garden – emerald city diaries

highlights of 2013.

happy 2014!

i’ve said it before, & i’ll say it again!, yearly recaps are always my favorite kinds of blog posts. its a small way to sum up your year & to see how much the last 365 days have brought. as i look forward to the New Year, i am humbled & grateful by all of the wondrous events of 2013. here’s the rundown of ours:

january: I started out the new year with a bout of the flu. we hosted our first blog giveaway! we installed the west elm hanging capiz chandelier over our dining room table. I framed my diy polaroids for our bedroom walls. amanda & I met john & sherry from young house love during their book signing tour! I diy-ed campaign dressers for our bedroom.

february: I did lots of diy-ing for valentine’s day {here, here, & here} I celebrated my birthday! we bought a kitchen island. I tried to be better about getting in front of the camera!

march: I tried my hand at painting an antler {& was so impressed with the results!}. we took my 91-year-old grandmother to target for the first time! amanda & I diy-ed framed house keys on maps. we sold jez the jetta & bought a new car.

april: we updated our bathroom vanity with a converted antique sideboard. we updated the closet doors by stripping off the old paint in a crock pot. we celebrated our one year anniversary in our house & I reviewed all of the house diys!

may: we finally got some good weather in seattle! I painted the ceiling & hallway walls. we celebrated aaron’s thirtieth birthday with a beer tasting party! we had a fun-filled memorial day weekend. we were featured in west elm’s blog front & main.

june: aaron replaced our toilet. sadie was featured in the seattle dog spot blog. my parents visited for a long weekend en route to the olympic peninsula. my diy his & hers maps were featured. we finally got some summer weather!

july: we celebrated the long Fourth of July weekend with a holiday parade, fireworks, & time with friends. I made a nine layer ombre cake! we replaced our kitchen track lights with globe pendants from west elm. we road-tripped to idaho for my ten-year high school reunion. we started growing our first eggplant.

august: we celebrated our three year wedding anniversary. the blog got a Liebster Award Nomination. I diy-ed the tiniest baby hats for our friends’ new baby. we road-tripped to hood river, oregon to celebrate my cousin’s wedding.

september: we went to the husky vs. bronco game to kick-off labor day weekend complete with husky-style tailgating {via boat}. we took advantage of the warm weather & cleaned up the front yard with a fun game called love it or lose it. we celebrated sadie’s ninth birthday! I attended the Alt Summit for Everyone blog conference.

october: I attempted to start doing fashion posts again. we celebrated our two year blog anniversary at emerald city diaries! I finished up with the #embracethecamera challenge. we went to the pumpkin patch & carved pumpkins with friends.

november: aaron joined a team for movember 2013. we snuck off to hawaii for thanksgiving.

december: I reviewed some of my favorite weekend in pictures pics. I participated in A Pinterest Christmas for the third year {see this year’s projects here, here, here, here, & here}! we celebrated Christmas in indiana with aaron’s family.

reflecting back on this year, i am reminded how blessed we are & also how different this year has been than the year previous. it has been such a wonderful year & ringing in a new one is a bit bittersweet.

how was your 2013 – was it a year to remember, or are you itching to start 2014 already?

see past yearly highlights for 2011 & 2012.

my weekend in pictures.

{kicked off the weekend with a mani!}

{triple date night at the one day’s wages charity gala on friday night with these ladies.}

{saw captain phillips on saturday night with my mom & grandmother. best movie I have seen in a very long time – definitely recommend!}

{I love this time of year – christmas catalogs!}

{I planted some spring bulbs in the front yard sunday morning while aaron did a little raking. we are pretending to be good homeowners.}

{pumpkin carving with friends on sunday afternoon!}

{aaron, sadie, & jaz playing. it was the sweetest!}

{we have broken out all of our winter gear as our house is already freezing. thank goodness for the genius who invented cashmere pants.}

my mom was in town this weekend & aaron was back east on a business trip so everything seemed a little crazy. crazy, but good! we had an awesome weekend spending time with friends & family which was much-needed. it makes me excited for the holidays coming up & to take some time with loved ones who we don’t get to see every day.

also, a huge shout-out & congratulations to our cousin kendra & her family on the new addition! love you guys!

how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{on friday there was a car show at work. i absolutely adore old porsches. someday!}

{a co-worker of aaron’s gave sadie a treat on friday afternoon. sadie didn’t put it down until she conquered it!}

{no real weekend plans meant back-to-back nights of redbox. now you see me we watched with ben; it was okay & definitely a rental. world war z was good, surprisingly good, though it would have been way too scary for me to see on a big screen. it was my first zombie movie & probably my last. yep, i am a baby when it comes to scary movies. it was more intense than scary, but there were still zombies.}

{we finally harvested our eggplant & plan to enjoy the fruits of our labor in a homemade eggplant parmesan later in the week.}

{for as much technology as we have access to we still mow the lawn old-school.}

{chinese take-out for dinner. not something we do very often, but so delish!}

{the sunset was phenomenal on saturday evening. it is crazy getting used to the dark so much earlier this time of year, but the sunsets are worth it!}

{quick run to get molly moon’s ice cream & beer before movie night.}

{sunday morning i was up bright & early to get my lift, tone, burn on at pure barre. i was sad to hear the alarm go off & not get to sleep in, but it was worth it. well, ask me tomorrow.}

{sunday morning brunch with aaron at the local sunlight café. the huevos rancheros were awesome!}

{traffic was so, so bad this weekend & a local bridge closure forced us onto i-5 for a bit which we normally avoid at all costs. no fun.}

{sunday night movie. we saw don jon. it was terrible. don’t go see it.}

we ended up with an absolutely gorgeous fall weekend. as much as i appreciate the sunny weather, our local meterologists should really find alternative work as they kept threatening rain storms that never transpired. we didn’t have any real plans this weekend which meant we got a few things done this weekend – like some much-needed yard work – plus just some down time to enjoy the house & doing nothing. it was wonderful. how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{saw 2 guns on friday night – not too bad. i have found the best way to enjoy movies is to have low expectations!}

{yep, there was painting this weekend. i finally finished up the inside of the windows that we had put off since winter.}

{our CSA is out of control – anyone need any veggies?}

{aaron buying a flat of berries at the woodinville farmers market.}

{we met amanda, george, & madeleine at the celebrate woodinville festival saturday afternoon. there was a basset hound get-together. & baby basset hounds!}

{yep, he is dressed up like a detective.}

{madeleine was really fond of sadie.i thiink they will be great friends in the future!}

{being lazy means getting dinner in a bag.}

{saturday night was family movie night. aaron was there too but sadie & i were likely hogging most of the couch.}

{we brunched with our friends cale & jessica, introducing them to serious biscuit in south lake union. delish!}

{aaron was making faces at me thru the bathroom window. i was painting the inside frame & he was prepping the outside for paint.}

{holy baby eggplant!}

we had a fun weekend with just a few plans with friends which gave us some time to sleep in & get a few things done around the house – the best kind of weekend! i am in denile that we are quickly approaching mid-august, but have been loving the amazing summer weather we have had in seattle. this is the best summer i remember having in years! it’s lovely. how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{finally signed up for birch box – thanks for the idea kendra!}

{pre-saled the nordstrom anniversary sale!}

{aaron & i finally started watching game of thrones & now we are obsessed!}

{my sister gave us an eggplant plant last week. i am pretty sure those little purple flowers are eggplants-in-the-making.}

{this week’s csa haul – anyone want some produce?}

{nordstrom anniversary sale round two!}

{sadie decided she wanted to drive this weekend instead of being a passenger.}

{a fierce game of spite & malice with my mom & grandmother on saturday night.}

{i am obsessed with blackberries & so glad i can find ones that are locally grown.}

{we got new bulbs for our kitchen pendant lights & they look SO much better! um, but LED bulbs are so expensive. seriously. #theybetterreallylastfor13years}

{one of my very best friends meg was in town this weekend & we got to catch up this evening over dinner & some chatting. meg, we have come a long way in 16 years! #bffssinceweweretwelve love you!}

we had a fun weekend with my mom & meg in town. the weather has been perfect here – not too hot & not too cold – which is a reprieve from the hot, hot we had in boise last week. time is flying so fast & i can’t believe it is the end of july already, where did the time go? how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{the water cans at work were inspirational on friday.}

{we attended a friend’s 30th birthday bash with our friend andy. there was a photobooth with lips & mustaches.}

{& apparently also bunny ears.}

{we had a wonderful morning breakfast at one of our favorite spots – portage bay café – with a couple old friends!}

{my friend mary & i tried our hand at baking french macarons on saturday night. they were a success!}

{started a little spring cleaning with the closets this weekend.}

{remember our budding bulbs from two weeks ago here? well these are they! yay for spring bulbs in early march.}

{this little gal spent the entire day sunning herself in the front window. it was a gorgeous crisp, sunny day in the emerald city!}

{dinner & a movie with my grandmother. we finally saw argo & though i was worried it wouldn’t live up to the hype, it was so, so good!}

we had a good but busy weekend. we caught up with some old friends & got a few new projects planned for the house. it was wonderful to have a sunny sunday to enjoy which i started with some much-needed vinyasa flow yoga (from which i will be very sore tomorrow!) & ended in the company of my wonderful husband & grandmother – can’t beat that! how was your weekend?

my long weekend in pictures.

{ben, sarah, sam, diane, cal, aaron & i went wine tasting in woodinville on saturday.}

{posing with the pig at project v – a vodka distillery.}

{we stopped at woodinville’s warehouse district where many of the vineyards in eastern washington set up tasting rooms. there were lots!}

{190 proof vodka. i was more interested in that beautiful demi john it was in.}

{the moon was awesome this weekend. this was taken saturday night.}

{we have grapes growing over the fence from the neighbor’s yard.}

{we are bird-sitting this week for ben & sarah. welcome hamachi & azul!}

{sadie surveying while aaron & i did some yard work on sunday.}

{another free giveaway on craigslist. we use craigslist to get rid of so much: cardboard boxes, old TVs, old furniture, etc. this is also a hint for a post later this week.}

{a dessert smorgasbord from menchie’s at the u village.}

{aaron is embracing the trend of fascinators.}

{aaron installed a dual-flush handle on our toilet this weekend. i hope this helps keep our water bill low!}

{i got some framed pictures ready to go for my desk at work: an instagram of sadie, & aaron & me at a wedding this summer.}

{yummy chocolate from theo’s.}

{chocolate covered fortune cookie? yes, please? also, i am taking that fortune as a sign that i need to get back into some crafting projects that are on the back-burner.}

{yummy dinner at snappy dragon to start the week. we sat at the jiao zi bar & enjoyed lots of yummy dumplings.}

we had a lot on our plates this weekend & are thankful it was a long one! aaron’s parents were here until sunday morning & there was so much to do in the yard & around the house. i am bummed that the weekend is already over (it was so nice to sleep in & hang out with aaron & sadie), but the forecast is shaping up to give us at least another week of summer-like weather, so i can’t complain too much. how was your long weekend?

pinspiration: wine box garden.

this is a bit of a belated post, especially since it was completed back in may!, but better late than never, right?

as soon as we moved into our house i knew i wanted some kind of a garden. since i didn’t want to take on too much (like building raised garden beds), a small herb garden seemed fitting for our first garden. especially since i am not exactly known for having a green thumb.

almost as soon as i pinned this idea on pinterest, my friend amanda commented that she had two wine boxes that would be perfect for the project. i knew it was meant to be!

{the original tutorial link: diy wine box vegetable garden.}

supplies:

wine box(es)
dirt
seeds or plants
drill for making draining holes
1×2 & screws if you want legs
cork, sharpie, & bamboo skewer if you want to make signs

the wine boxes that amanda gave me were gorgeous. they were high quality & already had the dividers inside. my dad added the wooden legs by screwing on pieces of a 1×2 (i think) & then snapping off the end of the top screw so that i wouldn’t cut myself when i was planting. my mom drilled a couple of drainage holes in each section as well.

my mom & i decided the best place to put the garden boxes was over on the side yard (east of the house). here, it would get sun & rain, but not be in the way (like they would have been on the porch, which was the original spot for them).

we filled the boxes up with dirt, & then planted seeds for basil & baby greens, & plants for thyme & chives. we also added a rosemary plant in a separate planter as it was too big for the wine box.

i had some corks lying around from our wedding (we used them in our centerpieces & in the bulletin board my mom made for our seating chart) & we used those for marking the different herbs. i used a (purple) sharpie marker to write what the name of the herb was, & then we stuck the cork onto a bamboo skewer, & then stuck the skewer into the dirt near the plant.

{left box from l to r: thyme plant, basil seeds, chive plants. right box: baby greens seeds.}

it has been really fun to have our own herb garden & be able to use the herbs in our cooking. it is so much cheaper to grow an herb plant than to buy the cut herbs at the store. i think next year i will also add parsley to the mix.