garden | kimberly ah

Apr 10 2013

celebrations, crafty adventures, gardening, Office Supplies

Garden Stamp

Shortly after I decided I had to sign up for the community garden (application still pending…) I came across this “From the Garden of” Stamp Activity Kit from Yellow Owl Workshop. I immediately bought it (which is very unlike me…I firmly follow the one day waiting period for all online purchases). I already have two Stamp Activity Kits (the Gift Tag and the Place Card, both gifts from Naoto) and I love them, so I figured having a garden stamp on hand might come in handy if I get to grow vegetables this summer. I optimistically imagined Naoto & I giving some fresh tomatoes and cucumbers to our friends in a brown paper sack complete with a hand-stamped tag. (Realistically–or pessimistically as Naoto calls it, I fear we will grow a garden of weeds and have nothing to offer anyone.)

My parents, on the other hand, are veteran gardeners with many years of success in their gardening gloves. My dad’s vegetable garden is enormous and overflows with produce throughout the summer. They give away a ton and can several vegetables each year. And he and my mom have quite the collection of perennials throughout their yard. Just when they think they don’t have any room for another plant, they fall in love with a new variety and magically find a place for it. (I talked my mom into buying an anemone just yesterday.)

So naturally with all that extra produce, I figured my dad could use some garden tags this summer. Using the green ink that comes in the kit (which, incidentally, is similar to StazOn because it works on pretty much any surface), I stamped a few tags (Martha Stewart for Avery manilla tags 4 3/4in x 2 3/8in, which are apparently discontinued…) and added them to his birthday gift (pistachios and this). It was a quick little project and one I hope to repeat for my own garden!

Tagged celebrations, crafts, diy, forest park, garden, gardening, office supplies, parents, rubber stamp

Apr 05 2013

3 Comments

adventures, Forest Park, Oak Park, gardening

Hopeful Gardeners

Today I mailed off an application for a garden plot in Forest Park’s Community Garden. Ever since we saw their float in the Forest Park St. Patrick’s Day Parade, I’ve been thinking and planning and wanting to participate in gardening this summer. I’m lucky to have an east-facing balcony where I can grow flowers and herbs, but I don’t get enough sun for serious vegetables like tomatoes and cucumbers and green beans.

Naoto and I talked things over (because he will have to help me in the garden on the weekends) and he was up for the gardening challenge (even though he has never grown anything in his life!) I’m excited to (hopefully) have a little outdoor activity for the summer. We won’t hear anything until the fifteenth, so until then we are crossing our fingers and considering what us newbie gardeners might be able to handle this summer. Any suggestions? Tomatoes are a must!

Tagged adventures, forest park, garden, gardening, summer

Mar 30 2013

6 Comments

celebrations, gardening, homemaking

Daffodils

Every spring I look forward to picking up a little bunch of daffodils from Trader Joe’s. I know when these bright stems show up in the store, real spring is just around the corner. My first experience with a bouquet of daffodils was years ago when Naoto and I were “just friends”. I wasn’t feeling well–I had a bad spring cold–and he showed up at my door with tea, honey, an orange, some vitamins and a tiny bouquet of yellow cheer.

Last weekend Naoto bought three bouquets for the Fondue Fun Night, but they didn’t bloom until my birthday. Huge explosions of sunshine popped up throughout our apartment, making the sting of the snowfall just a little less painful.

It’s the little things that make me smile…especially as I wait (not-so) patiently for spring.

Tagged celebrations, garden, gardening, home, homemaking, memories

Jan 08 2013

1 Comment

home is a 1970s apartment

St Francis Hangs Out In Elevators

Late last Thursday night Naoto came bounding into our apartment as usual. But this time he was laughing because there was “a statue in the elevator!” I didn’t really understand what he meant, but we both went down the hall and he hit the elevator button, the doors opened and there was St Francis! I giggled and said we had to take him home because he was the patron saint of animals and because he could startle the next elevator riders and give them a heart attack! (We live in a building where it could happen!)

So Naoto carried him home, and then turned around and carried him back to the elevator so I could snap this picture. (Thanks, Naoto!) Now St. Francis is living in our entryway, but I have hopes of moving him into the living room until spring when he will go out to the balcony (to live among the birds and the flowers).

I’ve been wanting a statue for the balcony since we moved in and Naoto never takes the elevator, so I think it’s a sign that St. Francis was meant to move into our home. Thanks to our quirky, kind, mystery neighbor for leaving him in the elevator!

Tagged adventures, decorating, garden, home, retirement community

Jan 04 2013

1 Comment

crafty adventures, gardening, Office Supplies

Hello 2013 Calendars

Thank you to everyone who commented on yesterday’s post. I think I need to remember this: Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good (Voltaire). The cards are never going to be perfect, but if I do them in a meaningful way, by doing what is important to me (writing personal notes and letters, fancy-ing up the envelopes, getting them out early in the holiday season) and let go of perfection (feeling like I have to make them for everyone) then I can consider it a job well done! (I also responded to each of you in the comments section.)

And now, on to the calendars!

On New Year’s Eve I shared my sadness about leaving my 2012 calendars behind. But now that I’ve cracked open my 2013 calendars, I’m excited for a fresh start in the new year. There is nothing like a nice clean calendar just waiting for possibilities!

For my wall calendar, I went with Rifle again. This little Garden number is smaller than the Botanicals of 2012, but it happens to be the perfect size to cover the outdated intercom in the kitchen (which is why there is a calendar hanging in the kitchen in the first place). My favorite month is March–a barometer, which is a perfect coincidence because my dad collects them and his birthday is in March. I’m hoping the garden calendar inspires me to spend a little more time on my container garden during the summer (oh and with my poor houseplants this winter)!

I have another calendar for our bedroom, but it’s a bit of a DIY that I still need to finish–pronto! And, I just ordered one of these calendars from K is for Calligraphy for my desk…there should be no trouble knowing what day it is in 2013!

For my planner, I settled on the Paper Source Date Book. This is my third year using this particular datebook…so -yawn- I guess it works just fine. The design is just really tired to me but I’m hoping to jazz it up a bit with some washi tape and some other Japanese calendar stickers. I have a whole stash of stuff to make the planner more “me” and less Paper Source. I’ll come back next week and show you how it’s coming along.

What kind of calendar do you have for 2013? And how many calendars is too many?

Tagged calendar, garden, gardening, homemaking, office supplies, organization, washi tape

Sep 25 2012

5 Comments

gardening, handmade=happiness, homemaking

handmade is happiness #2

Our first autumn here, I asked my dad for one of his handmade bird feeders for a Christmas gift. I thought it would make a great addition to our balcony and it would give Presley and me some birdwatching opportunities during the winter. My parents have several feeders in their yard and it’s always fun to spot new birds when we visit. It turns out he was already building me this feeder and he brought it up to me that Thanksgiving! We didn’t fill it this summer because the birds are messy, leaving seed shells all over the balcony. (And, between you & me, last summer, some of the bird seed fell on the grass below our balcony and grew into crabgrass! Oops!) Once the temperature drops, we will fill it up again. Presley and I are already looking forward to cardinal-watching this winter!

Here’s a close-up of the little chickadee drawings on the side.

My dad has been building bird feeders and bird houses for as long as I remember. And he is generous to give them to our family and friends. Besides the feeder, we have three of his bird houses on the balcony.

The one made with reclaimed wood,

the barn-style

and the Colonial house-style (also made with reclaimed wood). This one sits on the floor, and is meant more for decoration than an actual bird home.

And, even though no birds have taken up residence in any of the houses, I still have hopes that someday we will have a little neighbor or two out there!

Tagged decorating, garden, gardening, homemaking

Aug 30 2012

5 Comments

gardening, summer manifesto

this is why i love geraniums

There have been many losses in the garden this year…the over-watered geraniums (the pot wasn’t draining properly), the under-watered Japanese shiso, the non-producing tomato plant and under-producing mint plant…so much sadness. I blame it a little bit on the dry weather, but mostly, it’s me. I didn’t water it enough. But there has been one success with the garden–the sad peachy pink geranium above.

This geranium is two years old and it lived in our spare room (that faces north but gets limited sun thanks to the tree and the building next door) over the winter. When I brought it out, the poor geranium was a pale green single stalk with one tired leaf. I threw it in this hanging pot with my ivy geranium (the pink one), some filler and some petunias (which were another garden casualty this year). I didn’t have much hope for the little guy, but look at it now! It’s flowering and it has a new little branch coming from the bottom! So maybe the garden wasn’t such a huge failure this year after all…