Basil Bonanza

Summer is quickly winding down . . . as is our summer garden.  And while the tomatoes and peppers are not as plentiful as they once were, we still have LOTS of basil left.  Not wanting it to go to waste, we've come up with a few easy ways to make this sweet herb last as long as possible.  We found a quick & healthy recipe for fresh pesto + a simple tutorial on how to dry the herbs.

Check out some of our tips for what to do with your own basil bonanza after the jump.

3 Favorite Outdoor Bar Ideas

The weather here in Philly has been incredible the last few days. Now that the summer heat is cooling and the evenings are feeling fabulous, it's the perfect time to move the party outdoors. Wether you're entertaining for two or twenty, we think having a bar outdoors is an absolute necessity. After all, there's no reason your favorite cocktail shouldn't be within an arms reach at all times. Here are a few of our favorite backyard bar ideas - an absolute necessity for your entertaining needs this season.



Dallas, Texas based Lake Highlands Pallet Creations created this wall mounted bar from a pallet. Genius!

For those of you with the available space, this is probably one of the most welcoming outdoor bars we've seen! Courtesy of House Beautiful. 

Outdoor prep table, meets outdoor bar, meets an outdoor planter with this great DIY project idea via Hunted Interior.

You definitely won't go wrong with these ideas this season. Cheers! 

Garden Update: Hello Bell Peppers, Goodbye Cilantro

So far, I'm very happy with our first real attempt at gardening. Everything is so green and things are finally starting to ripen. I'm sure most of our gardening success can be attributed to the abundance of rain we've received over the last few months. According to our local Philly meteorologist, this past June was the wettest on record for Eastern Pennsylvania. I'm not shocked - it literally rained every day in June.

On Saturday, I picked our first two green bell peppers. It was a hard decision wether to pick them or not. I feared if I kept them in the garden any longer something would get hold of it. The two bell pepper plants I planted have several more smaller peppers, so I plan to wait as long as possible to pull those. Hopefully. I can be so impatient sometimes, and that trait seems to come out in my gardening. Warren sautéed the peppers with some sausage last night and they tasted wonderful! You can definitely taste the difference between homegrown and store bought. 

Also ready are the cherry tomatoes and the jalapenos. While the jalapenoe plants have been producing hot peppers for the last few weeks, we're just now starting to get ripe cherry tomatoes. Delicious! I'll be using them in my salads this week. All of the larger tomatoes are still green. They're all starting to get huge, so I fear they're going to all ripen at the same time. Luckily, I know of a good salsa recipe! 

Sadly, not all good news from the gardening front. I did have to pull out both of our cilantro plants last week. For the first several weeks they were doing so great and getting so big, but in the matter of a few days they started getting brown and wilting. I've not done a lot of research on the plant, but I think it may have gotten a little too much water. 

My eggplants are starting to come up, so hopefully we'll be grilling eggplant in the next several weeks. As far as the cucumbers and watermelon - nothing yet. 

That's all for now. Another update from the Clark Farm garnen coming soon! Happy gardening! 

Barn Sale Garden Markers DIY

While we've been busy tending to yard work and managing the veggie and herb gardens, we've also managed to find some time for small crafty projects here and there...and these garden markers are one such example. Quick and easy, this DIY project only takes a small portion of the day to complete and would make a great summer project for the kids now that they are out of school.

Here's what I used:

Popsicle Sticks | Pre-Cut Wooden Houses | Red & Black Paint

Glue | White Marker | Clear Protective Spray Paint

The popsicle sticks and wooden houses can easily be found at any craft store. We picked ours up at Michael's for very little money. Obviously, you don't have to use houses...we did because they looked like barns. Original, right?!

Everything's Coming Up Green

Several weeks ago we planted our first real veggie and herb gardens. Well, actually this is my second attempt at growing food from the dirt. My first try was a few years ago back in Texas. For some reason plants tend to shrivel up and die when they go without water for a few days and it's 120 degrees outside everyday. Needless to say, that attempt failed...but the second try seems to be a winner!

Tomatoes, Egg Plant, Cilantro, Parsley, Dill, Basil, Bell Peppers, Red Peppers, Jalapenos.

Not pictured: Watermelon & Cucumbers

This evening while chopping weeds, I noticed our first tomato of the season!

If ten, or even five years ago, you would have told me that one day all I would want to do is move to the country, grow food, have some chickens, sell vintage treasures, and raise our family on a farm, I would have told you that you were nuts. Fast forward to the present day where that's exactly what I want; and, for the most part, that's the life Warren, Dingo and I are currently living. Minus the chickens...for now at least.

I'm very proud of it all. I like to think my grandparents are upstairs smiling down at Warren and I.