Coral honeysuckle

We had an unusually cold spring, and I've been itching to transform our property to be more bird, bee, and butterfly friendly with native plants. There's also a ton of landscape rock that I need to remove before I can replace some invasives with natives. The first project: coral honeysuckle!

Dave took this pic. Jedi is checking out the plants.

Hummingbirds are amazing. We've seen them randomly a couple of times in the yard since we got the house last year, and they've come to the hummingbird feeder a few times. But not enough! Haha. This plant is supposed to be great at attracting them, plus other pollinators. I got the "Major Wheeler" variety, which is native and is supposed to have more blooms. It also has berries that other birds may eat in the fall.

Tada!

I removed the sod, put down a little bit of new soil and compost, and planted the vines. Whew. With our rocky soil, this took much longer than I was expecting. It was getting dark when I was done. I hope they grow!!

Brownies for two

I like to bake, but I usually don't want to make a big cake or batch of cookies for just the two of us. Enter the book Dessert for Two, by Christina Lane. Perfect!

I made these brownies quickly, in one bowl, mixed with a spoon. They were baked in a loaf pan.

YUM. Needless to say, we devoured them.

Pandemic painting project

I was determined to blog more this year, and now we're all stuck inside because of the pandemic. I hope everyone is safe and healthy and that this is all over soon.

I've done some pandemic painting over the past couple of weeks. First I did the dining room. Before, it was green with brown trim.

Sherwin Williams Secure Blue, with Extra White on the trim

I love the blue! Yep, that's paint on the floor. I had a little bit of an accident with the paint tray.



Oops! I tripped on the sheets on the floor, landed in the paint tray, and catapulted paint everywhere. This photo was taken a few days later. I was much more covered in paint after it happened! Haha. I'm not upset about the floor. I plan on putting in hardwood floors eventually. Until then, maybe we'll put a rug over it. Or not.

The next room I tackled was the downstairs bathroom. It's a small half bath. It originally was beige with brown trim. I went with lilac.

SW Inspiring Lilac, with Extra White trim

I like how this turned out. The next room to paint will be the upstairs hallway bathroom. I'm doing that in SW Lighthearted Pink. Most of the house is beige, so I need to add some color to the place. The white trim really brightens up the rooms compared to the dark wood.

Philadelphia Flower Show: Riviera Holiday

At the end of February, my mom and I made our annual trip to the Philly Flower Show. This year's theme was Riviera Holiday. It smelled great as we walked in.

So many colors! So many different flowers and plants! This was one of the best flower shows yet.

I couldn't stop taking pictures.

One display was particularly neat. It was supposed to be rows of buildings with flower boxes.

It was very original. You could walk between and see the flowers close up.

So pretty!

The flower show had plenty of lighting this year. One recurring issue is that there's never enough light, so sometimes displays are very dark and it's hard to see. Not this year!

Everything was well lit.

There were a lot of lemons.

And succulents!

I'm a fan of succulents. I have a bunch at home. This display was supposed to represent the ocean.

Nice!

Princess Grace of Monaco (Grace Kelly) was from the Philadelphia area, and she loved roses, so there was a special display with a replica of her wedding gown.

It was very popular. They had a video of her wedding playing, too.

My mom and I had a great time enjoying one of the best flower shows in years. Next year's theme is "Habitat." It's about pollinator- and wildlife-friendly gardening, as well as sustainable gardening. I wish that had been this year's theme! I'm in the process of figuring out plants, trees, and bushes to plant at the new house, and it's important to me and Dave to plant native plants that are good for pollinators and birds. We're also not going to use pesticides or other chemicals. I'm looking forward to next year's show.

Naz-O-Nut

I had read about Naz-O-Nut, a local doughnut shop in Nazareth, a few times and wanted to go there. I'm a big fan of doughnuts but have never made them myself. Since Dave and I were out and about on a Sunday morning, we stopped in. Everything looked delicious! It was a tough decision. I had to try my favorite kind, Boston cream.

OH MY GOODNESS. The delicious icing. The pastry cream filling- so full of it and so good. The other one I tried was the caramel with glaze drizzle.

That's icing from my Boston cream that fell on this one...oops...

Wow! Melt in your mouth. These were the best doughnuts I have ever had. Hands down. Amazing. If you're anywhere near the Lehigh Valley, definitely stop in here and try some. The shop is near downtown Nazareth. YUM.

Jack's Pumpkin Glow

Last fall, we went to Jack's Pumpkin Glow with my parents.

It was cool. There were jack-o'-lanterns everywhere.

What's this?

We saw elaborately crafted scenes.

Take me to your leader.

The volcano by the dinosaurs periodically blew out smoke.

It was a fun fall outing.

If it comes around your neck of the woods this year, I recommend it.