Wishes for the city

oh, how I would love, love, love something like this. It literally makes me ache with longing.



I love the idea of cities creating space, right in the center, for pedestrians and unmotorized life. More interested in beauty and well being than getting folks in cars from point A to point B.

I am hopeful for Birmingham.

I love a rainy night

Have you been to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens lately? Oh, you really must go soon. It is so beautiful right now. I know that it is always beautiful, but now...oh my. The Roses are all in bloom and the rose garden is such a sensual, sweet experience. There is just something about roses, isn't there...the way they shamelessly bloom so beautifully and then, just as quickly die and stay on the branch, daring you to look. The saturated colors and soft texture. The way the petals may fall off as soon as you touch it, or the fact that the heads look so inviting, while the stems are thorny and rough.

She is a temptress, the rose. i can't get enough.

I go through phases with her. Sometimes, I find her too prissy, too easy to love and quick to hurt. A little too seductive. Other times, I walk through the gardens and literally stop to smell every type, occasionally rubbing my cheek against her soft petals and breathing in. I stare in wonder at all the different kinds, each different but all possessing that rare, yet ordinary beauty that is a Rose.

Really, please go to the gardens. You won't regret it. The roses are not the only thing blooming. The herb garden smells like the best, freshest restaurant, and the Lily garden is just stunning. I am convinced that there is healing power in just breathing the air in the tropical greenhouse.

It is open sunup to sundown and I find myself wandering through there after work, right before dusk. It feels like the park is all mine to enjoy...as though it has been bestowed upon me.

I am willing to share.

Walks through the garden of roses with her barefeet laughing

I read this today and loved it.

Never let a season go by without planting something." Such simple advice, isn't it? And yet, it's so easy to get bogged down by the logistics of gardening, space and growing and time and "black thumbs" and all of that. But plant something - sprout some seeds in a paper towel, grow basil in a pot in your kitchen, toss some carrot seeds in the ground and see what happens. Never let a season go by without the opportunity to get a little bit closer to your food, and have reason to dig your hands into the Earth.

from Soulemama

I firmly believe this. This is my first major growing season and I honestly don't know how I went so many springs without a garden. Oh, every year I grew something. A house plant here, some pansies there, herbs one year, daisies another. But I never really got it, never made it a priority. This year, feeling the need for life, and green and growth and nature, I gave it a go. I can tell you this friends; I will never go back.

I love the feeling of dirt under my nails. The heady of smell of damp soil being turned over. The itchy feeling you get after working on your knees in the grass for hours. The sweet, natural fragrance that greets me every morning when I step into my kitchen with the windows open. The dark green of growing lemons, their branches straining to hold onto them until they are ready to be freed, yellow and pungent. Herbs just begging to be included in a recipe, some standing tall and proud saying "build a meal around me, you won't regret it."

It gives me life. and hope. If they can grow and thrive, I can too. I will.

*pictured are my buckets of tomatoes, basil and tomatillos.*

Weekend round-up

What a spring weekend! It was fun and productive and relaxing. Here is the rundown:

Friday they send us home early because of morale (see previous post for details). Also want to note: They are done downsizing, so I made the cut. Friends of mine did not. However, my job is going to change drastically, as there are now only 2 Assistant Buyers for the entire company. Updates this week as news breaks on that.
Came home, opened the windows and took a mid day nap on my new bed. It is so relaxing and wonderful. No problems sleeping anymore. phew. Spent the rest of Friday cleaning, hanging pictures and getting ready for...
Book Swap! Saturday I made coffee, did some last minute organizing and sat on the couch to read. 11:20 and friends started showing up. It was a great time. Old friends, new friends, Bain Morris (and his family)...it was beautiful. Played outside, hung out inside, the works. The weather cleared up enough and it turned out to be a pretty day. I also visited Urban Standard for the first time. I am hooked. this is the real deal folks...a good coffee shop with real mugs and delish mocha's and killer orzo pasta salad. Check it out this week, I insist! On to Green Cup Books, where CJ hugged a book and I smelled them all (seriously). Another must do in the city. Very cool and new. Support them.
Finished the day at another bookstore, looking at home magazines to inspire my apartment re-do (see Apartment Therapy: The cure..an 8 week program to get your apartment healthy and beautiful).
Sunday: slept late, made coffee and breakfast...went back to bed with coffee and books and macbook. Stayed there till 1. Went immediately to the garden where I spent the next 2 hours tilling, weeding, sowing. I had quite the dirt manicure. And a good sunburn. While I was doing that an idea popped into my head that I worked on as soon as my hands were clean. A new blog!

Called Life as a Garden, I envision this blog to be a shared blog of women in our city. Telling tales of gardening, cooking, baking, decorating, entertaining. Building and maintaining our 'nests' here in Birmingham. You can find it here. If you would like to be a part of it, let me know and I will add you. Ideally, I would love for it to include women of all ages and stages and walks of life. A place to share our triumphs, difficulties, tests, mistakes, questions about all things relating to our homes (whatever and wherever they may be) and our communities and families. Trying to incorporate beauty and life into everyday living. I am curious to see if it works and what it will turn into.

Well, time to make pesto ravioli from scratch. Wish me luck.

Happy St Patricks Day. Go see The Spots tomorrow (Monday) at The Speakeasy. All the cool people will be there. Including me.