Our tomatoes are kickin'...

Check out our unruly tomato garden!



Hmmm...what does this remind me of?



Okay not really. They're really good tomatoes and we have so many we've been able to share with friends. Lots of 'em....but not all of them as clearly some are a bit too "racy" to eat.

There's nothing nicer than going out to pluck a fresh tomato from the vine, then coming back in and putting it on a sandwich.

Check out Mr. P's open-face BLT:



Mmmmmm...and yes we're still using the box of 100 pre-cooked bacon strips my sister sent me as a gift. (thanks Michelle and Eric!)

Anyone have a good tomato-based recipe?

Before & After: Some front yard landscaping...

Behold, the ugliest non-weed I've ever seen:





It's sort of like the plant-version of this guy:



No no, don't get me wrong. I love Andre Agassi...and I love plants. But that hair? Just unecessary. Just like that mop of a shrub. See my point?

This weekend we replaced 1990s Agassi shrub with a beautiful Blue Spruce:





Isn't he much cuter? Like the plant version of this:



Aaaah, much better.

BREAKING NEWS: Anatomically correct tomato...

I am too much of a lady to tell you what this tomato looks like to me. But suffice it to say Mr. P and I could NOT STOP laughing after we picked this bad boy from our vines.

Here it is in all it's glory - talk amongst yourselves. First, the front:





Now the back:



And now the side view:



Ahem...you can also understand why we will NOT be eating this one. Thanks.

Before & After: The Front Door

I may have mentioned on this blog that I have a bit of a brown thumb. Things die around me. I mean, not PEOPLE or anything that dramatic. But plants, flowers and the occassional vegetable. (although my tomatoes continue to flourish in spite of me)

Exhibit A - the potted flowers Mr. P's mom helped me pick out to brighten the front door:



Pretty right? Well not after I got done with them:



Nice work, Mrs. P. Anywho, my little sister was in town this weekend and she kicked my butt into high gear and encouraged me to try again. (and by "encourage" I mean laughed at my inability to grow things and said my doorstep looked like something you'd seen in a crack den...ah, sisterly love) And try again we did!



A new light and some house numbers and it looks downright cheerful! No crack sold here, no siree Bob!



Now let's see how long I keep these bad boys alive. Wish me luck!

Garden progress...

Well helloooooooooooo blueberries! Yesterday I ate these for breakfast!



Poor Mr. P...no blueberries for him. (this is all our little bush produced) But I'm confident there will be more where that came from. Afterall, check out our robust garden:



Soon we're going to have tomatoes up the wazoo!





And I almost forgot...peppers, too! These are anaheim peppers which I think Mr. P planted in homage to our Southern California roots:



Does anyone have some fun tomato recipes? Otherwise I'll be using them as decorative centerpieces the way the HGTV designers use green apples.

...hey, I may be on to something there! Back off, Vern Yip! This one is mine!

More landscaping updates...

We removed ONE MORE unecessary shrub as recommended by the brilliant amateur landscape artist Blake.

Check out the difference! Here's the before one more time:



And here's the after:

You say tomayto, I say tomahto...

Check it out! Our tomatoes are blooming! (hatching? growing? sprouting? spontaneously combusting? whatev.)



And these - for those of you city gals and guys who like me can't tell the difference between tomatoes and any other vegetable in existance - are (or will be) peppers:



The Miracle Grow is really paying off! At this rate we'll have enough for ONE sandwich come December. YAY!

Aaaaaaaaaaand we're back...

Sorry for the radio silence, folks! We were enjoying a lovely and productive visit from Mr. P's fabulous parents who tackled several tasks with us without a single complaint. (god love 'em)

Behold! I would like to enter into evidence Exhibit A, a $4 ottoman I picked up at a yard sale:



A little batting, some new fabric, black spraypaint for the feet (obviously I had to find a way to incorporate spraypaint into this project - it's my fave) and a staple gun and we have this:





Cute, yes? Why THANK you! You're not so bad yourself!

But enough about me. Back to home improvement. Remember what the outside of the house looked like?





We weeded, we Rounded-Up, we mulched (15 bags and we could probably use a few more)...we sweat and whined. (well mostly I sweat and whined) But check out the front yard now! (big thanks to amateur landscape artist Blake Jones for recommending we rip out the ugly bushes on the left...SUCH a difference! we're tackling the ones on the right this weekend.) Some new house numbers, a new light fixture and some flowers in a pretty pot and voila:





So much brighter and more open! Even Design Assistant Magnus put on his gardening gloves and got into the action:



We also hemmed and hung up new curtains in the living room, tore out some ugly fixtures in the 1/2 bath and are halfway through the remodel. Pictures to come soon!