Last year, we started our orchard backyard culture. The end of last year some of the trees started not doing so well, so we had to figure out the problem and a solution. There were fights between us regarding this (and cause this is one expensive hobby). So after working this out on paper, we’re flip flopping the tree placement with the vegetable garden. In addition to that, we’re changing out our garden beds. It’s been a bit frustrating to deal with, but we’re rolling with the punches because sometimes you just have to learn from your mistakes. We aren’t professionals by any means, but we (mainly Ben) does all the research he can so we have a thriving garden to enjoy.

While our backyard looks insanely messy now, I’m hoping in a few months, it will look good again. Now we just have to wait for Ben’s rotator cuff to heal so that he can get back to digging. I can’t wait to get everything planted back in the ground; all our trees our currently in pots again!

The tomato harvest was going good and strong, but then the extreme heat came and spider mites started coming out and it was an uphill battle from there. We did get to enjoy a lot of tomatoes though (I was making pico de gallo all the time!), but you always learn something every year. The end of last tomato season we noticed the bugs, this year we were able to identify what they were and how to best deal with them. Next year, we will be prepared on how to deal with them, unless of course, something else happens and we have to adjust to that. There is constant learning and adjusting when it comes to gardening, so much depends on weather and bugs and you really can’t control those. Since we’ve started cultivating our own edible garden, we have such an appreciation for those farmers who depend on their crops for their livelihood. It is not easy and you just never know what factors might come into play to affect your garden.

These are also the last few pictures of this side of the garden looking like this. It is going to undergo a minor little change. The beds will be raised up higher or might even change in material altogether. This side will no longer be for our seasonal harvest, but will have citrus trees growing and all our rotating seasonal fruits and veggies are going to the other side of the yard, where the trees currently are (those will get moved too!). We are constantly learning by trial and error on what works best for our garden. Sometimes I wish I had a magic wand to just wave and have everything done, but gardening takes patience and lots of research, so until that magic wand is invented, I’ll keep exercising the patience part, and I’ll let Ben do all the research.

When I was a kid, I remember ordering the book 50 Ways to Save the Planet from the monthly book orders at school. I remember being so convicted by it as I read it from beginning to end. I remember one tip that stood out to me at the time was to cut up all the plastic thingies that canned drinks came in so that sea animals wouldn’t get trapped in it. After I read that, I remember constantly making sure my parents cut those things up.

Okay, so only 1 out of 50 things stuck with me, but it was a step. Ben and I try to be as eco-consciuos as we can, though we’re hardly models for being eco-warriors, but we try our best to take care of certain things to help the environment. For sure though, we can definitely do better. I wanted to get the girls to at least start thinking about it, I started checking to see if the book I read as a kid was still around. I distinctly remember the cover being blue and having a picture of the Earth on it. I didn’t find that exact thing, but did find this one on Amazon and thought that might be a good start and should be similar.

True, Brave, and I have been reading through it and I’m almost sure it is an updated version of the book I read as a child. In fact, the tip on cutting up the can plastic thingie was there too! As we’ve been going through it, I’ve been feeling all sorts of guilty for things we don’t think about doing to help save the environment. I can’t say we’re ready to go radical and apply everything just yet, but we will start small with what’s feasible and best for our family. I want my girls to learn that small changes can make a difference. We planted about 25 trees in our yard already, so that’s a start right?!

These girls love being outside playing in the dirt. They have spent a lot of time outside these past few days (when it’s not raining), just running around and building a forest. Ben’s been working on his mini orchard (another post to come soon) and so they take the branches he prunes off and they stick them in the ground to make their own forest. They make “chocolate milk” with mud and water and pick lots of flowers, which they proceed to “plant” them back in the ground. They chatter up a storm with Ben while he works, and even with it being so cold (and them having a little cold), they would rather be outside than inside. I’m so glad they love being outdoors. I don’t think we get out nearly as much as we should, so I’m thankful to have a backyard so they can run around and make lots of good, fun earth messes in.

Oh and besides tucking her dresses in her pants, Soul also loves to wear Glow’s clothes. That girl is an absolute riot!

Happy Monday friends. Ben goes back to work today and we will be missing him. I love having him home all day, everyday, but we’re very thankful he has a job, so as much as I complain about him leaving us each morning, I’m grateful.

For Christmas (yeah, so late in sharing!), Ben and I had no Christmas present requests. Well, I wanted sweats and he wanted his orchard and so he got me sweats and he got himself his orchard (it’s a work in progress that we will all benefit from one day). He’s such a hard guy to gift because he doesn’t ever really want anything frivolous. He’s so practical that his idea of a gift for himself is something for the kitchen, gardening, or something for us girls. Well, I decided to make him a poster that could go in our bedroom. I remembered this post by Jordan Ferney and fell in love with the giant galaxy poster from the hubble site. The best thing about this site is that they offer all the images for free downloads, so I downloaded the one I wanted, added my own writing in photoshop (inspired by this book cover) and voila! I had a sweet, little (well, it’s kind of big at  36″ x 36″) message for Ben. We’ve been in talks to redo some things in our bedroom, so this poster was a good start. I had it printed matte in wide format at Staples and it did cost a bit to get it so large (about $70) for this galaxy one and about ($45) for this poster, but it prints beautifully on nice, thick paper.

Now, funnily enough, after I gave Ben his poster on Christmas morning, he goes in the garage to get me this long tube and out of it, I pulled out my own poster that he had made. I had repinned this poster (originally from here) a few days before Christmas because the sentiment on it was something that really resonated with me regarding pretty much everyday of my life lately. I showed Ben and told him that was totally my motto and would love my own to hang, and so he made me one!

We both chuckled that we happened to both give each other a poster with a saying of sorts. Seriously, we think alike most times. I tell people I’m the girl version of him and he’s the boy version of me. We really are so much the same that in all of our 3 years of dating, we only had 1 fight. I think it’s because we think so similarly, so we find it easier to be in sync with each other. Don’t worry though, we’re still definitely normal. We fight much more now that we’re married, but for the most part, we still think pretty similarly (just with a little bit more arguing thrown in for good measure).

p.s. totally has nothing to do with posters, but this weekend there is a cool vintage pop-up shop going on here and don’t forget Danni’s grand opening too!