Happy Wednesday! We are in full on cozy season here, but I am still trying to get outdoors as much as I can even if it’s just for a walk with my dogs.
A crisp morning where you can truly see all the signs of changing seasons.
Speaking of the outdoors, I am just wrapping my second summer of growing a garden and year two went very differently than year one.
Here’s my post from the start of the season when I had high hopes for this summer.
This year I had a mix of seeds and plants for vegetables. I had plans to harvest pumpkins, squash, strawberries, onions, peas, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers (yes, I know, I had a lot of expectations).
I kept my plants in a mix of soil and pots in different areas. I checked on them every day and watered them consistently and made sure they had lots of sun.
Unfortunately, this year’s harvest was not as plentiful as my first year. I found that the plants that I purchased did better than the seeds.
Halfway through the summer
Some of my seeds did not even produce vegetables, which was a bit disappointing.
The end of the season
I did get some vegetables like a tomato, a cucumber, and some strawberries and they were delicious and so flavorful!
Some of the tomatoes I grew
My cucumber!
More veggies
Once again, it was a fun experience, but a bit frustrating when I didn’t get the results I was hoping for.
Enjoying some of the fruits of my labor
My plan is to try and grow more vegetables next year and I goal is to buy plants instead of seeds.
Some of my fruits
Even more fruits, small, but mighty!
If you are an avid gardener, what advice would you give and did you have a successful harvest?
The last of my harvest
I would love to hear about your experience so I can better prepare for next year.
I can’t believe we are at the end of June. This summer is going by so fast and it’s making me sad. There are a lot of good things on the horizon, but also some major changes. I’m just trying to take it one day at a time and enjoy where I am at. Since we are at the end of the month, it’s time for another Currently. Here’s a look into life lately.
What I’ve Been Up To:
Since I last caught you up on life at the end of May, a lot has happened.
I have been enjoying a lot of outside time. I have been to minor league and major league games, including a quick trip to Cleveland to see the Guardians play and win!
Beautiful night for baseball
Gorgeous afternoon for a Guards win!
I also celebrated my 26th birthday with dinner at home with my family and boyfriend and cake and presents. We had Jessie James Decker’s Can of Cola Cake with raspberries and it was delicious.
A fun day!
A sweet night!
I’ve spent some time at the local zoo and enjoyed a picnic too.
Perfect summer day!
I’ve been enjoying lots of outdoor meals!
I’ve also been sneaking in working from outside on days off.
Lots of ice cream runs on hot days!
And Morning walks and drinks!
What I’m Wearing:
I have been loving a mix of casual and work outfits including this skort and t-shirt combination for a casual look.
I also have been wearing bold and bright colors in the summer, like this new suit from J.Crew.
Some blue and white too!
What I’m Reading:
Expiration Dates– Expiration Dates was such a fun read by Rebecca Serle. I have really enjoyed her other books and this one didn’t disappoint. It’s all about a girl who always gets a note and date of when each of her relationships will end. This happens for years until she gets a note with no end date. Has she finally met her match or is it a trick with fate? There were some unexpected twists and turns that I didn’t see coming that really added to the plot. The ending was my favorite, definitely a summer read.
The Perfect Marriage– The Perfect Marriage was a mystery/ thriller that I didn’t know I needed to read, and it was one of my favorite books that I have read in months. From the outside, it looks like this couple has the perfect marriage, that is until the husband’s mistress ends up dead. The person who defends the husband? His wife, who is a top attorney. I loved the mystery of who killed the mistress and seeing how more people got caught into the web of the marriage. I stayed up late and woke up early to finish it.
The Heiress– The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins is all about a young man who returns to his family’s estate to collect his inheritance. Once he arrives, he learns there’s more to the family story than he realized and everyone has a secret and ulterior motive, including his own mother. The books goes back and forth between the present day and letters that are written talking about what happened. There are a lot of characters which can be hard to keep track. But overall, it was a good book with a really good and unexpected ending.
It Had to Be You– It Had to Be You by Mary Higgins Clark was a page turner and thriller that had me staying up late to finish it. It’s all about twin brothers who are accused of murdering their parents. Years later, the case is reopened and new evidence is brought to light. It took a while for it to pick up, but once it did, I was hooked. Definitely recommend it!
How to End a Love Story- How to End a Love Story is by Yulin Kuang. This is a new to me author, but I really enjoyed this book. It’s all about a young woman whose book gets turned into a tv show, one of the writers is someone from her past. Will the two resolve their differences and work together or is the past too much to move forward together? I really loved the character development and the behind the scenes of the making of the show.
What I’m Watching:
Bridgerton is back, both installments of the new season dropped over the past month. Although, I’m not a huge fan of the character Penelope, she really grew on me this season and really matured too. I also loved the costumes, setting and modern music tied in.
What I’m Cooking:
This has been such a good month for cooking and it’s been filled with lots of fresh fruits, veggies, and grilling.
Chinese Chicken Salad was a hit from Jessie James Decker’s cookbook.
Chinese Chicken Salad
Caprese Chicken– I grilled chicken and add fresh mozzarella, tomato and balsamic for my birthday dinner. We also as shrimp pineapple skewers for an appetizer and a Cesear salad which was delicious. We ended the night with Jessie James Decker’s Can of Cola cake with raspberries and ice cream. Yum!
Pineapple Shrimp Rice- I got this recipe from Mix and Match Mama. I love how easy it was to make and how light and fresh it was, while still being filling.
Bowls– I’ve been enjoying bowls for lunch with things I have in my fridge. On this day, I mixed black beans, corn, rice, pork and salsa for Tex Mex bowl-yum!
Citrus Salmon with Orzo and sides- This was a light and refreshing, but most importantly, healthy dinner. All wins in my book in the summer.
Apricot Ham and Broccoli Salad– Both of these recipes are from the cookbook, Brunch with Babes. I have been saving recipes to try and this month was perfect. I love the flavor of the ham and the crunch of the salad.
What Inspires Me:
I have been reading Savannah Guthrie’s book, Mostly What God Does, every night and I have been loving ending my day with something prayerful and to cal
m my mind. This quote really stood out to me.
My sweet friend Sarah got me a necklace for my birthday, and it came with this beautiful quote. So inspiring especially in the summer months.
Some inspiration from Simplified in June!
What I Accomplished:
I have been making my way through my summer bucket list and trying to soak up as much time as I can outside.
I’ve done that by enjoying ice cream or milkshake runs.
Reading by the pool
Planting Flowers
Planting my garden
Here we have strawberries, zuchinni, pumpkins, and squash
Here are carrots, onions, peas, tomatoes, and peppers
I also ran my furthest this month of 8 miles. I was very proud of that accomplishment.
Goals from Last Month: I really wanted to make a point to soak up summer and enjoy the mornings and nights when I could. I still have a ways to go on my summer bucket list, but I’m just hoping summer slows down. I’m not ready for it to end.
I checked Donuts and Sunrise off my Summer Bucket List
I also ventured to a new place for a morning hike.
I’ve gotten to enjoy dinner by the water.
Followed by ice cream runs!
A day trip to Deep Creek, Maryland happened this month, my first time for a day of hiking and hitting the beach and reading.
Goals from This Month: Next month will be busy between the Fourth of July and celebrations. I have a wedding to go to and I want to make plans to see friends while still enjoying summer and working too. It will be busy but oh so fun!
Happy Wednesday! I hope you are having a great week! It’s starting to feel more and more like fall. The leaves are starting to change, it’s getting cooler and it’s almost time to start pulling out legging and long sleeve t-shirts.
Today’s post is a bit of a different spin on the weather. One of my summer goals was to grow a garden. I have always wanted to get my hands dirty and see if I had a green thumb. I love vegetables and planned to challenge myself to see if I could grow my own. My first summer of being a gardener is in the books, so I wanted to share what I learned and a bit about my experience. I am by no means an expert gardener. This was my first year giving it a try and I’m happy with the results, even if it did have some ups and downs. I learned a lot and I will be taking what I learned this year and using it when I garden in the future.
I started the process back in May, with the help of my boyfriend, who has helped grow his fair share of vegetable. I did some research on what plants vegetables to try and grow. Since this was my first year, I decided to not go overboard and start small by planting seeds for tomatoes, peas, cucumbers, carrots and peppers. I got the seeds at our local nursery and went home to plant them.
I found a section of the garden, dug the holes, planted the seeds and covered them with fresh planting soil and gave them some water.
The start of my garden
I like to be creative whenever I can, so I made signs for each plant so I could keep track of what I planted and where it was located.
The signs
Then the tending began. I checked on my garden every day and watered them frequently. It was exciting to see the progress of my vegetables grow through the summer, what started out as seeds, turned into stems, blossoms, leaves and eventually fully grown vegetables.
Just the beginning
The biggest thing I learned through the process of growing a garden this summer was the power of patience and accepting trial and error. It takes a while for things to grow sometimes things don’t always grow according to plan or grow at all.
My garden growing- peas, carrots, and cucumbers.
For example, I started out with a lot of peas, but they quickly died, after researching I think it was due to being overwatered. I also got blossoms on my pepper plants, and they grew a lot too.
Early pepper plants.
While it was frustrating and disappointing, I still had other plants to care for.
My first set of veggies! Peas!
Other vegetables did fairly well. I got a handful of tomatoes, while small, they were tasty, and I was very proud of them.
The fruits of my labor
My tomatoes!
I used them to make a Peach Caprese Salad.
A fresh salad with veggies from the garden
I also got a handful of cucumbers, I really enjoyed seeing them grow from week to week and lastly, I got carrots!
My cucumbers!
I started the summer with the hopes to grow five different vegetables and ended up with three, for my first time growing a garden, I’m pretty proud of successfully growing different vegetables and being able to enjoy the fruits of my labor.
My baby tomatoes
I will definitely be growing a garden again and I want to try my hand at some new vegetables too. I really enjoyed the process of growing vegetables, and my favorite part was having something to show for a hard summer’s work. Next summer, I may change where I grow my plants and may change my watering habits. I have a much better appreciation for fruits and vegetables especially when I see how long it takes to grow the individual vegetables.
Cucumbers growing.
There’s no better feeling than accomplishing your goals and it feels pretty good when they are a success and taste good too.
If you have grown a garden, I want to hear about your experience! What did you learn and what have you grown?
Hi friends! Happy Friday! I hope you are in the midst of soaking up the days of summer. Although summer as an adult isn’t nearly as fun as summer as a child, I am still enjoying the sunshine, warm weather and family time! This past week, I got the chance to catch up with two friends, spent lots of time outdoors and went on some fun day trips!
My pup enjoying the sunshine!
This week’s Friday Favorites has all things summer as we make our way through June! Let’s get started as I link up with Erika and Andrea!
Summer Garden– I teased this last week in my post and talked about it in my summer bucket list, but one of my goals for this summer was to plant a garden. I’ve been looking for a creative outlet where I could have an end result and I found it by planting a garden. Since I am just a beginner, I decided to keep it simple and do some seeds and some plants. I decided to buy cucumbers, tomatoes, and pepper plants and then carrot and pea seeds. I wanted to have a variety of options in case they didn’t all work out. Fingers crossed, I get to see the finished product in a few months, but I did enjoy picking the seeds, tending the garden and making signs too. I’ll keep you updated on my progress this summer!
My garden!
and signs!
Sure as the Sunrise– I mentioned this daily devotional by Emily Ley back in January and I have been reading it every morning and just finished it. It’s 100 daily devotionals and reflections with space for thoughts too. I took a brief break during Lent to do another devotional and just finished Ley’s book in time for summer. I really loved how the book was set-up with daily scripture, reflection and questions. Then at the end of every week, there were a few questions you could answer. You don’t have to start on January 1, so if you are looking for a new devotional or morning reading companion, I highly recommend this one.
My favorite way to start the day
Birkenstocks– This may be one of my favorite birthday gifts. After seeing the trends for years, I finally decided to hop on the Birkenstock bandwagon and I’m so glad I did! I was on the hunt for a pair of sandals I could throw on if I had to run out to get the mail, hit the store, wear by the pool or just go for a walk and these were just what I was looking for. I love the rubber material (perfect for the pool) and white color. They are so comfortable too. I know these will be a favorite all summer long!
New favorite summer shoe!
Chicken Kabobs– Another birthday related favorite! I decided on grilled Chicken Kabobs and veggies for my birthday dinner with pasta and fruit salad and it was delicious. I love grilled chicken with lots of seasoning and flavor and these were the perfect way to welcome 25! I am looking forward to trying new recipes with chicken kabobs and grilling this summer. I can’t wait to try new summer recipes. If you have any you love, drop them in the comments below!
Best birthday dinner!
Queen Charlotte– I finished a lot of series in May, so as June rolled around I was looking for a new show to start and I found that with Queen Charlotte! I love Bridgerton, so I was anxious to watch the prequel to the series. It definitely has the same feel of Bridgerton with the characters, clothes, one-liners and scenery, but has a heavier feel (if that makes sense?) I really have enjoyed learning about the Queen’s backstory and it has been such a fun way to escape our world and head back in time. The episodes are a bit longer, but there are fewer in the season. This would be a great summer binge!
Such a fun show to start!
That’s just a peak into life lately. Some fun new gifts, new shows, tasty food and hobbies! How have you been enjoying your summer so far? Let me know in the comments below!
