This Morning in the Garden...

Baby Tomatoes!

My cherry tomato plant already has its first veggies growing!  The sweet, yellow, lily-like blooms seemed to transform overnight into these little gems!  My very first produce has appeared!

Downtown Photo shoot

          Downtown Greensboro has always been a place to adventure through, finding the nooks and crannies that you don't always see.  Ellie and I have always loved roaming through the ivy covered buildings to find new spots for imprompt-to photo shoots.  So what better way to spend a beautiful Friday, spring morning than going on a little adventure?

For more of Ellie's Photography: http://vividbyellie.blogspot.com/
For more of My Own: www.hannahfairweather.com

Waiting for Things to Grow...

Garden on the Porch

Planting Day!

          It's that time of year again!  Last year I planted a container garden, but it was more of an experiment to see what would work!  It's already so warm this spring, I thought I'd get a head start. 

         Before I started I scavenged the thrift store to get a few extra planters, and I found a treasure in an old tin with Mucha's artwork on it.  My kitchen is decorated with his posters, so I fell in love with it immediately!  I love using random containers, like vintage tins, old kitchenware and pretty china vases for planting herbs and flowers.  With a layer of pebbles for drainage, they work perfectly!

        This year I'm definitely still learning and bought some seeds for experiments again, but I learned a lot from last year so I'm hoping that this year will be better! I'm so excited to watch my seeds sprout and the flowers bloom!

 Some of this year's Garden:

Herbs: Sweet Mint, Orange Mint, Sweet Basil, Rosemary, Parsley, (seeds) Thyme, Chives, 

Veggies: Cherry Tomatoes, Broccoli, Iceberg Lettuce, Romain Lettuce, Spinach (seeds) Cucumbers, Peppers, Corn, and Snap Peas.

Fruit: Strawberry, Raspberry

Flowers: Snapdragons, Roses

 

TA DA!
Once everything has been planted, cleaned up and watered it all comes together!
Now I'm just waiting for things to grow...

 

 

Pasta Salad

          Since I've lived on my own, I've been trying to learn how to make new dishes, or at least occasionally try, but the one thing that I think I have mastered is the pasta salad (I prefer an oil based recipe).  It's probably one of my favorite things to make, through the entire process. I love going to the grocery store, or during the right season, the farmer's market, and roaming though stands of colorful produce.  

          Browsing over the various options of vegetable varieties, I generally pick ones with the brightest color.  Sometimes my choices in vegetables change depending on if there's a particular craving I have, or a unique vegetable available to try. 

         Making pasta salad is like painting, selecting a palette of veggies, choosing texture in your pasta and adding detail with feta cheese on top! 

This Week's Recipe Ingredients:

-Colorful Spiral Pasta

-Cucumber

-Tomato

-Green Bell Pepper

-Italian Dressing

-Apple Cider Vinegar

-Salt and Pepper

-Feta Cheese

Place 3: Garden City, South Carolina

         As my 3rd place for 2012,  Garden City was the perfect escape for a relaxing, girls weekend.  Still in the off season, the quiet beach and blue grey waves were just what I was in desperate need of.  Driving down after work to meet up with my lovely ladies Jessi and Erin, I could already feel the sand in my hair and a cool glass of wine in my hands.  We spent the weekend doing things that you never seem to have time for once you start growing up, like playing board games, napping during the day on the beach, making homemade tacos, going for a walk to enjoy the wildlife, playing on the rocks, and watching the sun set over the indigo Murrells Inlet.  Enjoying a cup of coffee and playing with a piece of seaglass I found amongst the shards of shells, I watched the palm trees sway from side to side to a melody only the wind could play.  We took the opportunity on Friday night to dress up and go to a nice seafood restaurant, as is precedent during any beach getaway.  It was a perfect weekend to settle the mind and soothe the soul as only girls weekends can do...