Summer Solstice Shinanigans and Garden Tour

"Summer Solstice" and "huge, raging bonfire" are synonymous in my mind. You see, every year when I was little, the teachers, parents and students at The Waldorf School of Princeton (the private grade-school my sisters and I attended) welcomed summer with a ginormous bonfire. And yes I know that isn't a word. But I like it. Don't worry, there were calls to the local fire department beforehand, and students generally learned to keep their distance and simply marvel at the glorious flame.

Of course, later on, students were known to jump over mini-bonfires. As my sister Sarah demonstrates below:

So you can imagine that after years of celebrating the longest day of the year in such a fashion, it is a little let down when all we can create in our little Minneapolis backyard is a tiny marshmallow-roasting-sized flame in a dainty little pit.

... But what is that we're doing? Let's zoom in and see what's really going on ...

Yup, those are most definitely gardening gloves on Sarah's hands, and a wheelbarrow full of perennials in the background. (Sarah, my youngest sister, is living with us this summer, and has become our full-time gardener! And fire stoker! Gotta earn your keep! Just kidding ...)

We indulged in a spontaneous trip to Gerten's (amazing gardening store) right before close that Saturday night and couldn't wait to get some color in the ground. But we couldn't forgo our Summer Solstice bonfire, so we doubled-up and enjoyed a bonfire while gardening into the night -- far past your typical gardening hours. We felt like rebels, or else intense gardening enthusiasts, planting out peonies by candlelight bonfire-light. Perhaps not quite the rush of a Waldorf Bonfire, but it was close. (I neglected to document the late-night gardening, but just picture us with shovel in hand digging away like grave robbers!)

The next day we finished up planting our new perennials (and a few annuals too) around the patio.

 

We wanted to add some color to our patio area and give it that cozy garden feel, so we decided on some of our favorite perennials (a pink and white peony, Evan apparently loves roses so we grabbed a yellow one, Fern Leaf Yarrow - I love that color yellow, and the purple plant is called Marcus Salvia I think) and then we picked up a bunch of petunias and other annuals to fill in the front row.


As you probably remember, we built our patio just last fall (stage 1, stage 2, stage 3 and stage 4), so it's come a long ways in the last year. Just last June there was a big dead tree in the middle of our backyard, zero privacy from the lack-o-fence, and nothing but grass bordering our house.

We never really had an image in our head of what we wanted our backyard to look like, but we've just been developing our plan as we go.

After enjoying our patio and table this spring sans garden, we knew we needed something bordering the patio to help it feel settled and cozy. At one point we toyed with the idea of placing a raised bed under the window, but decided it would be better to incorporate pavers for a more streamlined and cohesive look. Evan found some great edgers at Menards for just a buck a piece (I think they were called "Harvest Blend"-- the same as our patio). He just dug out a little trench, then tapped them into place, using a little leftover sand from the big patio project. Easy peasy.





Come, let me show you the rest of our backyard and garden!

See the wood pile in the middle of the yard? That's where our old dead tree used to stand. Somehow that pit collected wood over the year (including our christmas tree) and we're gradually chipping away at it with every bonfire. Eventually we will seed it with grass. We hope to plant a new tree in that area someday, but probably a little closer to the corner of the fence because the current location interferes with walking in a straight line from patio to gate.

We have various shrubs and perennials planted to the left of this picture. Namely a bleeding heart, two hydrangeas that weren't expected to come back this year, and some grasses and hastas. We're trying to make the air conditioner and all the other above-ground cables blend in a bit. We'll see how that goes.

But how rude of me. I should've met you at the front of our house and let you in the side gate! What was I thinking. Ah, there you are ... welcome to our backyard. On your left you'll see about eight tomato plants in a rather unfinished area. We're still working on that. Then up on the left we have a raised bed made by Sarah and Evan that holds our berry garden - strawberries, raspberries, and a blueberry bush that is supposed to grow vertically. We might need to make a new bed if these guys get too crowded.

 

On the right is our vegetable garden (another raised bed crafted by Evan -- I'll post a tutorial on that soon!). This year we have a slew of sweet peppers, three rows of lettuce, basil (which I'm pretty sure I couldn't live without), oregano, and some zinnias (which you can't really see in this photo). This was taken a few weeks ago, so everything is a little more developed now.

S and E, spying on the neighbor? That's what fences are really for, haha ; )

I am LOVING this new space. E and I decided our patio is probably our favorite house project to date.

And this lovely garage-sale find (in the free bin of course) was so ugly, how could we not claim it? Lady Flamingo Legs is no longer camped out in our berry patch, I'm sorry to say. But she may make a reappearance when you least expect it .... ; )

... And now, just for fun, let's look at some backyard pictures of yore to see how far we've come. I'm actually really bad at remembering to take "before" photos, so most of these are just pictures documenting something else that happened to take place in the backyard. But you get the idea.

Side yard, sans fence, patio, tomatoes, raised beds.

Fence starts to go up! I don't think I've blogged about this whole process yet. We hired out a contractor, who proved to be a little unorthodox, but an awesome fence builder.

Backyard shot

Yay, for privacy!

Last August we dined in our backyard for the first time (without a picnic blanket, that is).

Groundbreaking!

Anyone else out there taking on a project one step at a time? I'm excited to see how our backyard continues to evolve .... Evan already has big plans for a homemade rain barrel! Stay tuned!

I know there has to be more bonfire or bonfire/gardening enthusiasts out there!

Read more about the patio here: stage 1, stage 2, stage 3 and stage 4.

Camera Love

I {heart} my new Nikon D7000. Well, I shouldn't technically say "my camera" yet, as it is officially still my dad's. He bought this amazing SLR camera earlier this spring in anticipation of some photo shoots I had coming up (and because he wanted to play with it too, of course). My ol' Nikon D70 had become a bit unreliable in recent months, and I really needed a dependable camera to shoot my cousin's wedding in June. After some engagement shoots and then this recent wedding, I am in love. So I will be purchasing the lovely instrument from my dad : ) I also played around with flash for the first time and am decided that the extra hassle of fiddling with the flash/angle is well worth it for crisp, non-shadowy images.

Check out my photo blog for wedding pictures and a slideshow!

Trumpets and Bieber and Zubas - Oh My!

It's that time of year again, when my brave husband does what most sane people would never do, and stands in front of an auditorium full of high schoolers ... and performs. But he's no stranger to the Lakeville North Staff Variety Show. In 2009 he donned his Johnny Cash hat (that was both figurative and literal) and also sang Dani California. 2010 was his year as the lead in The Devil Went Down to Georgia (one of my all-time favorites) and his first year as a member of the Boy Band (NSYC)! Check out those performances here and here.

This year Evan pulled out a new trick ... err, an old one really as he's been playing trumpet since high school (or earlier?). Here he is in Sell Out (off on the right side with a gray and blue shirt):



You may be wondering how Bieber, as in Justin Bieber, made his way into my blog post? Yes, this is not a typical occurrence.

Before this clip begins, the guys are on stage watching some Vikings Football when a Justin Bieber commercial cuts in. Of course the guys act like they can't stand the kid, but once the music starts playing ... well, you'll just have to see for yourself! (Evan is in the back row, second from the left, with a Vikings jersey on, #99)



Lastly, the teachers of Lakeville North brought back Zubas! Apparently many of the students didn't even know these 1980s tiger-printed pj-ish pants had a name. Yea, we're old. Evan is in the middle wearing orange. I think he just learned this dance the day before!



Until next year!!!

Meet me in St. Lou-e Lou-e! {E+C travel}

Is anyone else singing the ol famous song from the 1944 Judy Garland flick? (Sorry, they don't allow me to embed that YouTube clip.)

As you continue to hum that song, I'll fill ya in on our own adventures in St. Louis!

Over spring break this past March, Evan and I decided to head towards warmer weather. We contemplated jetting off to some tropical island but decided to stay closer to home -- for the sake of saving money and for some quality bonding time with family. My sister lives in St. Louis and although I visited her when she graduated from Wash U two years ago (also here), Evan had never been there. There's a lot of fun stuff to do in good ol' St. Lou-e: historical, cultural ... botanical? And we figured we were still going south, so it had to be warmer than Minnesota, right? Typically that would be a 'yes', and the week before our visit I hear St. Louis was showcasing their best spring-weather days. But of course the night we showed up .... you guessed it, it snowed.

But a little colder weather can't dampen a Minnesotan's sense of adventure! For four days we traipsed around the city (mostly on foot!), taking in everything from Botanical Gardens and Science Museums to local doughnut shops and hockey games! And because everyone loves a list (who doesn't love lists?), I've compiled our Top-Ten St. Lou-e Activities:

1. Eat doughnuts

These are AMAZING doughnuts. I'm not sure if the shop was around during the St. Louis World's Fair back in 1904, but the woman working the shop surely was! No, I'm kidding. But she is quite the character, and old. Hair spun up and sprayed in place above her head, face caked with makeup an inch thick, and the happiest person to be serving out fresh doughnuts all day long. It's understandable she closes her doors a little early in the evening, because she's up at it again at 3am or so -- I forget the specifics but you can probably read about it somewhere, she's a legend. This little shop on the corner is such a treasured part of the St. L community that a guy passing by IN HIS CAR stopped when he saw we were trying to snap a photo. That's how we ended up getting the full body shot of us three. Gotta have your doughnuts! Oh, and they cost about 50 cent a piece!

Lucky for us, this little haven of sugar and goodness is just around the corner from Kirsten's apartment, so we stopped by on a little walk our first morning, and then again on our last.

2. Build an Arch

... at the Science Museum! We were definitely the only adults there without kids in tow, but we had a great time!


3. Take crazy jumping-under-the-arch photos (and of course go to the top!) We took similar photos under the arch two years ago.

 

We also highly recommend both of the videos playing in the museum (at the base of the arch). One is a documentary on the making of the arch, the other is a fun reenactment video (made by National Geographic?) telling the story of Louis and Clark.

4. Take a picture with a celebrity

... Or just take a picture with a celebrity plaque, at a celebrity hangout, or take a picture of someone taking a picture with a celebrity! Play darts while you're at it (at Blueberry Hill).

"Nelly's Hangout" apparently

 The owner of this bar seems to attract celebrities, and likes to take pictures with them to add to his collection. We saw everyone from Barack Obama to Jenna Fischer (from The Office).

 Blueberry hill has a dart wall ... maybe about eight boards in this one room.

Interesting story: my dad was actually singing with Todd Rundgren that very night! (hence, the photo).

5. Pet a famous dog

... The Budweiser Dog! 

We had a blast touring the Anheiser Busch Brewery -- walking around, dwarfed in the shadows of the towering brick buildings I was reminded of Willy-Wonka and the Chocolate Factory ... but of course this would be the "chocolate" factory for grown-ups ; )

My favorite stop was visiting the horses.

That's where Evan actually patted the pooch and somehow I managed to catch it on camera! I think Evan's favorite part was the packaging plant. Those bottles were just flying by, getting filled, packaged, and ready for send-off. I forget the stats at the moment, but it was quite impressive how quickly they turn those puppies out of there.

Of course we all enjoyed the treat at the end of the tour!

6. Shop at Schnuck's then stay in and enjoy a home-cooked meal

Although St. Louis has tons of good eats out and about, there's nothing like a good home-cooked meal of Chicken Parmesan and a glass of wine to make you feel at home. We used this Martha Stewart Everyday Foods recipe, in case you're wondering. Probably the best parmesan I've ever had!

7. Eat custard on old Route 66

St. Louis likes custard. Apparently there are quite a few ice cream/custard stands in the area. But Kirsten took us to her favorite, Ted Drewes Frozen Custard, which happens to be right on old Route 66! I have learned that if you are truly a St. Louis-an (what's the appropriate ending on that?) you will do anything for custard, even stand in the freezing rain pretending it's summer. Notice the hats, scarves, and mittens? But it was tasty : )

8. Take a run or walk through a park then drop by the St. Louis Bread Company! (aka: Panera)

Here we are at the entrance to Tower Grove Park -- the morning after it snowed. Thankfully the snow melted quickly! St. Louis is home to many beautiful parks, some of which share the same designer/planner as NYC's Central Park. The Botanical Gardens, which I guess you could consider a park, is a great place to stroll around and relax. Even thought the rose garden wasn't in bloom in March, we enjoyed feeding the fish in the Japanese Garden!

(the bridge and purple flower photos were actually taken a few years ago in May)

We did in fact stop by Panera ... I mean the St. Louis Bread Company. St. L is actually Panera's place of origin, for those of you who don't know random trivia like that. All Paneras in the city actually say St. Louis Bread Company in the same scripty writing as the standard Panera logo. Same tasty food.

9. Search for animals

...at the zoo! I guess when you visit the zoo in March you just take what you can get. In our case it was an elephant, penguins, and two bear-like creatures.

10. Learn a new dance ... or sport's cheer. Root for the out-of-towners!

We were lucky to have the Minnesota Wild in town during our visit ... so of course we got tickets and cheered them on. And they won -- in a shoot-out! We were pretty proud of the Wild. Well maybe that's not true. If you know me, you know I am not exactly a pro-hockey fan. But it was an exciting game and was fun to walk away happy for the win when everyone else was bummed!

Apparently if you're cool you do this dance/cheer during a power play:



So there you have it, our top-ten St. Lou-e adventures! Just a little late ... definitely no more snow on the ground now!

Engaged: Hannah and Andrew

I had a little engagement photo shoot about a month ago for two of my college friends, Hannah and Andrew. Go check out my photos and slideshow on my photography blog!