Veggie Garden

One of the things that I immediately loved about our house was the yard and all of its possibilities....particularly the possibility of taking a stab at a legitimate vegetable garden. (Though at first viewing, that "possibility" was more accurately described as a wildly overgrown rectangular patch of yard, with some rhubarb peeking through the jungle leaves.)

Both my mother and grandmother are avid gardeners, so I grew up eating lots of fresh from the garden produce, which we all know blows anything from the grocery store clear out of the water. Now I want that sun-ripened goodness in MY backyard.

Side note: last year was one of the first years that the two of them collaborated on the same veggie garden. Saying it was on a whole new level is an understatement. Exhibit A:

A parsnip from their garden...yes, a PARSNIP...the thing that usually looks like a white carrot. It took me 4 meals to use it up!

Anyways, in late May, Steven and I grabbed some machetes (okay,okay, we rented a rototiller) and attacked our weed patch, mixed in some composted horse manure, and got ready for some planting.

*In the beginning...*

*Digging In*

*Final product*

We initially left that bush there in the middle because we were hoping that it was something exciting...maybe a currant, or gooseberry, or even hazelnut? But then I saw the very same bush, growing very weedlike and haphazardly on the periphery of a gas station lot. I nixed it about a week ago.

Also, you can see that we didn't touch the last quarter of the veggie patch this year. It's full of Siberian iris that we hope to transplant, as well as home to a haphazardly growing, but productive, grapevine. We're going to address that last section in the fall.

I'll update soon with a current picture of the garden, but here's the current roll call:

-3 varieties of tomato

-eggplant

-bell peppers

-italian peppers

-hot peppers*

-leeks

-kohlrabi

-celeriac

-parsley

-lovage

-yellow summer squash

-acorn squash

-green beans

-cantaloupe

-rhubarb, strawberries, mint, and a grapevine leftover from the previous owners

*I picked these babies up at the garden center because I thought they looked "cute". Turns out that this type of hot pepper--Scotch Bonnets--are among the hottest chili peppers in the world. So much for my quaint little visions of fresh salsa...

Till next time, (get it? get it? ha!)

LT

P.S. A grateful shout out to my mom and grandmother, who supplied the vast majority of the seedlings for this year's garden, as well as numerous other cuttings, and my brother for the horse manure...Muchas gracias!

Frugalista Find: Groupon

I just discovered an awesome website...Groupon!

It's basically a deal-a-day kind of website, with fantastic discounts (frequently 50% savings and up!) on a variety of products and services, anything from helicopter flying lessons to restaurants to spa treatments to yoga to whale watching to...well, you get the drift. AWESOME stuff.

Anywho, Groupon works out these deals with business owners, who agree to it because they know they're reaching thousands of new customers and creating BUZZ for their company. And there's the catch...the deal is only "ON" if enough people (predetermined as part of the deal) participate in the promo. Apparently your mom was right, there IS power in numbers.

Click HERE to see a quick video explaining how Groupon works.

Groupon is operating in numerous cities, including Boston, and was just launched in Providence.

Give it a gander, you might just find something good!

P.S.-On a completely unrelated note, I just saw a commercial for a new show on the National Geographic Channel called Expedition Great White in which a team of fisherman and scientists actually catch great white sharks with a HOOK and haul them out onto a specialized platform to tag them and take biological samples. (Holy cannoli.) I'm definitely going to have to check it out. Premieres June 6 @ 9pm ET (Additional article about the show HERE)

And We Are Back Online...

Woo-hoo! We are reconnected to the modern world--the cable company came by today to hook up our internet, cable, and landline. Funny how the latter 2 represent a major shift for us...we haven't had cable since May '08, and a landline since...college? Yup, settling right in.

And (bonus!)-we are apparently getting a free Dell Netbook as part of the Comcast Triple Play promotion. No idea if we get to pick a color...but if we do, I'm loving the blue one! And the red one...

Okay, where to begin? Ah, yes--WE HAVE MOVED INTO OUR NEW HOUSE!

Moving was a trip! When a certain die-hard family member (cough*KEVIN*cough) suggested that we pack and move everything on Friday night, Steven and I initially balked...but 2 minutes later Steven had that crazy look in his eye and, well, we pulled an all-nighter, packed every last worthwhile belonging (as well as tons of JUNK) into the UHaul, and set off for our new home. We arrived at our house at 4 a.m., went to sleep at 5:20 a.m., and started unloading the truck about 5 hours later! Luckily, Steven's bros and dad were around to help us...otherwise we might still be packing! ;)

After a week+ of living here, I can honestly say it's great. Primitive and disorderly, but awesome nonetheless. I still can't believe we're in our own house!

More updates coming up soon...but for now, any guesses as to what this plant is?:

Steven went all Tarzan on a HUGE weed near the foundation, and this guy got caught in the crossfire. Apparently "a little pruning" and elimination of competition was just what it needed, because it's been growing like crazy since then. Nice, huh? But it'd be even better if we knew what it was!

Win Free Goodies!

Or try to anyways.

I absolutely LOVE sweepstakes, raffles, giveaways...basically any opportunity to get free stuff. In case anyone else out there feels the same way, I thought I'd mention that Self magazine is giving a ton of stuff away this month. No purchase necessary, no catch, ends May 20th. Prizes include everything from award-winning beauty products, to bicycles, to spa vacations, to sneakers.

Click here to enter.

Last year I won 2 bottles of Garnier Nutritioniste daily moisture lotion...and I'm crossing my fingers for another prize this year!