Monday, May 21, 2012

Friday, May 11, 2012

week in captures!

capturing moments this past week. last weekend at big love included! big love to y'all on this fine weekend!

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

tickles my fancy




Source: piccsy.com via Heather on Pinterest


i figured it out, i found out how to embed! all on my lonesome!
(i dont know why i havent asked friends who know how, oh wait, i know why..) oh.em.gee. i am so excited to share all this fun stuff with y'all! and, i'll appear all the more cooool. as a cucumber.


tips for growing cucs!






ok, so here's more of whats been 'tickling my fancy' this week!

yummy summer veggie recipes!









still having trouble with linking some webpages, so this one's on organic garden control, until the ducks get out there full time!

homemade beauty products!

 tips for growing succulents, just bought some yesterday! excited to play!






















i neeeeed this for my sloped yard.. as if i dont have enough garden space as it is. (as if, y'all..) but this would be right out my front door. and its so awesome. i think i'm going to be doing some convincing..
Source: hgtv.com via Heather on Pinterest






















must have!
Source: sunset.com via Heather on Pinterest



i love this room. so much.

last, but surely not least, custardy rhubarb pie. oh my heavens. (there's rhubarb almost ready in the garden!)


i love it when y'all send me some of your favs, or things you think i'd like! and most of all, thanks for all the sweet messages and support!

Friday, May 4, 2012

blessit






feelin' blessed, and blessit y'all..
 



the duckies are growing wonderfully alongside the garden; and as a friend reminded me this week, it does make you think about how lucky you are. how lucky we all are! to have a chance to grow and be a part of nature.






"nourish beginnings,
let us nourish beginnings,
not all things are blest,
for the seeds of all things are blest.
the blessing is in the seed"

-muriel rukeyser


not only are the duckies (i occasionally call them chicks, to be silly and to pick on them a little, hehe) growing wonderfully, but the garden is still rockin' out as well. i was a little worried that with all the early bounty and this crazy weather, it would make for a lousy few weeks of growing season while everything else that was just planted had a chance to take root and begin to grow, but i have yet to buy a vegetable since mid march, and its looking like i won't need to for while.. about twenty tomato starts and forty lbs of potatoes went in the afternoon of a hail/rain storm last week, and the next day the tomatoes were under a good thick layer of mud.

i had officially given up on them and planned to start more from seed, but with all this sunshine (and rain!) they've begun to peak their heads through the ground with bright green leaves reaching for the sun. and the hill of potatoes have begun to do the same. i do think all this sunshine is causing a lot of the greens to sprout and flower, so there's more lettuce, radicchio (yuck), spinach, herbs, ramps! onions and chives, brocollini, kale, chard, collards, asparagus, dandelion greens, and baby choi (half eaten by something.. can't wait til the ducks are old enough to be out there all the time and munch on pests!) than i myself know what to do with. ive made so much soup i dont have room in the freezer for much more, dried herbs, taken salad mixes home to durham and to work, but damn, it feels good. really good. ie: i made homemade creamed spinach last night. then i mixed in the last of the corn from last year. and then the last of the sundried tomatoes from last year, (and some fresh ground nutmeg)... kind of an out with the old, in with the new night/dins :)
















in just a few short weeks the seedlings that are sprouting will all be ready to eat, and so far the daikon radish, mustard greens and peas are tickling my fancy. and the berries. oh, the berries. all this yummy food, grown from seed, by yours truly [insert curtsy], makes it very special for me, and hopefully for you too. its so inspiring to see your hard work and dedication pay off, and lucky for me, this hard work is my favorite work. it's beyond therapeutic for me to stick my hands in the dirt and to be outside, and i cannot think of anything i appreciate more after a long day at real work or when i'm planning my weekends/days off..
i hope that if this doesn't inspire you to do a little more for yourself, that something in nature does. be it growing your own food, which can be as simple as herbs in the kitchen window, or potters on the porch; or supporting local farms and nourishing yoursef with fresh, sustainable food; once again, it all comes back to you. and hopefully it can remind us all of how lucky we are to have the chance to be a part of it. so whether you are beginning, or returning, nourish it and bless it all the same. *and if anyone needs a little motivation or wondering where to get started, pleeease let me know.. i'd looove to help y'all turnip the beet! 

the little -ings (for ping and ming ming, the duckies) were staying in my bedroom with me, but the heat lamp and their peeps were becoming too much for my tired body this week (the craziness has yet to subside...) so i moved them just across the wall into my extra room. this extra room is my new play space and new inspiring workspace, although i do work a lot in my bed still...its just too comfy. their home currently is a plastic baby pool, that will soon be their swimming hole this summer, indian runners dont need an actual pond, although i'd like to have a small one with some fishies. they're pool is lined with pine shavings and newspaper scraps, with one half heated to ninty degrees. their little beaks once (10days ago!)barely peered over the top, and now they stand tall to greet me every morning and every evening as i call out "hey -ings!" these two are super silly and pretty chill. can't wait to watch them grow and play this summer.. and i cant wait to take them down the river!
happy super!moon (go outside tonight around 11:30 and take a look! its the closest its been to the earth since well.. last year. but there's also a meteor shower from my favorite, halley's comet!) the two should make for a beautiful mountain skyline on this wonderful cinco de mayo weekend. whatever festivities y'all are up to, blessit!



"squeak in to a gap in the soil, turn, and unlock a universe"
-annie dillard

 

strawpberries?!? ;)



\

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

balancing act

its all about finding the balance.. and finding an inspiring space to create.



















more beach yoga
*left image, katie daisy





I know I’ve spoken of this craziness, but geez, what a couple weeks. Just a few months ago I found myself disengaged with Asheville and upset by the general ‘lack’ of excitement in my life. And like most things, this desire for excitement has now turned into a whirlwind of excitement, and this my friends, is my first more than 4-day stint, at home (in Asheville!) in over a month. I guess it’s possible I needed a little reminder of what I was missing out on. I have always loved asheville springs and summer’s, they have always had a novel way of ‘pulling me in’ and bringing me back down to earth; i can think of many close people who know exactly what i speak of.. I’ve had the most amazing times of my life in (and around) asheville spring/summer, and really just in asheville :) Whether its been lots of homemade green (love) soup, hands in the dirt, or spending a Saturday tootsin' about town, this place has a way of making you feel connected.. to yourself, to others, and to the world.
*above: handletterings!
also, sorry for the lack of pictures with the last post, i'll make up for it here :)   ..I am still trying to figure out how to post images and posts from my iphone, help out there anyone?!?


*garden gatherings and beach images.. love that woman down there (both, but especially the one with the dog), my momma...

*a picture sent from a friend of the first baby radish from the garden in nashville i helped plan and plant, from hierloom 'gifted to me' (awesome!) seeds, and a little buddha inspiration



 
 



                               *image, katie daisy



 
So this heaven, all started a little over a month ago with a new doula training, then easter weekend at the beach with family, followed by a wonderful surprise visit with my bestie in my hometown, followed by another fantastic weekend with more besties in Atlanta, and now, im staying put! In this whirlwind of traveling out of town and seeing my favorite people, I’ve also managed to acquire quite a few new ‘projects’ (we’ll say..)  and I think I might just be thriving within this all. but its true, whatever excitement may be at hand, good or bad, it is all one great balancing act.. in particular, during this here time of ‘craziness’ I speak of, but also in life. every.day.

my current great balancing act itself involves (but is not limited to..): work, gardening, volunteering, a new painting class, friends that need extra love and support (y’all are top priority, with the ducks and garden <3), oh yes, and ducklings! (two to be exact, they are indian runners, and damn cute.. oh, and not to mention, they will produce more eggs per year than any chicken and chomp on annoying bugs in the garden all year! so much more on the little  -ings to come!)

somehow its all helped to give rise to a lot of productive ideas and a generally happy me. busy just doesn't begin to describe and if I didn’t have to sleep, I don’t know that I would; ive got so much I could do. (i do need sleep, and we're talkin' a full eight hours, or i am not so happy..)

But mostly, there’s also just a whole lot of love going out to and around so many special people right now, and I am feelin’ it y’all.. (some extra special love going out to all the soon to-be mama's out there, some very special wee-ones are being brought into this world by some very special women in my life; one wee-one in particular will make her much awaited arrival sometime tomorrow!)

*below, atl fun!





I have been feeling extremely inspired and connected recently, maybe that’s why I’ve taken on all these awesome projects, or maybe I was bored and needed a little excitement (and those that know me know I’m no good at limits.. and let’s just say this excitement is much preferred in comparison to the excitement I was experiencing this time last year.) it’s nice to have such amazing people in your life to help you through those hard times, im happy to be able to return the favors and share some of my craziness with all of you.













*lucky ducks for some close friends, my craziness includes a good bit of crafting and painting, so a few friends have/will be receiving some crazy love through the snail mail (the ducks love snails! and good thing cause they're abundant in 'el jardin') ..mmm..So who (or where) has helped you to develop and explore your ‘you-ness’??


hey, hey y'all! if youre feeling inspired by today's artwork, or in need of some; please, please explore the works of one of my favorite painters/illustrators/designers extroidinaire! miss. katie daisy! her bright and colorful, inspirational peices bring their own little bit of beauty and sunshine to each and every day. she has a wonderful etsy shop also, the wheatfield! (these are just a few that stuck out today!)
per always (an adapted saying from my dad) it is about the small, simple things in life, but especially recently, be it a simple breakfast on the porch, new books, a talk on the phone or lunch-date with a friend... or two little duckies! these simple things are rockin' my world.

 
 above: smokey/ming-ming, the duck
*left: heather, buddha (buddha, buddha) and topaz


below: dream duck house! gotta get to work on one!





*been replicating last years derby bloody with balsamic pickled jalapenos and leftover tomato water from canning! yumm yummm! and yep, thats a slice of bacon in there, too!

speaking of a balancing act, i am so inspired and in love with this painting from a fellow 'get your paint on' student, check out her awesome blog too.. posts for 'get your paint on' are definetly coming soon! im a little behind on assignments so it'll be delayed ;)