Rory Lately...

(Ror in TheDapperGentleman's arms)

Rory had a haircut. Now she looks like a Lion/Fox hybrid. 

I've discovered that it's best for the groomers to shave her body,

but for me to style her face fur. That way I can optimize her cuteness.

This furry fox has been following me around 

waiting patiently for me to drop carrots, cucumbers, and peas.

Little Ror and her cucumber. 

It's adorable how gentle she is as she takes 

treats out of my hands.

Ror taking her cucumber to her bed so she can be 

comfortable as she devours her treat.

Ror: Yes more please :) These are da best!

Refreshing chocolate mint water with cucumber

There is nothing better than refreshing minty water on a hot summer's day.

It's also a great way to use the mint that is probably growing like crazy right now :)

I like Chocolate Mint, but you can use almost anything you are growing, it's all delicious!

Cut 5-10 sprigs of mint from your garden. 

You can also use basil, rosemary, and lemon balm.

Crush the mint. You can do this in your hands or

with a honey comb. Crushing the mint releases the flavours.

Peel and chop a quarter of a cucumber. 

I like to make cute little designs to add a little pizazz  ;)

In a jug add in the mint and cucumber.

(I got this cute mid century glass coffee pot in the antique mall 

in Fort Langley :)

and... voila... 

Delicious water infused with refreshing mint and cucumber. 

You can keep this in the fridge and continually add more water for 3 days. 

P.S. If you like lemon, only add 1 slice. 

The lemon can over power the minty freshness

and other flavours in the water.

Single tasking vs. Multitaskings

I used to prize myself in being the best multitasker ever.

However as life has gotten busier, I realized that my attention span

was dwindling. I could no longer sit down and focus on one thing.

When I'm reading, my mind often wanders to various other things.

Then...

I started to single task.

1. I turned off all my notifications at work 

so that when I'm working on something I won't get distracted 

by new emails coming in.

2. This one's hard... but when I'm watching t.v. or netflix,
I only watch the program and am not surfing the internet as well.

3. Taking time to do single tasking things
like writing in my journal or meditating.

Life feels calmer and less stressful when I'm not trying to cram
everything in. I say no to things and live life more in the moment.

Dried Alpine Strawberries

Alpine Strawberries are ripening like crazy right now. 

Drying them in the oven makes a tasty snack :)

Line your baking tray with parchment paper

and allow enough space so the berries aren't touching each other.

Bake at 375 for 15-25 minutes, checking on them every 10 minutes.

Depending on your oven they may cook faster or slower.

When they are flat and solid they are ready!

Put them in a cute plate and enjoy :)

Are You A Jealous Person?

I find that I play the comparing game a lot. 

It's terrible, but I find that it helps me see where 

things may be missing in my life.

When I'm jealous it's usually because I'm neglecting

something, or feel neglected. If I can identify what that is

I can fix it :)

I came across this article in Design Sponge that explains it so well. 

Bob's Apple Baby is Blushing at Me

It's a little hard to see, but Bob's apple baby is blushing at me!

Bob is so outgoing, I never thought that he would create bashful apple babies.

I love you too apple baby, I love you too :)

Happy Friday Everyone

The carrot babies have grown big and strong!

Maybe a little too strong...

Some of them are being stubborn. When I go to pull them, the foliage is breaking off.

It's okay though. I love them anyways and will happily dig them out :)

"Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes..... 

You are so delicious.

Yum, yum, in my tum.

Yum, yum, in my tum."

This is what i sing to myself as I harvest, wash, and devour these beauties.

My neighbours must think me crazy, but hopefully one day

they will sing along :)

I dream of living in a musical. Where I start humming

in the elevator to have a lovely stranger hum along, 

until everyone I come across is singing and dancing down the block.

YummMMmm, purple carrots!

Not going to lie, I did close my eyes to smell 

and caress this (my first of the season) purple carrot.

I would have snuggled him all day, but my mouth was watering.

So, I chopped him up and shared him with TheDapperGentleman and Ror. 

Steveston Farmers Market

This is the perfect time to head out to the farmers market.

There are new ones popping up all over Vancouver these days. 

I stopped by the Steveston Market and found the most beautiful peaches.

Almost everything is in season now, our taste buds can delight!

Some lovely succulents for you?

How about some wood pens :)

Child Novelist I Am Not :)

I've always thought writing children's books would be easy.

I've tried to write a kid's book about Ror, but...

Weekend Adventures: Edgemont Village

This weekend we went to Edgemont Village. It's the cutest little community in North Vancouver.

With... 

Loving Lately...

As the summer days get longer and warmer your plants are going to be thirstier.

I am not a warm weather gal. I prefer the dark rainy windy days of winter. When the sun is out, I'm usually indoors ;)

Last summer I decided, no more standing outside in the boiling heat. I need to set up a water system!

I tested a bunch of different soaker hoses and sprinklers. I kept coming back to the brand Gardena. It's more expensive, but totally worth it. Everything I've purchases it extremely durable and works amazingly.

I have all my hoses set up on with their hose connector system. It makes life so much easier as you're switching between nozzles.

These soaker hoses are great for my garden bed. It doesn't provide a lot of coverage so you need to make sure that you put them close to your plants.

I had previously tried 2 different non kinking hoses and both kinked and broke within 30 days. This Gardena one has lasted me 2 years and it's still in "like-new" condition. 

I purchased this sprinkler this year and am loving it. Everything is adjustable so you can water only the part of the garden you'd like. It works great because my neighbour gardener likes to only water his garden every couple of days. 

Last but not least, the water timer... Oh oh oh... the water time. If I were a poet I would have endless poems devoted to the water timer. I highly recommend this water timer, or any water timer. It gives you the freedom to travel, to be lazy, or to just neglect your garden at your whim :)

Disclaimer: this is not a paid review. I have purchased and tested all these products on my own to give you unbiased amazing products for your garden ;)

Lesson Learned...

(Look at Bob's Apple Babies grow)

Sometimes I can be very spontaneous in my gardening. I won't do my research first and thus learn valuable lessons...

This year the lesson I learned was to not transplant fruit trees when they are growing fruit. I did this with Bob the Apple Tree, my Fig Tree, and the Black Raspberry bush...

Bob originally had a lot of blooms that would have turned into apples. I transplanted him because I was too eager and he was only left with 2 apples... Same goes for the Fig Tree and Raspberry bush.

However... The Fig bush has 3 new babies! Originally it had lots of baby figs, but only 1 survived the transplant. I checked on him the other day and he has 3 new blooms :)

P.S. the grape vines are doing really well...

Original Grape Post

Lavender Harvest

I have definitely learned my lesson... Lavender needs to be harvested and pruned every year. If you don't it becomes leggy and won't bloom as well the next year. Pruning helps keep lavender compact and cute :)

I'm definitely not an expert at pruning lavender, but this video was very helpful :)

After I harvested my lavender, I laid the buds flat on my bookshelf and waited 3-5 days for them to completely dry out.

Once they're dry you can put them by your windows and doors to keep mosquitoes and flies out of your home :)

P.S. TheDapperGentleman designed and built this bookshelf! 

An Old Friend Revitalized...

I have my ring back! My beloved ring spent many years cooped up in my jewelry box because my finger had increased circumference (gotten fatter) than it was in high school. Darn ageing :)

It was my grandmother's engagement ring that was passed down to me when I graduated high school. My mom had the middle diamond removed years ago, so we squashed the setting together and re sized it for my larger Canadian finger... (my grandmother and mother have tiny Asian hands).

Honestly, this new goldsmith is a magician! He completely revitalised the ring and made it look amazing :) I can't stop looking at my finger.

The adventures and secrets this ring could tell if it could talk to people other than me...

If my ring could talk... it would tell you about all the adventures we had together, all the secrets of my college and university years, and last but not least the 2 months it took me to completely fall in love with TheDapperGentleman.

More Grandparent Awesomeness. Help these photos tell their stories.

And... This comb necklace that I re-found while cleaning out my old room at my mom's house...

At least I think it's a comb necklace... it doesn't really fit in my hair as a hair accessory. Let me know if you know what it is :)

First Tomato and Blueberries of the Seaon

This little guy is the first tomato of the season! Yes, he was delicious! there's just something about growing your own tomatoes... they are definitely more delicious.

The blueberries are ready, the blueberries are ready, the blueberries are ready... I have grown to be more giving as I saved exactly 1 blueberry per harvest for TheDapperGentleman ;)

Penny in Yo Pants

Here's a super cute and helpful video for your Friday :)

3 Tips for Mosquito Bites

(photo credit)

Note to Self: Bug spray is your best friend...

Every year I'm plagued by mosquito bites. 

Oddly, this year the only time I've been a victim to this 

was at my family's lake home. 

After my 15 bites (5 on my face)... 

Here are my tips to help you not to scratch.

Tip 1: Go Shopping. 

Keeping busy will help you keep your mind occupied 

when the scratching urge is at it's most powerful.

Tip 2: Polysporin will help the bites heal faster.

This tip came from one of the funniest and loveliest people I know.

She... was bitten more, and worst than I was ;)

Tip 3: Ice it.

I found that extreme cold or hot

made my bites numb and helped dull the itch.

P.s Mosquitos viciously believe in etiquette. One bit me on my elbow, so every time I have my elbows on the table I have a painful reminder to mind my manners :)

Social Media Doppelganger

(photo credit)

Do you have a social media doppelganger? I just started to follow a new person on Pinterest and her garden pins are my perfect garden pins. I don't want her to think me a dork so I feel like I have to not pin every pin she pins ;)

Ohhh, but I want to...

p.s. the picture is a sample of her lovely pins! ah-maz-ing right?

Director's Commentary ;)

(photo credit)

When I watch an amazing movie, I love to re-watch it with director's commentary. I find that there is so much insight that you can reflect on when you hear what went into making the film.

Have you seen Bad Words? It just came out on Red Box and it's amazing. Sooooooo funny :) Not a lot of movies still have great bonus features but this one does :) I highly recommend watching it first without commentary, then again with it. Jason Bateman is hilarious ;)

Another great director's commentary is You've Got Mail.

Best Natural Ant Repellent

Ants have been destroying my veggie garden. It's awful. However, after much research and testing, I've devised a perfect formula to help us all get them out.

  

You will need:

Ground Cinnamon

Ground Garlic Powder

Ground Clove

1 Mason Jar

2 Mason Jar Lids

1 Screwdriver, or something to poke holes

1 Hammer

(Cute Slippers are Optional)

Add in equal parts of Cinnamon, Garlic Powder, and Clove

into the Mason Jar

Put the lid on and shake all the ingredients together.

Use the Hammer and Screwdriver to hammer in holes into the Mason Jar.

Your shaker is now ready for use.

Put this mixture around the base of the plant to deter ants.

Ensure that you aren't putting on directly on to the leaves.

Direct contact with leaves may cause damage on tender plants.

You can use the extra lid to put on top of the shaker lid 

to keep a tight seal for when you store the mixture :)

Look What I Found...

in the freezer.

Question is, who absentmindedly put it there and when...

Could this be an act from TheDapperGentleman?  

B.i.t.G Holmes is on the case. ;)

Rory Lately...

This is Ror and her Bestie. They've been friends ever since puppydom. They have legendary make out sessions, fight like sisters, and cuddle during their day time naps.

Their love isn't large enough to share dog bones though... They must each have their own :)