what's in my cup....

  

  I picked up 10 lemongrass stalks for a couple of dollars about two weeks ago for some Thai lettuce wraps we were making.  I used 3 or 4 of them and put the rest of them in a glass to root, changing the water every couple of days.  When they began to root I planted them in the garden.  They are growing beautifully here in North Carolina. I had all of these thoughts about what could be planted here.  Apparently you can grow so many more things than I had imagined including tea, ginger, artichokes, figs, broccoli, stevia, peas....I could go on.  People are constantly telling me that you can only grow corn, tomatoes, peppers and onions here and that is it!  I love that that's not really true.  It is really hot and humid here in the summer but if you plant trees around your yard and in the middle of your veggie gardens for a little bit shade, water properly and add compost, you can almost grow anything.  I even planted a couple of pineapple tops this year and will take them in in the Fall.  Okay well...

I am way off track but all this to say, lemongrass makes for an amazing tea of which I made this morning after finding this cute video on how to make it.  I added ginger and mint to my steeping pot, along with a bit of honey and stevia for sweetness.

Pretty sure you will love the way this lady shows you how to steep it!

She is quite adorable.

Hope your day is full of goodness!

Love,

~dee

xoxo

artful burbsteading...

I am pretty sure we don't fit the usual suburban world here in North Carolina but I don't think that is such a bad thing.  We wouldn't have chosen the suburbs of Charlotte, NC if we had of had more time but the need for a home was imminent.  The rental home in which we were intending on moving into turned out to not be the best area for raising children and school was already in session for our then elementary aged, son.  We needed to find a home and find one quickly.  I remember going out to meet with a real estate agent to look at homes.  We were desperate. The home we chose was the only one which would be available quick enough and in our price range.  I had not heard of HOA (home owners associations) before and was quick to find out about them after moving into the community. 

Our desire at first was to plant just a few plants on the barren clay soil.  I began with river reeds and honeysuckle because they were free.  Over the next few years we added fruit trees, grape vines and raised beds.  We eventually started reading about some people in the Northwest (where I was living prior to here) who had started an urban style homestead.  With the need to save cash and my love of gardening, we began our own burbstead. (Suburban Homestead)

I am in no way a country type girl at heart.  I love living in the heart of a city but nonetheless we are the rebel farmers amidst our  HOA  driven community.  So far we haven't dealt with any problems with our unique situation.  We have flown under the radar, probably due to nice neighbors and the fact that we try to live as artfully and clean as possible in doing what we do. 

We have a huge compost pile for decomposing kitchen and yard scraps, along with our hens' unmentionables.  Its surrounded by lovely looking and smelling, honeysuckle to take away any unpleasing scents.  I also stop by Starbucks bi-weekly to pick up a huge bag of espresso grounds both for its added goodness to the compost pile and for the removal of any bad smells.

We have a very cute hen house that is surrounded by honeysuckle climbing up chicken wire fencing and a little white shed shaped like a barn.  

I change the chickens' bedding daily and add it to the compost.  To keep their home fresh and the air from becoming smelly.

We also incorporated flowers and herbs in with our vegetable gardens to make them look prettier.  The nice thing is that most of the flowers we have chosen are edible.   As mentioned in an earlier post I finally have 2 lovely tea plants which arrived this week and were immediately planted up by our grapevines and blackberries at the back of our yard.

So far we haven't bumped heads with our neighbors or the HOA and we hope to keep it that way but we definitely are not conformists and we stick out a bit with our very full yard next to our neighbors whose plants are minimal.

One thing I have noticed since moving here is the value of conformity but I am not from here and hope to shine a light that shows it is okay to be different if you can do so in a way that adds to the community's beauty and appeal.  

Being different can be a beautiful thing!!

As I told a blogging friend yesterday on facebook, I sometimes feel like her pink rose amidst a sea of red ones.

That's just fine!  Isn't it?

xoxo

Love,

~dee :) 

what's in my cup....

I think when it comes to tea I am a bit of a purist, no sugar or dairy needed, however when it comes to a London Fog, I can't deny the goodness.

I was ill last week and my sweet friend, Faith (from yesterday's post) brought me some Earl Grey tea and Panera soup with bread.  She lifted my spirits.

This week I had an idea that would include some Earl Grey tea: a London fog tea with a twist and it didn't disappoint me.  I steamed milk and vanilla and steeped Earl Grey with a wee bit of orange zest and honey, mixed the two, topped with a wee bit of whipped cream and oh my; a delicious indulgence!

Enjoy your day!

What's in your cup?

Love,

~dee

a little woodland wednesday...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am not a professional photographer, as I found out quickly while working on a photo shoot of our dear friends, Faith and Jesse this past weekend.  Linney's Mill is a very beautiful spot for photographs, especially the engagement photos of this cute woodsy couple, who met at camp in the North Carolinian foothills not too far from this location. As beautiful as this area is, it is also extremely humid.  A professional photographer would have come prepared with humidity cloths for their lenses, unlike myself.

I kept questioning why I couldn't find my normal groove behind the camera.  It felt impossible to focus the lens.  I took so many photos, it was unbelievable and yet I found there was a soft edge or fuzziness in more than 80 percent of them.  However, I will call it creative license....maybe the softness was meant to be, since they make me think of a dream.

In reality it is my own inexperience.  Next time we go into uncharted photography territory, I will do a little pre-research.  Perhaps some classes and more reading will be in order too.  In spite of my novice self, I think the two of them look handsome in these woodsy shots. For a first day playing photographer in a professional's field, I don't think I did too bad. 

If you are a pro, you may disagree. ;)

Hope your Wednesday is dreamy!

what's in my cup....

Alright, so I can't contain my excitement.  My love gave me a little surprise on Mother's day.  They haven't arrived yet but I had to share a little bit with you.  I had no idea we could grow tea here in North Carolina until a couple months ago when I did a little in depth research.   

Two Camellia sinensis plants should be arriving here at our little nest sometime next week.  I will be brewing up teas right from our gardens. Now that will make this girl happy!!

 I used to have a small tea house in rural Alberta, Canada and I have always had a wee bit of a passion for tea.  Tea is so interesting and back then I had no idea of the process of making tea, even though I was selling it in vast amounts.  I simply paid a lot of money to  my supplier.  Today, I am a tad more well read in this area than I was back then and much more excited about the process of growing and creating the perfect cup of tea.

I have hopes of creating healthy and delicious teas for ourselves and perhaps one day to share.  

For now,

a little

look

 in my cup: 

Lavender (to calm), 

mint, 

honeysuckle blossoms (which have properties aiding in respiratory health)

and stevia for a little sweetness without calories, 

all mixed with a soothing oolong for an amazing cup of goodness.  Minus the oolong, all was grown in our gardens.  

Talk soon,

Love,

~dee

 

happy mother's day....

Thank you moms for your love, kindness, wisdom and peaceful spirits!

You both mean so much to us!!

I hope your day is full of sweetness!

xoxo

Love, 

~don+dee

and

all of the kiddos

the nest...

 

 

 

Over the past few weeks we have watched a mommy and daddy robin create a nest, lay and hatch eggs and push their wee ones out of the nest...what a busy couple.

I couldn't help but think of Don and myself as I watched them protectively guard the young from the time they were hiding in little eggs until yesterday as the little ones hopped out of the nest and around our gardens.  What a busy life, collecting food, training, protecting and all that entails raising babies into adults.

Our oldest son attended his junior prom this past week and is heavily involved in music at our church, our oldest daughter is beginning her journey in photography, our youngest son has been working on art project after art project and of course little Bella has been busy at play, making little friends, climbing trees and helping with the chickens.  All of this activity needs our chauffeuring, supervision, provision, etc.  Is it a wonder that I have Don and I have no time?  Those are just a few of the activities going on in our little nest.

Here's what our fledglings are up to:

 Breanna (above) and her photography (below)

 

Bayley (our youngest son, below with Bella)

Bayley's revamp of old skateboard decks into art (above)

Brodie (our oldest son and his date for his junior prom, the lovely, Mackeever)

 

 Brodie and his love of music. (above) 

and of course the ever busy life our littlest chick:

 What a wild ride!

Enjoy your weekend and your nest!

xoxo

Love,

~dee