Happy 4th of July

I made a small bouquet for America on her birthday. The flowers are from my garden. The pink rose is called Bewitched Hybrid Tea (it will open up in a few days, right on time).

Tomorrow morning I’m leaving for Idaho. On my way, I will pass through Nevada and Oregon. So this 4th of July weekend, I’ll get to see a bit of America. I’m very excited!

I wish you all a wonderful weekend and a great celebration of America’s birthday to those of you in the USA.

I'm linking to

Fresh Cut Friday @ Rose Vignettes,
Home Sweet Home Friday @The Charm of Home,
and Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home

My Garden Corner

My garden corner is the project I have been working on since last year. It was completely empty when we moved into the house. Only a bistro table and chairs left by the previous owners were there.

I remember taking the “before” picture, but I can’t find it on my computer now. I think I forgot to upload it from the camera. The corner looked sad; there wasn’t even grass on the ground, just sand.



I wanted to turn this corner into a place to relax. The work is still in progress as my challenge was to do it without spending big bucks. The most expensive part was the paving stones. I spent about 45-50 dollars on them. My mom helped me to lay them. After that it was the matter of adding plants and beautiful things to my corner.

The elderly couple that lived in the house before us down-sized and left lots of things behind. For instance, behind one of the bushes in the yard, I found a beautiful iron trellis. The bush outgrew it long time ago. I stuck the trellis in a big pot and sowed morning glory seeds there (I collected them at a local park last summer).



The decorative birdhouses were also left behind by the previous owners. Last year I repainted them as they were way too shabby. And now these bird houses found a place in my garden corner. A few planters came from yard sales and one from a curbside.

As I said, I am still working on my cozy garden corner. Gradually I will add more plants and flowers. But I think it already looks like a decent place to have afternoon tea. That’s what I am going to do one of these days!





Today I am joining
Show off Your Cottage Monday @ The House in the Roses,
Making the World Cuter Monday @ Making the World Cuter,
Made by You Monday @ Skip to My Lou,
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch.

Thank you for visiting me. Have a wonderful week!

Baby's Breath

I found out that growing flowers from seeds is not an easy task. Some of the seedlings never showed up, others died in the Californian heat, yet others were attacked by slugs and snails.



My baby’s breath seedlings, however, survived all these hardships. And now a beautiful white cloud cheers up my garden.



I am going to dry some of the flowers, so I can enjoy them in fall and winter as well. I also hope to collect some seeds for the next year.



Today, I am joining:

Cottage Flora Thursday @ Fish Tail Cottage,
Home Sweet Home Friday @The Charm of Home,
Fertilizer Friday @ Tootsie Time
Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home.

Thank you for stopping by and enjoy the rest of the week!

Lavender

Finally, lavender is blooming. I think this year I will not simply appreciate its blooms in the garden but will try to find a practical use for them. I know that lavender is used in soaps and shampoos though I don’t home make those (at least not yet). A lavender sachet or lavender potpourri, however, is something I can make.



Do you have any suggestions for lavender use?



Being in a lavender mood, I cross-stitched this small design. The free pattern is from Madame La Fee. I didn’t follow it exactly though. In the pattern, the lavender blossoms are pointing downward, but I wanted mine to point up, so I turned the bow upside down.

I don’t know yet what I will use this design for. Perhaps I’ll make that sachet. I also have an idea of making a set of cross-stitched cards with summer flowers. We’ll see.



I'm joining these link parties:

Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home,
Home Sweet Home Friday @The Charm of Home,
Friday Favorites @ Simply Sweet Home.

Berries in My Garden

Last year I added two raspberry canes to my garden. We didn’t get many berries back then, but this year we are getting quite a few. Every morning I pick a handful of raspberries for my son to enjoy. And he loves them!

I don’t know the name of this variety, but the plant produces berries twice a year – in spring and in fall. Right now there are two floricanes (second-year fruiting canes) and five primocanes (first-year canes that will be fruiting next year), so I expect to get even more raspberries next year. Perhaps even enough to make raspberry jam.



At the same time when I planted raspberries, I planted a blackberry cane as well. It didn’t produce any berries last year, but this year there are several berries on the vine. They are only now beginning to ripen.



In addition to raspberries and blackberries, I have strawberries in my garden. I was lucky to find this terra cotta strawberry pot at a yard sale.



Unfortunately, I don’t have much luck growing strawberries in it. The plants didn’t produce many berries, plus a squirrel got a hold of a few. But those few that we did get to taste were so luscious.



I am joining:

Show off Your Cottage Monday @ The House in the Roses,
Tuesday Garden Party @ An Oregon Cottage,

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

On Monday I made sour cream scones and they were all gone the same day! However, I had some sour cream left and I felt like baking again, so yesterday I tried this simple recipe for coffee cake.

I wish it didn’t turn out so good! You see I’m trying to lose weight, but I couldn’t resist having couple pieces of this delicious dessert with a cup of cappuccino. And that doesn’t help to lose weight at all.



1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping:
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream and vanilla; mix well. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture and beat until combined.

Pour half the batter into a greased (I lined mine with parchment paper) 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle about 3/4 of topping over batter. Add remaining batter and topping.

Bake at 325 degrees F for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

I am joining:

Home Sweet Home Friday @The Charm of Home,
Foodie Friday @ Designs by Gollum,
Sweet Tooth Friday @ Alli n Son.