Home-grown salad, anyone?

We definitely have made progress with the garden since the last time I showed you pictures a few weeks ago. The top picture shows the area in the back yard (staked with the tiki torches before we went out and got real tent stakes) where we plan to have most of the veggies.  The middle picture shows where we have some sunflowers planted (that will hopefully yield some awesome photography - wink wink) along with some other flowers. The bottom picture shows our planter full of mesclun salad greens. I know "mesclun" sounds weird, but it's actually pretty tasty. 

We have a separate area over on the side of the house where we are growing several different herbs like basil, sage, parsley, etc but I forgot to take a picture of that. They are doing well though. 

Let's hope that our veggies make it in the soil up here.  There's a lot of clay in the soil. Right now it's just kind of a "wait and see" scenario so let's hope it's not a bust. I'm ready for some home-grown tomatoes to go with my salad mix!

One day when I have a beach house

  I will have one of these chairs to go in it (or out on the deck).  The only thing is that it costs about $500. But then again, I guess if I have a beach house then I'm not too worried about a hanging chair that costs that much, huh? Yeah. Probably not. 

Photo courtesy of Anthropologie. That website makes me drool sometimes.

A Kentucky Derby Promise to my Best Friend

A few years ago (circa 2005) my friend Shannon and I talked about our wish list for the future. We had both just gotten married (hence the picture) and we had big eyes for the future -- a "bucket list," if you will, before we knew what one was. On the list we talked about going to the Kentucky Derby together "some day" and wearing big hats, being classy, drinking mint juleps and the whole nine yards. Little did we know that several years later I would actually end up living in Cincinnati (fairly close to Churchill Downs) and we could turn this little dream into reality.
Now of course I don't have tickets this year (because obviously I'd be getting ready right now instead of typing this blog) but Tim and I don't plan on moving any time soon and I think next year we should definitely check this one off the list -- what do you say Shannon?  I'm in if you are!

And if you're like me and aren't going to the Derby today, you can still watch it on NBC tonight and drink a homemade mint julep to celebrate. Here is info on the original mint julep straight from the Kentucky Derby website itself! Enjoy!

"Controversy rages over the minutiae of a proper julep -- chipped or shaved ice, crystalline or boiled sugar -- but julep purists agree that a real mint julep must be served in a frosted silver julep glass. And, of course, made with the finest Kentucky bourbon. Moonlight and magnolias are optional. 

The Grade II Early Times Mint Julep Stakes on May 24 at Churchill Downs is sponsored by Early Times, the time-honored ingredient in mixing an authentic mint julep. If the Early Times Mint Julep Ready-to-Serve Cocktail is not available from your local retailer, you can make your own with this recipe: 

Early Times Mint Julep

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• Sprigs of fresh mint
• Crushed ice
• Early Times Kentucky Whiskey
• Silver Julep Cups

Make a simple syrup by boiling sugar and water together for five minutes. Cool and place in a covered container with six or eight sprigs of fresh mint, then refrigerate overnight. Make one julep at a time by filling a julep cup with crushed ice, adding one tablespoon mint syrup and two ounces of Early Times Kentucky Whiskey. Stir rapidly with a spoon to frost the outside of the cup. Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint."