Brick Pizza Oven!

We've been busy! Andrew is pretty much done with his brick pizza oven. Just need to slap a coat of paint on the dome and we will be completely finished. Just in the nick of time. However this one detail hasn't stopped us from enjoying some homemade pizza. More to come...

Follow me on Pinterest!

Source: flickr.com via Crystal on Pinterest

Hello! As you've probably noticed, I haven't been posting that often as of late. Or maybe you haven't noticed because you gave up on this here old blog. Ha! Either way. I don't like to blog unless I actually have something good to post. I'm sure most of you aren't coming here to read about the mundane details of my life. Like the fact that I WISH I had some dental floss on me right now.

But anyway, one thing that I really did want to post about was the fact that I finally jumped on the bandwagon and got a Pinterest account! Some of you may be familiar with it, some of you not. From their site:

"Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web."

Basically.  It's really great and fun and slightly addicting. Now I don't have random folders on my computer desktop labeled "I want" or "fun stuff." Enough of that! If you want to follow me and see the things that I find, please do by clicking that button below.



There are too many awesome things out there! And if you were wondering about the "why's" and the "how's" of Pinterest. The lovely ladies over at Braid Creative have made a fun little video about just those things.


How To Pinterest from Braid Creative on Vimeo.

Let me know if you have an account so I can check YOU out!

-c.
 

DIY Greenhouse Ideas

via UrbanHomestead

How awesome is that photo?!

The garden this year has officially gotten out of hand. Sad to say, but we just couldn't keep up with the abundance of weeds. I don't mind weeding, really. Andrew hates it which is completely understandable. The best way to keep them down is to make time every day to go out and pull those suckers out. And the one thing we are short on is time. And Quil isn't quite at that point where he can run free in the garden. He's as bad as the damn deer! He just walks all over everything and pulls unripened veggies off the vine, grabs lettuce greens by the handful. He also likes to put rocks in his mouth and eat dirt. Typical!

Both Andrew and I know that having a garden requires a lot of commitment and effort, especially if you want to do it right. My dad is a great example of this. He is out in his garden every single day, rain or shine. Right now, that just isn't feasible for us. So, Andrew and I have decided that instead of spending our time fighting weeds and feeling bad about our neglected patch of earth, that we are going to be smart about this and create something that works for us and or current situation. I am still holding out hope of having a modern homestead someday with sprawling vegetable gardens, fruit orchards and chickens. But until then, we've decided to build a modest greenhouse where we can grow the stuff we eat all the time, all year round.

We've been doing research and I wanted to share some of the inspirational images I've found.

via CSGD

via HGTV

via Alm Farms

via SinaEnglish

via Pinkpollyanna

via Apartment Therapy

via FlipFlipMeHeidi

I realize most of these are completely unrealistic. Don't judge! They are truly just inspirational. I like the idea of doing something different, smart, and efficient.

We also realize that a greenhouse isn't like a rotisserie, you can't just set it and forget it! It will also require work but hopefully not as much weeding. Soooo, once we can carve out some extra time to build this bad boy, then we'll be good. Right? RIGHT? Wish us luck!

-c.

Baby Boy's First Real Summer

Q is finally at that age (18-months) where he's conscious and aware of the things he is doing and the things around him. It's been fun watching him partake in summer and really enjoy himself. I know a lot of parents find it difficult to gauge whether certain activities are suitable for kids his age. Sometimes it can be a crap shoot with the results being either fun or meltdown-inducing. Here are a few things we did this summer and how they rated on the fun/meltdown scale:

The County Fair
Meltdown factor: 2 of 5

The animals and the food are really the only reasons we go. We don't do games and we don't do rides. I'm sure as he gets older, he will want to do those other things but as of now he's content with petting horses and drinking 4H milkshakes.

Listening to Music While Eating Bananas
Meltdown factor: 0 of 5

Best for those unbearably hot days when going outside is completely out of the question.

The Zoo
Meltdown Factor: 3 of 5

Baby boy loves animals. Period. He seemed a bit unsure on the Merry-Go-Round, but he didn't cry or freak out. I think he was just perplexed. He did get restless about being in his stroller, but luckily the zoo we visited is small so we were only there for about 2 hours. He was able to walk around somewhat, but sometimes he just likes to take off running for no apparent reason other than to just run.

Swimming (naked, or course!)
Meltdown factor: 0 of 5

This is one of Q's all time favorite summer activities. Going down a plastic slide bare bottom is quite the thrill apparently. He shoots down that thing like lightening!

NYC
Meltdown factor: 5 of 5

Ok, so overall, our trip was successful. I gave it a 5 of 5 in my Meltdown rating just because it had the most potential for meltdown inducing factors - lots of car time (drive to NYC from Ohio), lots of time in the stroller while walking around, lots of time sitting in restaurants, etc. I think Q did pretty well adapting, but there were definitely moments when I was thinking "Beam us to the apartment, NOW!" If you are interested in learning more about traveling with a young one, check out A Cup of Jo's - Tips for traveling with a baby One thing I was thankful we remembered - Q listens to the same CD every night before going to bed, so we brought it along and when he was fussing on the ride home we popped it in and he was out like a light! Yay for smart thinking!

What have you guys been up to this summer?

-c.

yhs: Fruits & Vegetables - Harvest

We've got veggies, people! Cucumbers and salad greens, to be specific.

I think growing food is one of those things in life that you can feel really good about and not have the time you've devoted to it weigh negatively on you. Unlike video games and reading gossip mags. Both of which, I'm known to indulge in. Super Mario is my jam!

Yum!
-c.