjoy!

     -Jesse

Up Next: We're gonna tie-dye, only....backwards....     

Let's keep in touch: Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Subscribe & of course, Email me.

Foodie Related Posts:

•  Easy Appetizers
• Gnocchi with Butternut Squash & Sage
• Pizza Rolls? Just do it!
• Avocado & Tomato Salad, with Jicama - surprise!
• Ciabatta Bread - this is easier to make than pronounce.

 Lovies!

Post a Comment

Spotlight: Bird Murals by Tobias Hall

I'm so excited to share this artist with you today!  I was recently lucky enough to stumble across the website of the freelance illustrator & designer, Tobias Hall.  Oh man - I'm in love with these birds!  The colors are fantastic, and the geometric take on these cranes is so unique, and a style I'm really diggin' lately. I love how some of the angles suggest wings & other features of the bird, they almost remind me of Origami...Anyway, I'll let them speak for themselves; see more of his work here.

Tobias is the in-house designer for Zizzi Ristorante in London, and is responsible for this stunning mural.  I love the colors especially, and hey - check that table out there! The meadow green cane back chairs with the two shades of green against the wood....   totally speaking my language here.  Would you say those are a twist on a chevron pattern? I wonder if he did those too....regardless, look at how well the room comes together:

Head over to Tobias Hall's website to see more of his work.  I would love to have some of his artwork in our home!  Those patterns are so inspiring...I'm gonna marry these birds.

You can follow Tobias on Twitter by clicking: Tobias Hall 
Or on Facebook: Tobias Hall

What do you think?

     -Jesse

Up Next: Extremely easy & fast pickling recipe - sesame style....

Let's keep in touch: Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Subscribe & of course, Email me.

Related Spotlight Posts:

• Spin Art 
• Kaleido-trays
• Cross Stitch Furniture - you read right...
• ZNAK Tear off Wallpaper
• Articipe: Turning Recipes, into Art!

Post a Comment

DIY: Message in a Bottle & Aging Paper

"Sendin out an S.O.S." - hehe,  now you're going to have that song in your head all day, like I did.  Your welcome! So, this is easy. It shouldn't really even be a tutorial, but what the heck - perhaps you don't know the art of aging paper, in which case, I can tell ya.  Write a message, age it, and throw it in a bottle.  Simple enough, right? Perfect lil project to get your crafty self all warmed up & ready to take on bigger things. It's easy, fun, satisfying - that's what I love about these mini projects.  So - the guest room is beachy-nautical, and I know I said I wouldn't go over the top with the theme, but I couldn't resist this. Theme or not. It's just cute:

***UDATE: Guest room? Check.. See the full tour here*** 

Yo-ho, look what we have here. Isn't that cute? Yes - yes that Charles Shaw wine, the infamous "Two Buck Chuck" which has actually gone up to $2.50.  Only the finest for me and my messages.  Truth be told, I don't know a thing about wine - and anytime someone tells me important information about some, you can see it going in one ear and out the other.  My brain just doesn't have a file for that info. Wait I'm wrong - I can tell you whether it's red, or white. Or if it's not wine at all. That's about it.  Now ask me what's the best paint & finish for your project & I'll talk your ear off... but I'm off topic.

As to "Annual Message" - well, these messages clearly aren't going out to sea, so who are they for? Us. I wanted to write my future self a letter about what we're up to, so I had a few sips of the wine (don't wanna waste it!) and wrote a two page letter about how things are here.  My goal is to read it eventually, in at least a year, and then do it again.  Yea, yea, super cheesy - but I love that kind of junk.

Wanna make these? Let's do it!

Post a Comment