Our Oasis...before and after!

The blank canvas we had to work with in early March

Everything was so bare

AFTER...

We have come so far. This is how it looks today!
We put in an 8'x 8' vegetable garden Our grape vines and various flowers

The herb and squash garden

View from the back fence

We moved into our house almost three years ago. Our first year we didn't do any planting because we wanted to see what had already been planted. As it turns out there wasn't much. Our second year we started small with a few vegetables and some flowers. We barely made a dent in the amount of work that needed to be done. This year we decided to start early and go strong. Every weekend since March we have spent our Saturdays building our little paradise. You can see in the pictures above how far we have come. As all home owners know the work is never ending, but we love what we have built so far and hope you all can come by and enjoy it with us. This year we put in an 8' x 8' raised vegetable garden. We have four types of tomatoes, corn, two types of onions, leeks, green beans, three types of peppers, and three types of lettuce. Our herb garden has strawberries, thyme, oregano, basil, sage, rosemary, cilantro, and so much more. We have also planted squash, watermelon, and zucchini. We have four varieties of grape vines and flowers galore. It's been hard work but a lot of fun too. It's so rewarding to plant something and watch it grow. We can't wait for you to see it in person.

4 Years of Wedded Bliss...9 Years of Love!

Picture taken by Kriech~Higdon Photography

http://www.kriech-higdonphoto.com/

(They are fantastic!)

Four years ago yesterday I married my soul mate. A man who is my match, and my mismatch, in all the right places. I thought April 21, 2007 was the happiest day of my life, but I have found that each day following has been better than the day before.

Daniel and I celebrated by going to dinner at "The Chameleon". It's a newly discovered restaurant in our neighborhood. It's small and they use local ingredients in their cooking. The spring menu just came out and boy was it delicious. We had a fabulous meal and can't wait to go back. If your local you should definitely check it out. http://thechameleoncafe.com/

Spring Walks

Tulips growing wild in the cemetery on our block.
The wild kitty cats we see on our walking route.

A nice shot of the neighborhood

Daniel, Reggie, and Sam

The moon was peeking out just above the tree tops.

Our neighbors kitty who likes to tease Reggie and Sam

Our walk is complete and the boys pose for a quick pic

The cardinal we see nightly in our back yard...we named him Fitzgerald

Our crazy squirrels will hang like this for hours and just eat until the food is gone

Sunset...

When the weather warms up we like to try and get out of the house for a nightly walk with the puppies. That winter fluff needs to be shed somehow, and what better way to do it then a nice long family walk. The pictures above are things we typically see and thought we would share. Enjoy!

Val's B-Day Bash!

Daniel decided he wanted to give something more than his "typical smile"...boy did he :) The birthday girl and her main squeeze Kenny. The ladies The birthday crew!

What better way to send a Monday night than celebrating a birthday with one of your best friends. Val turned 28 and we surprised her with a dinner at corks. http://www.corksrestaurant.com/ . We think she was honestly surprised, I must say Jordan and I played it up really well :) It was a perfect night with some really wonderful food. Happy Birthday Val, we love you!

Happy New Year 2011

Dinner at Saute
Daniel, Val, Robin & Kenny Gearing up for the Count Down New Years Fireworks
It's 2011...Happy New Year!
We really need to work on learning to take pictures of fireworks (New Years Resolution Maybe?)

We spent New Years Eve with our Friends Valerie and Kenny, downtown Baltimore. It was nice to be able to catch the fireworks at midnight on the roof top deck. We really do have great friends! Thanks for inviting us out guys.

2010 was a great year!!! We were able to see most of our family a lot this year. We were able to travel, we also did some work to the house, and were still able to enjoy some of the slow times the year had to offer. It was a well balanced year. We believe 2011 is going to be even better! We have a lot to be thankful for. Our motto this year is a quote from Maya Angelou..."When you get, give. When you Learn, Teach.!" This is going to be a year of growth and giving back. Stay Tuned for all the highlights...and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Merry Christmas 2010

The Crew at Woodberry Kitchen
Robin, Jordan, and Val Lookin' Hot
Kenny, Keith, and Daniel Lookin' Handsome
Daniel and Robin Christmas Morning

The Colts Tree

Reggie Opening his Stocking

Sam excited about his new toys

Blankets for the Homeless

Daniel, Robin, Gary, and Sandy "Blanket Delivery Team"

Merry Christmas! We can't believe the holiday season has come and gone so fast. This year we spent Christmas Eve at a new restaurant, Woodberry Kitchen. It has a rustic ambiance with a "farm to table" style menu. We have been there twice before but Christmas Eve was the best experience to date. We spent the evening with our good friends: Jordan, Keith, Val and Kenny. By now, those of you in Indy must feel like you know them...we tend to do a lot of fun things with them that end up on the blog. Anyway, the meal was perfect and if you can't spend the evening with family, great friends are the next best thing!!!

Christmas Morning came upon us and we were so blessed by all of our family and friends. We had way more under the tree than we deserved. Thank you all so much for your gifts! Reggie and Sam also had toys, treats, and bones galore! We made breakfast (puff pancake with fruit and syrup...yumm), started up the new Keurig and relaxed for a few hours. Then our friends Gary and Sandy arrived to go out and deliver blankets to the homeless. This year, with the help of Gary and Sandy, we were able to pass out 18 blankets and $180 to those in need on Christmas. We hope to grow each year even if it's only by one blanket. This is one of our favorite things we do each year. The people we meet are inspiring and joyful. We enjoy being able to spread a little Christmas cheer and hopefully impact the lives of others living in Baltimore City. In short we had an amazing Christmas. Thank you to our Friends and Family for being so wonderful. To those of you we don't see everyday we miss you and hope to see you soon!
Peace and Love!

Holiday Dinner Party

The Gang after a few glasses of wine :)
Rachel, Jordan, Robin, Val
Scott, Daniel, Keith, Kenny (Reggie's trying to get a drink)

Taking a break from Catch Phrase

The Table

The dinner party gang got together this weekend to celebrate the holidays and Boy was it a party! Dinner was a huge success! We started with a creamy pumpkin soup that had a hint of bacon and cinnamon croutons. The second course was a Cape Cod Chopped Salad with bacon (you can't go wrong with bacon), apples, walnuts, arugula, blue cheese, and homemade citrus vinaigrette. The third course was a Trio of Mushrooms...a wonderful mix of portobello, shiitake, and oyster Mushrooms with cream and demi-glace over bread (thank you Gary and Sandy). The main course was pork tenderloin with teriyaki sauce, truffle mashed potatoes and an asparagus tart. Last but not least, the dessert was a white chocolate cheesecake with Merlot-soaked cranberries and a macadamia nut crust. Yummmmmmm!!!! We always have so much fun when we get together. It’s a healthy mix of food, wine, laughter, and...did I say wine??? Can't wait until next time!