Chair to compare

I just found out that UrbanOutfitters sells apt. type furniture. I have always wanted to get Owen a chair (when he is older a bit) like Katie's since it is easy to get climb in and comfy for reading books.
Looky what I found! I LOVE it, but the price tag is $449.

My version and the cost was 20 hours of time to redo the chair and $20 in materials. :) Right now I will keep my eyes open and settle for Katie's!

step one of our garden

We are doing another garden this year and opted to try to start a few things from seed. Mostly because we want Katie (and Owen) to be a part of the process from seed to table. Normally we like to go to the State Farmers Market and buy some plants since they are easier to maintain and we love buying from the farmers. But we are trying our hand at our own this year. (we tried from seed two years ago and it pretty much failed so there is always the chance we will go to the Farmer's Market anyway, later on down the road. :)

And as you see, Katie also had some input into getting some other seeds...'princess' flowers! (the above photo) Katie and Daddy's date was to grow some flowers-so they are maintaining the mini flower greenhouse as well as the veggies.

Saturday morning we planted our seeds in a mock greenhouse. When I say we, if truth be told it was mostly daddy planting. :)

A few of the veggies that came in the starter kit. We are excited for everything to begin to germinate.
*Katie and I just checked and we already have flowers, lettuce and a bean coming up!
More updates soon.

A How To...

 

I was chatting with my sister and said that I was going to post a brief "how to plant a planter"...so here goes.

Here is one of our planters on the back porch, we have two. We planted them two weeks ago.

1. Grab a planter and fill with good soil leaving 1/3 unfilled to fill in after plants are in planter. I also placed a few packing peanuts in the bottom so that it drained better.

2. Pick out a large geramium for the center-ours was soft light pink.

3. Pick out a cordinating color hanging basket-ours has million bells (mini petunias) and snow storm. (fyi-this was large enough to be used in two planters, we split it into fourths)-light pink and white.

4. Pick out a cordinating large petunia-ours was yellow.

5. Pick out a cordinating Verbina-ours was dark pink.

6. Carefully split the hanging basket contents into fourths

7. Place the geramin in the center, surrounded by the verbina, hanging plants, Petunia, hanging plants.

8. Fill in the spaces where soil is needed, leaving an inch of space so that when watering the water does not spill the soil over the sides.

9. Keep watered...once maybe twice a day depending upon the temps.

10. Sit back and enjoy your FULL planter all summer!

Cost-We normally plant two planters and it costs about $30. I have tried to buy smaller plants and "wait" until they fill in and they normally do. But by buying smaller plants I only save about $8-10...I decided I would rather have two full planters to enjoy the whole summer then a bunch that never quite look great, that straggle along and are wimpy.
Thats my how to post... :) Hope everyone loves flowers as much as I do. They bring an encouragement, a joy, a softness to my heart and home.