Porch Garden Update

Up until this past weekend, the weather in Chicago has been completely inconsistent. There have been lots of cold days recently. But judging from the sudden warm weather and the extended weather forecast, it looks like it's going to stay warm. Finally. This makes me happy inside.

Rob and I got our porch together this past weekend and planted our little basil plants.

They grow up so fast. It seemed like yesterday they were itty bitty little sprouts.

We had a lot of little basil plants so we planted them in two containers. In the rectangular container we planted the parsley, three little basil plants and a full grown basil plant that we bought. We want to use basil right away so we bought the full grown one to use until the little guys grow up.

We planted a lot in the big round basket. We may have planted too many in there but if it gets out of control we'll pluck a few out.

Here are our impatiens:

We actually planted some a few weeks ago (thinking it was going to be warm) but unfortunately it got really cold and they basically died. So we had to buy new plants. They look much better than the original ones. Within a month they'll fill up the box.

Here's our big rosemary plant:

I love rosemary. I love touching rosemary so my hands smell like it. Ahhh...

Our landlord planted new grass. It's so green and perfect and suburban looking. Much nicer than the lawn last year. Actually, it wasn't much of a lawn last year. It was mostly weeds. After taking this picture I had a flashback of the 5 foot snow drift from the blizzard of the century. Yikes.

I love this building when it's covered in leaves. It's not fully covered yet, but it's close:

It's much better than this.

And here's a picture of our alley. Just because I like it.

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The Inconsistent Blogger

That should really be the title of my blog. I guess I go through phases. Sometimes I get busy and don’t have time to blog. Other times I get a little overwhelmed at the idea of sharing my personal life with anyone who has access to this endless universe known as the internet. The latter is more applicable in recent weeks. I realistically know that I’m the one who controls what is shared about my life, but sometimes I question whether I want to share anything at all to anyone out there who can turn on a computer. I’ve also been in a funk because of the weather. It may sound silly to some people but I’ve realized that the weather greatly affects me emotionally. This Chicago Spring is 100 times more inconsistent than my blogging. One day it’s hot, the next it’s cold. Mostly cold, actually. I love this city but I am really questioning things. I need heat and sun and at this rate I’m not sure if I’ll get that this summer in Chicago. Who knows, maybe I will. I’m just not feeling optimistic right now. I am also not feeling motivated to bake so who knows when my next blog post will be. It could be tomorrow or it could be next month. Either way, it will happen again…eventually.

I do love you Chicago. But your weather stinks lately.

Bruschetta

Bruschetta is so easy to make. And it's healthy. The recipe I'm posting is exactly how I like my bruschetta. You can add or subtract ingredients depending on what you like.

Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS

3 medium sized plum tomatoes - diced
2 small garlic cloves - crushed
5-7 fresh basil leaves - chopped
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon crushed black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Italian bread

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix tomatoes, garlic, basil, salt, pepper, olive oil and vinegar in a bowl. Refrigerate for 1 hour prior to serving.

2. Slice bread into equal 1/2 inch thick slices. Toast on a baking sheet in a 400 degree F oven for 10 minutes. Allow to cool before topping with the tomato mixture. Serve and enjoy!

This is such a great snack. Easy to make and healthy!

Note: This is an old post that got a bit of a makeover. I made some bruschetta for guests this past weekend and took a better picture than what I had previously posted. I also created a printable recipe link so I figured I'd post it again. Enjoy!

Spring Has Sprung

Finally!