Snapshots: Catching Up

I realized today as I was sifting through phone photos that I'm waaaaaaay behind on sharing these moments on the blog.  We've had a pretty eventful Spring so far and I definitely want to make sure and document it!  I'm still busy working away on the house (that never really ends, huh?), Hope is wrapping up the end of her school year, Johnny is busy organizing a huge multi-band event that's almost here (this Saturday!), and Poesy has just learned to go underwater in the bathtub and is OBSESSED with the idea of going swimming.  Seriously, she had the biggest meltdown on Friday morning because she was convinced someone told her we were going swimming.  It was so sad.  And really cute.  I live in a house full extremely passionate people and I love it.

I'm off to tackle projects, but I just wanted to pop in and say hello.  I hope you all have THE LOVELIEST Monday.  xo.

My New Garden

It's that time of year again... the time where I become completely obsessed with and consumed by growing things.  We had garden boxes already waiting for us when we moved into our last house, which spawned my love for growing fruits and veggies, but this year I'm starting from complete scratch.  I don't mind, though.  It gives me a chance to really assess what I want from my raised beds and maybe streamline things a little better.  Here's a glimpse at where we started:


Our backyard has a lot of gravel to create extra parking spots in the back.  My initial plan for this space was to rake out the gravel and plant grass to create more yard, but once I got a feel for where the sun hits our house throughout the day, this became the perfect space for the garden.  Plus, I don't even have to bother with the tedious task of getting rid of all these rocks.  Whew.

Johnny's definitely a trooper when it comes to stuff like this.  He built the boxes, sourced my dirt, and then shoveled it in for me.  #keeper


Here is where the garden actually started coming together.  I got my seeds and baby plants into the ground as soon as the boxes were ready.  There is a chance we'll be adding one more raised bed, but these 6ft x 7ft boxes are doing a good job at holding quite a few plants!


Now that my peas and beans have fully sprouted, we're working on building a trellis for vertical gardening.  I still need to add the netting, but pretty soon we'll have a great area for spaghetti squash, cucumbers, peas, and beans to reach for the sun!

Oh.  And as you can see, we don't have a fence on this side of the yard.  BUT!  Once my veggies start climbing, we'll get a little bonus privacy!

Here's a list of what I have planted so far:
-Bell Peppers
-Sweet Banana Peppers
-Hot Banana Peppers
-Jalapeños
-Better Boy Tomatoes
-Roma Tomatoes
-Broccoli
-Curly Kale
-Head Lettuce
-Cucumbers
-Spaghetti Squash
-Zucchini Squash
-Snap Peas
-Pole Beans
-Brussels Sprouts
-Strawberries
-Sweet Basil
-Cilantro
-Lemongrass

I'll be back with a garden update in the coming weeks!  This is really my favorite hobby of the year!  xo.

Palm Springs Pt. 2

Our second full day in Palm Springs was one of my favorite days of my whole life.  Johnny and I had made plans to wake up early and smash our to-do list, but instead we accidentally slept in and opted for breakfast in bed.  I know there are mixed reviews out there about breakfast in bed, but to me it's one of the best things EVER.  After a super relaxed, lovely morning, we headed out to the Cabazon Dinosaurs.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that the dinos were the ONLY thing I cared about doing on this trip.  I've spent most of my life dreaming of visiting this place (thanks, Pee-Wee... I'll love you forever) and it finally happened.


This is my face of UTTER DELIGHT.  I cannot tell you how many times I jumped and squealed and clapped like a small child.  Eep!


Oh, man... this guy CRACKS ME UP.  I like to imagine him as the singer of an 80's hair metal band.  I bet he can seriously wail!


It was crazy how windy Cabazon was.  It was basically raining wind.  Sideways.  Here's a life lesson, fellow dress lovers: always wear shorts underneath.  They saved my trip.  Otherwise I would have been fussing with my clothes the whole time instead of taking it all in.  And that would have been a shame.


Once I basically bought out the gift shop (I'm a souvenir person all the way), we headed back to the Ace for drinks and friend time.  


I had to post both of these photos.  It's strange how we didn't know anyone but Jess when we arrived and by the time the trip was over we had all of these new wonderful friends.  It was a good bunch.

 
I feel like this post is just a series of tangents, but... tangent time: before we flew out of Kansas City, we stopped by Donna's Dress Shop because, well, I don't get to visit that place enough.  Up to that point, I had been shopping for a vintage playsuit for MONTHS with no luck.  As I was getting ready to check out, this little number was hanging near the counter.  I ALMOST didn't try it on because I really don't like trying things on.  I'm so glad I did.  It was love at first fit and it was perfect for hanging pool side.  I felt like I was living in a dreamy movie.

This night was our fancy dinner night, so after a bit we headed back to the room to freshen up and make it to our reservation at Birba on time (thanks for the rec, Elsie!).  I found my dress one night while shopping on eBay, so there isn't a great story behind it.  BUT!  When Jess last visited MO, we found this amazing orange dress that fit her like a GLOVE at one of my favorite vintage shops.  She was on a budget at that time, so I snuck back in and bought it as an early birthday gift.  We call it the "Palm Springs dress" for obvious reasons.  You'll see why in a second.  


Ahhhhh... I love this picture so much.  Johnny and I have a million selfies together from this trip that are silly and only for us, but I'm glad to have captured him in a few photos to share.  This walk down Palm Springs lane wouldn't have felt the same without his face in it.


See?  Lovely little orangesicle dream.  It's perfect on her!

After dinner, the plan was to go get little dinosaur tattoos with our crew.  Johnny and I ended up kinda being jerks and ditching the group, but it was for a good reason.  Or a selfish reason.  Whatever.  I just wanted to spend my last night in paradise hanging with him instead of sitting around at a tattoo parlor.

We ended up having drinks at the Saguaro, dipping our feet in the hot tub in our fancy clothes back at the Ace, playing a couple of rounds of intense ping pong (I won-- oh yeah!), and just letting all the beauty around us seep in.  It was a magical night... and I'm not using that term loosely.  It was MAGICAL.


The rest of the story is all super long travel days and reuniting with my darling girls... the things you would expect.  I'm definitely thankful we got to go on such a fun/sweet/wonderful mini vacation.  I have so many more special photos from this trip that can't fit into a blog post, so I fully intend to make a Palm Springs photo album.  It would honestly be a shame to forget a single second.  xo.