Forty Before 40 - Vegetable Garden

I haven't written about my forty before 40 list in a while only because I don't have that much to report! I've been checking off a few things here and there. I canned homemade apple butter (#6), made homemade bread (#7), spent more time with girlfriends (#39) and I am still reading Anna Karenina (#32). That book is taking me FOREVER, but I will be done with it before November! And I have a few things planned for some sporting items on the list. Hockey (#21) is in full swing and my husband and I are looking at game dates for either February or March. Roller Derby (#16) is hit or miss but I've been watching the website for upcoming Bouts. 

With spring around the corner, I've been thinking more and more about my garden. I've wanted to plant a vegetable garden for the past several years, we just haven't taken the time to clear the space and get it prepared. I know exactly where I want it to go and have a vision of the layout. I just need execution. I am enlisting my dad to help map out the garden and then he and my husband will build it. I will try to assist, but someone's gotta watch McKinley! The planting will be something that I do, and hopefully with the help of my dad, as he has years of experience in this department.

When we lived in East Tennessee, my parents planted a small garden on the farm of my great grandparents. When I say small garden, I'm kind of being sarcastic. My mom has told me that when my great grandfather plowed the field for them to plant, it was enormous! A garden is what my great grandparents, and their children, lived off of their entire lives. Sure, they went to the store for breads, cereals and other essentials, but for the most part they lived off the land. Today, with all the hormones and pesticides that are used on our local groceries, I want to try and create a more healthy life style for my son. And, I want him to know that what we put into the earth is just as important as what comes out of it. We have to take care of the earth today so our great grandchildren have a safe planet on which to live.

My Great Grandparents Farm - 2009

I know the exact spot in our yard where I want to plant the garden. There is a space next to our back door that currently has a gross ground cover that I'm dying to pull up! From there I want to build garden beds that are terraced, two or three boxes, and begin the planting! What I don't know is when I need to start planting certain vegetables so that they grow at the appropriate time of year. Again, I will rely on the knowledge of my dad! I've been doing some research online and here are a few images that I like. 

These photos are from Landscaping Network. A little more intricate than I want to go, but the concept is the same. 

I like this idea of boxes, but I want them lower to the ground and closer together.

I would like to grow lettuce, green beans (and my dad has built amazing bean poles for past gardens), radishes, carrots, cucumbers and possibly potatoes. Again, a lot of research will need to be done, and maybe my first garden won't be as extensive, but it's a start. Martha Stewart has a great gardening guide on her website and I plan to read more of her helpful tips.

Have you ever considered starting a garden? Do you feel that fresh vegetables are the right way to go for your home? Sure, I could go the easy route and head to our Farmer's Market on the weekends, and I still will, but I really want to make the effort and educate my son in the process. Happy Gardening!

Wedding Cakepops

While on vacation over the holidays, I was asked if I would make cakepops for a friend of my mom. Her son got married the weekend after Christmas and she was hosting a party the day after the wedding for family. She wanted a little something extra and thought cakepops would be a perfect fit. Their colors were blue and silver so we opted for white and blue candy coatings with white and blue decorations. We were really happy with how they turned out and we hope the family agreed!

 

 

The Three B's

Isn't this the sweetest nursery? We think so. We wanted it to be clean, sweet and not over-the-top nursery in appearance. I really wanted it to blend in with the rest of the house and I truly believe we accomplished that goal. The crib is a family heirloom. My great uncle Douglas was the first child in the family to sleep in it, and subsequently, almost every child on my mom's side of the family has slept in the crib. Including my mom!

My great grandfather purchased this crib used so we believe it to be at least 70 years old. Maybe older. And, it served it purpose for the first six or seven months of McKinley's life. That's when we realized, because it is an antique crib, it doesn't meet industry standards. Now, I'm not one to truly buy into industry standards. Car seats, yes. Cribs, not really. That is until McKinley started jumping in the bed and it was high enough that he could lean over the rail and eventually flip over. Time to invest in a bed that lowered as McKinley continued to grow.

We've had the new crib since February and it is now as low as it will go. However, what it's missing is a child. That's right, our child refuses to sleep in this bed! It hasn't been that way since February. It has, however, been for a little over a month. It's as if he hates the bed. He will sleep everywhere else in the house but not in this bed. He can be sound asleep, but as soon as we place him in the bed, he is up. We've tried the cry it out method, we've tried letting him self-sooth but none of it works. Place him on a palette on the floor of any room in the house, he's out. Place him at the end of our couch, out. Place him in his crib, dying to get out!

I have my theories and it's time to put them to the test. This weekend we transitioned to what I refer to as the three b's....Big Boy Bed! That's right, we are going to take him from crib to a bed! I think he's ready. He is one of those sleepers that sleeps from limb to limb and I think the crib restricts him. He either sleeps flat on his back with arms out to each side and legs in a frog position or flat on his stomach stretched out as far as he can go. Rolling into the sides of the crib wakes him up and then we struggle with getting him back down. Here's hoping this cures our baby sleeping blues!

Join us on our journey as we explore the world of the Big Boy Bed. Below are photos of his new bed. It was in storage when we transitioned the room to his nursery! I even had the bedding stored under a spare bed at my mom's house. I've been prepared for sometime. I just hate admitting my baby boy is growing up! 

So far he seems to like it...

A New Years Eve Cake

New Years Eve isn't a huge holiday for us, especially now that we have a baby. In the past, we've run the gamut of dinners out, large parties hosted by friends and game nights hosted by us. 

New Years Eve just happens to be my parents anniversary and this year they celebrated 42 years! Can you imagine 42 years of marriage? What do you get your parents on such an occasion? In the past I've purchased champagne and cards. This year I decided to bake them a cake. Who doesn't like cake, right?

After scouring my cookbooks for ideas, I played off a lovely lemon layer cake from Sandra Lee. I didn't go nearly as fancy as her creation, but what I made I made with love. This is a six layer cake from three baked cakes. Below I have photographed some of the steps.

Step One: Bake three 9 inch cakes. I baked a yellow cake but added lemon zest and the juice from half a lemon to the batter. 

Step Two: After the cakes have cooled, level them off and cut each cake in half horizontally. 

Step Three: Lay down first layer, cut side up.

Step Four: Apply a thin layer of lemon curd that's been stirred smooth. Continue to layer the cake and apply lemon curd to each layer. 

 Step Five: Place the top layer cut side down.

I made homemade lemon buttercream frosting. What I loved about the frosting is that you could see tiny bits of the lemon zest through out the cakes frosting!

Step Six: Frost the entire cake.

Bakers Note: Load up frosting on top of the cake and working the icing down the sides. Fill in with frosting as you frost the sides.

  I was super lazy at this point. Although I loved the look of the cake, I thought it needed a little something. So I used lemon frosting from the can for my decoration. Normally, I would make a batch of frosting but that was too much work for such minimal detail.

 Step Seven: Pick out tips and prepare your piping bag.

Step Eight: Start making tiny dots all around the cake.

Bakers Notes: I used Wilton Tip #10 for the dots.

 

And the finished product looks like this! I used the Wilton Tip #2 for the initial. Not too shabby for a homemade cake if I do say so myself. My parents loved it and my husband told me mine was better than the bakery slice we had purchased earlier in the week. Definite brownie points there....no pun intended! 

My holiday season was filled with homemade goodies. What are your thoughts on giving from the kitchen? Cheap or from the heart?