a little bit of monday randomness

I've been a little slim on the posts the last 2 weeks. I guess I will blame it on the heat. Does summer make everyone else lazy too or is it just me? Honestly, I have really been enjoying some relaxing time with my family that I don't normally have and the computer just hasn't been my priority. I hope all of you are enjoying a little summer laziness as well.

Here's a little bit of randomness from our summer so far....

*1. The little man has discovered the magic of our steep driveway. He is totally amused with throwing any object he can find and watching it roll down. Usually he uses a ball, but he's found that strollers, ride-on toys and his push mower all roll down in an equally amusing way.

If for some reason he doesn't have a toy nearby, he picks holly berries off our holly bush and throws those down the driveway. Very resourceful - I'll give him that.

*2. His Grandmother gave him this bubble mower for Easter. It's definitely become one of his favorite toys. He likes to mow the grass just like Daddy.

*3. I've been sewing a lot. Mostly clothes for the little man. Aren't these applique tie shirts so fun?  I may have went a little overboard and made him 4 different ones. An almost 2 year old can never have too many tie shirts, right? :)

I made him this whale applique shirt too. I used blue linen from an old pair of my pants and this pattern from Jones Design Company. I love the way it turned out! (I made the little seersucker shorts too).

*4. Our garden is flourishing with all this rain we've had lately.

*5 And I have eggplants!! I am beyond excited as this is my first time to grow them and I love eggplant!

*6. I just finished reading this book. Which might be another reason I haven't been blogging as much. Instead of staying up till midnight on the Internet, I stay up till midnight with my nose in a book. It's a great book. If you grew up in the south or consider yourself to be a southern girl or have ever been to Charleston, SC and loved it, you will like this book.

*7. The little man has a new hobby of attempting to wear adult shoes. This morning I was washing dishes in the kitchen and I turned around to see him walking in a pair of orange, mens size 10 flip flops. This afternoon he decided to give my Hunter's a try. I can't help but laugh. The picture below is a little blurry, but I love it anyway.

 Life with a toddler is never dull :)

*8. Last and probably the most random. Peach Crisp is my favorite summer dessert. After making it twice in  the last 2 weeks (don't know why I didn't take any pictures), I've decided that it is best eaten cold, right from the fridge. I know everyone likes it hot, straight from the oven. But I'm telling you, give it a try cold. You couldn't possibly be disappointed.

hello spring

I'm linking this post up with Sarah's amazing blog, A Beach Cottage. Go check it out!

I live in the south for a reason.....besides the fact that I was born here. :) I love spring and summer and really dislike cold winters.

It was a pretty cold winter for Alabama standards and I have been aching for spring to arrive. I can't wait to get lots of beautiful flowers planted in my front flower bed and plenty of fresh herbs and veggies growing in the back garden. Lucky for me, springs seems to have started a little earlier this year.

It's still too early to plant everything. It never fails that we'll have one last frost in April despite the 70 degree days we've been enjoying lately. But I could hardly contain my excitement for spring any longer. So this weekend we took at trip to a local nursery to check out the selection.

Aubrey LOVED riding around in the plant cart at the nursery.

I didn't really plan on making many purchases yet, but I guess my excitement for spring got to me. I bought a few perennials for the front bed that will survive a freeze, in case we have one. And some herbs that are freeze hearty or can be planted in pots and transplanted to the ground later.

Here's what I bought in case you are curious:

From left to right. Top row: Mexican Sage, Pin Cushion, Blue Star creeper, Butterfly bush (didn't make it in the picture). 2nd row: Stonecrop, Grace Ward, Rosemary (2). 3rd row: Chocolate minute (not pictured), Pineapple Sage, Chives, Berggarten Sage, Pink Phlox, Thyme. Bottom row: Lavender (2), Lemon Balm

If you've never seen Mexican Sage it is beautiful when it flowers. Gorgeous purple, sort of spikey buds everywhere. You can see the lone flower in this picture.

And I'm super excited about my french lavender. I love the smell of lavender and the leaves on this variety are so pretty and delicate looking.

Have you ever smelled chocolate mint?

If you haven't you're missing out. Here's a close up.... hoping maybe you could get a whiff through this picture. Delicious! I don't know what I will use this for, but it smelled so amazing that I had to buy it.

Anyone else so excited for spring? Are you already making plans for your summer garden and flower beds? What are your favorite things to grow?