One Small Step For A City Girl

After my last post expressing my ambitions to start a mini-garden this year, a good friend of mine offered to spend the day with me and share all her gardening knowledge. Thanks to all her help, I now have a growing garden, including peas, tomatoes, lettuce, mint, oregano, basil, and later, rosemary and nasturtium. Here they are last Sunday, the day after we planted them.

Basil:

 Drying basil; the plant was already big enough to harvest some!

Pineapple Mint:

 

Oregano:

 

Lettuce and Pea seeds:

And the peas and lettuce in planters:

 

Tomatoes seeds and planters:

Five days after planting, the lettuce sprouted!!

The next day the peas sprouted, and the day after that the tomatoes sprouted. Here's what they all look like today, one week after planting.

Basil; the basil that I harvested is dried and ready for use:

Mint, which I harvested right after taking this picture, and am now drying for tea:

 

Oregano, which needs to be harvested and dried; it grows quickly!

 

Peas and Lettuce: 

Tomatoes:

 

So, all those pictures to say this: my garden is growing!!!!!!! Hopefully this year, I'll actually be able to grow some edibile veggies. Tonight for dinner I'll be using some of the dried basil and well as some fresh basil leaves to make margherita pizza. so at least I've grown something that is useable! 

On a slightly more serious note, this whole gardening this is really teaching me a valuable lesson in patience. After I planted the seeds, I wanted to see sprouts right away. I hated the waiting, because I didn't know if the seeds were doing anything under all that dirt. But all I could do was water and wait and hope. And in the end everything has sprouted! Now that things are sprouted however, and especially with the herbs, the growth isn't drastic. It's slow....so slow that I almost don't notice it. That's why I'm taking the pictures: so that I can see how the plants change. 

I feel like life is a lot like that. God's plans are like the seeds. I know He's planted them, I can see the beginning of them, but now I just have to watch and wait and hope that there is something happening under the surface. Also, when God is working in our lives and hearts, the change is slow. The day to day difference in us is so unnoticeable that it is easy to get discouraged. Yet after while if we look back, we can see the change; we can see what He has done. And that is very encouraging!

A New Find, a Life Goal, and a Question for You!

Recently, in all my scouring the world wide web, I stumbled upon a lovely blog which has become one of my favorites.

It is written by a sweet young lady named Mia who is a fellow Christan, homeschooler, and Civil War reenactor, and who, like me, believes that her greatest calling in life is to be a wife, mother, and homemaker. Her entire family has taken on an old-fashioned "homesteading" approach to life, living in a small house in the country, trying to be as self-sufficent as possible. It's an intriguing blog to read, even if you're not into that kind of thing; it's still refreshing to see a young lady and family that is devoted to God.

However, the blog is especially inspiring to me. Why? Well, you all know I love the country; the wide open spaces, the fresh air, the peaceful sounds, the earthy smells. Yup, that's my thing. But more than that, I love the idea of "homesteading". I love the idea of growing my own food, and raising my own animals; the idea of using the laundry line more than the dryer, and candles more than eclectric lights; the idea of being a peacful, old-fashioned family enjoying the simple things of life in the country. Thankfully, my Man shares these ideas with me, so we both dream of having a house in the country with a porch swing and a vegetable garden and animals of our own.

When I first started reading that blog, I was so discouraged. I thought, "I can never be like her! She's probably grown up this way,and she lives in the country, and her entire family is involved. I've grown up depending on Wegmans and Targert, I live in an apartment, and I'm kind of alone in this right now." But, as I started looking back at her posts from the past, I realized that they started out just like me. She was a "normal" girl, living in the city, just new to homeschooling. But her family had a dream, and they made do with what they had, growing small amounts of food in their tiny back yard, until they could move to the country. And now, Mia has a dream, too, of continuing that country lifestyle, and learning how to be the best wife and mother she can. She's doing that, one little thing at a time.

And that got me to thinking....I may not have a family that's ready to throw themselves into the country and start homesteading. But, I can be the beginning of that kind of family. Yeah, the Man and I may have to start out in an apartment, but maybe, someday we will be able to take our family to that house in the country, porch swing and all. And I want to be as ready for that day as possible.

One thing I'm doing this year to make that happen is attempting to growing herbs and tomatoes. I've never grown anything edible before, and trust me, I've tried!! But, I've heard herbs and tomoatoes are easy, and that they don't take up a lot of space (essential, since I only have a small balcony to grow things on).

So here's my question for you: have you ever grown herbs or tomatoes? And if so, PLEASE give me any hints or tips that were helpful to you!!


P.S. Pictures from Disney will be coming soon.....it just takes a while to sift through ofver 1000 pictures!

The Year Of Golden Birthdays

You know, I love birthdays. Birthdays are amazing! And this year just so happens to be the year of Golden Birthdays. My wonderful man Stephen turned 23 on February 23rd, I turn 18 on April 18th, and Stephen's brother turns 20 on the 20th of May. Do you think maybe all the stars are aligning this year?

Well, anyways, Stephen's birthday was just two days ago, and gosh, it was a blast!! I love planning things to do for him, and surprising him, and spending an entire day celebrating him!!

One half of his present was something I couldn't wrap, so I made up a game for him to play in order to earn clues about the present. In order to earn his clues.....

.....he had to complete five lists of 23 things, such as 23 yummy foods, or 23 blessings, or 23 things he wants to do someday.

What did all these clues lead to? Swing dancing! This part of his present was an hour long swing dance lesson with a lady from the group Groove Juice Swing. Her name was Jesse and she was such a good teacher!!! It was so much fun, and we learned a lot!

But, rewinding a bit. Before we went off to our lesson he had to open up the other half of his present...

"Huh? What are these???"

 They were tights....but not for him, of course. In January, he requested that I make myself a new dress for his birthday; so I did, but I also needed sweater tights to keep warm. Gosh...I have the sweetest guy in the world to want me to make MYSELF a dress for HIS birthday present

 Here's the dress:

On a side note, this dress is  a knock-off of Modcloth's Salty And Pepper Dress, and it only cost me $30 to make it, instead of the $70 to buy it!

Moving on, after this we went to the swing dance lesson. Then, we went to Sticky Lips BBQ for lunch. Good stuff!!! We had to park a little ways away from the restaurant, and this is the awesome fashion statement I was making, walking down the street - herringbone rainboots, gingham dress, big brown winter coat, and a plaid scarf! =P

 After eating we headed over to Manhattan Square Park for some ice skating. However, it was rather challenging; because it was so warm, it was kind of like skating on a slushy. But, it was fun! 

After skating we came home for dinner, and strawberry rhubarb pie (his favorite) for dessert.

 My brother also came for dinner, and afterwards, we introduced Stephen to a favorite childhood game of ours called Crossbows and Catapults. Basically, you're trying to destroy other people's castles to capture their king while defending your own.

After the game, we finished our already busy day by going to contra and dancing for three hours. Yes, we are nuts. Every joint and muscle in my body was despising me for it the next day, but it was so worth it!

It certainly was a perfect day, and another amazing birthday in the life of Stephen Schmidt!

1 Hat, 2 Tries, and 3 Lessons Learned

You know the saying,

You learn something new everday.

Well, I agree with that wholeheartedly. Only, some days, I learn a lot more than one thing. Like last Tuesday, I learned two lessons. The first:

Wearing a hat can really make a big difference in your warmth when it's 5 degrees outside.  In fact, it can really make a difference even when it's not that cold.

Second,

Wearing a hat with a pompom on top is just.....weird. Not only did I feel like the kid from Home Alone, but it also wiggled whenever I moved my head......and that was weird. 

Those two wonderful lessons prompted me to make my own hat. I had lots of wool yarn left over from making my shawl, and no plans for it. Since I also had some extra time on my hands, I decided to go for it. I found the pattern for a hat here (http://lilustudios.blogspot.com/2010/12/arrow-hat-crochet-pattern.html). I certainly wouldn't recommend this pattern for beginners. However, if you have a good grasp of crocheting and reading patterns, then it's pretty easy to follow once you get into the swing of things.

Well, Friday night I went to work, and four hours later my hat was almost completely finished. I tried it on and....it was too small. Gggaahhhh......frustration. Well, after looking at some of the comments posted on the pattern, I found one lady who had a similar problem and gave tips on how to fix it.

So out it came. All 19 rows and 987 double crochet stitches of work.......gone. I hate having to do that. But, I knew it was worth it because in the end, the hat would actually fit well.

So, I went for my second try, and that time, it worked!!! It fits perfectly, and I'm so glad I redid it. I know it's hard to see the detail in this picture, but it gives you an idea:

I am quite pleased with how it turned out, and now my head will be very warm and not have to suffer through another pompom! =)

Now, I'm sure you're all thinking....."Wait! This post can't end yet! I've seen the one hat, I've seen the two tries, but you've only mentioned two lessons! What about the third lesson learned?"

Well, the last lesson I've learned this week is totally unrelated to hats; it is:

Never become too attached to the characters in the book you're reading.

Yeah...I WOULD do that. I've been reading the Anne of Green Gables series recently. I've seen her go from a scared, skinny little 11-year-old to a mature and lovely adult, enjoyed all her adventures and mishaps, learned with her along the way, and really just had a grand old time. Well, in the book I just started Anne got married; and I feel like a really close friend has left me behind. Up until now I could relate with most of what she experienced; but now, she's gone on ahead, and I'm still left here. It sounds silly, I know, and I'm not really all that devastated. I simply couldn't believe just how attached I've become to Anne Shirley.

And, on that note, I would highly recommend the series. You just can't help but be happy and encouraged my Anne's wonderful joy and zeal for life, and there are also many things to learn from her experiences.........like never paint a town hall blue!

Stitching My Way To Christmas

So, as I mentioned in my last post, one of the big things that I was busy with during November and December was sewing projects and Christmas presents.

The first part of that was my own 1860's wardrobe. The #1 item on my list of projects was to re-trim my old blue dress. The old trim was in horrid shape after the summer and honestly rather boring; just straight black lines. So, I turned that:

 Into this:

And also put new trim on the bodice:

 Now, you'll notice from those pictures that the bodice is separate from the skirt; that was also a project - separate the two halves and tailor them to fit me perfectly. The reason for doing that was the second project.

Back in September, I got some amazing blue plaid flannel at a reenactment. After much searching and thinking and planning, I finally decided to make a Zouave jacket out of it, and a blouse to go under the jacket. However, I obviously couldn't just wear a blouse and jacket, and I didn't want to make a new skirt. Then it struck me...separate my old dress so that I can mix and match!! So, I made the jacket:

And the Garibaldi blouse, which is covered with intricate embroidery:

One other thing I forgot to mention: I sewed it all by hand. Every seam on the jacket and blouse, every stitch, every inch of embroidery was done by hand. A machine never touched them. And it was awesome!!! So cool to know that I was doing it all authentically!

And thus, my new outfit was born:

Continuing in the world of hand-sewing, for Christmas I made my wonderful man two 1860's shirts and an 1860's vest. That was interesting, trying to make clothes without being able to try them on the actual wearer. I definitely have to thank my brother for being so willing to try everything on, but, unfortunately, my brother is not quite the same size as Stephen. However, all three garments ended up fitting PERFECTLY!

I embroidered his initials on all three pieces:

Again, all three were done entirely by hand. As one of his family members said, "You're either a glutton for work, or you're in love!" Maybe a little bit of both.... =)

And that leads us to Christmas. It truly is a most wonderful time of the year!! Christmas day itself was the best Christmas I have ever had. Stephen and I got to spend the day both with my family and with his. At my house, one (rather new) tradition is to make chocolate covered Oreos:

 Does that vest look familiar? Yup, he loved it so much that he wore it most of the morning....even at the cost of having a clash of plaid on plaid! =)

My mom and brother.....pretending to cross-cut saw? Tug of war? Who knows!

My beautiful sister and her husband:

Some target practice at the Schmidt house!

The whole family together.....it was an amazing Christmas!!