Work in Progress

Have been running in and out of town for the past two weeks, so the little house is still a wreck.  Today I decided to tackle painting the kitchen table and chairs. Here is a sneak peek.  I went through 5 cans of spray paint and still need to do a final once over.  Hoping to complete the project tomorrow and am still on a search for chair cushions.  Fingers crossed...

Yard Views

The side entrance to our home:

I painted the pantry wall yellow which I think makes for a sunny welcome.    As you can see, poppies grow up in just about every place they can around the home's foundation.  

Ready for the close up:

In an effort to beautify the front, we dug up the spidery plants near the walkway and put poppy seeds down.  They've sprouted and we hope to get a wave of flowers before the cold sets in!

To rival the beautiful poppies, here's a look at one of our cucumber flowers:

More from the home/garden when I get back from my trips to Los Angeles and Virginia. 

September Has Come

Many, many changes have been happening in the past month... giving me little time to blog.  But there is much to blog about: moved to a new house, am planning a wedding, finished a season of work, etc etc...

And to commemorate this fall, I splurged and bought myself a gorgeous Hermes scarf yesterday. It is royal blue the pattern looks similar to this although the colors are not the same:

I would like to find a wear to wear it everyday!  Also adore the tiny orange box it came in.  Bought me big points when walking into stores like Prada where I bought S a gorgeous tie. 

New Garden

More photos to come, but here is a sneak peek.  Spent part of Saturday with Sol hand weeding crab grass out of the new garden, laid down three giant bags of organic compost, and planted some seeds (marigolds, lettuce, arugula, beets, radishes, snow peas).  I've been told that the Indian Summer in Palo Alto will be just fine for the baby squash and cucumber starter plants I put in the ground last weekend:There are also some strawberries, but I'm not too optimistic about how they'll turn out.  Notice all the leaves that fall down from the tree above?  I need to find a creative solution to keep them out of the garden this fall... now that seeds are in, raking is not an option.  
The fiance has been a champ at watering, and above you can see the improvement (our place is on the left).  It's slight right now, but it will just keep getting better.  I also weed whacked, but didn't have time to sweep up.  Come labor day weekend, the landscaping will change... keep your eyes peeled.  

For now, I'm packing it up here in LA and saying goodbye to a great apartment.  You should hear the echo in the empty rooms!

SADNESS!! WHY?!!!!

They look fine from above...

But awful from below.

Blossom End Rot strikes again?!  I just gave the planter a zap of calcium and hope it helps the Early Girls survive.  I had worried my cherry tomatoes were suffering the same plight but only one fruit was affected.... Fingers crossed.  Much to learn about this gardening stuff.

Urban Beauty

A surprise this morning that made taking out the trash so much nicer:

This one has gorgeous yellow spots... almost like freckles.

I selfishly picked this one and brought it indoors... anyone know what they're called?

Conversation with the audience:

A: Are you writing again?

KG: How did you know?

A: You're blogging.  You never blog.  Unless you're writing.  

KG: Which I'm not because I'm blogging.

A: Uh huh.  

Back to it....

I can't wait for Summer - Part 2

Some more photos.  I think water, fertilizer, and a round of seed will do the grass some good.  And a little bit of landscaping might help...  I think I need to look into plants that grow well in the Peninsula.  Again, suggestions welcome!