ToMau-toes...

Oh my goodness, what a month it's been and in three days we are going to be starting a new one. I don't know about you, but if we don't get the April Showers that this spring month is notorious for, I will be totally okay with that! Why? Well, here's a little picture of our normally calm creek not being normal. The water is coming from three different directions and meeting in our backyard. Fortunately our house sits up and far away from it, but it's definitely something to keep your eye on especially if small kids or animals happened to think it would be fun to play in!

Right now all is calm and we'd really like to get out there and do some yard work and gardening, but the temperatures are very menopausal so I think we are just going to wait a couple of more weeks before attempting to fix and reconstruct areas that really need to be addressed for future rains. It's a hot mess and it's only going to get worse. If you can see in the picture above the "wet pond" to the left of the creek, that is our yard and it's water coming from the neighbors yard. A dam was created with fallen leaves and sticks up against a fence which forced the water to spread out into our yard. Not good...

In the meantime, while hurricane winds and monsoon rain was happening outside, I was dealing with baby plants and trying to replant some not so baby plants in bigger containers. My dining room is now housing buckets I bought at the dollar store full of dahlias (4 buckets to be exact and two more are in the greenhouse),

and the family room front window is now housing this chive plant and a lavender plant that was having a growth spurt! It was tiny at the beginning of winter and all of a sudden it greened up and shot out new stems!

Have you all ever had figs? I haven't!😂 The closest thing to figs I ever had were fig newton bars! I literally have no idea how they taste, but knew I needed to grow a fig tree. Sooooo, I went out and bought one the other day and I even made sure to get a "Chicago Fig" because it tolerates cold and wind much better than a regular fig evidently. I put it in a big pot with some good soil and it seems to be doing pretty well! Nothing like a front windowsill of houseplants, chives, lavender, and a fig tree!🤦🏻‍♀️

And if you remember last blog post, my little arugula was bursting from the tin they were started in!

Well, I split the tin up and put the arugula in two separate flower pots that are sitting outside on my potting bench. I decided to keep them in a pot this year because the deer around here are eating everything and anything that is green. Oh, and can you see the glass cloches in the picture above? Major deal at the Christmas Tree Store last month. That would happen to be weakness number 53 so I picked up a small one and a larger one, tossed in a little moss, a couple fairies, and a few spring baby animals and BAM! And weakness number 68 would happen to be those cute water bottles, you know, the old fashioned misters! LOVEEEEE💕 Why have one when you can have three...?😂 The greenhouse enjoys a spritz for humidity every once in a while! The flowers are growing along nicely!

So, flowers aside, what else has been going on? Well...a couple of weeks ago I decided to start eating a little better. It's one thing when your body cusses at you, but when it starts punching you and all of a sudden your muscles are weak and you are sleeping in 15 minute intervals because of pain, then something needs to be done. I started walking as well which has helped, but the food choices definitely need attention. My newest food addictions happen to be smoothie bowls and smoothie shakes made with vegetable protein powder and fresh fruits and veggies. I like to top off the bowls with all kinds of goodies including homemade granola and shredded coconut.

Look at these breakfast bowls!

Oh, but my other weakness happens to be Gordon Ramsay scrambled eggs!!! Have you had these?!?! It calls from crème fraîche which I have never used and a different method of cooking them. So, Bill and I experimented one morning and now it's like the only way I'll eat them!!! They are so bright and velvety, smooth and buttery...I didn't know they could taste so good! So some mornings I have them with a smoothie shake and it's perfect!

If you haven't tried them and would like to, click HERE and it will take you straight to Gordon's video. I could seriously listen to him talk and cook all day. The way he pronounces food makes me want to try them! I mean, tomatoes are tomatoes, but when he says ToMau-Toes...he makes it sound like it's caviar and if you haven't had them then you aren't living! I swear everything sounds so much healthier and appealing when it's said with a British accent!! 💕

Oh and speaking of recipes, for Bill's birthday I tried to duplicate the most incredible Carrot Cake we've ever had. I found the recipe on Pinterest and literally gave myself all morning to make it. I used every ingredient it called for. If it said to dust the pan, I was dusting like it was my day job (which it basically is in this house!). If it called for sifting, I was sifting. Grating? You got it! Nothing less for this man and his birthday cake!

This recipe includes a glaze that I never had on a carrot cake before. You poke some holes and pour the glaze, let it sink and soak....oh my word...

Then it gets topped with an orange cream cheese icing...oh my word squared...

And the end result??? Freaking amazing...and so incredibly rich...and ungodly delicious!

I couldn't stop taking pictures of it😂😂 I just kept praying it tasted as good as it looked! And evidently it did!

Each slice was extremely heavy, but oh so good. Which is undoubtedly the reason my body was punching me! Regardless, it was well worth it! If you are wanting to give the recipe a try, here's the link I found on Pinterest! Just click here and get your fork ready because it's amazing! And it would be PERFECT for Easter! Which happens to bring me to this fun birthday gift I made for my "Friend" (as we call each other)! I was bound and determined to try and make one for myself and thought it would be a good idea to make two of each thing as I was doing them JUST IN CASE they turned out cute and... I was honestly surprised at how fun it was!!! Thank you YOUTUBE lol

I'm thinking I may just make a little bunting for every holiday lol if my fingers don't cramp! Happy Spring friends! Let's see what April brings us this year!

#creek #plants #carrotcake #scrambledeggs #GordonRamsay #Pinterest #birthdaycake #bunting #figtree #chicagofig #cloches #smoothiebowl #granola #smoothies #Easter