Cottage Garden

Growing up my brothers and I did a lot of gardening with our mom, our neighbor was also a gardener and had a beautiful yard that she would let us explore.  I have always loved gardens and being outside, from the time I was little some of my favorite memories were spent at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens in Charleston. I can smell it just thinking about it! 

My husband and I have been married for just over 5 years now, since being married we've lived in different rentals until now. Because of this I have really gotten out of the habit of yard work and gardening, it has definitely been taking some relearning. One thing that I love about our new home is how many gardens it has, we have six total. When we moved it there was a really good start to the gardens but they were in need of some TLC. Every weekend we try to go out and buy at least one new plant to add to the front gardens. My favorite garden style would definitely be a cottage or english garden. Filled with an assortment of beautiful perennials and fragrant herbs! Think Tasha Tudor, she is my inspiration. It's really been fun because I don't have to think about it much, if I fall in love with something I just add it to my garden. 

For my herbs I love having them close to my kitchen since I use them in my daily cooking. We have a cozy little side porch right off the kitchen when I decided to put an entry table with my potted herbs on. I also plan to plant some herbs in the front and back gardens as well since some of them do a really wonderful job of keeping the wasps away from the flowers. Here are a few pictures of what we currently have going on. There is still a lot of work to be done but i am loving it. Flowers make me happy. We will be laying some fresh mulch down this coming week, I'll be sure to post before and after pictures of that. Happy gardening! 

The kids helped me pot the herbs for the porch today. Two of the herbs our neighbor gave us! 

My mother in law gave me this potted rosemary!

Today we planted hydrangeas. They're on the pricey side but Kmart has these beautiful ones for a good deal.  

Knockout roses, beautiful and easy to care for. 

Lemon Pie

Lemon. Oh how I love lemon. I love the smell, the color, the flavor, it's all so fresh and cheery. This recipe was posted on Magnolia Blog , it's Joanna Gaines' recipe and oh so good, plus your kitchen will smell amazing. I love a dessert that's natural, pretty, and just the right amount of sweetness without being overpowering. 

We are new to our neighborhood and having such fun getting to know everyone around us, I love baking and thought it would be fun to make a pie for our neighbor next door...and ourselves...hehe. Here is Joanna Gaines' recipe, because who doesn't love her?! 

Recipe makes 1 pie, I doubled up.

Pie Filling Ingredients:
3 cups Eagle Brand Milk (that is sweetened condensed milk, I used Publix brand)
3 egg yolks
⅔ cup lemon juice
1 dash salt

Crust Ingredients:
1 ½ cups crushed graham crackers (I found 1 sleeve of graham crackers came out to about this)
6 tbs butter
⅓ cup sugar

Whipped Cream Ingredients:
1 small carton of heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

For Crust:

1. Combine crushed graham cracker, softened butter, and sugar. Mix well and press into greased (I use Baker’s Joy non-stick spray) pie dish. Bake for 8 minutes at 350.

For Pie Filling:

1. Mix Eagle Brand Milk, egg yolks, lemon juice and salt in a mixer. Mix well- I typically beat with my mixer for 4-5 minutes on medium speed. Pour into pie crust and bake for 10 minutes at 350.
2. Place pie in the refrigerator for at least an hour so it will set.

For Whipped Cream:

1. Mix whipped cream, sugar, and vanilla. Whip until fluffy, and add to cooled lemon pie.

Once done, I added some slices of fresh lemon on top with a sprig of mint. I hope your family enjoys this recipe, or a friend or neighbor. :) 

Kitchen Makeover

We bought our first house last month and we moved in just over a week ago. Before we moved in we wanted to have a few renovations done, most of which took place in the kitchen. The kitchen is galley style, so I wanted to focus on making this narrow space feel more open. We had someone replace the old floors with hardwood to match the already existing wood floors in the living room and hallways, then had them all stained a darker color and then a satin finish put on them (by the way, I would HIGHLY recommend a satin finish, I love the natural look it gives not to mention that it's lower maintenance than a glossy/shiny finish!). For the cabinets, we kept the original cabinets and hardware but had them painted in an antique white, Dover White by Sherwin Williams. Then had a dark brown glazing swept over the edges, I really love how rich this makes them look and also it brings out their unique structure. For the wall color we went with Collonade Gray by Sherwin Williams. We have white dentil crown molding and this warm taupe/gray really makes them POP. I am loving the French Country feel my kitchen is having! 

Now, who wants to come over for some coffee?

Before and after.

The laundry closet is at the end of the kitchen.

  

I got this bird cage from T.J.Maxx, it actually is meant to be hung and holds pictures but I love it for my kitchen window.

Lovely little coffee nook.

I found this $5 scalloped cake stand at Target, I'm using it to hold my soap and sponges next to the sink.