Upcycled Pallet Gardening Shelves - Back Yard

These shelves that I use for my garden supplies are made from an old discarded pallet. They were made by cutting the pallet in half and using some of it's wood as shelves. There is on on either side of our back door and give me much needed storage for gardening things and was best of all : FREE.

From This Into That - Salad

Growing our own food has been an important part of our lives for years now and with summer right around the corner we have been planting up a storm.  One of our favorite year-round/indoor plants is this lettuce. The seeds come in a strip and it is really easy to grow.  It looks great and tastes just as good.  This salad also has the green onions growing in this window as well as carrots, croutons  Parmesan cheese and the dressing is a home-made oil and balsamic vinegar. YUM!

The Walking Dead Season 3

This is just a quick recap of how I felt about this last season of The Walking Dead.  I wanted to write reviews for each episode but it got away from me so I only did a few.  I plan on spending more time on my Mad Men reviews. What can I say? AMC has me hooked on Sunday nights.

As I look at this picture of the cast it makes me miss T-Dog. Even though his character didn't get much of an arc (we never even knew his last name!) he was still hard to watch die.  There were some fans of the books who thought that the T stood for Tyreese but that's just one more way that Robert Kirkman is taking the show a different direction. I have only read a few volumes but I know that in the graphic novels the Gov gets to torture and rape Michonne so I'm glad we didn't have to see that. It's almost as if Kirkman gets to make a new story for his same characters and I can see that he's having fun with it.  I've heard him interviewed on a few podcasts (the Nerdist and Doug Loves Movies podcasts stand out) and he's a funny guy but he's also kind of a dick.  I'm sure that this show is his baby though because it has lost more than one show runner due to "creative differences".

I miss Merle but mostly for his bad ass one-liners. I'm glad we got to see more of him this season but I hate the way he got the most screen time in the episode that he dies in. I would have liked to get to know him longer but his death is what I think is going to change Daryl. When he made the choice to stay with his brother even though he was quite an asshole, it really affected Rick. It was almost like it brought up unresolved feelings that Rick has regarding Shane. Merle is dangerous but Daryl won't leave him behind. Shane was dangerous and like a brother to Rick but he couldn't live in a world (even a post apocalyptic one) where his wife and best friend could be having a child together. Oh well maybe we'll get to see the Dixon brothers together in a flashback or fever dream.

I don't really miss Lori or Andrea. They were both weak and made decisions that made me roll my eyes or yell at the TV.  I thought Lori's death was important to show and was shot really well.  

Andrea just needed to die.  I'm glad Michonne got to be there and hopefully get a little closure. 

I was very happy that in episode 3:12-Clear we got to find out what happened to Morgan.  It just sucked that he ended up being bat shit crazy. They seem to be making a big deal out of Milton's tea when we first get to Woodbury in episode 3:03-Walk With Me and then it's never explained or even brought up again. I think my favorite thing this season was Michonne's "Walker-Gram" warning Merle to "GO BACK".  I'm getting a little sick of Maggie and Glenn but at least his proposal didn't make me want to gag too much.  Except the fact that he cut the ring off of a walker's hand. Gross Glenn, you couldn't have looted a jewelry store?

Spray Paint Cans

Last summer I painted some soup cans and planted wildflowers in them to add some color to our backyard. All I had at the time was regular craft paint so as time pasted the color began to fade. They looked nice and lasted most of the summer but this year I wanted to make more using different colors.

Last year's pained flower cans

This year I used spray paint on the same cans and they turned out great. 

I can move them around to chase the sun or use them as a centerpiece.

Finished Cans With Flowers On Fence

Easter Eggs

Garden DIY

 This last few days I've been spray painting cans to use as planters. Green and Blue are going to be the main outdoor colors with a little orange as well. I can't wait to hang them in the back yard with spring flowers!

Mozzarella and Pesto Strata

We have been talking about eating less meat. We already try to do our Meatless Mondays but lately I have been looking for more tasty veggie recipes. This was my first Strata but it came out great. I added green onions and roasted my own green pepper. We had Basil Pesto leftover from Trader Joe's but as soon as my garden is going then I'd like to try to make that from scratch as well. You can really change the ingredients in this recipe to your tastes. I think I'll use sourdough bread next time and I'm thinking some grilled portobello mushrooms might be good.

Mozzarella and Pesto Strata

French Bread (sliced into ¾ inch slices)

Basil Pesto (about ½ cup)

Sliced Ripe Olives (1/2 cup, I used black)

Roasted Bell Peppers (12 oz. jar drained and sliced or one pepper oven roasted)

Mozzarella Cheese (2 cups)

Large Eggs (about 8)

Milk (about 2 cups)

Parmesan Cheese (1/2 cup)

Salt and Pepper to taste

1.                  Spray 9x13 inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. Spread one side of each bread slice with Basil Pesto.  Arrange bread, pesto sides up, in bottom of baking dish, cutting slices to fit if necessary.  Sprinkle with olives, bell peppers and mozzarella cheese.

2.                  In medium bowl, beat eggs, milk, salt, and pepper with a fork or wire whisk until well blinded. Pour evenly over cheese in dish.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours but not longer than 24 hours.

3.                  Heat oven to 325 degrees. Bake uncovered 55 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes clean and top is golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.  

Back Yard (in progress)

Last summer we build raised garden beds in our small backyard. In them we grew strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, basil and lettuce. 

 We are always looking for ways to use what we have and we have a lot of glass bottles, so we put them upside down between the beds. They act as a decorative trim and add different texture. These pictures were taken to be some of the before shots because of all the things we have planed for the yard this summer.

Indian Food

My Honey made me Indian food for dinner. It was Naan bread, Couscous, and Masala Chicken. So Good!

Happy Valentine's Day

Planter From Trash

I'm always looking for ways to not throw anything away. I also love to have things growing in my window year round but that means smaller planters that will fit on the narrow ledge. I was going to use this covered shampoo bottle as a vase but decided on a planter instead.

After cutting off the top I gave it a good wash. I covered it in contact paper and poked drainage holes in the bottom. After planting I'm glad I left the bottle tall so it gets more sun in the window.

It looks cute in the window with a little dinosaur for charm.

Eggs

Why wait for Easter when you can color eggs all year round? When we have hard boiled eggs we usually turn them into eatable arts and craft treats with vinegar and food coloring.
I made this one in honor of Valentine's Day.

Then snack on Deviled Eggs with Homemade Pickles... 

To end this very egg-filled week I made my very first Quiche Lorraine!

On The Menu

Philly Cheese Steak Stuffed Peppers and Homemade Fries - Yum. . . .

Before and After

I found these shorts in my fabric pile. They had stains so I cut them up and made a decoration for an upcoming  birthday.

Don't Open / Dead Inside

This was my Halloween pumpkin for this year. In honor of The Walking Dead.