Garden Post - Tiptoe through the Tulips with Me...

OOOOOOOOOH.

Because if I'm going to have nightmares you need to... too!


Anywho...
I AM SO EXCITED FOR SPRING!

Aside from the obvious reasons of yay sun, and yay wedding coming up, and yay experiencing warmth and overall happiness. I am excited for my tulips... and my soon to bloom ability to tiptoe through them.

Tulips are in the purple pot with the towel
draped over the top. Gotta keep them safe! 

Last fall, as the winter winds began to creep through the trees and found their ways to JR P.I.'s and my porch, I planted some happy little tulip bulbs (what color, I'm not sure, because... it's me). I had determined that I was going to do my green-thumbed grandmothers proud and grow tulips.

So JR and I went to the Home Depot... or maybe we bought them from Burpee, but needless to say we bought some tulip bulbs and some garlic (this one definitely came from burpee), and we began planting for our spring crops.

We're going to ignore the fact that the garlic died in the throws of winter, because of all the damn snow, and instead revel in the the fact for some bizarre reason, they survived, because
through all the snow, the unthinkable happened, they started to sprout.

And now I have happy little tulips "popping out of the snow, like daisies!" If you can name that quote you get a high-five!

I've been tending them with a gentle touch and plenty of water (most of it snow based). Hopefully in a few weeks, these tender plants will produce gorgeous flowers... hopefully. I am so, so, so excited that I can barely stand it, to get back into the "garden" again. I use the term loosely, because my garden is a series of pots and planters, but I am still really excited to see what we'll be able to grow and eat this year. 

I've got high hopes for our batch of pea plants that we started from seeds, as well as, a bunch of lettuce that started as seeds too. The radish sprouts died quicker than I could say, "Oh my gosh! Yes! Radish plants!" So... yeah, but we've got a couple of hybrid on deck corn sprout-lings still going and a few carrot seedlings. I'll bring those around to you next post! 

Tasty, Tasty Pineberries

Happy, Happy Chives

And on another, happy note, I had a whole heaping of chives that actually over-wintered, so that's ober exciting. They've actually already started to really hit their growth spurt. And, I have gotten a new pineberry plant to replace the one that I killed this winter as well, so soon I shall have delicious pineberries to snack upon.

Happy Gardening! 

Much Love, 

LoRo

2014 Restaurants to Try

In 2014 I plan on eating a lot of food... 3 meals a day, plus snacks and deserts!

So with that in mind, I wanted to give myself kind of a DC Metro Area Restaurant Bucket List. These are the places in the area that I haven't eaten at yet, but my mouth waters every-time they're mentioned, or in some cases I just want to know what all the hype is about.

So here goes:

1. Willow
2. Melting Pot (I've just never been)
3. Acadiana 
4. Capitol Grille 
5. Fuel
6. G Sandwich Shop
7. Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken
8. Medium Rare
9. Kaz Sushi Bistro
10. Maté
11. A Tapas Place... Any Tapas Place... (Open to Suggestions)
12. Fuego 
13. Thai X-ing, though I'm a little nervous to not know what I'm going to eat.
14. Bourbon Steak
15. Pupatella
16. Stoney's
17. The Passenger
18. Graffiato
19. P.J. Clarke's 
20. Lincoln
21. Rumors for Brunch (because I want to see what Aaron's Chicken and Waffles are all about)
22. Menomale
23. Il Canale
24. We the Pizza
25. Red Rocks
26. Rustico
27. Del Ray Pizzeria
28. Pizzeria Orso
29. Ethiopian (Open to Suggestions)
30. Osteria Marzano
31. Water & Wall
32. Maple Ave.

And yes there's a reason that a lot of them are all places I want to eat pizza... I friggin' LOVE PIZZA.

So that's my list! Let me know if you think there's anywhere else I should eat this year that I haven't heard of yet, because I am open to suggestions. Also! Let me know if you know of a Tapas or Ethiopian place I should eat, because I'm curious and I've never done that. 

Oh 2014 Resolutions

New Year, New Resolutions...

Last year I resolved to only drink soda/alcohol once a month through the first 6 months and then only soda once a month through the last 6 months.

What did I learn?

One... Goodbye tolerance... hello hangovers.
Two... I prefer soda to alcohol. Seriously there is something so satisfying about the smooth twang of liquid brown velvet sweeping down my tongue. When I had the choice of cheating on alcohol or soda for the month, I usually spent my one "bad for me drink" on soda.
Three... I fell off the horse there at the end I drank probably 4/5 sodas in November and December, but you know what... that's a LOT less than I could say about drinking soda pop from last year.
Four... I learned the key to moderation with beverages. This one is definitely the most valuable. Don't get me wrong I love soda pop, and I enjoy drinking margaritas, but my wallet and my waste-line probably survived better this year without me enjoying them every-time I went to a Mexican Restaurant.
Five... I will sustain this limited soda/alcohol drinking through this year... This time we're just going to let me have one alcohol beverage and one soda a week. No use is punishing myself.


SO for my New Year Resolutions.

I will exercise (UGH GAG VOM - MAKE IT STOPPPPP!!!!). I'm not talking running a mile or anything, but I will at least make the block and do some cardio. I can do that... I think.
&
I will write more. I need to start writing some books and scripts... my creative juices are not flowing like they used to.

Woo...

Okay that was exhausting.

Happy New Years and Hope you all make some great Resolutions!

Prepping for the Big Move

So last you heard was the big engagement. Now, it's time for the big move. I have 21 days to pack up and move into JR's condo in beautiful Virginia. It's going to be tough (seriously you should see how much SCHTUFF I accumulate), but someone's got to do it.

The combining of the households is requiring a storage unit, because it just doesn't make sense to get rid of a perfectly good bed (the crappy bed frame, yes, the bed, no) and my perfectly good IKEA chair bed (also amazingly comfortable). So we've been packing boxes for a few weeks, separating things that are going to his place and things that are going into storage, while also getting my place in tip top condition so that I get my deposit back (I have a lot of things I want to buy with that deposit).

The combining of the household is also requiring an incredible amount of new storage over at JR's. Let's just say "WALL OF BOOKSHELVES" together! Now a little quieter we'll say "wall of miss-matched bookshelves." We have IKEA bookshelves ranging from Beech to Dark Brown. We'll see how it works...

In the meantime, we've been prepping for the wedding and cooking and I have been steadily researching plants to grow in next year's garden.

Right now all we have left in the pots are Silver Rose Garlic (which are growing quite nicely, we should be able to harvest a couple in the next few weeks) and some China Rose Radishes that are really FREAKING stubborn. I thought anybody could grow a radish! I planted the seeds when I supposed to and everything, but those DAMNED Radishes refuse to plump! We'll try again in early spring to see if maybe the spastic freezing is what's stunting their growth, but who knows.

So next year's garden (let me tell you JR is ober psyched about the new planters coming to his porch - emphasis on the ober) is going to be bigger, we're going to be moving some planters up onto the balcony railing to improve light-reach, and we'll get a few bigger pots for the balcony floor to grow some really tasty things.

The key to next year's garden is going to be edible. Everything will be edible. EVERYTHING (okay maybe some marigolds wont be, but everything else is edible). Burpee.com has become my new favorite website. I visit it basically every 20 mins. Who knows if there's a plant that missed my eye before! I have to see! I HAVE TO KNOW!

So! Next year's garden, I'm thinking:
Chives
Oregano
Basil
Scallions or Onions of some kind
Born to Be Mild Jalapeños
Cayenne Peppers
Sweet Flavorburst Hybrid Peppers
Bush Belle Hybrid Peppers
Container Corn (This is a thing)
Baby Boomer Tomatoes
Shooting Star Eggplants
Peas in a Pot
Caracas Carrots
More Silver Rose Garlic
More China Rose Radishes
&
Pineberries (currently have a plant to see if it can weather the winter, so far it's doing fine!)


I think we're going to need a bigger balcony....

Where Have You Been!

Oh Goodness!!! SO much news!

So for starters, immediately after the last post, JR and I hightailed it for a week in Texas for him to meet all my friends and family out on the 'range.' I, of course, left my computer up in the Virginny so that I could rest and relax. Well... We were having just a rip-roarin' time that I'll be dagged if he didn't propose. (Shiz Son! - Sadie Sadie Soon-to-be married lady)

I said yes, because "hello have you met JR?" And we've been having a CRAZY, CRAZY last couple of months touring around planning the blessed nuptials, while also running around to some of our friends' weddings!

Don't fret though... I'm coming back shortly! Just planted our garlic for a "fall" crop and Tulips so that they can spring next spring!

Stay Thirsty My Friends,

L

Dark Chocolate M&M Cookies! - Cooking Post

Okay, so last week I had this grand idea that for our weekend baking extravaganza (that's right - every weekend we're baking a treat!) I decided that I just HAD to HAVE chocolate chip cookies, but I didn't necesarrily WANT chocolate chips, I wanted color... I wanted pizazz... I wanted M&Ms. So I enlisted the help of JR and we set to work. 

Once you go dark chocolate, you realize EVERYTHING tastes better with it

I had found this recipe online, and decided that it had a solid base. We tweaked it a little bit because I dont believe that nuts should EVER be in cookies, unless we're talking coconuts.  

Ingredients

2 cups dark chocolate m&ms
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons hot water
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup brownulated
1 cup white sugar
1 cup butter, softened

Directions1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, and at the last possible moment the m&ms. 

3.Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.

JR is super helpful!!! 

4.Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.

I dont particularly like brown edges, so mine were a bit soft/fall-apart-y

So that's the recipe, but here's my main opinion... this cookie (and I can't believe that I'm about to say this) was WAY TOO SWEET. I recommend upping the salt by 1/2 tsp, and using dark brown sugar instead of the brownulated sugar that I used. I think that those two changes would definitely improve this recipe for the better.

Other than that... it turned out EXACTLY how we wanted them - tasty! Just because it was too sweet doesn't mean we didn't devour them, just put them with salted caramel ice cream for a delicious ice cream sandwich.

This weekend - red velvet brownies!!! We'll let you know how they go.


Happy Cooking! 

Puppy-palooza! - Puppy Post

Contrary to what it may seem on this blog, I do not live with JR. I just pretend I do by using his porch as my gardening experiment. I actually have my own apartment about 4 blocks over in the Shirlington version of a ghetto... which is practically the least ghetto thing ever, minus the gun shots I heard one night, which was HORRIFYING!

3 am is the last time of the day one wants to be awakened by a couple of gunshots firing off into the night. 10pm, expected. 1 am, understandable. 3 am? Why are you not sleeping like a normal person. Drug deal or no, you need some shut eye people!

Anyway, so while I do not live with JR now, it has been discussed that I shall probably should the time come that it is acceptable for me to do so. It has also been discussed that when I do, we shall explore the world of puppy ownership!

I. AM. THRILLED.

I love puppies. I love their cuddly little faces. I love their cute little clumsiness. I love their energy. I love their little whines. I love their little poops (I probably wont when I have to pick them up...) I love their cute little games. I don't love disciplining them, but there always is a draw back isn't there?

So... yeah... I LOVE PUPPIES!

For a very, very, very long time I have wanted a Shiba Inu puppy... Trust me I had done the research looked into breed temprement, history, everything, but after some consideration. JR and I decided it might be best to look into multiple breeds of dogs in order to find the one that would be the best fit for our lifestyle and currently his home...

So here's the five breeds of dogs that we're looking into (Puppy and Adult Versions):

SHIBA INU

SWEDISH VALLHUND



























SCHIPPERKE

NORWICH TERRIER

HAVANESE

What do y'all think? Which one should we choose?