Garden Makeover & St. Patty's Day

My favorite holiday has always been St. Patrick's Day. I love the history of it, the food and the celebration. This year we lucked out with great weather. 

Chris' friend is in town and had never been to Annapolis! We couldn't have asked for a better day to show it off. 

We ate lunch at Pussers, out on their deck. Crabcakes, Oysters on the half shell, Maryland Crab Soup and Oyster shooters...YUM! These little ducks loved the crumbs we threw them.

We swung by McGarvey's for a green beer and headed up to Baltimore for the evening.

Sunday, we attempted to salvage the disaster that was our back yard. Our neighbors had their roof redone this year and the roofers kindly threw all of their waste off of the neighbor's roof and into our back yard. My housemate had removed all of that debris, but in the midst of that chaos, she discovered that terrible awful harbor rats had invaded our garden. She set out poison for them, but they left quite the mess. Check out the damage below!

I don't know about you, but in my mind, rats are probably the most disgusting, vile creatures that have ever existed. The thought of them rooting around my plants, in my living space, totally freaks me out. 

Chris and I made a Home Depot run and got to work. First, we salvaged a couple plants that had hung on through the winter, transplanting them into pots temporarily. 

Then, we emptied a ton of dirt from the raised bed and  replaced it with fresh soil, filling in all of the tunnels that the rats left behind.  

We planted dahlias, viola pansies, snap dragons, moon flowers, and morning glories and replanted the lavender we had transplanted. 

We also put out some strongly scented powder that supposedly is safe for plants but deters rodents. It contains bobcat urine...YUM!! 

(ugh, if I never have to deal with rats ever again, I will be very happy! I didn't even have to see the one that the poison killed! My housemate's boyfriend had to finish it off because it wasn't all the way dead, SOSOSOSO GROSSSSSSSSS)

Here's the after picture. Please ignore the wire going across the top of the picture! That was one of the presents we received from the neighbors' roofers. Chris climbed onto our roof though and was able to move it back where it belonged.

In the pots, we trimmed some herbs that survived the winter and planted a tomato plant. Chris surprised me with the hanging flower bed :) I love it! We filled it with violas and I'm hoping they end up growing over the edge and hanging. 

We planted some tulips in pots as well. I'm too impatient to wait for summer for blooms! Spring bloomers are necessary!

I was thrilled to see that my gerbera daisies are coming back this year. Luckily, we had such a mild winter! I really hope they make it. Next to hibiscus flowers, they are my favorite. They are just so bright and vibrant when they bloom!

Chris' hanging basket.

I started some more herbs and veggies from seeds, inside. Once they sprout, I'll bring them outside as well. 


What are you planting this season? Do you garden? If you don't, but would like to, what would you plant?

Monday without Diet Coke

Good news, I'm still alive.

I know you were worried.

My lack of attention comes from the fact that we're nearing the end of the worst month ever invented. February has been worse than normal just because despite the constant gray we haven't even had a good snow. This yo-yo ing between 60 degrees with rain and 40 degrees with sun is quite capricious. Mother Nature - get your act together, you're toying with my emotions. No one likes a tease.

However, by the end of the week, annual awful will have ended and I can get back to sorts.

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon with all of my sisters. We celebrated the youngest's birthday with lunch, mani/pedis and some new jewelry for her.

She's 15 and it is VERY STRANGE. I left for college when she was 8 years old and now she's most definitely a teenager. It's hard to start treating her as more of an adult - I just barely started seeing my 19 year old sister as an adult! But, her life is full of boys, cell phones, parties and new clothes so I'm pretty sure it's time I get over it and let her be as old as she is. This was the first year I had to check her schedule before I planned her birthday festivities. 

So Weird

As far as life without diet coke, I hate to admit this, but I think I actually am starting to survive without it.  

Wednesday was bad, headaches and shaking hands. 

Thursday was crippling. 

Friday the headache didn't kick in until noon. 

Saturday it didn't kick in until 4pm. 

Yesterday, no headache just exhaustion. 

Today, going good so far! 

I think I'm beating this thing!

Anyways, here are some pretty and happy things to help you survive the last few days of the most terrible month.

Since we've had a serious lack of snow this year, I thought I'd share a snowy paradise, straight out of a fairy tale.

Source: flickr.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

When I went to Germany, we visited the Neuschwanstein Castle. It's the castle the Disney castle was modeled after and is very bizarre.  When you visit it, you feel like you're visiting a museum - everything is ornate and over the top. 

It was built in the late 1800s by King Ludwig II of Bavaria - at the same time the first skyscrapers were being built in America . He was a huge fan of music and theater and adored Wagner. His castle celebrates his love of art and he apparently had elaborate sleighs built so that he could travel around the countryside in historic attire.  It struck me as strange that such an old fashioned building decorated lavishly was built so recently. 

The location is gorgeous though and the castle really is magnificent.

I'm hoping spring is just around the corner. As such, I'm planning my garden for this season. One of the problems I've encountered with planting seeds is I always forget what I've put where.

Source: shineyourlightblog.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

I saw this idea on pinterest and can't wait to try it. We have plenty of corks at my house and I think this looks so much nicer than seed packets that get bleached and torn in the elements.

Finally, Easter is coming very quickly. I'm really excited to try Martha Stewart's spin on traditional Easter Eggs. These eggs are so sparkly and I think they will be really fun to make!

Source: marthastewart.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

Happy Valentine's Day

In honor of the holiday, I thought I'd share a bit of one of my favorite poems. 

While I Was Away...

How was your holiday? I spent lots of time with my sisters and was lucky enough to have my friend and boyfriend join us for Christmas.  



I wish I had taken pictures of Christmas dinner. We sampled homemade hummus and crab & cucumber canapes before the meal. My dad made beef bourguinon, and we served it with chickpea fritters and roasted fingerling potatoes.  My mom had made her famous caesar salad and we never even got to it. It was a feast for 20 rather than the 8 we had!

I didn't take many pictures on Christmas, but it seems that my sisters found my phone. I glanced at it and found this lovely shot as my background. 

Got them back by sharing this flattering photo with the world!

 Kath and I made some fun holiday crafts. 

Vivi Kitty especially loved the sparkly ornaments!

                             

Chris and I took advantage of the gorgeous weather on our day off, Monday. We wandered down to the harbor for a bit. 

I didn't edit this photo at all, isn't the sky gorgeous! 

 Later in the afternoon, we made our way over to Ft. McHenry for a picnic.


Lucien, the wine director at the Wine Market (where I used to work) recommended a delicious Cabernet/Sangiovese blend for us to enjoy with our prosciutto and mozz snack. 

Chris came up with a creative  bottle holder. I forgot to bring glasses for us, so we opted for the sip sip pass method. Super classy. 

I thought the weather was relatively mild, but I didn't take into account that I had positioned Chris to block the wind. As soon as we stood up to leave, I started violently shivering. The poor guy didn't say a word about how cold he must have been the whole time! He claims that it was "a little chilly." There I was, loving that it was almost warm with the wind blocked and the sun shining on me and he was taking the brunt of the cold!

We had a great date day. Sometimes you just need a low key lazy day. We made a tasty dinner of Chilean sea bass and I successfully passed the test of cooking seafood for Chris! He's a pretty avid fisher and although I'm a pretty good cook, I was terrified of bumbling it!


One of the things my family discussed at our Christmas dinner were our best and worst moments of 2011. Last year I worked two jobs so that I could go to Bali. It was something that I really looked forward to, and with such high expectations, it could easily have let me down. Luckily, everything went beautifully. I had so much fun and got to spend time with great people. The worst moment of 2011, probably was when I broke my foot two weeks before the trip. Once again though, everything worked out really well. I was able to put weight on the foot and crutches became optional the day I left. The only things I couldn't do while I was there, were volcano hiking and surfing. 


All in all though, it's been a great year. I've made some major life changes and feel as if things are going in the right direction. Things got a bit hectic when I added school onto the two jobs, but I went back to just one job and life has calmed down significantly!


If you had to sum up your year in two sentences, best and worst moments of 2011, what would you say? I'd love to hear what your best and worst moments were.

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

“I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.” - William Penn

This weekend, Chris and I met in the middle of NYC and Baltimore in Philadelphia. We walked all over the city and checked out the National Constitution Center, Independence Hall, and the Liberty Bell, just to name a few. 

Display in the museum housing the Liberty Bell. 

National Constitution Center

Independence Hall

The Liberty Bell

The tree in Rittenhouse Square

Funky art house on South Street

We couldn't leave South Street without pizza from Lorenzo's!

If you've ever been to Philly, you've likely been to Lorenzo's. They offer pizza by the slice and toppings aren't an option. The slices are bigger than my head (literally) so Chris and I split one. 

Penn Station- Philly

It's funny, I always seem to be coming or going from Penn Station. It's either Baltimore's Penn Station, New York's Penn Station or now Philly's Penn Station. Chris met me by the Christmas tree when I got into town. Isn't the tree beautiful? You can tell how high the ceilings are with the tree as reference. The tree was at least 15ft tall if not taller! 

Sal and Jo were generous enough to host us this weekend. Sal welcomed us with pumpkin beer and snacks. 

Chris told me that he had a Christmas surprise for me a month or two ago. Obviously, I was dying to know what it was! He told me to bring a dress, but wouldn't give me any clues as to what type of dress other than "a nice one".

Hmmm...what type of "nice" dress would you bring? 

Whenever I asked him what we'd be doing, he said we were going jetskiing. 

Haha, very funny. 

 Needless to say, I brought three dresses. 

Finally, on Friday after we got into town, after much pestering on my part, he told me where he was taking me! 

Luckily, I had brought an appropriate dress!

We went to dinner at a cozy Italian restaurant, La Viola, and then went to one of the most beautiful concert halls I've ever seen. It even began to snow on our way there! 

The Kimmel Center hosts "The Glorious Sound of Christmas" each year, where the Philadelphia Orchestra performs with a choir. They played traditional Christmas carols, Tchaikovsky, Handel, and even did a jazzy interpretation by Duke Ellington of a piece of the Nutcracker. It was incredible. The acoustics in the performance hall were phenomenal. 

 Santa made a trip down from the North Pole to conduct a portion of the event and a local newscaster read the Night Before Christmas. 

I adore Christmas music and they performed all of my favorites. 

I loved every second of it. Christmas is such a great time of year and this event really put me in the holiday mood! We had amazing seats and the music was done so well. 

This is the view from our seats of the audience behind us.
The hall was magnificent. 

I was so excited when Chris told me his parents were going to meet us. We had such a great evening with them! 

Isn't he handsome?

I didn't have a mirror to see behind me when I was doing my hair,
so I made Chris take a picture so I could see if I needed to fix any of it.
Worked like a charm! (He thought I had completely lost my mind!) 

Santa!

We also got to meet up with some friends from our Bali adventure while we were there. I was completely surprised by my holiday weekend and had a wonderful time. Chris definitely spoiled me! 

What do you like to do to get in the holiday mood? Do you have a lot of annual traditions or do you like to find new events to attend every year? I'd love to hear about how your family celebrates! 

I hope you all are enjoying your holiday preparations! Back to studying for me. One Accounting final to pass tomorrow night and then I can relax for a bit. 

Happy Holidays!!