Jumping with my Fingers Crossed: gardening

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Grass Is Boring--A Pinterest Poser Challenge

I fell in love with my front porch a few years ago. I posted pictures all over social media in sort of a braggy way. But everything wasn't as perfect as it looked (duh, like everything on social media, HA!). I was hiding something, I had a secret. A secret that only my family, a few of my neighbors and a guy from TruGreen knew about. My secret was that we had the worst back yard in possibly all the land. Our back yard looked like a yard of an abandoned home--dirt patches, weeds, beat up trampoline, remnants from a tree that was struck by lightening (last summer!). It was embarrassing and awful and well, something we never talked about.

One day, last spring, a guy from TruGreen was going door-to-door. I thought maybe it was time to let someone know about the secret. Especially someone that could maybe help. I asked him if he wouldn't mind taking a look at my back yard and see if he could help me. After he saw it, he said this..."Um, no ma'am, there's nothing we can do to help you with that, that's way beyond us, you need to basically start all over."

Yup.

I tried to convince Tim that we should just scrap it and make a giant sand box/sand volleyball court. I had big day dreams of beach parties in our backyard. I mean who needs grass right? Grass is boring.But Tim being the traditional kind of guy he is couldn't wrap his head around something so "out there" as he put it. He said he would try to plant and grow grass, like he had done the previous springs.

But I was determined to find a new way. I was a huge believer in the whole grass being boring and the day dreams of making our backyard feel more like vacation, not a shameful secret. So I turned to Pinterest for ideas and pictures to support my vision when I pitched it to Tim.

Here is what finally convinced Tim to ditch the grass...pea gravel! This pin:

This is the picture I found on Pinterest that convinced Tim to put pea gravel in our backyard and inspired our project! Click here to see more ideas on this site.

So for this month's Pinterest Poser Challenge* (used to do it weekly! I can't even imagine weekly Pinterest projects anymore or blogging that much! I miss it, but that's another blog post), I will share how we got over our backyard shame.

*In an attempt at not being a Pinterest Poser,** every week-ish I detail a new project/idea/recipe inspired by Pinterest.

**My definition of a Pinterest Poser is someone who is all pins and no substance.

A few years ago during the infamous Polar Vortex, my kids sort of built a skating rink in our backyard. It was so cold they could only go outside for 15-minute increments or their exposed skin would get frostbit, but damn they had fun. Unfortunately our grass never grew back. We have tried to plant seed and have managed to grow a bit of grass and weeds, but it dies every year. Waaaa.

A few weeks ago, we put pea gravel, which is very inexpensive, in the old rink spot. We used the tree limbs as a border. The limbs were from a tree that had been struck by lightening last August. We dug a little bit around the edges to sink the limbs in slightly.

Pea gravel is pretty cheap...a few dollars a bag!

We put the whole family to work. We pulled the few patches of grass. We raked. We leveled. We put down weed matting. We spread pea gravel everywhere. We used probably 45 bags of pea gravel and still need to a few more.

Then we bought cheap plastic chairs, a few plants, an umbrella for our long neglected picnic table on the porch and BOOSH! No more backyard shame. It's not perfect and we ran out of money for the fire pit (hoping that will change in August), but it's so much better than the abandoned/dirt look we had before. And it's way less boring than grass!

We bought a new grill and that is AWESOME!

Tim bought me a projector for my birthday and we watch movies outside now! Movies in the moonlight in our vacation-y backyard. It's the best!

Yeah, that's right, I don't need grass or the TruGreen guy to have a pretty rad back yard. Thank you Pinterest for having my back!

Have you made anything inspired by Pinterest lately? Got any favorite holiday crafts? Let me know in the comments or over on my Facebook page.

Come follow me on Pinterest 

(click here).

Here are some of the Pinterest projects I've done/made/attempted:

Cheap (But cute!) Valentine's Decorations/Celebration- click here

DIY Snowman Ornaments- click here

Milk Carton Halloween Luminaries- click here
Fall DIY (Painted Acorns)- click here

Kale Smoothie- click here

Power Tools- click here

Painting Sticks- click here

Homemade Pesto- click here

DIY Map Craft- click here

Homemade Chalk Paint- click here

A Flower Crown- click here

The Rainbow Challenge- click here

DIY Trundle Bed- Click here

DIY Artemis Costume- click here

Taking Pictures of Your Kids- click here

Gluten Free Pretzels- click here

Cinnamon Sugar Doughballs- click here

Painted Lockers- click here

Melted Beads- DIY Suncatcher- click here

Tissue Paper Pom Pom Garland-- click here
A Delightfully Simple Birthday Party--click here
Make An Awesome Omelet--click here
Outdoor Lights Inspired by the show Parenthood- click here
Herb Garden with Chalkboard Pots- click here
Backyard Graffiti Art with kids- click here

Happiness Notecards- click here

Gluten Free Rainbow Cake- click here

Fruit Roll-Up Fortune Cookies- click here

Make Your Own Magnets- click here

DIY Painted Clay Necklace- click here

Dixie Cup Lights- click here

DIY Ornaments-click here

Gluten Free Clay- click here

Make Your Own Stamps- click here
Birthday Shirt- click here

Gluten Free Pop Tarts- click here
Front Porch Kid Art Display- click here
Door turned into Table- click here

Summer Wish List Chalkboard-click here

Peanut Butter Nutella Cookie Sandwiches-click here

Painted Mason Jar Vases-click here

Cinco de Mayo Paper Flowers- click here
Earth Day Cupcakes- Click here
Nail Art-click here

Homemade Photo Booth Fun- click here

Fake Bangs- click here

DIY Subway Art- click here

Furniture Painting and Bench/Chest Makeover- click here

Thanksgiving-y Project/Gratitude/Holiday Countdown- click here
The Smoothie-click here

The Free Printable Turned Artwork in a Boring Hallway- click here
The chalk board-click here
Seven Layer Dip in Individual Cups (my favorite so far!)-click here
The pumpkin address-click here

The Kitchen Dancing Sign--click here

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

One Mighty Basil Plant, DIY Pesto & Pinterest Poser Challenge

I've always wanted to be one of those people that could say "I made this from my garden." Problem is, I wasn't blessed with much of a green thumb or the patience to garden. But I still have daydreams of huge, lush gardens in my backyard like my grandpa had. Or even a small container garden full of tomatoes that produce many that I start canning and giving them to friends and neighbors.

Over the years I've tried, and failed. BUT this year I have one plant that I bought at a farmer's market, a basil plant. It just won't quit on me, even when I forget to water it or I pull off too many leaves to make a tomato basil salad.

Yeah that's right I'm making things from my garden...my garden of one mighty basil plant in a pot.

I'm making salads and and putting basil on my pizza and in pasta dishes and EVEN MAKING MY OWN PESTO! Whaaaaat? Yeah, my own pesto. Today's Pinterest Poser Challenge* is DIY Pesto. Check it.

*In an attempt at not being a Pinterest Poser,** every week-ish I detail a new project/idea/recipe inspired by Pinterest.
**My definition of a Pinterest Poser is someone who is all pins and no substance.

Based on this pin on Pinterest from Gimme Some Oven, I made my own pesto and THEN made a pesto pasta that the whole family loved.

For the Pesto, here's what you need and what you do:

Ingredients

1/2 cup pine nuts
3-4 cloves garlic
3 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan ( I used Kraft, nothing too fancy here)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a food processor or blender, blend together basil, nuts, garlic, and cheese. Pour in oil and then add in salt and pepper. Remember to scrape down the sides in between blending to make sure it's well-blended.

It seriously only took me about seven minutes!

Then for dinner, I cooked up some gluten free spaghetti noodles and boiled some chicken breast and tossed it all together with the fresh pesto. Boosh! Dinner!

Totally gluten free and delicious.

I think what this post is all about is not giving up on your dreams. Sure my garden is just one mighty basil plant in a pot, but I just made part of my dinner with it and now I'm bragging about it on the Internet just like I dreamed when I was a little kid. Who knows? Maybe next year I will have two plants or three!

How is your summer going so far? Are you an amazing gardener? Got any tips? Any recipes? Have you made anything inspired by Pinterest lately? Let me know in the comments or over on my Facebook page.

Come follow me on Pinterest (click here).

Here are some of the Pinterest projects I've done/made/attempted: