Share Garden Photos

On BHG, registered users can now share their garden photos. It's really great to see some real gardens and what other people are doing like this teacup with birdseed in it.

User par.3 (Marie)



User noonenca9

Pre-Garden Excitement

Last week I received my first shipment of seeds from Kitchen Garden Seeds (John Scheeper's). I look forward to spring and gardening so much that I sat on the couch oogling my seed packets all night.



Then for Valentine's Day, Keith gave me a bag of goodies including some new gardening gloves and a mini tool set from Target. It's so cute and I can use it when I start my seeds indoors instead of using an old spoon.



We *happen* to be at Home Depot and I just *happen* to walk into the gardening section. The displays of seeds were already out, but I ordered most of mine online, so I only picked up a few herbs. Instead I picked up a bunch of miscellaneous things that I might need throughout the summer. If you wait till summer, most of this stuff is gone. I got garden twine, flexible plastic ties, plastic, labels, bamboo stakes and some expandable ties.



Some herbs like Parsley take a really long time to grow, so I'm going to start those this week with some planters that I already prepared with soil.

Baked Artichokes

It's been a while since I had artichokes. I love them, but they are time consuming to make and for most, it's not worth the effort for what is virtually no "meat".

Choose heavy, tightly packed green ones.


Trim 1/3 to 1/2 the top off. Remove 2-3 layers of leaves from the base. Trim and remove the stem.


Pull out these inner (light yellow) leaves. They are very spikey and makes for a painful dining experience.


Then using a spoon, firmly scrape the fuzz at the bottom of the center. If the artichoke is very young, the fuzz hasn't formed yet and you don't need to do this and can eat it. It's worth the effort to do this. Rinse.



Chop up tons of garlic and make an egg, flour, bread crumb, parmesean cheese, s&p mixture.


I had lots of bread leftover from my cucumber tea sandwiches, so I used those instead of bread crumbs (which I don't like anyway). Drizzle lots of olive oil. Add 1/2 of chicken stock or water to the bottom of the pan.


Cover and bake for atleast 2 hours. It's ready when the leaves pull off easily.

Valentine Cookie Party

On Friday, I had some friends and their children over for some cookie decorating. As some of you may have seen on beetv, "Cucumber knocks out Mrs. Snow Pea" I was preparing for my party. It was a real hit! Here are some pictures from the party since I had to peace out when my guests arrived.



The Setup: I bought the plates from Micheal's and the cloth with the hearts on it is from Target. It's actually a kitchen towel.


I "recycled" Miss Penguin's quilled hearts and spread them around for decor.


The kiddy table.


I baked 3 batches of cookies and used different shapes of cutters.


I made a big batch of royal icing. The bottles are from Micheal's. There are 18 bottles for $12.99. They also sell larger sizes individually for $1.99. Then add food coloring to the icing.


Sprinkles!


As we made cookies, we put them on a sheet to dry.


The kids couldn't wait, so they ate some.


My sad excuse for a Bee.

Renee's Garden

These are so pretty. I'm excited to see how these turn out. Cathedral Bells.

5322	Cathedral Bells Vine	1	$ 2.69
5046	Poppy, French Flounce	1	$ 2.69
5349	Sweet Pea, Garden Orchids	1	$ 2.69
5164	Sweet Pea, Lipstick	1	$ 2.69
5459	Basil, Mini Windowbox	1	$ 2.69
5455	Basil, Italian Pesto	1	$ 2.69
5500	Lavender, Hidcote	1	$ 2.69
5198	Bean, Edamame	1	$ 2.69
5620	Cucumber, Chelsea Prize	1	$ 2.69

Cucumber Sandwiches

For instructions go here

Italian Ice Tomato

This is really new! Read more here.

Square Footage Garden

Source: Square Footage Garden

John Scheepers

8300	Bravado Purple Coneflowers	1	2.75
7060	Opus China Asters	1	2.95
2130	Lemon Cucumbers: 60-70 days	1	2.65
2010	Silver Princess White Sweet Corn: 74 days	1	3.65
3420	Super Sugar Snap Pea: 62-66 days	1	2.85
3440	Snowflake Snow Pea Pods: 72 days	1	2.85
3580	Quadrato d'Asti Giallo Bell Peppers: (golden-yellow)75-85 days	1	2.65
4280	Costoluto Genovese Tomatoes: 80-85 days	1	2.75
8620	Sonya Sunflowers	1	2.95
8320	Oriental Silk Poppy Mixture	1	2.75
4040	Striato d'Italia Zucchini: 50-60 days	1	2.65
5110	Fresca Strawberries

Super Mario

My half bath is becoming a reality. We found a reliable person to do the plumbing for the toilet. He'll be over this weekend to check things out. I'm so excited! We're on our way! While he's there, we're also going to see if he can also do the plumbing in the basement as well for a future full bath.

Things to do now:

• Remove counter top and cabinets in room.
  
• Pull up the linoleum floor.
• Remove the wood paneling on the walls.
• Repaint old door in attic to use for bathroom.
  

Purchase:

• Toilet, sink, tile, putty, primer, paint, fixtures.
  

Future things to do:

• Remove cabinet for dishwasher.
• Buy new stove and relocate fan and cabinets.
• Remove rest of linoleum.
• Have tiles put down.
• Repaint walls.
• Put up ceiling.

This Old House

This Old House magazine and website is great! On their website are step by step instructions on how to do things and they have user friendly website where you can go to exactly what you want to know. They also have great video tutorials on DIY repairs and installations.

Basement Reno

Here are some excellent before and after examples of basements at Absolute Modeling. In particular I like how the stairs are done here since we also have a section of the wall that sticks out where it meets the basement. The only thing that is missing is a railing which I believe you need by code.

1/2 Bath

We have a back room attached to the kitchen that the previous owner added with the intent on putting a 1/2 bath there. It was never realized because they didn't have a big family (not because there are a problem). Since we only have one bathroom, it's necessary to add at least a half bathroom. This will also bring up the value of the house. Since we're working on the kitchen anyway, it only makes sense to do the 1/2 bath as well since we have to pass through the kitchen to get to the bathroom.

Here is some inspiration from HGTV.







Here are 2 floor plan options. We lack a storage closet or pantry in the kitchen and since the room is rather large for a half bath, I'd like to incorporate a closet. Here, the storage closet is inside the bathroom. I was afraid it would look too busy from the kitchen to have so many doors in such a small space.

Here, the storage closet is part of the kitchen. The wall from the kitchen to the storage closet is a load bearing wall, so we don't want to modify it. Also, the light switch to the bathroom would be on the outside.


Just for perks, I looked up some prices to get an idea of what we're looking at. Here's what I came up with.

Product	Brand	Cost
Toilet	Kholer	262
Vessel Sink	Pegasus	335
Vanity		350
Faucet		100
Mirror		100
Side Splash		20/FT
Door		120
Towel Rack		30
TP Holder		23
Bifold Doors	24"x80"	40
Tax/Misc		272
		$1,632

Does anyone have experience with vessel sinks? That's the bowl shaped sinks. They look really nice, but I noticed that a lot of water gets splashed onto the counter top because of it's height. I wonder if that's really practical? How child-friendly is it?

Kitchen Cabinetry

Sources: HGTV, Dupont, Corian, KDA

Keith put this together on Dupont's website. I really like this light colored Corian countertop and the taupe walls. KDA is right near our house and we've been meaning to stop by there. I'll do the same thing as I did with the basement and draft up a floor plan of the kitchen, so we know how many cabinets we need and the size of the counter top.



Photo details:

NAME: Kitchen 12
COUNTERTOP: Corian Rye
ISLAND: Corian Rye

--------------------------------------
Sent using My Color Designer
www.corian.com.

A Family Space

Great Step by Step DIY instructions on framing - Link
Excellent site on Basement Remodeling - Link

Here's something a little more interesting. We would LOVE to finish our basement and we want to do it ourselves! It's a great space for entertaining especially since we do not have an eat in kitchen or a garage for storage. Engineers and contractors have always had this little passive aggressive tug of war. Engineers hold the pen, but contractors do the building. I never wanted someone to say to me that I only sit in an office and design, but don't know how to build, so that's why I want to DIY our basement. I helped do my parents house, so it's not completely foreign to me.

I'm learning a new software (Revit 9.1), so I used the basement as practice. It's easier to learn new programs when you're doing something you enjoy. I have to add this note: This drawing is for personal use only and not meant to be used for construction.



Planning: This is the most important step before doing anything!
First we made a ton of measurements and put them on paper. Note all existing utilities, piping and ductwork. I drafted up the demo drawing of what our basement looks like as of right now and where everything is. Then for fun, I drafted up a new drawing of what I would like it to look like. We still need to go through the process of getting a permit. Who knows if we can even put a bathroom in the basement. That's usually a no no. Also, keep in mind there are certain codes that you have to abide by IE. there has to be a clear path to the water meter so the meter can be read by the water company. There has to be enough room around the heater to get it out if/when it needs to be replaced. Hallways need to be at least 21" wide in case of an emergency. You can find all this information on your local township/borough website as well as IBC.

Materials: I'm going to draft another drawing showing stud placement, ceiling tiles, light fixtures, etc. From that I can estimate the building materials I need for the basement. It's a great way to get a rough cost of this project, so you can budget accordingly.

Here's a really rough 3D model. I'm still learning the program, so it's not as "nice" as my usual work. I still haven't figured out how to do stairs yet. Notice, the 1/2 bath goes through a window. Sadly our water heater is there so we can't put a partition to include the window into the 1/2 bath. We might fill half the window in and replace it with a small window. It would be a shame to lose the window entirely to the storage room. I also thought it would be nice to angle that wall leading to the bathroom, so it isn't so isolated from the living area.



Since I have the plans and estimate down, if I feel overwhelmed with finishing the basement myself, I can contact someone to finish it on a per hour basis.

Little Black Dress

Drapes are to Windows as Dresses are to Women. For a year and half, our naked windows have been staring at me begging me to take them dress shopping I have wanted to, but I don't feel like I can do the windows until the tone of the living room as been set. I know...I feel incredibly guilty because there's a ton of infiltration and heat loss through those windows, which is only jacking up our heating costs, our dependence on oil and working against the environment.

For my birthday last week, we went to Jomar to find some inexpensive fabric for drapes. We didn't walk out of there with anything for drapes, but we did get 20 yards of fabric for sheers. Jomar was having a sale so it was just $1/yard. On average, it can be anywhere from $2-$5/yard for sheer material. Since we have so many windows, we needed at least 30 yards, so every penny counts.

Since we had no luck at Jomar, we hit up the JCPenney Outlet at the Franklin Mills Mall which always has home stuff at really affordable prices. For one panel, drapes can cost around $25-45. For the bedroom, we found these on clearance for $12.99 for 2 panels! We were thrilled! They are similar to my bridesmaids' dresses. It's a gray-blue with a yellow undertone. I think I am going to go back to the store to find yellow/gold sheers to go underneath them which will pick up the colors in our accent pillow.



It's great for the winter, but might be too "heavy" for the summer. In contrast, I had another idea to use sheer material with a dark brown flocked floral pattern on it. It's going to be harder to find material like that though. Since our bed is in front of a window, I wanted to camouflage it a bit by creating a crown and have the fabric drape down like a canopy.



I'm not sure what to do with these walls. I'd like to add sconces.



This wall is really large and I really don't know what to do with it. Sconces would be too small and frames might be awkward with how rectillinear the mirror is.



In that far corner, I'd like to put a tall green plant and a new lamp. I'd like to replace the ceiling fan with a nice chandelier too, but the ceiling fan is actually pretty handy in the summer. There's no need for us to turn on the AC when it's just the two of us in one room.

Little Additions

Install a shower door - DIY here

Replace shower head - DIY here

Every home owner will agree, there's always something to do. The awful thing is when we want to do one thing, we think well, we might as well do this then and it's an awful domino effect. By the summer I was hoping to repaint the bathroom and accessorize, but....

We wanted to add a new shower door onto the bathtub because water tends to escape and in the past has seeped through the floors into the kitchen below. We also wanted to change out the 80s shower head which sprayed water all over place which didn't help the situation. We went to Home Depot to price out the door and it's $369 - more than we expected and intended to shell out right now. This one on their website is $240 and looks exactly the same.



For something nearing $400, we thought we better wait until we could afford to change the tub too. The tub is perfectly fine, but it has those 80s floral non slippy things at the bottom which is wearing away and makes the tub look old when it's not. We're still undecided about that. We could get one of those Bath Fitters things.

So instead we just got the new shower head. It was cheap and easy enough. We just picked one based on look and function. This was $23 at Home Depot. It's easy and screws right on. No installation of any kind. It seems with this new shower head, the water isn't spraying all over the place and onto the floor.




I guess we will look into the finishing the bathroom again after we've finished the kitchen. Honestly, I hate to seal up the bath tub with a shower door because I'd like it to be open for giving bubble baths. I used to give my baby brother baths and the track would just hurt my underarm when I leaned over it, but I think it makes more sense to protect our home from water damage. Also, what if someone collapses in the bathtub and the door gets in the way to get them out. Anyway, that's the engineer in me preparing for the worse case scenario. Decisions decisions?

Caring for your Jade Plant

Our jade plant was looking good in the fall and then suddenly wasn't doing so well lately. I kept watering it thinking perhaps it's dehydrated, but then it began to develop white "stuff" on it and the soil. I read up on it a little more and found that I wasn't supposed to keep watering it in the winter.

During the winter:

• Water once a month.
• Clean white stuff off using a cotton swab soaked in alcohol.
• Pinch off new growth to promote growth elsewhere.
• Low humidity.
• 75 degrees F during the day, 55 degrees F during the night.
• Put it somewhere that's naturally light in the day and dark at night in order for it to flower during the winter.
  

Decorate a Cookie

Let's face it! Married couples aren't doin jack for Valentine's Day! So I am hosting a "Decorate a Cookie or Cupcake" gathering for friends and some of the neighborhood kids. This is a great activity for a bridal shower, the kid's table or even in place of the candy buffet at your wedding reception. For me, it's a great time of the year where you can get your friends together and catch up.


Photo from Martha Stewart

Materials:

1. Lots of large sugar cookies in different shapes and sizes.
2. Icing!
3. Sprinkles!
4. Cellophane bags or small pastry boxes and ribbon.
5. Clorox wipes for the mess afterwards.

Set up stations with the cookies, icing and sprinkles all ready to go. I ordered these icing bottles and tips from Pampered Chef. I am going to make a run to the Dollar Store to see if I can find similar bottles in bulk since so many people will be using them at the same time.



*Tip - I add low-fat Cool Whip to store bought icing. It lowers the calorie count and it makes the icing easier to pipe or spread. Also, for children, use large shaped sprinkles over crystal sugar sprinkles which tend to get sticky and messy real quick when wet. It's also much harder to clean.

Packaging - You can really get creative here with small boxes or a cellophane bag, ribbon and a monogrammed sticker. In the past, I've packaged heart shaped brownes for Keith in pink tissue paper and a pink box.



Happy Sweet Treats!

Ratatouille

Recipe here

I didn't follow a recipe, but the above link is an informative one to follow. After I saw the movie, I wanted to make Ratatouille and was hoping I could use the harvest from my garden. However, my zucchini was finished before the eggplant came out, so I procrastinated. Finally, I decided to take the time to do it today.

Using a round casserole dish, grease the bottom with olive oil. Layer the thinly sliced veggies in the dish.


After I filled the dish with one layer covering the bottom, I seasoned it and did that with each new "layer".


Then I topped with canned tomatoes.


Bake for an hour at 400 degrees.

We ate it with a side of rice a roni and it was delish! The tomato definitely adds taste and tartness to the dish so make sure you don't forget the tomatoes even if you don't have all the other ingredients.

PAD KRAPOW (Thai Chicken Basil Stirfry)

-6 cloves garlic, crushed
-2-4 thai chili peppers (or 1-2 serrano peppers), crushed
-1/4 c cooking oil
-1 1/2 to 2 lbs chicken meat (or tofu), sliced into bite sized pieces
-3 tbsp oyster sauce
-2 tbsp fish sauce
-1 teaspoon sugar

-1 Red Bell Pepper, sliced into thin strips
-2 cups fresh sweet basil leaves
-cilantro (for garnish)
-1 sliced cucumber (to serve on side)

Heat oil in deep pan or wok over high heat until smoking.
Add crushed garlic and chili peppers, stir quickly once and immediately add sliced chicken meat or tofu. Stir.
Add oyster sauce, fish sauce and sugar, and stir fry until chicken is cooked through (or tofu is heated through) about 8 minutes.
Stir in Bell Peppers for 30 seconds and turn heat off.
Add basil leaves, stir, and serve hot with jasmine rice , cucumber and cilantro on the side.