Recent acquisitions

For Dave's birthday I decided to go all out and bought this bright orange bullet planter. It's a reproduction (from Hip Haven), but that doesn't detract at all from its awesomeness. A couple weeks ago we finally got around to buying a plant for it. Apparently it's commonly known as "mother in law's tongue" and seems to be virtually un-killable. (We shall see.) I only wish I had a patio or front porch to keep it on. One day!

Last week I saw a couple of red Kartell Componibili round towers for sale in the Apartment Therapy classifieds and made a rather impulsive purchase. One of them is going to make a nice nightstand (it looks a lot better than the step ladder we had been using). I like how the compartments slide open.

I also bought another plant this past weekend. I didn't really need one, but this guy looked too awesome to pass up. I think I might try to paint the pot--not totally sure what I want to do with it but it needs a little sprucing up.

Hiking in the mountains...in the city

In El Paso the Franklin mountains are a constant presence, looming in the distance. The Franklin Mountain State Park is actually the largest urban park in the nation--that's 37 miles of desert and mountains, all within the El Paso city limits.

Once you're on the one small road that goes into the mountains, the mental distance from the city is immediate. Dave kept asking, are you sure it's okay to be on this road? Are we going to see any banditos crossing over from Mexico? (He was obsessed with banditos!) But it's totally legit--the road dead ends at the parking area for the Ron Coleman trail (above), which we decided to try out. The goal was to reach the cave off in the distance, which seemed much closer than it actually was in reality.

Along the way we encountered many varieties of cactus: prickly pear

and ocotillo (my favorite--I love the spiny tentacle-like stems).

I think the spiky looking bushes are yucca plants.

I love the texture of the ground we were walking on.

Almost there...

We made it! The cave (really more of a little indentation in the rock) was covered in graffiti. On the way back down we passed by a few people with beer (technically illegal). This place must be a pretty sweet late night drinking and makeout spot (definitely saw some signs of this...) for El Paso teens. Not much else to do on a Friday night.

The view from up top. You can kind of see the city past the mountain but it definitely feels pretty far removed.

That time of year again

I've still got a lot of pictures from our trip that I want to post on here but I'm going to take a break to mention the Renegade craft fair last weekend in Brooklyn, which we came home just in time for. I always find great stuff every year, even though it's often the same sellers (and a lot of the same products and designs).

Every year I manage to come home with a new T-shirt. This one was from M. Carter (my own shirt is currently in the dirty laundry pile so I took this image from their website). I didn't remember seeing them at the last couple of fairs (could be wrong though) but I really liked a lot of their designs.

And of course the obligatory necklaces. The middle one I actually bought in Marfa at Fancy Pony Land--the woman who makes them puts pennies on the railroad track in town and then retrieves the squashed coins to create these necklaces. That story totally sold me on them--even though I could probably make them myself if I had a drill, I love the thought of these pennies sitting out on the tracks in Marfa with a train thundering overhead.

Anyway, the one on the left is from Brooklyn Rehab, and the one on the right is from Species by the Thousands. I don't know if either of them have any good stories behind their creation but that's okay because I just like how they look.

I really wanted to buy something a little out of the ordinary this year--I always seem to come home with T-shirts and necklaces, not that I'm complaining--which I found in the form of this geometric terra cotta planter. I can't find the business card for this seller, nor can I find her on the list of artists on the Renegade fair website, so I'm afraid I can't tell you where to get one of your own.

After the fair we dropped by Sprout Home and picked up this cactus to put in our new planter. I think it suits it pretty well.

More herbs for the window

Last weekend we drove up to Westport, CT, and visited Gilbertie's Herb Farm in hopes of buying some basil and cilantro for the window. We were not disappointed.

That entire left side of the aisle is made up of all different varieties of basil. If we actually had a yard we might have left with much more than we'd intended on. But there's only so much window space.

We found this cat sleeping in the shade--sounds like a nice way to spend an afternoon!

Anyway...for the basil we went with "Sal's Italian Choice" (pictured on the right next to the thyme from Sprout Home, which is doing nicely). I figure Sal must know what he's talking about. His name is Sal, after all. We also picked up some cilantro but then learned that it is better to grow them from seeds, as they don't last very long (our plant is already wilting).

But the basil is a different story. Here it is, just one week later, and look how much it's already grown! We need to start making some tomato sauce, stat.

Starting an herb garden

I've been wanting to start a little herb garden in the kitchen window, so the other day I ventured over to Sprout Home and picked up some thyme and rosemary. I also want to get some cilantro and basil, which they were out of, so I'll have to try somewhere else (maybe somewhere closer to home--I love Sprout Home but it's not the most conveniently located for me). I can't wait until they start to grow a bit more--one day soon we'll be making a seriously delicious pizza using freshly picked ingredients.

San Marzano tomato can planter

I've been admiring the label on this can of crushed tomatoes ever since I made some soup with it (with its contents, that is) last week. I'm thinking about saving it and using it as a planter. Or maybe just a canister. The only problem is that the image is made of paper (and not part of the metal can) so it might get destroyed over time. We'll just have to see what happens.

Rocks and owls

I finally bought some river rocks to fill in the planter in the window. Now you can actually see the tops of the plants peeking out of the crate. And while I was at it I decided to add this little guy, which I'd bought awhile back from Mudpuppy to put into a terrarium. Both the rocks and the owl really tie the window together.

Architectural planter round-up

Ever since I first saw this architectural pottery boat planter, I knew that I needed to have one. It'd be perfect in the corner of the living room, near the window--I can practically see it now! But since I'm not really up to spending upwards of $100 on a planter at the moment, I'm probably going to end up dreaming a little while longer.

The last time I was at Sprout Home, I noticed these pod planters, which I also love. While I imagine they'd set me back even more than the boat planter, I've definitely got my eye on that bright orange one on the low wire base.

Then there's also the bullet planter and the peanut planter, which are both pretty nice too. But I think I'm going to hold out for the boat planter. There are only so many large and expensive planters one yardless household can contain.

New plants for the window

With so many large windowsills, I've been wanting to fill the apartment with lots of new plants. A couple of weeks ago I went back to Sprout Home and bought a few (though I still want more!).

For starters there's this lovely jade plant, though it doesn't actually fit into the planter I had intended it for. I think I'm going to get some rocks for the bottom since the planter doesn't have any holes for drainage, and then re-pot the whole thing. The second one is the same Haworthia that I've had since the summer.

I also bought an aloe plant, and then on a whim, a venus fly trap.

I've been wanting a carnivorous plant for a little while now. Not sure why but there's just something awesome about a plant that eats bugs. I didn't realize until after purchasing it that they're a little finicky. For one, they require distilled water--no plain old tap water for this guy. I had been thinking I would need to go to a pet store and buy some crickets to feed it but I'm relieved to find that they don't actually need bugs to survive. They're just kind of like vitamins for them. So hopefully my plant just happens upon some pesky flies the old-fashioned way.

Vintage wooden crate as planter

Well, the days have really been getting away from me. The apartment is slowly coming together. Very slowly. After one or two more days of serious cleaning (and the purchase of a few more storage items--ugh) I think it'll be at the point where I wouldn't be embarrassed to invite someone over.

Anyway...last week I learned of a store called Pretty Funny Vintage, in Tarrytown, NY, which is about 20 minutes away from me. From the photos on their website it looked like there was a ton of great stuff in the store, and I had Wednesday afternoon off due to a work-related conference, so I decided to check it out.

I discovered that while the store does have an incredible array of vintage offerings, particularly of the weathered/industrial variety that I love so much, it is also incredibly expensive. Most of the time I found myself gasping first at a particular item's awesomeness, and then gasping at the price. I did walk away with one thing: an old wooden cream cheese crate.

There was a whole display of these identical crates, and upon closer look it seems as though someone was using them at one time for hardware storage (hence the knob drilled into the side and label stapled in).

I had two uses for it in mind: to store recipes, or to use as a planter for various herbs (drilling a few holes in the bottom for drainage). I ultimately decided that it was a little too narrow for recipe cards, and then as I was staring at my windowsill I had the thought that these little succulents would look very nice inside of it. The next day I took an after-work shopping trip to Sprout Home and picked up a few more. I need to procure some stones for the bottom to elevate them a bit so you can actually see them over the top of the box. But overall I really like the way they look together.

I'm not quite satisfied with the arrangement in the kitchen windowsill just yet, as it's a bit cluttered, but I like the crate juxtaposed with the bottles. A shelf for some of my various pitchers and other ceramic objects should solve this dilemma.

Mystery plant identified

When Dave's mom asked us what plants we wanted her to buy for us at the Master Gardeners fair (we were going to be out of town that weekend), one of our main requests was for cilantro. I love the flavor (especially in black bean tacos), but at the grocery store you have to buy so much of it that you can't possibly use it all before it goes bad. So being able to pick a handful at a time from a live plant seemed like a very good idea.

Unfortunately, whatever she bought did not look like any cilantro I had ever seen (though it was, in her defense, labeled as such). Perplexedly, we watched it shoot up, towering over the rest of the plants, wondering what we were going to do with it. Finally, after doing some wikipedia research (haha), I realized it was a coriander plant. Of course, I still didn't really know what to do with it. Then it occurred to me that I should pick the seeds and try to roast them and grind them into coriander powder. Obviously.

So, I set out picking a few clumps of seeds here and there and putting them in this jar. I'm not sure how it's going to work out, but it sure looks pretty in the window.

Raspberries!

Last weekend, upon the suggestion of my friend Jess (she's the one who gave me that awesome haircut), I went berry picking at Secor Farms in Mahwah.

It was the first day of raspberry picking at the farm this season.

We passed by some greenhouses on the way to the berry fields.


The fields off in the distance. The first 5 or so rows are off limits to customers, but the rest of it is up for the taking.

You wouldn't think so, but plucking raspberries from branches is hard work! Maybe it was the 90 degree heat, but I was exhausted after about an hour. But it was nonetheless a good time--kind of like a treasure hunt! (A lot of the berries weren't ready to go yet, so finding some nice ripe ones was sometimes a little tricky. You really have to look carefully.)

This branch was a particularly good find--lots of berries ready for picking.

It's a 2-pint per person minimum at Secor Farms, so we have 3 pints (I gave one to my mom) to use up. I think my future holds a lot of raspberry pancakes, muffins, jam, fresh raspberries in my yogurt...

Garden update: Harvest!

I'm happy to report that despite the terrible weather this summer, I have actually been able to eat some of what I planted.

Behold the first picked tomato, along with some basil leaves. All that's missing is some fresh mozzarella and balsamic (which was added a few minutes later).

We've actually since picked the large one in the foreground too. After a long period of relative inactivity, they finally started ripening, with tons more little ones sprouting up. Very exciting.

The peppers that we were so excited about (it was the first vegetable to sprout) stopped growing one day. Then not too long ago, they both turned yellow.

And then two of the other peppers turned red. Strange things are happening in the garden!

The cucumbers, however, are pretty much dead, and nothing much is happening with the eggplants at all. But it seems that under the circumstances (i.e. ridiculous amounts of rainfall, hardly any sun) I did pretty well for a first time gardener.

Garden update #2

It feels like I just posted an update on the garden, but as of a few days ago I noticed that nearly all the vegetables have started sprouting.

The first couple of tomatoes! They look bigger every day.


I had been a bit worried about the cucumbers. It was a mistake to plant them in the same pot as the tomatoes because they are always in the shadow of that gargantuan plant. The leaves are withering and they generally don't look too good. But they have been flowering (pretty yellow flowers in fact) and the other day I noticed the tiny beginnings of some actual cucumbers (which are surprisingly prickly).

Both of the sweet pepper plants have started sprouting.

And I'm still a little confused about this one but look how tall it is! It is supposedly cilantro but doesn't look like any cilantro I've ever seen. I'm trying to figure out what exactly it is and if it will ever turn into the herb I so love to put on my tacos. Can anyone enlighten me on this?

Garden update

Despite the ridiculous amount of rain we have been experiencing over the past few months, the garden has slowly but surely been progressing. If you compare to the way they looked three weeks ago you'll notice quite a difference. (We've also since moved them to an area that gets more sun--well, provided that the sun is actually out!)

All of the plants have been flowering, but no vegetables yet, sadly, due to the lack of sun.

All except for this pepper plant! It was an exciting day when we noticed these peppers growing. Unfortunately it looks like the bugs are getting to it, so I sprayed them with some insecticidal soap (perfectly harmless for humans, I've been assured).

It will be even more exciting when I get to harvest them. Come on, tomatoes!