Spring has Sprung!

It's been raining cats and dogs all week here in Northern California and everything is green, lush and blooming. There are so many flowers everywhere I turn, I'm in love with them all! There are sure to be more flower photos coming along soon! Happy Spring :)

Looking Back....Our First Home

After making our big move cross country this January (from MA to CA) and getting rid of A LOT of our stuff, I've been enjoying looking back at our old place. Finding our first apartment together couldn't have been easier. We saw it online one night, viewed it the next day, and signed the paperwork that afternoon. It. really. was. amazing. I loved that apartment with its warm wood floors and gray painted walls. It held me like a big hug the first time I walked in and I knew right away it would be our first home. Tom took a little convincing, but not much ;)

All in all, it was pretty simple, one bedroom/one bathroom on the second floor of an old old house. It had a big backyard, was on a nice neighborhood street and we couldn't have asked for better neighbors. Truly, they were incredible.

I'm really missing that apartment, especially since our new place is pretty empty at the moment. But I'm also enjoying looking back at it for inspiration, and I keep telling myself that good things take time. After all, we were there for close to 2 years and I was still moving things around on a daily basis.

So here it is, our first home :)

Gardening in California

Yesterday we were busy putting together a small container garden that we're hoping will do well here in our new setting. Our little patch this year includes Early Girl Tomatoes, Bush Beans, Cayenne Peppers, Red & Green Oakleaf Lettuce, Basil, Hot & Spicy Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary, & Sage.

Considering that last years garden was considerably larger (approximately 450 sq. ft.) our little grouping of containers should be a bit easier to care for, and we're hoping to master art of 'succession planting' with our two window boxes of lettuce so we can enjoy fresh salad greens all summer.  We'll let you know how it goes!

    

San Francisco Orchid Exposition

I've always wanted to go to a flower show, so when we were driving through San Francisco recently and saw banners for this years Orchid show, I jumped at the chance to go.

The San Francisco Orchid Society's Pacific Orchid Exposition was held at the Fort Mason Center. Although it was a slightly overcast day, it was bright and beautiful inside. There were even a few flowers in the parking lot to welcome me as I walked towards the show!

The theme of this years exposition was "A Salute to the Golden Gate" in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge. There were many displays paying tribute to the theme and it was a lot of fun walking around seeing them all. Here are just a few of the beautiful displays.

Of course the flowers were ALL absolutely gorgeous. I only wish I knew all of their names!

 

And I couldn't leave without one, so this little guy came home with me :)

Beautiful scenery and lots of Cows!

We have been hiking quite a bit recently and enjoying the beautiful scenery near our new home in California. I had never hiked through cow pastures before now and it's really a wonderful experience to be able to see all around throughout the entire hike. Here are some photos from our most recent hike.