Monday

Fumi and I had a nice relaxing Easter weekend. We spent Sunday with family and I forget how nice it is to catch up with everyone. I have an amazing family that I am so grateful for. To celebrate them and get myself in the Easter spirit, I made little individual place cards for dinner for everyone. I saw the idea here, and decided to try a diy version.

I have to admit, they turned out pretty cute. 

Monday was a beautiful day, with much to celebrate. Fumi and I decided today that we will head to Japan late May early June. I am so excited to meet his parents for the first time and see where he grew up. We have been saving for this trip for about six months so we are really eager to pack our bags and get there. Another reason to celebrate; Fumi's images from a shoot he did with his friend Jake are nominated for NAHA, which stands for North American Hairstyling Awards. This is a HUGE deal and this award show is the biggest in the business. The awards will be given in July in Vegas, so I'll let you all know how he does. I am so proud of him :)

We picked up some fresh fish at the fish market and had sashimi for dinner.

We had Salmon and Himachi.

I could eat this everyday.

So fresh and light.

Lately I've had that song, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so.. stuck in my head. But I really do! I am so surprised at what I eat now. Some really weird shit and it seems completely normal to me. Like the other night we had octopus balls for dinner, and we had fish pancakes the night before. I cannot wait to experience Japan.

I'll leave you with a few images of my pooch. I felt like Mocha was ready for an outfit change so I tied a ribbon around her neck instead of her usual collar.

Fumi thought a headband was a better idea....

Actually it looks more like an old fashioned toothache remedy...

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Maybe a little cuter...

Well this week I am wishing for more sunshine. Although I think it's supposed to snow tomorrow. Yuck. 

I'm working on a little project involving my current mailbox and wood dowels. I think I'm a little wood crazy. I have been covering everything in it lately.

Can't wait until it's finished so I can show you all.

Have a wonderful week. 

xo

Earth Day

I decided to start my garden from seed this year.  Starting from seed extends the gardening season (which is always too short in Utah in my opinion), and also is much cheaper than buying the transplants. In honor of Earth Day here are some images of my little seedlings:

Newspaper works great for little seed starters. Just take one piece of black and white newspaper, fold it twice and roll it around a drinking glass and then tape up the bottom. Then fill them with seed starting soil and add your seeds! After about 4-5 days you will see little sprouts. 

I planted:

Cilantro

Basil

Heirloom Tomatoes

Arugula

Peppers

&

Zinnia flowers

These are my Zinnia's. 

They sprouted the fastest and are looking pretty already, don't you think?

I planted the lavender Zinnia. Here is what they will look like in full bloom:

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Happy Earth Day everyone!

Your Compost Lesson

So I discovered this book on my latest trip to B&N....

It is my new gardening bible.  I love to garden and grow beautiful things but sometimes it can get a little pricey. This book tells you all the secrets of gardening on the cheap. I highly recommend it.

From my studies in Dirt Cheap Green Thumb, I came across composting. I loved the idea right away. Composting is the best fertilizer for your garden, and its all from goodies you would have just thrown away. Below is a little explanation on how composting works.

I know those scientific terms can be a little scary but it's really not as complicated as it seems. Pretty much all you need is a pile of dirt, a small container(described below), dried leaves, grass clippings and leftover biodegradable kitchen items; such as egg shells, coffee grounds, grapefruit rinds, or any fruit and vegetable leftovers.

Here is my step by step process in making your own compost:

(your garden will thank you)

Step 1- You don't need a fancy bin

To have a "proper" compost it should be about 3ft x 3ft. The gardening bible says to use chicken wire so I obeyed. I used two 48in x 5ft of wide hardware cloth (chicken wire). The benefit of using this material is that it's freestanding and that it won't leak any small pieces from the pile. It also allows air to easily penetrate the pile, which is a vital part of the composting process.

First, I laid them out on the grass with some bricks on top because they were pretty tightly wound...

After they relaxed I connected them by bending the loose wires on one edge and attaching it to the other. Then I secured it with zip ties.

Mocha ;)

Here is the finished product..

Step 2- Pick a Home

Where will your compost call home? It's recommended that your compost is located where you will see it and not forget about it, also near your garden is ideal so you don't have to lug it to far when you want to incorporate it into your garden. This is my compost's home, he loves it. He has a great view of the mountains :) 

Step 3- Fill her up

After you have chosen a home for your compost it's time to start filling it up! I started with a layer of dried leaves from last fall. Then I did a layer of dirt, followed by all my saved kitchen goodies.

Then I put down a layer of compost maker.

I don't really know all that much about this product, but I will let you know if I end up liking it or not. It's worth a shot :)

I read that you should keep repeating this process until the pile is full, but I didn't have enough to fill it all up in the beginning. My compost will be a work in progress.

Step 4- Water and Turn

After you have your compost in order, give it a little sprinkling. You don't need to soak it, just kind of lightly sprinkle it. So in about a week, after it has started cooking, you'll want to turn your pile to get it good and mixed. Repeat this watering and turning process weekly, along with always adding to your pile and soon enough you will have this:

Isn't it gorgeous? It is so full of nutrients that will make your garden very happy. It is so cool that it uses all of the things you would have just thrown away! I can't wait until my compost gives me some of this goodness. Do any of you compost? If so I would love to hear how you like or dislike it.

SLC Half-Marathon

Fumi and I ran the Salt Lake City Half-Marathon this weekend.... and it was HARD. Very hard. I highly recommend training for something like this because if you don't (not saying from experience) you will be sorry. I had my iphone with me so I snapped a few shots while in motion:

Loving Fumi's signature peace sign. He ran right beside me the entire race. Even when my run was slower than a walking pace. He's my favorite.

So considering we didn't train for this I think we still got a pretty decent time, 2hrs 30min. Not to shabby? Oh and I have exercise-induced-red-face-syndrome. Fumi still loves me.

Barn Wood Wall

Ok folks, what you have all been waiting for.. THE barn wood wall. I am so happy with how it turned out. My dad is a so very talented. He is responsible for this masterpiece. As you can see we still need to put on outlet covers, baseboards, and accent it with some colored accessories. But as tough as a lesson as it is to learn, patience is a virtue. Oh and the door you see in the above photos is a work in progress. I am planning on stripping them and replacing my existing interior doors. Oh and I'm sure you are wondering about that adorable dress? My aunt gave me that sweet little number. She thinks it is pretty old but has no idea where it came from. It just showed up at her house one day. I wish that kind of stuff happened to me! But that is a whole other post.. Back to the barn wood!  Here are some pics from the process:

So this is kind of an awkward before & after. 
So sorry. I'm still new to this blog thing and I'm
not sure how to flip them just yet. :-/

Laying the first couple of layers. To get an even, consistent, flow of wood my dad first used a stud finder to locate all the studs on the wall. Then he drew a line (which you can barely see in the photo above) following the stud from the top to bottom. He then brick layered the wood all the way up the wall, using a nail gun, nailing only where the stud pencil lines were.

Here it is with a little spring accent. I officially love spring.

Pinterest

So my good friend Tasha shared a lovely little secret with me... Pinterest! Oh I am in love! It is the coolest thing. So you know when you come across a beautiful picture online and you never want to forget it? Well with this site you can save all of your favorite images in one space, categorized and everything.. So if you have a spare minute check me out on Pinterest!

Just click the icon to enter inspirational bliss!

We got it right by the last one... Had an amazing weekend with good friends. More pics to come. Oh and Fumi is teaching me how to photoshop...