Vintage Movie Star Chic

I don't think I have mentioned this before but the sun is not and never has been my friend.  I am pale.  Very, very pale.  So when summer comes, I start the hat search.  It is nearly impossible to find hats that keep my delicate head covered and look normal.  There is just always something so dorky about summer hats.  Or maybe just on me.  This winter I became obsessed with knitting a turban.  I just wanted something different- I have a cloche, I knit a few slouchy berets.  So, after a short search, I found a vintage pattern on Ravelry.  I was very pleased with my knit turban, it is oh so very vintage movie star.  But now I need a warm weather head covering.  After many unsuccessful attempts at tying a scarf turban-like around my head, I began to wonder if I could sew one (stop laughing at me, 40!).  But then I found these on Urban Outfitters website:

You can buy them here.  See you at the beach!

Spring Planting/Square Foot Gardening

I haven't written in a while.  I didn't feel like I had anything interesting to write about.  Then I realized that I have been spending an inordinate amount of time planning my vegetable garden, learning how to compost, and building raised beds.  Which I find pretty interesting.  So I thought I would write a little about that.

This is a picture of our garden mid-summer last year.   It was our first vegetable garden.  We had one raised bed with peppers and tomatoes.  And a hanging planter with strawberries.  I also planted some broccoli, but I don't really want to talk about that.  Anyway - it was SO exciting to watch our veggies grow, and to watch the kids actually eat the veggies we had grown, that we  decided to expand our garden this year. 

We plan to have at least three raised beds.  I am still playing around with my planting configuration, but I know that one of the beds will be dedicated to peppers and tomatoes.  In the other two beds I hope to grow lettuce, spinach, carrots, radishes, bush beans, corn, zucchini and maybe eggplant and broccoli.  We are also growing sunflower seeds.  It sounds like a lot of planting for only three beds, but you can squeeze a lot more plants into a raised bed than you can a traditional garden bed.  Also, this year I discovered square foot gardening, which tells you exactly how many of each kind of plant you can plant within a square foot of a raised bed.  I had no idea I could plant SIXTEEN carrot plants in one little square!  There are charts explaining square foot gardening all over the internet.

We live in zone 5.  This means that we need to wait to plant many of our plants until Memorial Day.  But I have planted seeds for some cold-tolerant plants.  I hope to see lettuce, spinach, radish, arugula and carrot sprouts coming through the dirt in the next few days!  Fingers crossed!  Last year, the only seeds I planted were spinach seeds, which yielded me a great big NOTHING. 

Okay, I am off to read more about composting!

Love, 40

Hello, Spring!

I'm not a fan of nail art, really I'm not.  But sometimes I find myself bored and at Walgreen's simultaneously.  It can be a dangerous combo for me- as in, "really, hair dye for only $7??".  Well, this fantastic find is Sally Hansen and costs about $10.  With short nails like mine, there is enough for two full applications.  That's only $5 a "manicure" and it is supposed to last TEN DAYS!! The 12 year old girl in me (the same one that loves all things Hello Kitty) is just thrilled!

Just keep pinning, pinning, pinning

As thirty-five says - "Time waster alert!"

Have you heard of pinterest?  It's amazing.  It's a website where you create virtual bulletin boards where you can "pin" cool things you find while surfing the web.  You can also search topics that interest you and view other members' pins for inspiration. 

If the site is still in beta when you attempt to become a member, don't worry, it took less than two weeks for me to get an invite to join. 

Happy pinning!

Forty

You're Either On The Bus or You're Off The Bus.....

Back when I was in high school and college- I fantasized about being a hippie in the sixties.  The Summer of Love and Haight/Ashbury and so on... it all seemed so romantic to me.  Naturally, I went to as many Dead shows as possible (without actually ever touring because I am not particularly adventurous like that).  I was fascinated with all that surrounded the whole hippie culture (or counterculture, perhaps?).  Of course, I read up on all things related, including Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters (though come to think of it, I never completely read the Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test- how odd.  Must add to my "after grad school reading list").  Any how, as we all know, the Merry Pranksters traveled America in a painted bus, living the bohemian life which consisted of dropping acid and whatnot.  This led to Ken Kesey famously saying, "You're either on the bus or you're off the bus...."  Meaning of course, either you "got" their lifestyle or you didn't, you were with them or you weren't.  And as an aside, was I ever excited to learn the Neal Cassady drove the bus(THE Neal Cassady and by that I mean Dean Moriarty from my beloved On The Road- is everyone still with me?)!  Oh, the irony of course that Jack Kerouac was none too fond of the whole hippie movement- but never mind that right now.  Continuing on- my point is that to me saying that someone was "on the bus" meant that most likely they were a fried acid casualty. Until this happened....

My son has a security blanket that he loves to drag around and sniff.  He calls it noo noo.  And in an unfortunate event recently, on the way home from the babysitter's, we accidentally left noo noo on the bus.  Of course I panicked but noo noo never turned up in the lost and found (what a surprise, that tattered thing?) But it actually turned out okay- I replaced it with a new one (stupid me but that is a different story...) and we talk about the old one occasionally.   For example, the other day he told me that our cat smelled like noo noo on the bus.  But then yesterday my poor son couldn't find his favorite Thomas train and he was growing increasingly frantic as we looked for it.  Finally he grabbed my hand and said "Where is he?  Did we throw him out?  Is he in the garbage?"  and then after a short pause his eyes widened, his voice got a little more quiet and he said, "Is he....on the bus?" It broke my heart a little but still I had to laugh to myself and say, "No,Thomas the Tank Engine is most definitely not on the bus!  I think I can say for certain Thomas is off the bus!"
-35

Valentine's Day Gift - Part II

Oh my, 35 is funny, isn't she?  I may have to buy that cute little teddy for my hubby.

I have been thinking about Valentine's Day gifts, too, which is kinda sad, since my valentine never gives me anything.  Anyway, my idea is not as a funny as 35's teddy bear, but I promise your loved one will love it for years to come. 

Curious?  Get your valentine one of these:

Or one of these:

35 gave me a clementine tree for my birthday this year.  It definitely ranks as one of my top ten favorite gifts EVER.  I am hoping for a lemon tree next year. 

Buy the trees here.

Man, I hope I get this for Valentine's Day.....

If you are not lucky enough to get this as a gift this Valentine's Day (or you want to give it to a loved one) you can buy this lovely little teddy bear here.

-35