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Garden : Raised bed planting


Last time we talked about the new raised bed it looked like this:


After a free weekend (FINALLY!) It looks like this:


I knew I had to get some veggies in the ground asap and after having the bed for a solid two days realized Murphy was going to make it his personal outdoor playground. There was no way I was about to let him trample all my hard work and those glorious veggies!

I found these rolls of cedar fencing and Lowes. I grabbed three (seeing as the side along the house doesn't need fencing) and rolled them out. Starting in the farthest right corner I slowly worked my way around the bed hammering in the pickets. Turns out this process was way easier than I imagined and so far Murphy has left my garden alone!



Now lets talk about what everyone is just dying to know - What did I plant?! 

Along the side of the house (see the picture above) I have four pepper plants - three bell and one jalapeno with a few "pollinators" mixed in. In the same bed but towards the yard you have two spaghetti squash and two butternut squash plants. These I put at either end of the bed to give them "running room" towards each other.

In the back corner - where the two beds meet - I put seeds for beans that will form a bush rather than pole beans that climb.

Down the other side of the bed I have four tomato plants - celebrity, arkansas traveler, roma, and big beef. 

All the tomato plans are staked and tied with twine to help as the grow larger. Once they overtake the stake I will put a cage around them. 

The metal markers you see I bought at target THREE years ago thinking I would use them for parties or a craft project. Instead they are being used as intended! I loved that I happened to have those on hand.










Lastly, I planted herb seeds. One thing I found out is that cilantro is a WINTER herb and is not intended for summer growth. How crazy is that?! 

Italian herbs are best in summer so I planted basil, oregano, and parsley. I cannot wait to see them start to pop up!! The herb markers are left over stir sticks from this bridal shower :) resourceful if I do say so myself! So there you have it, my fully planted garden.... now to get things to grow and more importantly - stay alive!!




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Gotcha Day : Noah



Goodness that sweet little face! Noah is the sweet boy you see up there. Today Noah is officially placed in his forever home with the Craig's. 

You might remember the Craig's from here // at the end of 2012 they brought home three amazing little girls to multiply their family. Goodness this family, they blow me away. They first had the two babies (Noah and Grace) and then when the court ordered the three girls (siblings) stay together they petitioned to bring all the girls home with them while also caring for a newborn Noah. The court granted their wish and for more than a year they fostered all four babies. Today - they are all officially family.

Noah, or Noahie Bear as I like to call him, has the sweetest spirit and sure knows how to love. 

Welcome home for GOOD, Noah. You are so loved little man!




I had to throw this last picture in there - Tanners foot flying, the little girls in their own world, the laughter - I love it all!

Happy Gotcha Day, Craig family



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Raised Garden

Its finally here! This little space I have been wanting for quite a while now is FINALLY HERE! You'll remember a few years back I started gardening in hay bales. Though, that turned out really successful, I wasn't able to keep the hay bales more than one season of gardening and it turned out to be a lot more work than imagined. So, I did a lot of research - aka pinterest - to figure out what type of raised garden I would want in the future. I knew I wanted something a little different than the norm but also something that could be added to in the future if I out grew one bed.

I enlisted the help of Groggs Green Barn here in town and they came out to do an evaluation of my yard and size up the potential bed. Two weeks later we were ready for install!

Please dont judge the current state of my back yard - its bad now - but gonna be so good in the future!

















I am so excited. The bed is an "L" shape and each leg is 10 X 3 and sits 12" high. 

This shape gives me a lot of options in the future - I could add a square bed in the bend of the "L" or add another "L" facing the opposite direction that would result in a large square of sorts. 

Right now I am just so excited to get some transplants in there and start growing. Looks like a lot of summer veggies will go in - peppers, beans, tomatoes, maybe some squashes, and cucumber! YAY

Any professional gardeners out there have tips?!?

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Jamaican Vacation

Photography not only allows you to see some crazy things but takes you to some crazy places. Up until this trip it only took me to back roads and abandoned alleys but now I can say it took me to sunny Jamaica!

Travel kind of makes me a crazy person - especially international travel - but two short flights from good ole Oklahoma and next thing I know I'm in Jamaica Mon! 

After arriving and checking in we took a little lap around the resort and had some of the best pizza ever. The next day was all about sun and relaxing - we even got some kayaking and snorkeling in! Before I knew it Saturday had arrived and it was wedding time. Sunday was spent decompressing and visiting the "craft market" in Ochie and soaking it all in on our last day.

I have heard so many opinions on Jamaica but seeing it for myself really changed how I viewed this island. Everyone was so friendly and never once did I feel "unsafe" in Jamaica. I will tell you that Jamaican men will flirt with a box of rocks - so bring your swatting stick to bat them off 


The resort peacock!
Below are pictures from the craft market - a shanty village of sorts







The streets of Ochie 













We are already planning our next trip back to this gorgeous island! 
Thank you Jamaica for the amazing experience
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