How Does Your (Herb) Garden Grow?

Parsley, rosemary, and thyme - with cilantro peeking out from the next container

 I finished off the latest and last of my herb additions to my little herb garden today! I'm so excited with the selection that I have. I have a great selection of annual and perennial herbs, and I'm already reaping the yummy benefits!

In my herb garden, I have:

Sweet basil

Thai basil

Rosemary

Pineapple sage

Lemon balm

Two types of thyme

Curry

Cilantro

Italian parsley

Chives

I pretty much exhuasted my list of herbs that I wanted to grow... the only other herb that I wanted was dill. There's a bunch of other random ones that I could have used, like black peppermint, lovage, and lavender, but I wasn't too interested. I like my selection!

Daniel was busy all evening making my stand for the herbs. It's going to run along our little walkway. All of the herbs are in containers, and the containers will rest on top of the stand. It's the cutest little setup! I can't wait to get a photo when it's all finished.

Over the summer, I hope to share a few recipes with you, using herbs from home. I'm excited to give a new recipe or two a try! Hopefully I can introduce you to new ways to use your herbs from home, farmers' markets, or the supermarket...

Happy Thursday!

Hot Deal

I don't know if you are half as excited as I am about the new Design Sponge book, but if you are, here's one hot deal:

Barnes & Noble is offering a special promotion of 50% off the cover price if you pre-order between now and July 29th. They have Canadian shipping, too! They also have an insider sneak peek, but I avoided the photos for now... I want to wait until the book comes out. Guess who just ordered a copy?!

Happy Wednesday!

Flower Power

Every day I'm bombarded by natural eye candy at work - my supermodel coworkers. No, silly! The plants, the plants! 

I took out my little old point-and-shoot camera on my break yesterday to grab a couple of pics to share with you. You want to see them, right? I don't know very many people who don't like flowers and bright colours. Maybe Oscar the Grouch. That's it, though. Just him.

Enjoy the pictures. Feel free to steal them if you want. Use filters, make as your screensaver, print to stick on your fridge, whatev. If you make any money from them, send me five bucks. Deal? Deal.

Happy Tuesday!

Multitude Monday

It's Monday! You know what that means? Multitude Monday!

This week, I'm thankful for...

225 - over the top yard cuteness. My mother-in-law finds the sweetest birdfeeders, and I think that's what the cute little bird used to be. Now he just hangs out under the big spruce and maple trees.

226 - having Sunday off and having the best day ever! I got to go to remembrance meeting at our church, had a lunch date, and then we parked on the waterfront and read our novels for a couple of hours. Pure bliss.

227 - surprise super awesome presents from far-away friends who spoiled me rotten with goods from my favourite store. Thanks, sweeties!

228 - unexpected vacation days next week. I asked for a week off during late September, and not only did my boss give the time to me, but she asked if I wanted any days off in August. Daniel and I get to have vacation days together - which we totally weren't expecting to have this year. Yippee!

229 - slowly getting a green thumb... My herb garden is coming along nicely, our veggies are growing like mad, and I made a flower container for our step by myself over the weekend! I can't wait to show you how cute it turned out.

What are you thankful for?

Happy Monday!

Polyvore Loves

Yay! Polyvore Loves!

I love building outfits every week or two to provide you with inspiration for your own closet. No need to frown... I'm sure you can come up with a darling, trendy outfit if you just take another look!

Since it's just about the weekend, I thought that I would do a special weekenders outfit. How does a lunch date and trip to this beach sound for your Saturday? I'd take that over going to work anyday!

A fun yet classic printed sundress sets the mood for this outfit. Its little brown leather belt just cries for more leather, so the woven flats would be a perfect match. Toss in a few wood jewelry pieces - gorgeous drop silver and wood earrings, and a set of bracelets I would love to own - you're all set for accessories! The simple straw clutch seems like the perfect summer date handbag, and the gold polish adds a bit of polish. Pull this outfit together and you're all set for any summer weekend!

You can take a little inspiration from this outfit to head to your own closet with. Have a simple two-tone neutral printed dress or skirt? It's perfect with earthy accessories! A leather belt or sandals? They are great with any natural fibers, like straw, linen, or cotton. Gold polish? It looks great juxtaposed with a casual outfit - a nice little bit of glam.

Take a peek in your closet before you complain that you have nothing to wear. Maybe you just need to look at your belongings in a different light!

Happy Friday... and happy weekend!

weekend cuteness by littleohme featuring clutch handbags

I'm Pinning...

Source: becauseitsawesome.blogspot.com via Katie on Pinterest

I've caught it.

The Pinterest bug, that is. It's so much easier to collect your eye candy and inspiration! Pinterest keeps the original link, too, so no more hunting down where you happened to find that special something. 

Follow me if you'd like to see my finds... or if you aren't a pinner, just follow the link to browse through my pins. It's easy-peasy!

Happy Thursday!


P.S. Wondering what's on the LOVELYgood's menu for the market this week?

Tropical Energy Granola
Cranberry Chai Granola
Peanut Butter White Chocolate Granola
Milk Chocolate Chippers
Cheesy Doggie Bites
... and one surprise item!

Strawberry Fields Forever

Mmm, it's one of my favourite times of the year: strawberry season!

Over the weekend, we took a little roadtrip to a farmstand. My parents buy their strawberries from them year after year, so Daniel and I knew that we couldn't go wrong. We bought a flat of berries for us, and a flat for Mom and Dad. The smell of those delicious little morsels filled the car for our entire trip home. 

I used to have fun picking berries at our local u-picks as a little kid, but after I became allergic to bee stings, I didn't get to frolic through the fields. It's better to be safe than sorry, I suppose, but it does seem like it would be a fun date to pick a basket or two of those sweet red berries. I'd much rather get to enjoy a handful of strawberries without my Epipen in my leg, though :)

Look at how vibrant our berries are:

Once we got home, I took out my borrowed strawberry huller and went to town! I hulled the flat of strawberries while Daniel bagged them. We left out any of the "squishier" berries and made creamy smoothies with them. Needless to say, after doing the entire flat, our little freezer is filled to the brim. Combine our berries and rhubarb and you've got one yummy freezer-ful!

Here are a few recipes from the Tasty Kitchen website that I've been itching to try:

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Streusel Topping

Strawberry Vanilla Pancakes

Prosciutto, Machego and Strawberry Crostini

Strawberry Basil Lemonade

Strawberries and Cream French Toast Bake

Do you have any favourite strawberry recipes?

Happy Tuesday!

Multitude Monday: Photo Edition

It's time for Multitude Monday!

Each week, I come up with several things that I'm thankful for. It's a great way to start my week - it really keeps things in perspective. Feel free to join in if you'd like!

This week, I'm thankful for:

220 - cucumber in my water = perfection!

221 - warning labels on my marshmallows. Who knew?

222 - catching the last precious five minutes of the local Jill Barber concert. 

Hey, it was better than nothing!

223 - gardening as the sun is setting. Nothing better.

224 - heart-shaped fireworks. Go us and our little camera!

What are you thankful for this week?

Happy Monday!

Success!

Lovely Goods PDF

My first market day was excellent! I sold out after two and a half hours (a little more than halfway through) ... it was so exciting! Next week, I'll have to double the amount of product. All of my customers were pleased with my selection, and seemed satisfied with my pricing, too. It all sold equally, too, so I think I will keep my products along the same lines every week. I'm so thankful for a successful and encouraging first day. Yay for LOVELYgoods!

I thought you might like a peek at my little logo before you head off for the weekend.

Happy Friday!

Newest Endeavor

image via weheartit

I've been a busy, busy bee this week because...

I'm selling at our Farmers' Market!

My booth:

LOVELYgoods

baked goods for you and your pooch

Menu for Friday, July 15th:

Cranberry Chai Granola
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Granola
Milk Chocolate Chippers
Snickerdoodles
Lemon-Lime Basil Shortbreads
Cheesy Beef Doggie Bites

I can't wait to take some pictures and share how tomorrow goes! I've got a super cute booth design up my sleeve: loads of vintage and soft, pretty colours. I think designing the tablescape was my favourite part! A little hint: I caved and bought an antique orange crate. You'll die.

AND... I think the recipes that I've chosen for tomorrow will be a big hit. Using top quality ingredients is what can really set you apart from a local shortening-loving bakery. It's the first market day of the season, so it's hard to tell how much traffic will be going through, so I hope that I made enough/not too much product. We'll see tomorrow night!

Happy Thursday!

I'm Lovin' It

Summertime faves:

Lunch dates on outdoor patios

High-waisted skirts that flare out

Strappy gladiator flats. Pleather, baby.

New hot-weather nailpolish: coral, gold, pewter

Farmers' markets
Tent meetings with lap blankets
Daytime trips with Mom
Sunshine
S'mores - microwave, campfire, no difference :)

Summer work wardrobe: tank, cardigan, denim bottom, statement necklace. Done.

Metal water bottles that don't taste metallic

(P.S. Not my favourite summertime thing? Blogger being stupid and not letting me upload photos properly. Sorry for the lack of pics!)

What are you current summer faves?

Happy Tuesday!

Me Likey

Here are a few things that I'm totally digging this week:

I caved today. Blame Ashley. I'm lovin' Pinterest.

Enough procrastinating - it's time for me to make my own detergent.

This lady's Inspiration Sundays are always spot on.

I'd love to have the guts to pull this off.

Can I have this dress? Pretty please? 

Can't go wrong with a pop of yellow.

How about you? Any favourites?

Happy Thursday!

Summer Lovin'

Those bold summer dalia blooms are killing me! The colours are just beyond.

Okay, I don't know about you, but my summer is off to a busy-bee start. Daniel and I have both been working steady, so we're a bit like strangers in the night. I am off for the next two days, and man, am I going to enjoy it. 

My workplace is organizing a farmers' market that is scheduled to begin next Friday, July 15th. It's been a little hectic with the planning, contacting, advertising, and meetings. What, pray ask, am I going to do tomorrow on my day off? Why, go to a local farmers' market, of course! I seem to be working on just about every day that has a market nearby (there are markets within one hour of here on Wednesday, (soon-to-be Fridays), Saturdays and Sundays. My mom and I are going thrifting in the morning, followed by a little market rendezvous, and meeting Daniel for lunch at a cute little cafe.

Slowly this blog is going to be a more exciting place again: surely you want to see more than flowers and gardens. Speaking of gardens, we finished planting all of ours on Saturday! So maybe a few garden updates now and then... :)

I'm sure that you have already noticed, but I'll make it official. I've decided to blog twice/three times a week for July and August. There's too much work and fun to be had to be stuck to a computer. Without the pressure of blogging five times a week, I can be more creative with my posts... which I'm sure will please you as my readers.

I hope that your week is going swimmingly... go swimming!

Happy Tuesday!