Instant Gratification

 
Well, almost instant.   I planted radish seeds around the first of May and they are deliciously ready.   Crisp, crunchy with a spicy little kick.  So good fresh out of the garden.  I’ll gobble these up in a heartbeat and throw the greens back in my compost heap.  

Along with these, we’ve also been enjoying fresh salad greens.

Have you harvested anything from your garden yet?


Linking up to
Tidy Mom, 
Tatertots and Jello, 
Funky Junk Interiors,
A Vision to Remember,
An Oregon Cottage
and It’s a Hodge Podge Life.

Read a Good Book Lately?

I just finished up A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley.   It’s the story of an Iowa farm family in the 1970s.   A tragedy loosely based on Shakespeare’s King Lear, it is a well written, highly detailed narrative.  My grandparents were cattle ranchers and I really could identify with the descriptions of farm life, as well as the petty problems of very small towns.   With its insanity, incest, suicide, and illness, it wasn’t exactly a feel good novel, but it was well written and definitely worth reading.   
 

Next up:  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.  I am loving this darling book so far!

I just love a good book and am looking forward to lazier summer days.  What have you read lately that you could recommend?

Make it Yours Day {18}

What have you been working on this week?  I can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to!

<center><a href="http://mybackyardeden.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" alt="Make it Yours @ My Backyard Eden" src="http://i46.tinypic.com/28jck5l.jpg" /></a></center>

When you link up your project please be sure to:  

1. Link to your specific post, not the main page of your blog, so people can easily find your project.
2. Add the button above to your post, or at least link back to this party from your post so everyone can follow along.  
3. Please only link up projects that are new to Make it Yours Day. 
4. Finally, show some love!  Visit some of the projects linked up and leave a comment! 

Thanks so much for linking up!

How'd you Make it Yours this week?

(Submissions start May 26, 2010, 12:00 am)

Link tool by inlinkz.com

Happy Birthday to Me

I’ll be spending the day with my Mom.  Unfortunately, I  have to take her to UCSF for some medical tests.  I just feel that everything is going to be OK, but if you’re the praying type, I’d appreciate you thinking of us today. 

What are you doing this Tuesday?

Make It Yours Highlights {17}

Here are a few  highlights from the wonderful projects linked up to last week’s Make it Yours Day.

Cottage and Vine made lovely Strawberry Jam with personalized labels.   I can hardly wait to make some jam from my rapidly ripening raspberries!
 
Michele at The Scrap Shoppe redid her Mom’s old bicycle into a cool blue retro bike.  Perfect for a Spring bike ride.
 
Rebecca at This Present Life remade an old CD rack into a sweet fabric rack.
 
Cassie at Primitive and Proper stitched up some lovely things using some old feed sacks.
 
Londen at Sixty Fifth Avenue shared a magical fairy garden.

Thanks for the inspiration!  I loved seeing all your great ideas. 

If you were featured, please help yourself to a button:

 

<center><a href="http://mybackyardeden.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" alt="Make it Yours @ My Backyard Eden" src="http://i50.tinypic.com/zmyxxg.jpg" /></a></center>

This week, I’ve been working on my daughter’s quilt that I started years ago and finishing up a really good book. 

What are you working on?

A Berry Good Season

 
We planted these raspberry bushes a couple of years ago.  This year it looks like we’re going to have a bumper crop.  I can already taste the berry cobblers, jam and fresh berries on my cereal in the morning.  That is if my kids stop picking and eating each berry as it ripens!!


What are you looking forward to eating this Spring and Summer?

Make it Yours Day {17}

What have you been up to this week?  I can’t wait to see what you’ve been working on!

<center><a href="http://mybackyardeden.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" alt="Make it Yours @ My Backyard Eden" src="http://i46.tinypic.com/28jck5l.jpg" /></a></center>

When you link up your project please be sure to:  

1. Link to your specific post, not the main page of your blog, so people can easily find your project.
2. Add the button above to your post, or at least link back to this party from your post so everyone can follow along.  
3. Please only link up projects that are new to Make it Yours Day.  In order to keep things current, I will start deleting projects that have already been linked up here before.
4. Finally, show some love!  Visit some of the projects linked up and leave a comment! 

Thanks so much for linking up!

How'd you Make it Yours this week?

(Submissions start May 19, 2010, 12:00 am)

Link tool by inlinkz.com

Blogger Tip: Post by Email

Did you know that you can post to your Blogger blog via email?   Here’s how:

1.   Sign into your Blogger Account.

2.   From your Dashboard, select “Settings”.

3.  Under “Settings”, select the “Email & Mobile” Tab.

4.   Scroll down until you see “Posting Options”:

Replace “secretWords” with something that only you’ll know.  This is the email address you will send to when you want to publish a blog post via email.  This email address must be kept secret.  Otherwise, anyone who gets it will be able to post as you.   

Then choose whether you want to publish your emails immediately, or if you want to have them be saved as draft posts to edit later. 

Once you have saved your Settings, you can send email to your blog.  Your email subject will be the title of your post, and the body of the email will be the post itself.  To include an image in your post, you can attach an image to you your email. 

Happy posting!

Linking up to the following great blogs:
Tip Junkie
We are That Family
Women Who Do it All

Sew A Schoolhouse Tunic

So here I am again, taking a picture of myself in the mirror!   I just finished this tunic and wanted to share. 

I had such a great experience last month making a Spring Top, that I wanted to try sewing something else that I just might wear.   So I made Sew Liberated’s Schoolhouse Tunic.  The pattern was great.  It went together perfectly and fits really well.   I found some cute stripy fabric on sale at Joanne’s for $1.50 (!!!) a yard. 

It’s kind of sassy and it’s going to be so comfortable to wear on the next hot day.
  
I want to make the Sew Liberated’s Emmeline Apron next.   How cute is that??

Do you ever sew clothes?  What’s your favorite pattern?

Linking up to these fabulous blogs:
Between Naps on the Porch
Skip to My Lou
The Idea Room
Today’s Creative Blog
The Creative Itch

Bread Baking Part Deux

After my first bread baking experience with my rock hard loaf of country style French bread, I thankfully read the comments of those bakers out there who were kind enough to give me some pointers.   If at first you don’t succeed, try try again!   I can always use that first loaf as a doorstop.

For my second try bread baking, I used the Classic Baguette recipe from the King Arthur Flour website.   Much better!

Look at these pretty little loaves just waiting to go into the oven.

Finished!  They tasted good too and had a really nice crispy, crunchy crust. 

A slice of warm bread with brie.  Delicious!

Linking up to the following great blogs:
Tidy Mom
The Shabby Nest
Funky Junk Interiors
Tatertots and Jello

Brown Paper Packages Tied up with Strings

(Or Priority Mail Packages)!   I just love getting a package in the mail, don’t you?

A while ago I won a prize on spring giveaway day over at The Nesting Place.  It was so much fun opening up the box to see what was inside:

Gina at the Shabby Chic Cottage sent me a wonderful selection of items she sells in her Etsy shop.   Can you believe that up until now,  I never owned a birds nest?

Thanks Gina!

Make it Yours Day {16}

I cannot believe it’s Wednesday again!  I have had a totally busy week.  You may have noticed that I didn’t get a highlights post up from last week’s linky party.  I am so behind!  Rest assured that I popped over to all your wonderful projects though!  I definitely need some better time management this week! 

What did you do this week?  Show us how you added your own special spin when you redid it, revamped it or remodeled it?  Organized something?  Created or updated?  Cooked, sewed or decorated something new?   How’d you make it yours?

<center><a href="http://mybackyardeden.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" alt="Make it Yours @ My Backyard Eden" src="http://i46.tinypic.com/28jck5l.jpg" /></a></center>

When you link up your project please be sure to:  

1. Link to your specific post, not the main page of your blog, so people can easily find your project.
2. Add the button above to your post, or at least link back to this party from your post so everyone can follow along.  
3. Please only link up projects that are new to Make it Yours Day.  In order to keep things current, I will start deleting projects that have already been linked up here before.
4. Finally, show some love!  Visit some of the projects linked up and leave a comment! 

This week I (promise!) will highlight a few of my favorite posts from the links submitted, so check back and see if the spotlight is on you!  Thanks so much for linking up!

How'd you Make it Yours this week?

(Submissions start May 12, 2010, 12:00 am)

Link tool by inlinkz.com

Fabric Covered Push Pins

  
I love my new Idea Board, but I just wasn’t crazy about my plain push pins.   Digging in the back of my sewing machine drawer, I discovered a  Button Cover Kit.  Just what I needed to add a little color to my board.   So I grabbed some more scraps from my stash,  my plain thumbtacks and got started.
 
Using the template on the back of the package, I cut small circles of fabric.

I used a pair of pliers to pull off the hook thingy on the back of the buttons.  They were easy to pull off. 

The instructions on the package were easy to follow.
Voila!  Instant button covers!

Then I just used a dab of hot glue to attach a plain thumb tack.
  
They add a happy pop of color! 

Linking up the following great blogs:
A Soft Place to Land
Tip Junkie
Blue Cricket Designs
The Shabby Chic Cottage

My Idea Board

I’ve been wanting to make some kind of “Idea Board” to hang over my sewing machine.  A place to collect ideas, to-do lists, patterns, swatches of fabric, etc.  Here’s what I came up with:
I started with a cheap bulletin board I bought with a coupon at Michaels.  I spray painted the frame Heirloom white and picked out a couple of happy colors.  I taped off some lines and painted out a couple of stripes. 
I thought it needed a little black, so I used a sharpie to add a line.   It wasn’t quite enough so I searched my fabric stash for this polka dot fabric (the same one I used for my polka dot ruffle flats), and mod podged it on.  Much better. Then I took a few clothespins and gave them a little fabric mod podge love.   I hot glued the clothespins to the finished bulletin board.
I love that I can hang all sorts of things from the clothespins. 
Did you notice the super sweet artwork my 11 year old daughter made me for Mother’s Day?  It’s hanging right above my sewing machine too! It was a very good day!

Linking up to the following great blogs: Between Naps on the Porch
Today's Creative Blog
Skip to My Lou
The DIY Showoff 
Reinvented

Happy Mother’s Day

  
To those of you who are a mother, have a mother, hope to be a mother, or have ever mothered another:   I hope you have a lovely, lovely day.

Stuff I Love ~ Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer

Can I tell you right now how much I love this stuff?    If you haven’t tried Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer, it is absolutely my favorite lip balm.   It comes in several pretty, subtle colors.  My favorite is Fig, followed by Watermelon.   It feels great on, smells great and has a slight minty taste.   I don’t wear a lot of makeup and the colors are pretty, sheer and natural looking. 



This was a totally unsolicited, uncompensated testimonial for Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer.    They’re just stuff I love. 

What’s your favorite beauty product?

Make it Yours Day {15}

It’s Wednesday!  I love Wednesdays because I get to see all of your amazing projects!

What did you do this week?  Show us how you added your own special spin when you redid it, revamped it or remodeled it?  Organized something?  Created or updated?  Cooked, sewed or decorated something new?   How’d you make it yours?

<center><a href="http://mybackyardeden.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" alt="Make it Yours @ My Backyard Eden" src="http://i46.tinypic.com/28jck5l.jpg" /></a></center>

When you link up your project please be sure to:  

1. Link to your specific post, not the main page of your blog, so people can easily find your project.
2. Add the button above to your post, or at least link back to this party from your post so everyone can follow along.  
3. Please only link up projects that are new to Make it Yours Day.  In order to keep things current, I will start deleting projects that have already been linked up here before.
4. Finally, show some love!  Visit some of the projects linked up and leave a comment! 

Each week I will highlight a few of my favorite posts from the links submitted, so check back and see if the spotlight is on you!  Thanks so much for linking up!

How'd you Make it Yours this week?

(Submissions start May 5, 2010, 12:00 am)

Link tool by inlinkz.com

Just had to share

This is a shot of the iris from yesterday’s post.   Beautifully unfurled.  I’m fascinated by the little caterpillar like thing at the center.  I guess I’ve never looked inside one before.  Nature is absolutely amazing.

For photographers with skills that put mine to shame, check out these!

A Peek into My Garden

We had glorious Spring weather all weekend.  I spent the better part of both days outside in my yard and I have the sunburned arms to prove it.
 

I call this my Lucky Spot.  This year I had nasturtiums come up on their own.  Last year, I had morning glory magically appear.  I don’t know if the birds are bringing the seeds or what, but I’m thankful for the gift nonetheless.

This dove and his mate spent all weekend on the fence watching me work. 

I planted several varieties of squash and cucumbers, including pickling cucumbers so I can make my Grandma’s bread and butter pickles. 

Six varieties of tomatoes, including these San Marzanos I started last month from seed. 

Green peppers, yellow bells and jalapenos for fresh salsa and pico de gallo.   Green beans, melons, chives, basil, cilantro and more mesclun also made it into my raised beds this weekend.

Finally, here’s an iris just waiting to burst out.  It has the most gorgeous purple iridescence.   It was a wonderful gardening weekend.

Did you do any planting last weekend?

Linking up to:
New Nostalgia
The Shabby Chic Cottage
The Shabby Nest
Funky Junk Interiors
Tatertots and Jello