Patio Garden - Deck 2!

I love plants. I love gardens. But unfortunately, I've been stuck in townhouses, with no yards... So, I've been forced to learn to love container gardens. Chad and I had a pretty successful patio/container garden in Washington - and that was with a super short growing season. When we moved back to SD, I started dreaming of multiple season growing seasons and super red tomatoes.... happy sigh. So - today was the day I set up our NEW patio garden! It was such a beautiful day, I couldn't stand being inside unpacking and arranging junk all day.

The best part - right near my house is the coolest plant store! We didn't get much (Milli and me, that is, not the Royal We) because I walked there, and I wasn't sure how much I could carry. But, I took my time, deciding on the few things we did get! Ended up with, 1 big pot, 1 plum tomato, 1 bbq rosemary, 1 strawberry and a lavender plant for Chad. Luckily, a friend of mine had given me a bunch of little pots (for the herbs) a few days ago, so I didn't have to get more heavy pots!

So, I went up to the cashier to pay and AWK! SOIL! I needed soil! Ok, Simple. I'll buy these things, carry them home, then come back and buy soil. No problem. But NO! Instead, how about I just borrow one of the plant stores' carts! That's right, the lady behind the counter totally laughed at the fact that I was walking, and very simply said "Why don't you just use one of our carts, then bring it back later?"

 
AWESOME! More time for playing in the dirt!!

Wheels are awesome. Cool plant stores are even more awesome. Have I mentioned how much I love our new place?

So Much Packing Paper! I'm Drowning!!

Hello Blog! Oh, how I've missed you!

This has been the busiest week ever! In a good way!

Chad and I finally found the perfect new place! Its only a mile from the beach, walkable to a bunch of businesses (everything BUT a bar, which made me just the teentiest bit sad) and AWESOME! But anywho, moving in has been taking up my entire brain and body! I'm so tired! It's all because JUST as we signed the lease - Chad had to go back to work, and has been there pretty much non-stop since then! ARG!

I've just now started getting the place looking less like a hoarder abode and more like a home.

Hoarder Abode

Home-ish

And Ikea has been our friend - but just a little bit... only a bed frame... a night stand... and a dinner table...

More to come!!

Is it a Dragon Egg or a Fruit!?

Its a fruit! A cherimoya to be specific.

I had my first cherimoya in college in Santa Barbara. I was walking the local farmers market and saw a basket of these weird fruits. Who could say no to a fruit that has dragon scales?! Once I got it home, I had to look up how to eat it on the internet. There really wasn't much information other than don't eat the big black seeds.

The other day I was driving with my brother and his wife and we stopped at one of our local farm stands. Their everywhere down here - the best ones are in Valley Center. The fruit is cheap, usually ripe and super tasty. Plus, they usually have the slightly weirder fruits like blood oranges, guavas and cherimoya.

I was excited to see the cherimoya there because I had a feeling Chad hadn't ever had one. Who doesn't like surprising their husbands with weird fruits?! The next day, I cut it up and brought it out on a cutting board - I just asked Chad if he wanted a snack - and when he saw it... well we can say there was confusion on his face.

Even though, at this point I was a cherimoya pro, Chad still went straight to the internet to look up this odd fruit. No trust.

If your looking to try a cherimoya here are a few tips. First, when they are BRIGHT green like the one at the front of the above picture, they are usually just about ripe. I like them when they are just a tinge tanner, maybe one day after bright green (like the one in the background), and they should be soft to the touch, but not mushy - like a ripe avocado. When you cut it, the flesh will be whitish and avoid cutting through the seeds. You can eat ALL of the white part - the best part is found right around the seeds. The fruit has a over-ripe apple or custardy texture (appropriate cause they are also called custard apples) and the flavor or an light apple/pear/guava. Its really nice and refreshing.

I'm a fan :) Enjoy!

Smile! My First In-N-Out Burger

I'm not crazy. Though, I know I sound that way. A born and raised southern Californian who has never had an In-N-Out burger?! What is wrong with you!? To be fair - I've been to and eaten at In-N-Out a bunch of times. I had just never had one of their burgers - and for good reason! I didn't eat burgers of ANY KIND from 1996-2012. So, until this past Monday, I had always ordered the grilled cheese animal style (which by the way, is made like the cheese burger, just without the meat).

 
Honestly, it was pretty good. Nothing that I'm gonna go crazy over or ever crave... but it was good. However, it tasted EXACTLY LIKE the grilled cheese.... so I think I'll probably just stick with those :)

Eating with my Sister-In-Law

Before moving in with her, I never really knew much about my brother's wife. I knew she was super sweet, pretty, and loved my brother, but not much more than that.

Well. Boy! do I know her now. And boy, do I love her and we laugh all the time!

Come to find out she's part Filipino (part a few other things), doesn't like germs much and loves her two tiny dogs. She's a lot more than just these three traits, but these are the three that specifically make me laugh - constantly.

The other day, the part Filipino really came out. She came tearing out of her room late in the evening "oh!! I forgot! I have to make my friend lunch for tomorrow!" I looked at the clock, saw the late hour, and thought she was crazy. What could she possibly cook in a few minutes that would be worth all this hoopla.... oh... oh what a silly question. She opened the cupboard and took out this:

Yes. Spam.... Apparently its a somewhat common Filipino ingredient.
This is what proceeded to come out of that can...

I was fascinated, obviously. And laughing hysterically.
She then cut it up thin, and fried it. See, her friend had never tried it either.

I wouldn't say it looked appetizing (it did smell pretty good) - and I'm not sure what her friend thought the next day, but apparently Chad thought it looked delicious. There was a bit of uncooked Spam leftover - and Chad decided he wanted it for breakfast the next morning.

So being the the dutiful wife that I am - I made him a dish I remembered seeing on our last trip to Hawaii:

Spam and eggs over rice. There wasn't enough for me, but I had a bite. Its not bad by any means, but nothing I am going to go out of my way (or even on my way for that matter) to buy it.

Fun though, and damn funny. You gotta love my family. Cause I certainly do.

Smile! Local Drink

Only in southern California would there be a market for Rice Dream to make a Horchata drink - I just about fell over laughing in the store when I saw it.

Its actually pretty good.

Smile! Mountain Lilac

One of my fondest memories growing up was of my step-mom proclaiming that the Mountain Lilac was in bloom. She did it every year - when this hills of Valley Center turned a grey-ish, purple color. I had never seen one up close until my brother came home for a visit and on his way there, he had stopped on the side of the road to pick a branch off for her.

I was the first one to notice they were blooming this year. And I was able to find one close enough to a road for me to snap this picture. Spring is almost here :)