We just returned from a chilly walk. Bugs is napping, I have my coffee, and the fireplace is turned on. It’s the perfect opportunity to put my workout and chores on the back burner and sit down to catch you all up on life. These recaps are more of a monthly thing these days, but at least we’re doing them! I’ve been having so much fun cooking new things, baking sourdough bread, hitting fitness goals, organizing, and spending all the time I can with my son. In a month and a half, he’ll be one. This year has flown by quickly; every minute with him is important to me. Time truly is a thief.

The first year as a mom is so tough, but it’s extremely rewarding. Not only are you taking care of a little human, but you must also take care of yourself. Even though I love my blog, it hasn’t been my top priority, and I’ve learned to hop on here intuitively. Mental health is important to me, especially now that I have someone else to look out for. So if I have time to hang out with my family or do something for myself while he naps, I usually do that instead. The blogs will be more frequent here soon since I have many recipes, adventures, garden blogs, and fitness progress to write about. I appreciate everyone who has stuck around to read, even if it’s not as frequent.

The good thing is that these recaps will be a lot longer since I’m catching you up on multiple weeks! I can’t promise they’ll be in order, but I’ll try my best! Let’s get into it.  During the colder February mornings, I had a lot of blueberry pie protein oatmeal.

It had oats, vanilla plant-based protein powder, cinnamon, water, almond milk, blueberries, banana, and peanut butter. It was the best mid-morning breakfast after spending time on the Peloton. (add me on Peleton! @hellotaralynn)

While my dad was over helping Kyle with the garden beds, I made a giant turkey meatloaf, roasted potatoes, and a tossed salad for the family.

Pizza is one of my favorite foods. We’ve been making a healthier supreme pizza with oat and flax lavash bread. The pizza has sauce, mozzarella, sausage, ham, pepperoni, red onion, and bell peppers, and baked in the oven at 400 degrees for about ten minutes. I could eat this every single night! I always have mine with a side salad. I always look forward to having this for dinner, and it’s all I can think about when I’m on the Peloton in the evening. If I miss my morning workout or can’t fit a ride in during naps, I hop on around 5 pm when Kyle gets home.

I’ve been trying to make more inflammatory relief juices. I make a big batch on Monday and drink it all week long. Since strengthening my leg muscles, I’ve had less inflammation and pain around my knees.

This juice has ginger, apple cider vinegar, celery, cucumber, pineapple, lemon, apple, turmeric, carrots, cayenne, and oranges. It’s really good!
 Every day we get closer and closer to garden season. I am eager to start planting, but I’m waiting until the end of March. I do have all of my seedlings ready to be transplanted.

I plan to put some spring bulbs into the ground this weekend. I want to add more dahlias around the backyard. I had to transplant my peonies this year, and I hope they do better in their new full sun spots. If you read my garden blog, you know what I’m talking about!

One of my favorite breakfast combos has been this lazy plate of over-medium eggs, avocado, everything but the bagel seasoning, and maple syrup! I sometimes add a slice of toasted sourdough bread. Maple syrup makes everything taste better.
 I love throwing together random salads when trying to avoid a grocery trip. It will be so nice to go outside and pick lettuce from the garden when the produce in the refrigerator is low. This salad had turkey, tomatoes, avocado, provolone, pepperoni, romaine, and balsamic glaze on top.

My seedlings needed to be thinned, and I’m already so proud of these little babies from seeds. It’s so easy to purchase plants at the nursery, but it’s even more rewarding to do them yourself by seed.

I made some bread for my parents, cinnamon raisin, jalapeno cheddar, and plain! I do plan to share my recipe this week.
 My little easter bunny. I had to keep him in the basket because he kept crawling away. He is always on the move!  Starbucks and Target? Yes, please!
 
He also loves a Trader Joe’s trip, but who doesn’t? He is obsessed with the puffed peanut snacks. I always let him have a few for his afternoon snack. Trader Joe’s has amazing produce options for his meals. He loves anything right now! I’m sure that will change soon.

We had our dirt delivered! I have the sweetest husband and must give him all the credit on this one. I showed him what I wanted, and he built everything in two weeks. It was my birthday gift, and he totally knocked it out of the park on this one. We need to get the trellis arbors up!

I met up with a friend in Waxhaw for coffee and lunch. We started at Virtuoso for a sweet treat and a chai oat latte. I had the oatmeal cookie with my latte, which was so delicious.

We walked over to Emmet’s Social Table for lunch. The weather was stunning, and we asked if we could sit outside.

I had fish tacos, kale salad, and we split shoestring fries and brussels sprouts. The food was amazing! We also have a location here in Fort Mill.

We walked around the town, and then I returned home after a grocery trip.

I love my Saturday mornings because I try to do a long one-hour ride on the Peloton and make a delicious breakfast after my shower. Kyle watches Bugs, so it gives me time to do things for myself for a few hours.
 This pot was screaming my name when I saw it at Homegoods. I wish they had another one, but I’m looking for a matching one!  My sweet boy loves watching the sunrise!
I’ve been eating much healthier because I try to make everything my son can eat. He LOVES broccoli, salmon, and potatoes! I mash his foods up and make them without the seasoning.

This is what most of my Saturday mornings look like! I’ve been sticking to my workouts for the past twelve weeks and have lost ten pounds so far. I gained a lot during my pregnancy, and I felt terrible about myself postpartum because my body wasn’t “bouncing back,” so I’ve been working my butt off this past year, and I am feeling SO SO SO much better! I’m feeling stronger than before having a baby, and I’m so grateful to Peloton for giving me a new healthy lifestyle. Being healthy mentally and physically makes me a better mom.
 I saw these frozen yogurt bites on Tiktok and had to try them!  Bugs is obsessed! I only give him a few at a time, so they don’t melt. It gets messy, but it’s so worth it!
 
Pizza night and cuddles with Tux. It’s crazy that he’s now lying on our couch. His progress is rewarding, and I can’t wait to see what he does next! While Kyle was out of town a few weekends ago, I took him on his morning walks, and he did well with me!

Sunrises! Gosh, I can’t wait until these boxes are filled with produce! I’m constantly daydreaming!
Hiking with Leo and Bugs! We have managed to fit in our 3-mile walk each day. Kyle and I have also been walking after bathtime and before bedtime, which I think helps him wind down before bed.

Yummy turkey sandwiches for lunch with my sourdough bread! Kyle and I love splitting a sandwich and salad for weekend lunch. The sandwich has avocado, mayo, American cheese, bacon, turkey, bell pepper, tomatoes, lettuce, onion, cucumber, and black pepper.
I sent him down to his trip with a tray of copycat Crumbl cookies! The Fresh Cooky recipe is to die for!
 
Walk with Tux! He’s afraid of the stroller, so I have to wear Bugs when we go.
 All of the tulips are up in my yard! Bugs love them. He tries to rip the tops off of them! Just checking out the dirt! I bought him a garden toy set from Amazon for him to play with this summer.  We had to go check out the peach trees together while on a date with Grandma! It’s crazy that everything is green and in bloom. Some of our trees have all of their leaves on them already.

Lucky to be his mama!
 He LOVES watching the ducks!  We stopped for dinner at Ilios in Baxter village. Bugs had his yogurt, rice, and some chicken. He does well sitting in the highchair with his food.

My mom stayed with us while Kyle was out of town, and we headed out on morning walks and evening walks!
 The weather was perfect, so we decided to head to Waxhaw for the morning.  Before exploring the shops, we had matcha lattes and a fruit tart at Virtuoso Coffee shop.   
Little fingers always reaching!

And he’s always happy while swinging! We have one for him in the backyard now.
 When we got home, I made a delicious vegetable and sausage quiche with a sourdough crust. Let me know if you want this recipe! It was so easy to make and even better as leftovers.

After bathtime, we headed out on a night walk. He’s cruising along the furniture, so it’s time to babyproof everything! Morning walk with Tux! One of his favorite breakfasts is banana and egg pancakes. I cut them into tiny pieces for him to feed himself, and he loves them!

I spent all day Sunday cleaning the house! It felt good to get everything back in its place.
 My little Mozart!  He’s OBSESSED with the piano and has been since he was little. I hope he has an interest in playing one day. 
Sourdough Saturday!
 When it’s 85 degrees, we have a pool day!

Kombucha for me! I need to jump on the homemade kombucha train since I have it every day. I love it.
 I had a salad for dinner, and he had cottage cheese, avocado, and rotisserie chicken.  Breakfast before a trail walk! I love my sourdough bread toasted with butter, avocado, cottage cheese, egg, and everything but the bagel seasoning on top. 
We did coffee at Grapevine and a five-mile walk on the Riverwalk trail.
 More seedlings! I love reusing egg cartons for my seeds.
 My blueberry and raspberry bushes are starting to bud. I’m so happy about fresh blueberries this year. I’m nervous about planting these in the ground, but let me know if you have any experience with planting berries.

On Saturday, Kyle and I treated ourselves to Inizio pizza and salad. It’s one of my favorites.

While we were walking the neighborhood, one of our neighbors had the CUTEST set up to wish their pup a happy birthday. It had balloons and doggy party favors for all the dogs in the neighborhood. I need to do this too! It’s so cute, and I love when people love their dogs this much. Only a few more weeks of these tulips! After they all die, I’ll replace them with zinnias around the tree.  

Thanks for stopping by to read!

Questions for you!

1. Do you have any Spring flowers coming up?
2. Have you ever tried Crumbl cookies?
3. What is your favorite way to move your body?

Our backyard trees faced a bit of neglect as I focussed on my front garden beds and flowers closer to the house. Over the past two years, the grass started to cover the mulch, and the trees looked boring and lonely. I wanted to add a pop of flowers in the backyard, so I decided to build a little butterfly & bee flower garden around them. 

I love how they turned out, and I can’t wait for them to come back this year! They brought me so much joy last summer, and I always enjoyed taking my coffee outside with me to deadhead, water, and just stare at them. They attracted the most beautiful monarch butterflies, hummingbirds, and bumble bees. In September, the brightest yellow finches were all over the seeds of the coneflowers, and I loved watching them.  I feel like I’m doing something good whenever I plant pollinating attractors.

Creating a Butterfly and Bee Flower Garden

This would be a great project if you have some areas by your house that needs a little TLC! It doesn’t require a lot of work, money, or landscaping experience. You can customize this by choosing flowers you like, different landscaping stones, and the shapes of the garden beds. 

These flower bed gardens would be a cute project to do with your kids and a great way to teach them about plants and pollination. Within minutes of planting, it started attracting all the bumble bees and butterflies. And don’t worry, those big and loud bumble bees will not hurt you! They are too busy working.

I first headed to Lowes Garden Center to pick up garden soil (the potting mix was for my porch pots) and landscaping edging stones. The stone comes in curved for a round garden bed and also straight for rectangular beds.

The total for the stones came to around $70.00 for 40 of them. This is one of those purchases you’ll only have to make once.

The total for the four bags of garden soil came to $35.00, and you do not have to buy mulch, but you can if you’d like! I ended up adding mulch to the bed after they all died out in the late fall of this year.
 You can save some money by purchasing your flowers or seeds at Lowes, but they don’t have the variety of flowers that my local nursery has, and I love supporting their business. If you live near Charlotte or Fort Mill, stop by Wilsons Garden Center in Rock Hill, SC. I used to get coffee and head there almost every single week. I’ve purchased my flowers from them for years, and they never disappoint!

My backyard has full sun in the back where the garden beds are, so I went with full-sun perennials. One day when the trees are giant, I’ll have to transfer the flowers elsewhere since it’ll be a shady spot, but that’ll be years from now.

Purchasing perennials will save you a lot of money over the years because they come back every year, and sometimes you can split them and keep the garden going. 

If your garden area is full sun, get full sun flowers, and if it’s heavily shaded, make sure to get part-sun or full-shade. My gardening guide has a lot of flower options listed for sun/shade sections!

If you’re wondering why our grass has chunks in these photos, it’s because it was aerated by our grass company. We had a complete grass rehab last year, which I’m hoping helped a bit with treating the grubs, which turn into the Japanese beetles that eat everything up. 

I recommend purchasing everything the day before since that takes a lot of time and work. Do the trees the next day when your energy levels are back and you’re ready to start digging(I did this a month postpartum, so I was so tired during this process! 

The first thing I did was lay the stones around the area that I wanted to fill with flowers. This helped me create a guide for digging.  I used a shovel to dig up the mulch, grass, weeds, and rocks surrounding the tree. 

I did make the mistake of not adding in landscaping fabric. If I did this again, I would not be lazy and skip that step! All summer, I picked out rooted Bermuda grass from the garden bed. So don’t make my mistake and add some in!

After the digging was done, I added 1 1/2 bags of garden soil into the garden bed. Keep the other half for planting the flowers. 
 
Next, I removed the flowers from the pots and placed them where I wanted to have them planted. I’m the kind of gardener that likes to crowd my plants, so I wasn’t too worried about the spacing of the coneflowers.

Perineal Flowers (in South Carolina) to plant in Full Sun 

I planted lantana, coneflowers, mealycup sage, cuphea hyssopifolia (Mexican heather), and balloon flowers. 

I waited until June to do this project because they didn’t have cone flowers available at the nurseries until this time. You can always plant seeds if you’re patient enough! 

I’m hoping they all come back next year like my flowers in the front garden, but you never know! The idea is to have them come back bigger and better each year. 
After finishing up the first tree, I took a lunch break and went back to finish the second tree before the thunderstorm rolled in. I was excited about a storm coming because that meant natural rainwater after planting! You want to water them right away, so they do not dry out, especially with the sun and hot summer heat pounding down on them. Then you’ll want to continue to water them every other day since the roots are not established, and they aren’t strong enough yet. Gardens become more forgiving as the years go on. 

I cut the bottom stems off the tree a few days later! They grow back fast, so I have to cut them a lot.

In just one week, they start to fill in and produce the most beautiful blooms. The key is to buy flowers that have buds that haven’t bloomed yet so you can enjoy them longer. 

You can clip the dead flowers off, but don’t cut back the stems until they completely die in late fall.  
I love the cottage garden look of the stones brought to the flower bed. 
 The best time to water them is in the early morning. If you water them in the afternoon, their leaves can burn, and if you water them at night, they can grow mold over time. If they look like they need water during a hot summer day, try watering them only at the roots and avoid getting water on their leaves.  These coneflowers are fun to cut for the table! I need to get a bird camera on them for the yellow finches. 
   It’s going to be so fun this summer when I can take my son outside to garden with me! Last year, he was just so little, and it was hard to get much done, but he is super interested in gardening (well, watching me do things!) I planted all my tulips a few weeks ago, and he was having so much fun just sitting in his bouncer and watching. Kyle and I started drawing up my vegetable garden for this year, and I’m so excited to get things rolling! This was definitely an upgrade from the before pictures! It’s crazy how super simple projects can completely transform an area.  Once August hit, they started to see their final days, but some hung on! You just have to keep up with watering, and deadheading, and patiently waiting for them to die before cutting them back. I know the dead shrubs will look ugly, but it’s important to protect them by letting them die by themselves.   Beautiful butterflies all summer long! 
I hope you enjoyed this little gardening blog and it has brought you some warmth during the cold days we’ve been having across the states. 

Questions for you!

1. What are around your home needs a flower garden bed?
2. What are your favorite perennial flowers that come back every year?
3. What is your least favorite thing about maintaining a garden?

Check out my garden favorites in my amazon storefront

Hello! Can you believe Christmas is in 5 days? Why is time flying by so fast lately? I hope you all are finished shopping, baking, and have been enjoying all of the holiday things! This will probably be the last recap post until after the New Year (but who knows since I don’t have much of a consistent blog schedule these days!) I throw these together when I have enough content or find a good nap session to write. I so appreciate all the patience with the changing of the content lately  

We saw this huge Grinch on our walk, and I just had to take this photo since Leo looks just like Max. I need to make this into an ornament. 

Last Saturday, I planted 1500 new tulip bulbs into the ground. I purchased them all on black Friday, and since we are in the south, we can still plant them in December. I cannot wait to see what they look like in the spring. It’s going to be so magical! 

After spending the afternoon planting bulbs, we ordered Naf Naf for dinner. I get their rice/salad bowls with chicken, cabbage, falafel, and garlic sauce. It’s amazing. I have to stop myself from wanting to eat there every day.
 I placed the tulips around my trees, my pots, and on the border of my garden bed. I clean the space by removing the fallen leaves and mulch, then place them pointy side up, add six inches of garden soil on top, and a few inches of fresh mulch. They were pretty around my tree last year, but I added many more this year! (last year’s tulips)
 

I added twenty different tulip varieties. I tried to place them all over, so they are blended. I took photos of the names by where I planted them to remember what was what.
 Luckily, we don’t have a squirrel/chipmunk issue in our yard, so I haven’t had to deal with them eating the bulbs. Bugs sat on the porch in his bounce chair and watched. He’s so content when he’s outside. He loves watching cars, people walking their dogs, and getting fresh air.  In late January and early February, I’ll prune my roses and clean out the rest of the garden beds. I’ve been begging Kyle to help me with my vegetable garden this year, so we will start the building process in January!  After hours of planting, I treated myself to a hot shower and a cup of coffee.

On Sunday, we picked up Momos donuts and drove to my parent’s house to say hello. Their old-fashioned donuts are the best things I’ve ever had. They melt in your mouth.
 For dinner, I made our favorite turkey meatloaf recipe.  We had the meatloaf with butternut squash, brussels sprouts, and salad.

I’ve been eating the same thing for breakfast almost every day for the past three weeks. I have a muffin with peanut butter and coffee at 5 am and then a breakfast sandwich at 10 am after our walk. I make it with an O’doughs bagel, egg, avocado, and maple chicken sausage. Eating the same thing has made grocery shopping and my morning routine much easier.
 
Last week, my baking never ended. Kyle had a cookie exchange at work, so I made gingerbread oatmeal cookies with a chai latte buttercream filling. And the following day, I made a giant dessert charcuterie board for another work party. I LOVE to bake, so I was totally in the zone.
I can do a separate post with the details of this board if you’re interested! I spent the entire next day cleaning the house, watching Christmas movies with bugs, and then ordering Naf Naf for dinner. They accidentally gave me steak instead of chicken this time, but it was really good!

On Saturday morning, we decided to be festive and visit a few Christmas markets in Charlotte. We started at OMB because we wanted to grab coffee and food first. We started our lunch with two hot coffees and a pretzel. I gave bugs a few bites of the insides of the pretzel, and he loved it. He’s starting to eat more solid foods like banana egg pancakes, sweet potatoes, and chicken. I need to get a food blog up soon on that journey!

 For lunch, I ordered a Chicken avocado club. It had chicken breast, avocado, bacon, pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, and sriracha aioli on a pretzel bun. It was massive! The side salad was so good, and the croutons tasted like they were coated in pesto.   We visited the Charlotte Christmas village at Truist Field in uptown. This was such a fun spot, and there was so much to do!

It was freezing, so we started with hot apple cider and cured our sweet tooth with an apple strudel.  
Bugs loved seeing all the fun lights, set-ups, and fake snow. We finally got our crying picture with Santa

When we got home, I made chocolate hazelnut Linzer cookies for a cookie exchange. These are one of my favorite Christmas cookies. 

And after putting bugs to bed, I headed down the street for a much-needed girl’s night.
My friend, Samantha, who lives a few doors down, put together this stunning charcuterie spread and made all of us Jack Frost drinks (the recipe is somewhere on TikTok). It was a super fun night!
On Sunday, I started making my bags of peanut brittle for Christmas! Kyle brings them to work, and I drop some off for neighbors with our Christmas cards. I have a few more batches today, and I’m done for the season! 

I hope you all have an amazing holiday! Thanks for stopping by to read

Before it’s officially Christmas and all things fall and go out the door, I wanted to share some of our photos from our Thanksgiving dinner! I have a few recipe details on the desserts that some of you over on Facebook were asking for! I hope you enjoy these photos! Our little bug loved the potatoes, smashed carrots, shredded turkey, and a few pieces of macaroni and cheese! We kept his normal diet throughout the day but mashed up a few things for him to try, and he LOVED it. He’s super good at chewing now, so it’s fun to experiment with food. I’m still sticking to mostly purees, though. 

Let’s talk about the cake! I used Sally’s Baking Addiction vanilla cake, added almond extract, cinnamon, orange zest, and made it a double layer instead of a triple layer. For the filling, I made homemade mascarpone buttercream. I mixed three sticks of butter, 1/2 cup plain mascarpone, eight cups of powdered sugar, 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream, one teaspoon of vanilla, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and a pinch of cinnamon. In the middle layer, I added fresh orange cranberry sauce that I had made the night before. I decorated it with sugar-coated cranberries, powdered sugar, and sugar-coated rosemary. It was DELICIOUS! Serve it chilled  It’s a perfect Christmas cake as well. I think I will make it a tradition always to make a cake during the holidays. 

For my pie crust, I used my pumpkin pie recipe! And for the pecan pie, I used Sally’s Baking Addiction pecan pie recipe, and it was amazing. This was my first time making a pecan pie, and it was so easy! I got creative this time and braided the edges of the pecan pie. I want to get better at pie dough! 

Pies are great for Thanksgiving because you can knock them out the night before!

I always place my produce on the hillside for the neighborhood deer, and it was so cute to see my little deer friend waiting for me! I put it out there every night. I think I’m going to get a deer cam. 
 
Sparkling cranberry juice   
 I used all of the candles from my wedding!  
We had so much food! But, it’s the leftovers we do it for. 

Roasted vegetables
Roasted potatoes
green bean casserole
cranberry sauce
sausage stuffing
dinner rolls
Mac and cheese
deviled eggs
turkey
shrimp pasta salad
cranberry sauce
brussels sprouts
pumpkin pie
pecan pie
 I brined the turkey 36 hours in advance. I used the whole foods turkey brine kit and added brown sugar, fresh thyme, rosemary, dill, lemons, and oranges. I stuffed the turkey with garlic, celery, oranges, thyme, rosemary, dill, lemons, cranberries, and onions. It was one of the best turkeys I made. 
 

We always do dessert after the kitchen is cleaned. It’s fun to play a board game, put a Christmas movie on, make coffee, and have dessert! 


   
 The cake was a hit!
 Thank you all for stopping by to check out the Thanksgiving photos. I’m going to make some tea, watch a Christmas movie, and relax after putting Bugs down tonight! I hope you all had the best day, did some Black Friday shopping (can’t believe I didn’t buy anything yet!), and spent some time with your family!

Questions for you!

1. What is your favorite Thanksgiving side?
2. Did you go shopping today?
3. Are you already in the Christmas spirit?

I’m currently sitting in a dark nursery with the sound machine on. I’m working on transitioning Bugs out of the Snoo, which is why I’ve been having him take naps in his crib. It’s been super successful so far. He’s been sleeping up to two hours during his naps. I used to be able to let him fall asleep downstairs, but recently, he wakes up to every little sound, so it was time to change it up. I like to sit in the rocker on my computer while he sleeps because it’s relaxing in the nursery. I’ve managed to focus and get more work done this way. It used to take me three days to fit in a recap blog, but it looks like I’ll be getting this one up within a few hours!

By the time we wake up, do a feeding, and get dressed, it’s almost 80 degrees with 100% humidity. I’ve had to get outside by 6 am to beat the heat. I don’t want to rush away in summer, but it will be so lovely when we can go out for a walk any time of the day.

Bugs has officially grown out of the bassinet. He’s in the 90th percentile in height, and it was time to put him in the stroller seat. He loves his new ride and stays awake the entire walk, looking at cars, the sky, and watching Leo. 
On Friday, I planted three new limelight bushes, moved my berries to the side of the house, and cleaned off the entire back patio to prepare it for a fresh coat of paint. It was so hot outside, but it felt good to be out in the garden. It’s officially zinnia season, and I love seeing them pop up all over the place. Check out my gardening blog.

Early Saturday morning, I had a few girlfriends over for a hike, followed by papaya boats. It was nice seeing my friends for the first time in two months. The last time I saw them was a week before giving birth.
 On Saturday afternoon, my parents came over to watch Bugs. This was our first time leaving the house together without him! It felt so weird but much-needed. We went on a day date to grab coffee at Two Scoops, a trip to Target, and lunch at The Improper Pig.  I ordered the grilled salmon, sweet potato fries, and spicy green beans! The food was AMAZING! I want to go back and eat this salmon every single night now. I love this spot in downtown Fort Mill.  After my Sunday morning walk, I had a bowl of yogurt, fruit, and homemade granola.

We had been pushing off painting the patio for months. We finally decided to do it on Sunday. After a few years, we were getting sick of the blue and decided to try out Realist Beige by Valspar. I LOVE how it turned out.

I grabbed an oat milk chocolate cream cold brew on the way home. It was pretty good but tasted a lot like chocolate milk. I always get the same thing and want to change it.
 I picked up this gorgeous ceramic pot for my basil plant. We have been eating so much basil with homemade pesto that I needed to buy my plant instead of purchasing it at the store. I have it by the sunny window, and it’s been doing well the past few weeks. I love how it turned out! I feel like it’s so airy and bright. We have shade in the yard all day, so it’s not too bright after the morning sun.

In this post, you can find the links to my patio furniture and see what the blue (and before the blue) looked like!

While Kyle did the patio painting, I made apple fritter cake and breakfast hash for dinner! I’ll have the apple fritter cake recipe up this week.
 We went on an early 4th of July walk!

We headed to my parent’s house for a 4th of July lunch. We wanted to make sure to be home with the dogs early evening to get them ready for the fireworks. We wanted to ensure they ate, headed outside to run around one last time, and were tucked away in the loft before the big show!  family  
I’ve had a Humm Kombucha every evening, and I’m obsessed with the blueberry mint can. I look forward to them each night! It rained a bit in the afternoon which cooled down the temps. I sat outside with Bugs while the storm rolled through. He LOVES being outside.
 I made a batch of scotcharoos for the cookout next door. We stopped over there to hang out with neighbors before Bug’s bedtime.  My new neighbor is the cutest!! After bathing Bugs, putting him to bed, and ensuring the dogs were safe, I headed out to my backyard to watch our neighbor’s incredible show they put on each year! It was such a nice 4th of July, and I can’t wait for next year when Bugs can stay up and watch them!

Questions for you!

1. What was the last home project you completed?
2. What herb do you use the most?
3. Did you watch the fireworks this year?

Since we didn’t know the gender, we kept the nursery neutral yet fun and went with a puppy theme!  The best part about our choice to wait on finding out is that we can use all of the items we bought for the next child in the future.
A nursery is not only for the baby but for the parents as well. I wanted a cozy room that I didn’t mind hanging out in at night, and I feel like neutral colors are more relaxing. We went with the puppy-themed because we are dog-obsessed in this house, and hopefully, our son will be too. I LOVE how our room turned out, and I’m constantly hanging out there. I usually bring my loads of laundry in there to fold, I do tummy time with bugs with the sun beaming through the windows, and sometimes I type out emails while he’s asleep in the crib. I love being around him, and the nursery is the coziest spot. 

 
We tried many sample colors and fell in love with Filmy Green by Sherwin Williams. Kyle put up a board and batten in the nursery, the loft, and the hallway leading to the nursery. Our loft is also set up as a kid-friendly zone. We did the play mat, play gym, tv area, and a cozy couch, and we currently have his Snoo set up in there. That way, I can watch T.V. while feeding him in the middle of the night. I still need to get some fun artwork up there, but I’ll get to that eventually. 

Batten Color / Filmy Green by Sherwin Williams

I love the light wood and wicker details throughout the nursery. I thought it looked soft with the filmy green accents. 

Wall Mounted Wood Floating Shelves / Wood Round Mirror / Wicker Light Fixture


This is my favorite spot to sit in the morning with my coffee while feeding bugs. The sun rises in the backyard, so we watch it together before starting our day. 

Embroidered Alphabet Pillow / Swivel Glider with Ottoman in Performance Cream

I found this light wood shelf at Hobby Lobby for organizing all of the books, toys, swaddles, and other miscellaneous items. When Bugs gets to the climbing stage, we will have to attach it to the wall since it is lightweight. 

Dog Basket / Wood Shelf / Fern & Avery Swaddles / Metal Mesh Basket with Wooden Handle / Baby Blocks / Musical Bug Toy / Stacking Circle Rings for Play & Teething / Mushi Muslin Blankets


I love our changing table setup! I have a diaper cart next to the changing table with all the extra diapers, wipes, products, and more. This helps me from having to run to the storage closet to grab an item while Bugs is on the changing table. When I’m changing him, he likes to hold on to the musical toy, making everything go super smooth. Putting a rubber changing mat on top of the changing pad has prevented a lot of laundry cycles. It’s easy to wipe off and portable, so you can take it places if you need to. 

Wipes Dispenser / Changing Pad / Peepee Teepees / Ubbi Changing Mat / Baby Support Pillow / Changing Pad Muslin Cover /

His drawers have remained pretty minimal with clothes that are his size. I’ve already had to store his newborn outfits since he’s outgrown them these past few weeks. I’ve learned not to keep things in the nursery you don’t use, or it’ll become too cluttered. I bought clear bins to store all that stuff the next time around.

Organizing Trays / Muslin Cloths / Rolling Organization Diaper Cart

I ordered the shades from Amazon, and they came in a few weeks! They make them custom, and you also have the option to add a blackout lining. They do a great job with the curtains to black out the room during the day completely. I am going to order more for the loft area and our bedroom.

The toy chest was such an incredible $5 Facebook Marketplace find. We painted it the color of the board and batten. I haven’t put anything in it yet, but I just signed up for the Lovevery subscription and planned to store the items there. He’s a little too young for most of the packages now, but I can’t wait to see him play with everything as the months go on. He’s now starting to grab toys and social smile at us. 

Wood Window Roman Shades (Pattern 9) /Parsonburg Area Rug / Goldendoodle Rocker / White Blackout Curtains / Rattan Mini Accent Lamp Stand / Accent Lamp Shade / Bean Bag Chair


I just had to get the doodle rocker! It looks so cute in the puppy-themed nursery. 

Babyletto Hudson Crib / Wicker & Polka Dot Laundry Basket / Babyletto Changing Table With Topper / Fitted Crib Sheet / Crib Mattress 100% Breathable / Hatch Light & Sound Machine /
I went with the breathable newton mattress for the crib and topped it with the Mushie sheet. I also like the Burts Bees fitted mattress sheets. They were super inexpensive, so I bought several of them. We also purchased the Nanit but have not set it up yet. We will set it up this weekend since we plan on trying to get him to start napping in his crib. 

Lil Spot Doggy Blanket Pad (SO SOFT!) / Goldendoodle Muslin Swaddle / Goldendoodle Woobie Baby / Puppy Hug Warmies / Natural Wood Frames / Dog Prints

It took a while for me to pick out prints for the nursery. I found these adorable puppy prints on Etsy and fell in love! I downloaded them digitally, had them printed on Shutterfly, and framed them with super inexpensive frames from Michaels. I love how they turned out.
I am obsessed with this puppy mobile! 

Puppy Mobile
 
The light fixture and area rug are some of my favorite nursery items. I’ll use them in the guest room once we turn the nursery over to a big boy room. 

Doggy Stuffed Animals | Bashful / Toffee / Fuddlewuddle / Squiggle / Fudge / Barnaby / Huggady / Hudson / Dashing / Otto /

Touch & Feel Dog Books / The Scruffy Puppy

The bathroom is next to the nursery, making everything so convenient. We still have to decorate the kid bathroom, but it’s at least functional now. Putting a bath cart next to the bath has made bath time easy!

Bathtub // Turtle Bath Cushion // Bandana Bibs // Turtle Thermometer// Cart // Hair Brush // Bath Toys // Bath Towels 
 I hang out in the loft most of the day, and it is so cozy there! We will eventually get some kid-themed pillows for the couch that match the play mat, some fun, colorful artwork, window shades, and a few bookshelves in there.

Sectional Couch / Shelf Floor Lamp / DockATot / Curtain Rods / Play Mat / Boppy Pillow / Boppy Pillow Cover / Baby Play Gym / Black & White Activity Pages /Arm Table
I hope you enjoyed this nursery blog! Let me know if you need more links that I may have forgotten! 

Questions for you!

1. What nursery theme did you do (or would you like to do in the future?)
2. Are there any nursery items you cannot live without?

I hope you all had a great weekend filled with sunshine and spring temps! I’m living for this weather right now. With only five weeks left before the baby comes, I have gotten this crazy wave of energy. Even though I’m battling sciatica, heartburn, and other pregnancy discomforts, I’m pushing through to make sure everything is up and ready before my due date. We did so much this weekend, and I’m feeling it today! The good thing is that I can take a morning to relax, have a coffee, and hop on here to connect with you all!
Last Monday started in the best way possible. I had the best morning date with a friend, which began with a trip to Wilson’s Nursery! This is my happy place, and seeing all their spring flowers sent me over the limit. I filled the cart with flowers for my front porch pots. I have four on my steps, two on my chairs, and one outback. I love filling them with verbena, lantana, and petunias. I also purchased two of their hanging pots with a colorful variety of flowers. My goal in the spring and summer months is to add so much color with flowers to my house. It makes me so happy! I know I’m like a broken record saying this, but “I can’t wait to just water, deadhead, and take care of the garden with the baby in the mornings.” I purchased a cute outdoor lounger with a netting over it so they can be out there with me. I hear getting the baby outside is so good for them (as long as the summer temps are low, which they usually are in the mornings!)After leaving the garden center, we drove over to The Common Market. I hadn’t been to the Common Market since 2014 when they had it in Southend Charlotte. I’m so excited they have one closer to our house now. I tell Kyle every day that I love where we live because it’s growing so fast, and all of my favorite spots are expanding out this way!

I ordered the chicken salad over lettuce with ranch and a bagel with cream cheese on the side. This chicken salad was divine! I brought the leftovers home, and Kyle and I ate the chicken salad with crackers for dinner. We ended our afternoon date with ice cream and coffee from Two Scoops as if things couldn’t get better. I’m not joking when I say this ice cream was probably one of the best flavors I’ve ever had. I’m usually the type of person that can have a few bites of ice cream, and I’m over it, but this maple granola flavor was unlike anything I’ve ever had, and it was even better when washed down with an oat milk cortado!

I told Kyle we had to go back to get ice cream after working on a few projects this past weekend, and when we got there, the line was wrapped around the building. I talked the ice cream up so much, and he didn’t even get to try it. Oops! Well, we’ll be back

When I got home, I finished up last week’s recap blog and then laced up my shoes to go work on potting some flowers for the front yard. The weather was sunny and in the ’70s, so I could not stay inside for long! I cannot wait to see the pots when they start filling in these next few weeks.

Next weekend, we have plants to touch the paint on our front steps and add a fresh coat of paint to our back patio for spring. I have all my fruit plants on the patio, so it needs a major spring cleaning!

If you want to learn more about my gardening and planting pots, check out my latest garden guide & tour I just posted a few weeks ago!

Last week was the peak for these tulips! They’re officially in their final days, making me so sad! I have LOVED seeing them while sitting on my porch each morning. The amount of joy flowers bring me is probably unhealthy

Here in a few weeks, as they die down, I’ll be digging the bulbs up and storing them. After that, I’ll replace the area with fresh annual flowers for the season. I want to do annuals because I plan to put the tulip and hyacinth bulbs back into the ground this fall.

I have a tulip blog coming later in the month as soon as I store them! I think they were super successful this year!
The ultimate leftovers smorgasbord for dinner!

On Tuesday, Leo and I went out for our morning walk. I have still been getting my walks in each day, even though they are much shorter and a bit more painful. I’ve had so much pressure and lightning twitches in the pelvis. I’m officially looking like a waddling duck on my walks, but Leo still appreciates the effort!
 Gardening round two on Tuesday! I filled my blue pots (initially intended for blueberries) with pink petunias! They turned out so pretty. I also lined the garden bed with over 30 petunia plants. I did this last year, and they made the edges so full of color! The only downfall is having to deadhead them constantly, but gosh, they are so pretty in the summer, and they love the full sun. I replenished myself with a cold shower and a delicious smoothie! I’ve loved those tropical dole fruit packs with elderberry juice, almond milk, and vanilla plant protein powder scoop.
I had a chicken salad wrap with fresh fruit and a handful of unpictured Cheez-its for dinner.

Leo headed to the groomers early on Wednesday (Tux has his appointment this week!), and I took it easy most of the day. I felt like I had a bit o a stomach bug, but it went away later in the evening. The crazy thing is that I fell asleep on the couch around 10 am and slept almost all day long! Kyle was working from home, so he took care of the dogs and let me sleep the sickness off.

I finally got my appetite back and decided to order a Chickfila salad with some fries instead of cooking anything.
I woke up Thursday feeling so much better! It was still a cold and rainy day, but at least the sickness was gone!

I decided to make some Chicken & Noodle soup for the week. The rainy weather had me in the mood for my favorite comfort food! Kyle loved it so much that he asked if I could make it again this week, so I picked up all the ingredients last night to make it again today. It is the best dish to keep in the fridge! My mom said she’d make this for me when we get home from the hospital.

With being pregnant, foot pain is insane! I needed new slippers for walking on the hard floors, and I found these slippers on Amazon! I cannot believe how foamy and soft these are! They are fantastic quality, and I feel like ordering a few more to have upstairs and downstairs. They are under $20 and are one of my favorite purchases. I’ll have to include them in my third-trimester roundup.

Kyle and I plopped on the couch to watch Jeopardy on Thursday evening, and he loves getting in his baby kick time. The baby seriously does cartwheels all day, especially in the evening.
Happy spring porch!
One of my neighbors across the street had a baby a few weeks ago, so I decided to make her How Sweet Eats lactation cookies! I ordered the brewer’s yeast powder for mother’s milk and flaxseed on Amazon a few weeks ago while planning what to store in my freezer for breastfeeding. I thought this was an excellent opportunity to try this recipe out. I plan to make many lactation snacks to keep in the freezer here in a few weeks. I hear that breastfeeding can make you so hungry, and it’s great to have snacks on hand, especially ones that can help with milk supply. If you read the reviews on her blog, many people have made these and said they have helped!
 
This cookie recipe was pretty easy to make, and it tasted delicious! Even Kyle had himself a few lactation cookies The recipe makes so many of them, which is excellent as well. I highly suggest adding in the pecans!
On Saturday, we worked on getting a few baby items put together. We have been following a guide that said it’s essential to put the baby items out early so the dogs can get used to them before the baby arrives. We don’t want to overwhelm Tux and Leo with these new baby gadgets and a new baby. Leo was so confused about having his bed rearranged in our bedroom, but he got used to it quickly! We plan to have the baby in our bedroom for the first six months, and we decided to go with the Snoo since we’ve heard so many amazing things. 
After getting the Snoo put together in our bedroom, we headed over to the garden center to grab a few things before the weekend crowd. I picked up four new white iceberg roses to plant next to my patio dropoff. Last year, I did zinnias, but I wanted to switch it up and add a perennial that will do great there, and I’ll never have to replace it again. I’m so so so excited to see all the white roses this year! They are sandwiched between my pink drift roses and pink cut roses.

After all the yard work, I snuck away to nap with Leo and then did a hot foot bath later in the evening while Kyle and I watched Windfall.
Sunday morning yard play with the boys! I love how happy Tux is in the mornings!
Leo already being the best big brother! It’s so crazy how gentle he is with my belly. He used to jump all over me, but now he’s so soft, and I feel he senses something.

I spent the afternoon cleaning out all the upstairs closets, organizing the laundry room, washing more baby items, and putting together a postpartum cart. I’ve also been working on putting together everything for my hospital bag!
 I was so hungry later in the afternoon, so I made a bagel with cream cheese, bacon, eggs, and a banana on the side! It was sooooo delicious.

The next thing on the list was to get Leo used to the stroller. He’s not sure about it right now, but we put it in our kitchen and kept putting treats next to it so he becomes comfortable with it. He keeps staring at it like it’s a person! But I want him to get used to it because I plan to take him and the baby on early morning walks this summer. I also bought lights to attach to the stroller for early morning walks.

We ended our evening with chicken noodle soup and watched a little bit of basketball!



Before heading to bed, I had to head outside to snap some photos of the flowers in the sunset.

I hope you all have the best week!

Questions for you!

1. Have you started any gardening yet?
2. Tips for getting your pets used to the stroller?
3. What is one store near you that makes you so happy every time you visit?

After getting back, I jumped on the computer to finish this post.  After I hit publish, I’m heading to the porch to transfer all of the new flowers into their planters. I’m going to take photos and blog the process if you’re looking for some good full-sun flowers to put in your planters this summer! Don’t forget to check out my gardening blog post if you’ve missed it! I only have about a month left to get some gardening things out of the way before baby arrives! I know I’ll want to just lay on the couch like a potato in the last few weeks.

I’m still on that smoothie, waffle, and peanut butter kick! The smoothie has bananas, strawberries, mango, elderberry juice, almond milk, vanilla protein (plant-based), and pomegranate seeds on top!

Now that I’m 34 weeks pregnant, I figured it was a good time to get my hospital bags ready. I’ve enjoyed reading other blogs and YouTube videos on what to pack in my hospital bag. They are so helpful! We even got a list from the labor and delivery class we took that I also used. I will share a blog post on what I packed. I’m thinking of posting it after birth to be more clear on what I used and what I did not need. Let me know what you think!
On Tuesday, I decided to get a little headstart on pulling some weeds and clipping a few plants in the garden. I made a huge mistake when I first moved in and planted these beautiful primrose plants. They’re the cutest little pinkish-white flowers, but I didn’t know that they are highly invasive. The tiny little plants have been spreading everywhere for the past two years; I’ve had to pull the sprouts from the ground to keep up with them. If you know how to get rid of them completely, please let me know! I try to clean out the old mulch and weeds, add new topsoil, and fresh mulch once things start to bloom again. I have so many plants coming up from the ground that I like to see before covering them!

I’m on a quest to start fixing a few spots in my grass. If you read my gardening post, you’re aware of the grass issues we have! I’m documenting the process, so if it works, I’ll share! I have to keep the process dog-friendly since Leo eats grass, and they both like to roll around in it.

And after spending time out in the garden, a smoothie is a must!
I was up bright and early for my 33-week appointment. It feels crazy that the appointments are now every two weeks, and after the next visit, they’ll be every week! This makes it all feel so real.

The baby is officially head down, the baby’s heart rate was 140, all of my vitals looked great, and all of my other tests came back normal! I always love hearing good news.

After leaving the appointment, I decided to bring home some donuts from Momos’s new donut shop. I’m not a huge donut person. I like them, but I wouldn’t usually go out of my way to pick them up or crave them. All I can say is WOW! These were hands down the best donuts I’ve ever had, and my favorite was the cream cheese cake donut (the one in the bottom right corner.)
On Tuesday, I made Kyle and me some chicken enchiladas for dinner! These were so tasty and perfect as leftovers. I posted this recipe under the “food is good” highlight on my Instagram. I think I’ll make these again this week since it made dinner night so easy! I had an enchilada with a side salad or grilled veggies almost all weekend long.
 
My tulips have been in full force this week! I have a crazy obsession where I cannot stop staring at them. I like to sit on my front porch or work from the guest room and look out the window at them. I can’t wait to plant even more next year. Good thing plant rehab isn’t a thing.

I don’t know what happened, but I felt like this pregnancy took a turn on Friday.

I’ve been able to walk a ton, clean the entire house, walk all day, and have been so energetic, but since Friday, I’ve had a crazy amount of pelvic pressure, feet pain, and more discomfort than usual. I guess it’s finally caught up with me. Wearing the belly band helps, but I decided to give myself a rest day on Friday. I chose to sit almost all day instead of going here and there.

After getting out of the shower, I lathered up with my belly oil (Hatch is seriously the best!) and sat down on the couch to work on the computer and take it easy all day.
 
Kyle started planting our trees after he got off work, and I took a blanket outside to give him company! I felt pretty useless about not being able to help, but I secretly loved it lol I love getting messy with dirt and planting, but it was lovely sitting on the sidelines this time. He planted 15 new green emerald trees along our fence line while I sat back and had myself a picnic with Leo and Tux.
How cute are these boys! They wanted to come in so bad, but I was busy mopping the floors. We had a lot of weekend rain which always makes our floors a disgusting mess of wet grass and mud.

I had some bananas that were a day away from bad, so I decided to whip up some delicious frosted banana bread bars on Saturday morning! Kyle LOVES banana bread but loved these even more. He said they were the top five best things I’ve ever made.
 
On Saturday, I had a few neighbor ladies over for some wine (sparkling cider for me) and a charcuterie!
Making charcuteries and snack boards is one of my favorite things to do! Down here, Publix has the BEST cheese selection!

On Sunday morning, we took the boys for a trail walk! We love using the trail with Tux because nothing is there to spook him. He isn’t a fan of people, bikes, parked cars, or unidentifiable lawn objects!
He does so well on the trail, and we let him take the lead! He’s improving so much, and it makes my heart so full. I never thought I could love another dog like I love Leo and Grumples, but Tux has stolen my heart. I sometimes stare at him and start tearing up because I love him and how proud I am of his progress. I’ll post all about Tux and his progress in July, when it’s officially been one year since we adopted him.
 
 
On Sunday, Kyle and I sat on the couch almost all day watching movies. I was so tired from the night before, and he was tired from working so hard in the yard. Sunday was a well-rested one!

I hope you all have THE BEST week! I’m not heading out to plant some flowers and get my daily dose of vitamin D!

HAPPY SPRING!

Questions for you!

1. Are you doing potted plants this year?
2. What was the highlight of your weekend?
3. What kinds of blogs would you like to see from me this spring?

I grew up with a mom who was (and still is) obsessed with flowers. I could name almost every popular flower by the time I was in kindergarten. I took a video on my parent’s camcorder walking around the house, giving the camera a garden tour. I think I was in second grade at the time.  My mom always included me by letting me water, pick off the dead heads of the petunias, and fill dirt in the pots. I can’t wait to do that with my kids one day. I know this summer will be much different! People ask me how I plan to continue my passion for gardening while being a new mom, but I’ll make it work! I will share tips and tricks on getting it done as a mom. I’ve already been preparing myself by purchasing a few baby-friendly outdoor loungers I can set up while I’m outside in the morning. Everyone has a form of therapy that helps them, like walking, running, or reading a book; for me, it’s gardening.

Garden Tour 2020-2022

Today, I will give you a complete garden tour from the past two summers in our house. I will try to write up another in the fall with the 2022 garden since I have so many changes coming! I’m hoping to make this a new series. I have written down many of your garden questions from Instagram and will answer them throughout this post, but leave them in the comments if you have any additional questions!
 
 
We moved into our new house on April 24th, 2020! Kyle returned to work the day we got our key, and I headed straight to the local garden center to pick up a few plants. The landscaping the builders had done was horrendous. Most of our yard was filled with red mulch, and while the sod was still unattached, I thought it was the perfect time to remove the mulch, pull some sod from the back, and replace the mulch beds. I didn’t want to worry about mulch getting on the sidewalk constantly, and since our house slopes down, that area was destined to give my plants root rot. When I lifted the rose bushes from that mulch bed, they dripped in wet red dirt. If I didn’t move them, they would have died. When they plant the shrubs and lay the grass, they place it right on the sand, rocks, building material, and red dirt. They don’t add any topsoil or anything to help it thrive. We are still battling our grass issues! My goal was to add all new soil to the garden before planting.

I didn’t want my yard to be 80% mulch, so I took it all out, added some lawn soil, laid down new sod, and it made all the difference. It took me about five showers to officially be dirt free.

We ended up taking out the red tree in the front and moving it to the backyard. I love green leaves, so I wanted to replace them with something smaller, a flowering tree, and one that wouldn’t get so big and ruin the sun we have in the front of our house. We found the cutest dogwood tree and placed it right in the center of my flower bed. We added about four new white crepe myrtles around the house. Those are always so pretty in July!
   The day before we moved in…
 About a year later…

Small Exterior Changes that Made a Huge Difference 

Some non-garden-related things we did to make the front look a little better are removing the chunky railing on the front porch, painting our brick white, painting our porch floor green, adding light fixtures, painting the garage door black, and adding a few solar landscaping lights.

This is what the flower bed looks like in early May! Spring comes a lot sooner here in South Carolina! We did have a terrible frost arrive at the last minute that killed off some of my spring buds, but most things recovered.

I will share all kinds of filler plants, annuals, perennials, and everything I have around my house!

You’ll notice that I use the word perennial and annual throughout this post. Let me explain what that means!

What is a Perennial flower?

A Perennial is a flower that comes back every year. You will only have to plant perennials once! They come back bigger and better as the root system usually establishes.

What is an annual flower?

Annuals are flowers that will not return. They’ll survive one season, and you’ll have to plant them again in the springtime or some in the fall. There are a few cases where you can bring them inside and keep them alive, but most of the time, you’ll have to take the loss!

I will share some of my favorite annuals and perennials to keep in the garden. Why spend money on flowers that will die when you can just purchase flowers that’ll come back each year? Gosh, that would save a ton of money and time, but some of the annual flowers are stunning and make the summer flower beds or pots so worth it! It also allows you to change things up! I have had a lot of trial and error with a few annual flowers that I’ll never invite back. I have a few perennials I’m thinking about kicking to the curb, and a few may shock you!

Another important point is that some flowers can be annuals in one zone, and some may be perennials in another zone! Plenty of flowers down here come back each year, but they would die off in a colder zone. Knowing your zone and planting accordingly is important for the best results.

How can I  find my hardiness zones?

It’s as easy as typing in your city, state, and the words “hardiness zones” into google! Your zone should pop up in bold as soon as you hit “search.” I’m currently living in zone 8a. But plenty of plants and flowers can take on every single zone out there! Just read your seed cards, and plant information, or use your trusty friend, Google! Don’t think that because I have a flower in my zone, you can’t have the same one in yours! You just may have to care for it differently.

Anyone can start a garden. You may have to spend a few minutes reading extra fine lines, but you’ll eventually become an expert and throw those cards away without glancing at anything other than the price tag.

Planting Bulbs and Tubers

At first, I was intimidated by planting anything that looked like a potato or garlic head. I even had a few people ask me why I was putting garlic into my ground on Instagram. It gave me a laugh, but some bulbs look like garlic.

You can get away with planting bulbs and tubers in my zone in late winter and early spring. You’ll want to plant them in late fall after the first frost for the best results. But when I moved into our new house during the springtime, I couldn’t wait to get my tubers and bulbs into the ground.

Learning to Plant Bulbs and Tubers

I learned simply by reading the back of the package! I did watch a few YouTube videos since I’m a visual person, but it’s the most effortless process ever! The bag will tell you how many inches to dig, when to plant, and how to care for them. You’ll also want to pay attention to the amount of sun they need and where you’re growing them. Down here, all of the bulbs and tubers I have planted have returned each year. In some zones, you may have to dig them up after the season and store them for the following year.

What bulbs and tubers have you planted around your house?

I have planted peonies, gladiolus, dahlias, dwarf dahlias, tulips, hyacinths, Liatris, and daffodils. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing your flowers grow from a bulb. It’s one of my best accomplishments! I would religiously check on the growth morning and night. Right now, my gladioluses are sprouting up for their third year!

Where do you purchase your tubers and bulbs?

I have purchased them from many different places. I have found the best luck with the ones from Lowes. I have bought bags from Walmart, which is the cheapest, but not one came up! I have purchased bulbs grown by small-business farmers on eBay and Etsy, which have all been successful. I like to buy them from my local nursery, and I love purchasing them in the winter when they’re all on sale. I have heard that Costco and other wholesale stores have a great selection, so I may try that out soon! Some pricier places I’ve purchased bulbs and tubers have been online with Eden Brothers and Spring Hill Nursery. I sometimes have to splurge if they have a variety I can’t find locally. Amazon can be a hit or miss; just pay attention to the reviews! I get many of my seeds from Amazon, which have all been a success.

Planting Zinnia Seeds

Zinnias are my favorite annual to grow. They are perfect for garden fillers and flower beds that you don’t know what to do with, and they are inexpensive for what they offer. There are so many different varieties you can choose from, and I highly recommend mixing them. They are one of the easiest flowers to grow, and I love all of the colors they bring! Most of my zinnias were thriving in August while my other flowers were preparing for fall temperatures.

In some zones, you’ll want to plant zinnias after the first frost in the fall. I plant them in early spring after no more frost is expected in my zone. Since it’s only March right now, I’ll be growing them in late April! You could also start them early in containers inside the house if you’re worried about a frost coming. Zinnias love full sun, so keep that in mind when choosing your location. And just because they like the full sun doesn’t mean they like dry conditions! Make sure to give your zinnias a good drink a few times a week (if it doesn’t rain.) But like many plants, overwatering can cause disease or root rot. I usually stick my fingers down the soil to check the moisture level.

One of the best parts about growing zinnias is that they are stunning for filling indoor vases! I love cutting them and putting them on the kitchen table for extra color.
 
  
Some of my zinnias were mini, and some were about as tall as I am. I filled many garden areas with zinnia seeds instead of digging holes and planting other flowers. I took the lazy route (I think it’s smart!) and poured the zinnia seeds over a bed of soil, added another inch of soil, and let them do their thing! Some people pinch zinnias to promote more prominent blooms and growth, but I wanted to keep it low maintenance and didn’t do any of that. I may try to pinch the zinnias in one bed and leave the other alone to compare this summer. Who doesn’t love a little flower science experiment? Some people also soak zinnia seeds before planting, but I don’t do that either. I just give a nice watering after planting them in the soil.

Which zinnia varieties did you plant?

I planted the California Giant Mix, which is stunning when placed in the back of a garden bed. I like to grow them closer to the house for support since they get so large and top-heavy. You can use a trellis net to support them if you bunch them together. Peppermint Stick zinnias are so beautiful with their speckled colors! I have found the seeds for those at a local nursery, and I believe the brand I used was Botanical Interest. One of the popular ones I use is the State Fair Mix. These usually come in bulk bags and offer multi-color blooms!

I love buying the Zinna Mix bags because they come with mulch, fertilizer, and seeds. All you have to do is spread the mix in your garden area, top it with some garden soil, and wait for them to start coming up!

I love that my zinnias attract butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.

Potting Plants for the Porch

Designing my porch plants is one of my favorite things in April. You could do the pots earlier if you don’t mind bringing them in during colder nights, but I don’t want to deal with that again this year. I learned my lesson after last year’s unexpected frost.

I like filling my pots with unique colored petunias purchased from my local nursery, lantana, and bacopa. I must pay attention to flowers that can handle the full sun since my house faces the sunlight all day. If you have iPhone, open up the compass app on your phone, and it’ll tell you which direction your house is facing. Since I’m facing SW when I sit on my front porch, I plant mostly sun-favoring flowers. In the back, I can plant flowers that are like the shade. Have fun and get creative with potting! I never overcrowd the pot when I plant them because they grow extremely fast as the weeks go on. Make sure to constantly water them, deadhead the petunias, and place them inside if any frost is in the forecast.
 After the months, my petunias started to get super heavy, so I trimmed their ends, which seemed to help! Sometimes, you have to become a top hairstylist with your flowers.

I’ve learned that you cannot be a perfectionist when gardening. You’ll face errors, unpreventable diseases, pest attacks, invasive weeds and plants, and unexpected weather. Gardening is a fun game of trial and error!


I found these $5 tins at Walmart and filled them with red, white, and blue petunias a few weeks before the 4th of July. They lasted until October! It’s fun to find unique ways to plant flowers! I’m sure these were meant for ice buckets to keep your drinks on, but I think they made the perfect-looking porch pots! It’s great to think outside the box. Blog post on how we painted our back patio!

How did you decide on what to plant in your garden?

I get a ton of inspiration through Pinterest, or I’ll see a flower that catches my eye while walking around the garden center. My mom has helped a lot with choosing flowers as well. I knew right away that I wanted my front flower bed to be heavy with roses, which is why I have over twenty rose bushes in the front of my house, and I filled them in with a few of my favorite perennials. Sometimes, I’ll learn about a new variety if my nursery has them. I can always make room for a new plant. Every year, I line my garden bed with petunias. They are inexpensive, get so big and luscious, and constantly bloom! The downfall is that you have to deadhead morning and night to keep up, and you’ll have to replace them each year. However, I enjoy all of that.

Garden Tools & Accessories I Use The Most

Garden Tool Set – Pruning Sheers, Transplanter, Mini Shovel
Thorn Proof Garden Gloves – I have purchased a few pairs of these! They are THE BEST garden gloves to protect your arms and are thorn-proof. Sometimes, I’ll throw them into the wash to clean them up, and they are brand new.
Soft Garden Gloves – I love having a pack of soft garden gloves to throw on real quick if I’m planting something or sweltering outside, and I don’t want gloves with the full sleeve.
Wheelbarrow– I couldn’t survive without our wheelbarrow! I load a ton of dirt, mulch, trees, and garden cleanup onto our wheelbarrow!
Plant Blankets for Frost Protection – I used these during the late frost last year.
Bamboo Plant Labels – Great for labeling roses, seeds, and bulbs. Use a sharpie to label them.
Ponytail Summer Gardening Hat – This hat is fantastic for being out in the sun! It has a ponytail slot, Wide Brim UV protection, and comes in many different colors! A baseball cap isn’t going to cut it for protection.
Designated Rose Pruning Shears – These are my favorite for cutting thick canes!
Garden Tools Set Collapsible Bag – The tools aren’t the best quality in this bag, but the bag alone has been my best friend! I load it up with seeds, tools, water bottles, gloves, and more! It is so cute and would make the PERFECT gift for someone.
Garden Knee Bench – I thought I’d be such an old person for purchasing this, but it is one of my number one used items! Your knees will take a hit with all the bending and kneeling. This bench gives your knees a cushion and has a slot to hold your tools. I often lose my tools while planting because they blend in with the ground.
Watering Can – get a large plastic one from the garden center!
Fit Flex Gardening Expandable Hose – I don’t know how I ever lived without this hose! It feels like cloth and is so easy to store and transport. We bought one big enough to go around the entire house! It also shrinks up so small and is lightweight! You’ll save yourself from all the kinks and folds a regular hose does.
Plant Support Pack – Filled with useful stakes, ties, twine, and clips.
Medium Size Shovel– Great for digging holes for larger shrubs and trees.
Garden Rake – I use this for spring cleanup or spreading seeds! It’s only 8-inches broad so that it can fit into smaller corners.

Some people love using gardening boots, but I’ve never been a fan. I think they make your feet hot, and bending down in them is uncomfortable because they restrict your ankles. I have old trusty sneakers I wear.

Full-Shade, Partial-Sun, and Full-Sun

There are so many flowers I wish I could have in my front yard. If my front had shade, I’d fill the garden with all kinds of hydrangeas, but it’s full sun all day. I stick to flowers that love the sun in the front and flowers that do better with the partial sun in the back.

My favorite full-sun flowers are petunias, roses, coneflowers, verbena, zinnias, dahlias, dianthus, phlox, and foxgloves.

I go with hydrangeas, inpatients, camellias, gardenias, begonias, and hosta for my shade and partial sun.

Since my back fence gets full sun all day, I have ten climbing roses bushes along the fence.

Why I love Coneflowers

Coneflowers are one of my favorite perennials in my garden! I have yellow, red, white, and orange ones, and I plan to add many more this year. They are the most forgiving flowers and come back each year bigger and better. One of my favorite things about coneflowers is that they attract yellow American goldfinches in late summer. The birds will bounce on the tops of them, taking the seeds. They are the prettiest bright yellow birds I’ve ever seen! Coneflowers also attract bees, butterflies, and other essential pollinators. Some people may fear planting anything that attracts bees, but they will not bother you! They look and sound intimidating, but those big bumblebees are essential for our earth. They fly all around when I’m in the garden, and they have never bothered me one bit!

Coneflowers love the sun, making them perfect as fillers for my front garden bed. I love that they grow straight up instead of spreading over the ground. They stay in their little space and don’t become invasive to the surrounding plants.

How to grow Coneflowers

You can grow coneflowers by seeds or purchase the plant when they’re in season. Either way, they’ll look amazing and come back each year! They don’t require much water, so they are impossible to kill if you’re not always on your watering game. They are super pretty when mixed with lavender.

Flowering Trees and Shrubs

My favorite flowering trees and shrubs to plant are azaleas, gardenias, camellias, dogwood trees, crepe myrtles, jasmine, and southern magnolias.

Last week, we purchased fifteen new Emerald Green Arborvitae Trees for our fence line! I can’t wait to get those into the ground.

I planted my camellia trees in front of my side windows. My goal is to look out my windows in the living room and see luscious blooming camellia flowers and greenery all year round. They grow slowly, but I love how they look! So far, they’ve grown about a foot since planting them.

I planted a Japanese Camilla, a Crimson King, Fire Falls Camellia, and a Dark Pink Kanjiro Camellia! I purchased all of these from my local nursery.

Growing Camellia Trees

I treat them with potassium salt once a year, but they do well independently. I had issues with one during a crazy wind storm, but it has recovered after keeping it tied up to stakes all summer.

I have them in a place where they get evening sun, the tips get sun during the afternoon, and the soil is well-drained.
 

Tulips and Hyacinths 

I will do a separate update post on this, but make sure to add hyacinth and tulip bulbs to your fall plans! You will NOT regret it. I have the most beautiful hyacinths and tulips around my tree right now. They are stunning and the perfect way to welcome spring.

After they die, I’ll dig them up and store them for the following fall. You can leave the bulbs in the ground, but they do better when you dig them up, store them in a cool and dry place, and replant them in the fall.

I purchased all of these tulips and hyacinth bulbs at Lowes. I planted hyacinths on the outside and tulips in the center. I’m excited to share updated photos very soon!

Limelight Hydrangeas

One of my FAVORITE backyard plants is my limelight hydrangeas. I have them on both sides of my back porch, and they are so stunning and fluffy. I have limelight hydrangeas on my garden list for this year. I’d like to plant more around my backyard because they are drought resistant, they love the sun and handle the hours of shade, and the blooms last about a month. They are the easiest to maintain because you just cut off the dead flowers, and the buds will grow on the old wood the following season. They can get massive, but they are super controllable, and you can cut them back to the preferred size!

Morning Glory Seeds

I will be planting more morning glory seeds around my backyard this year. They are annuals but super fun! I planted a few in my backyard along the fence line, and they climbed up and around. I started building a wood trellis with some leftover scrap pieces that I’m hoping to have them climb up on! Stay tuned for that!

Do you use any fertilizer?

I fertilize my plants once in late spring, but that’s it. I have some for my roses, a generic kind for my front flower bed, and one for my shrubs. Fertilizer can help give your flowers a boost of color, blooms, and stronger roots.

Is fertilizing necessary? Don’t let anyone tell you that it is, but it doesn’t hurt if you choose to! If you plan to fertilize, research when it’s the best time to do so.

I keep myself on a watering schedule. It all depends on the amount of rain, but our dirt is made up of sand, dry red clay, and the garden soil I have added. Sometimes, it holds puddles of water in the poor drainage spots, and sometimes it’s so dry the plant doesn’t get enough water!

Watering and Overwatering

I water my flowers EARLY morning to prevent mid-day burning and late-night molding. I love watering my flowers about every other day during hot temperatures and droughts but will go every few days if we get rain or the weather is nice. You can always tell when a plant is dry, and if you need to bring out a watering tin for just a few plants, that is fine too! If you stick your fingers down into the plant’s roots, you’ll be able to tell immediately if it needs water!

I try to water my potted plants every day since they have proper drainage and get beat down by the sun.

Hydrangeas

I love mophead hydrangeas so much! They don’t always agree with me, and I’ve lost a few over the years, but they are so gorgeous and worth the trial and error. My hydrangeas are in my backyard by my back windows mixed in with my zinnias. I have a blue, pink, and white hydrangea bush. I also have a bright pink one in a pot on the back porch. I placed that one inside to break dormancy, and she already has buds!

My hydrangeas love my backyard because it gets morning sunlight and the afternoon shade.

They took a hit last year during the terrible frost we got, but I think they’ll recover fine, and they’re already budding outside.

To keep the color of your hydrangea bushes, you’ll need to pay attention to their PH levels in the ground. There are tests you can use and diagnose the soil. I purchase hydrangea food that specializes in its colors.

“acidic soil, with a pH lower than 6.0, yields blue or lavender-blue hydrangea blooms. Alkaline soil, with a pH above 7.0, promotes pinks and reds. With a pH between 6 and 7, the blooms turn purple or bluish-pink. To lower your pH, add garden sulfur or aluminum sulfate to your soil.” HGTV

I purchased these hydrangeas at Lowes, and they are Proven Winners.

My roses are my love!

Growing Roses

I have over 41 rose bushes in my yard. I have climbing roses, drift roses, knockout roses, and more!

Roses start blooming in mid-spring, and they continue to bloom through fall. Last year, not only did the frost set them back, but the south had a terrible Japanese Beatle issue, and they LOVED feeding on my rose bushes. I had to go out with a soap bowl and flick them into it every morning. I’m hoping that isn’t an issue this year.

I love that there are over thousands of rose varieties to choose from. Drift roses are the best for garden bed coverage and are easy to maintain. I have knockouts in the back since they get so tall, and I keep my climbing roses on my back fence. You’ll find purple, dark pink, soft pink, yellow, orange, peach, red, white, and lavender roses in my yard! 

 

 
 
I prune my roses in late winter since the temperatures warm up fast, and pruning helps eliminate diseases and promotes more blooms and stronger canes. Pruning was intimidating the first year I did it, but you’ll soon realize you can’t ruin a rose bush by over-pruning. They are so forgiving and grow right back bigger and better! Kyle mowed over two of my rose bushes by accident, and they started growing back up a few weeks later. Think of all the roses growing in the wild or near abandoned houses. They still look amazing!

Remove the remaining leaves, remove the thin canes, cut down the deadwood, and clean up the area around the root. I toss out the fallen leaves, add some new soil, and maybe some mulch. Some people seal the ends that have been pruned, but I’ve never done that.

Pruning Roses

I learned how to prune roses from several YouTube videos. I spend most of my time pruning the climbing roses and zip-tying them to my fence to train them to grow upward.

As long as you’re cleaning up the dead blooms on drift roses, you can get away with leaving them unpruned. But since I have so many of them, I clean up their growth. They start to grow into each other, and I like them to look cleaner. When rose canes cross each other, they can rub off the skin and leave them open to disease.

Which flowers are the best perennial seeds to plant?

Shasta Daisies
Phlox
Dianthus
Salvia
Black-Eyed Susans
Coneflowers

Separating Plants

Another way to save money aside from planting by seed is to separate your plants each season. There are SO MANY plants that multiply, and you can break them up, plant them in different spots, and fill up your garden as the years go by. I have separated my foxgloves, dianthus, Shasta daisies, Lillies, and phlox. Sometimes, my mom will bring me over some plants she’s separated from since her garden gets overcrowded from the years of growth. She’s bringing me a butterfly bush this summer, and I’m so excited about it! I’ve even separated a few for her to take back to her garden, which makes me feel like I’m doing something right!

Planting Peonies 

I have a love/hate relationship with my peonies. I will most likely be moving them this year because I don’t feel like they are thriving where they are currently located. The first year, they were blooming giant flowers, but the following year, they never opened! A lot has to do with not getting enough sun, too much moisture in the ground, and they somehow formed a type of disease. Once they come back up this year, I’m transporting them to a spot with full sun all day long!

Trial and error are pivotal in gardening. Sometimes things work out, and sometimes they don’t! Don’t tell my flowers I said this, but “every flower is replaceable.” It’s ok to make mistakes, and it’s ok to hurry up and hide a dead plant! Even some of my favorite gardeners talk about how some plants just don’t work for them and don’t know how to keep them alive. One of my favorite garden icons, Laura LeBoutillier, is open about failing and having trouble with flowers. It makes an amateur gardener like me feel so much better!


My peonies returned beautifully last summer, but the buds never opened, which is so sad! This may be the last time I try my luck with peonies if they don’t open again this year after transporting.

Planting Dahlias

I LOVE my dahlias. I have a few dahlia varieties and plan to keep adding them to my garden. They are stunning, and there are so many kinds to choose from. I get my dahlia tubers at Lowes; they’ve always been successful. They are so stunning when you cut them for flower arrangements.

Dahlias love the sun, and I put them into the ground in late fall.

One of the great things about dahlias in my zone is that they are perennials.

Hanging Baskets

Hanging Baskets are so fun, but they are high maintenance when filled with petunias. The color is so worth it, though! You’ll need to deadhead them and water them daily since they are faced with hot temps and more wind while hanging up.

It’s always fun to throw in a few sunflower seeds in your garden!

We have a big hill behind our fence with wild grass leading down to the creek. I love throwing packets of wildflower seeds down on rainy days in the spring. Last year, I had so many cosmos pop up! I love that they attract butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds! Planting flowers is so crucial for pollinators and the population. I feel like I’m doing my part each time I plant something.

Planting Wildflower Seeds

I get most of my wildflower seeds from Amazon and my local nursery.

Do you use any books or apps to help you with gardening?

Aside from getting my Pinterest inspiration each morning, I LOVE using the app “Picture This.” You can take a photo of a plant (even your computer screen), and it will identify the species, it can identify disease, and it has a lot of helpful information from other users. I’m CONSTANTLY on that app. When flowers start coming back up in the spring, you forget what they are. You can take a photo of the leaves, telling you exactly which plant is sprouting.

Some of my favorite gardening books are:

The Flower Garden
Kitchen Garden Revival
Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden

What month is your garden the fullest?

My garden is its fullest in late June and early July! That’s when my roses are on their second round, most annual plants have grown 5x the size, my hydrangeas start to bloom, the crepe myrtles bloom, my backyard has full green coverage, and even my potted plants are at their peak!

Where do you store all of your garden supplies?

I dream of having a little greenhouse in my backyard, but I’ll have to wait a few more years for that! We always say that we will build the pool and the greenhouse before moving into our next house! This isn’t the house for either of those things. For now, I have a few shelves in my garage where I keep all of my garden supplies!

Mulch

I give my plants a new layer of mulch each year. With our soil so bad, I like adding new topsoil with a layer of mulch to give them extra nutrients. Removing the old mulch helps prevent disease, and it just looks better! I will probably do the new layer of mulch in April. And Since I’m now in my 8th month of pregnancy, my mom has volunteered to do it for me. 

Choosing Pet-Friendly Flowers

This is a big one if you have any pets that like to snack on flowers! Luckily, my dogs stick to the grass and let the flowers be. I keep most of the super poisonous flowers in my front garden bed since they are never up that way. I have my hydrangeas fenced off in my backyard, and I don’t get too concerned with any of the plants. Leo and Tux have zero interest in them.

Whenever you’re unsure about a plant and its safety with your cat or dog, google it!



 

What about fruits and vegetables?

I planted a few fruits and vegetables in a potato crate and potted many fruit trees and bushes. I will make a separate post about those since it’ll be another long one. Still, I have raspberry bushes, blueberries, blackberries, lemon, and strawberries currently growing in pots inside my dining room! When the weather is nice (like today), ill set them outside on the porch to get more sunshine.

I have big plans for a vegetable garden this year!
I asked my mom to send me some photos of her garden last summer. I wanted to show you where I get most of my inspiration and help! Every house we moved into, she transformed the yard. And let me tell you, we moved into SO MANY different homes with my dad in the military. She always said, “the bigger, the better!”

My mom’s garden

I need to go through her albums to find photos from all the gardens she’s created over the past 30 years.




Every time I go to her house, I’m amazed at what she’s done!

I love love love seeing other people’s gardens! Feel free to send me a photo or tag me on Instagram in your garden pictures!

Questions for you!

1. What hardiness zone do you live in?
2. What is your favorite flower you have in your garden?
3. Are there any questions about my garden you’d like answered?

I can’t promise this space will stay like this. I’ve only changed it up about five times so far, but I thought I’d share what we did here if I end up changing it again. I go back and forth between wanting things to be minimal and then the next day I want it to be cottage-style. I sort of mix the two, which can be challenging. Wherever I have black and white details, I also add in some wicker baskets. We have been debating on getting the living room painted, so that may change this space entirely. But for now, I love the minimal look and how easy it is to keep clean. I was tired of styling the console table, and it just looked too cluttered in that corner space. Once our new coffee table arrives (furniture is so hard to get right now!), everything may look more in place. 

Black and White Photo Gallery Wall

It took a while for me to find the perfect black and white frames. I liked the ones at Ikea but didn’t want to spend time adding the glass to them. I like a few other websites, but they were so expensive. The matte black frames I found from Target were perfect and of amazing quality for the price. I really wanted the frame to be thin from the front, and they were exactly that! 

Hanging Picture Frames

Kyle placed the cardboard from the back of the frames on the wall to get the spacing perfect. He’s much more precise than I am. I would have had them hanging in all kinds of uneven lines. 

Order Black and White Photos

I had the prints done at CVS because I love their one-hour photo pickups. I’m too impatient to order the better quality prints that get shipped to me. We had three different entryway tables we tried in the space, and it just looked off. I found this bench at Homegoods, and I thought it would look great in that space. I topped it with some pillows from Target and TjMaxx. I found almost the same bench at Target cheaper (I wish I would have seen that sooner!) We’ve been thinking about doing the waterfall console from West Elm in this space. I love the idea of putting baskets under it but don’t like the idea of styling the top.

ps-I saw a sock at the bottom of the stairs but decided to still use this photo because who doesn’t have random socks lying around?  I feel like my socks go where they please. Thanks for stopping by to read today!

Questions for you!

1. Do you have a photo wall?
2. What is your design style?
3. Favorite store for home decor?