MY VEGGIES ARE HERE!!!!

I’m not sure if I told you peeps about the CSA box I decided to order or not.  I could check my old blog posts, but that would be waaaay too much effort.

So, here’s the deal, I decided to order a CSA box!  CSA is Community Supported Agriculture…basically you sign up to receive a box (you can pick the size) of various produce items (you can pick your favorites) to be delivered to you on a regular basis (you pick how often).

SQUEEE!!!!!

Jonathan and I decided on a mix of fruits & veggies to come once every 2 weeks.  We told the service about our dislike for beets, mushrooms, and lima beans, and they don’t ever add those icky things to our box.  The items that they add are whatever happens to be in season from local farms.

I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to see vegetables in my life!

Our first box contained:

3 oranges

1 cantaloupe

1 small box strawberries

2 avocados 

5 tomatoes

5 sweet gypsy peppers (excited to try these!)

6 carrots 

10 baby gold potatoes

1 head of romaine

 

Before you get too excited, it does cost a bit more than grocery store produce.  We paid $25 for these local organic fresh goodies to be delivered.  Worth. It.  Especially for us city folk.

Check out Yelp! to find one in your area.

Do you have a CSA box?  How do you squeeze fruits and vegetables into your meals?

-Mads

Wish List

The holidays have come and gone.  Next up is Valentine’s Day, but I don’t know anyone who does a gift exchange for the occasion.  In any case, here comes the 10 month stretch of no gifts (excluding birthdays).  Tis time to treat yourself to something special.

My wishlist:

A plain ole meat tenderizer.

There is some debate on the utility of meat tenderizers, but I love me some flat chicken.  I hate chewing my way through 2 inch thick chicken breasts.  The end.

Lush shampoo bars.

These smell gorgeous, use real organic ingredients, and last forever.  I really can’t say enough good things about Lush products.  Find a store immediately and ask the salespeople to demonstrate their products.

Basil.

I need some full-grown basil in my herb planters.  Stat!

How I Met Your Mother: Season 6

How I Met Your Mother is obviously one of the best shows on TV.  If you don’t believe me, just watch seasons 1 through 6 and then get back to me.  I need the sixth season.  The sooner the better.

A new Prius.

Obviously a new car would be helpful.  Anyone want to buy me a Prius?  Seriously though, gas expenses are killing me!  I work 50 minutes away from home and my 10 year old Isuzu Rodeo only gets 18 miles to the gallon.  With gas at $3.43, you can do the math on how much of my salary goes to the pump.  Woof.

I may or may not have revealed how much of a hippie I am in this post.  I am a sick hybrid between hippie and yuppie.  You shouldn’t be friends with me and you certainly shouldn’t be reading this blog.

What’s on your “it isn’t a holiday, but damn it’s time to buy myself some stuff” wish list?

-Mads

Manly things

I’ve posted before about “Buck Jobs” and “Doe Jobs”.  Truly, I believe there are very few household jobs I can’t do.  That being said, there are plenty of jobs I won’t do when a man is present.

You might think that makes me lazy, sexist, and old-fashioned.  Maybe it does.  But I think it leaves room for me to get my groove on to things I love doing around the house (cleaning with 409, cooking, working on the budget, etc.)

Some of the “Buck Jobs” at our house:

-Yard work (if we had a yard)

-Killing bugs (I have been known to slaughter whole hoards of bugs on my own.  Remember when my bedroom was infested with box elders?  Yeah.  Not fun.  But I would rather Jonathan takes care of this, lest one takes to leaping onto my face and poisoning me with venom.)

-Grilling

-Car things

-Taxes and diversifying my account portfolio (Jonathan doesn’t know this is coming when we get married.  muahahaha)

-Fixing electronics

-Building things with tools

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Which brings me to Jonathan’s latest adventure…he built a sod box for Josie’s business!!!  (Feel free to check out Jonathan’s newish blog for the step-by-step.)

 

Right before she piddled!!! How exciting for all of you to see!

I’m so proud of him!  He went to Home Depot and the hardware store.  He used wood glue, a drill, and screws.  He even remembered to buy a plastic liner so it won’t leak all over our patio floor.  Not only that, but the dog is actually using it!!!

Incredible.

This is going to be sooo nice at 5:45am in the morning.

If you were wondering, yes, pugs are the most cat-like breed of dogs.  So there.

What crazy things have you done to spoil your pets lately?

-Mads

Replanting our little herbs

Awhile back I posted about my new baby herb…well friends, that petite sprout is now a whole jungle of sprouts!  (btw–the first set of herbs died due to overwatering, so this is my second attempt)

Notice the new netting for Josie? Yeah, that's Jonathan's masterpiece.

It was finally time (or maybe a little past due) to replant those little pellets from the Home Depot “greenhouse” to something more appropriate.

We found these window boxes at Home Depot:

I didn’t like the look of them at all at first, but they have blended in really well with our other balcony decor.  Although, now that I see them online, I realize they only have 1 out of 5 star reviewed haha.  We’ll see how long they survive.

They aren't the most sturdy things, but they were easy to install (says Jon...this is so not a "Doe Job")

Replanting was very easy.

How to replant Jiffy herb pellets:

1) Two big window boxes were just barely big enough to house our 25 pellets.  Make sure you have enough room!

2)Fill window boxes with dirt.  1 cubic foot of soil was perfect.

3) Take the netting off of the pellets.

4) Dig holes deep enough for each of your pellets to fit in.

5) Set pellet in the hole and gently pat soil around the pellet.

6) Water the whole thing.

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Here’s to hoping these puppies survive!  I’m really jonesin’ for some truly homemade pesto.

What projects have been on your list lately?  Do you have “Doe Jobs” and “Buck Jobs”??

-Mads

Baby Sprout!

Ladies and gentlemen…

I HAVE A PETITE BABY HERB SPROUT!!!

I don’t know if you remember last week when I gave away an herb growing kit, well I also bought one for myself.  Most plants wilt at the sight of me, so this adventure is pretty much in vain.  I will never actually be able to eat any of these herbs I am attempting to grow.

That is what I will continue to tell myself until proven wrong, in order not to jinx things.

In the meantime, I have an adorable petite baby herb sprout!

Don’t you just want to *squeeze* him?

And look, look!!!  He has an even more petite family of baby herb sprouts.

Awww.  I’m pretty sure this means that I’m a parent now.

*sigh* They grow up so fast.

-Mads

p.s. Have you ever grown anything?  What’s your secret to keeping plants/animals/small children alive?