Beet it!

"The natural aroma of the beets drifts into the bedrooms and makes one dream of simpler times . . ."
                                                                                          - Dwight Schrute, The Office

Today is a two-for-one blog kind of day - I guess we're just making up for lost time.

I seem to be in the minority, but I love beets. Like really love them. So, I woke up early today for my first official beet harvest! The beet section in my garden has filled in very thick this year, so I picked all the ones I could see that had bulbed out (probably somewhere between one third and one half of what's planted).
 

I hate peeling vegetables, so I was excited to read recently a different way to prepare and store beets that requires no peeling. First I cut off the roots and greens, then put them in a baking dish, covered and with some water in the bottom, to basically steam them in the oven.

They cooked for a long time (about an hour and a half) before they were tender, and my husband did indeed wake up to the natural aroma of beets, but when they came out I was able to just rub off the stems and skins without peeling. So easy!

I've got beets for the week in the fridge (looking forward to a great beet and gorgonzola salad tonight) and froze the rest of them for later.

Bed & Breakfast House Tour

Notice the gargoyles

First, apologies for the slow blog roll this year. After the whirlwind kitchen/bath remodel last year, our updates to the house will be limited for a little while.

June 29th crept up quickly this year. The significance is our 4th year anniversary.

I suggested a B & B to Becca and she quickly obliged to the idea. My theory is that the fun part of a B & B is the newness of it all. So, I clicked around on some of the main sites and found the 1812 Overture in Westside/Downtown KC.

We go to Westside a lot for lunch and usually walk around the neighborhood afterwards. It's probably one of the best spots in KC for creative types. The restaurants are charming and have all the natural/organic concepts you would expect. The houses are majestic Victorians — their craftsmanship is at a level we might never see again in new homes.

Finally we had a chance to look inside one of these gems.

1812 Overture.

I would describe the current homeowners as bohemians. They seem most interested in offering a creative space, and less worried about 90º angles and order. This "perfectly imperfect" concept goes against my natural tendencies, but its good for me to absorb.

Naturally, the home charmed our pants off. The 12' ceilings and oversized doors, the hand painted flower wallpaper, the winding crooked 3rd story stairs, the absurd over-decoration, the gazebo and hot tub, the gourmet omelet breakfast — they achieved the "we're on vacation" feeling we wanted. All for $119. Not bad for a cheapskate like myself.

Entryway lobby

Backyard grotto

Flan

View of hot tub

Yummy Breakfast

Yes, this is all hand painted

Breakfast spread

View from the hot tub

Our room for the night was the 3rd floor loft. The room's shape inspired us to consider finishing our attic.

I'd recommend the place if you like old homes and you're craving a hot tub. We chose this over a Hilton downtown and have no regrets.

Inspired

This weekend, Chris and I will be sanding and painting shingles, which is a good thing. But it would be better if the sanding and painting were finished and we were installing gutter planters on the side of our garage, don't you think?

Oh well. Instead we'll do our painting and I'll start looking for old gutters on craigslist and at Habitat ReStore. This project is officially on the list!

Chalk a Doodle

Ever since hanging our wine rack and clock, we've been looking for the perfect piece to fill the hole above the light switch. We found it this weekend at Pride's in Westport - a little slate rooster chalkboard. Roosters are good luck in the kitchen, and I like that this one is simple and clean, plus having a little space to write messages is fun. So here's our little friend in his home.

Happy Memorial Day!

Reading Corner

For as long as we've lived here (that's three years as of this month - so hard to believe!) we've wanted the corner of our living room to be a perfect reading corner. We bought a chaise lounge and tucked it next to the fireplace, next to two bright windows, but it's always been missing something.

And that something is . . . . light! Shortly after our kitchen remodel, we got a gift card in the mail from Restoration Hardware, completely unexpected. I called them and was informed that when we exchanged some items, we were credited an incorrect amount. They discovered this during a sales audit, and mailed me the difference. 

 So in late march I purchased the light, only to find out it was on backorder. Fast forward two months (if only I could have fast forwarded!) and the light finally arrived. So, after three years we finally had our reading corner.

We love the clean lines and the contrast of the dark metal with the smooth white glass shade, and it looks great with a little edison bulb glowing. It lights up our little corner perfectly - time to find a glass of wine and a good book!

Spring Harvest

I had this afternoon off, so I spent it in the garden. We've been really rainy the last few days, so everything out there is blooming and growing very quickly. I brought in our biggest harvest so far this year - some green beans, peas, strawberries and our first pepper. (The beer was for hydration).

Overall, the garden has been fantastic this year. It's been a warm, sunny spring with lots of rain, and on by my third time around I had learned a lot about planting in a small space. I couldn't be happier with the results. We're eating lots of strawberries (I'm beginning to freeze some of them), and we've had lots of onions and lettuce so far.

Our tomatoes and peppers are covered in flowers and buds, so those should be good for eating very soon. Our beets and carrots are also getting close. As far as the potatoes go, I have no clue how to tell if they're ready. I'll have to figure that one out . . . . 

The flower gardens are also filling in. This one in the backyard was planted last summer, but we rearranged it this summer to add a weeping cherry tree. If you squint you might be able to see it. Someday it will provide great shade and privacy. 

This is the bed I planted along the side of our porch earlier this year (shown here). It's quickly filling in and is currently bright with lily blooms. 

And here are a few more garden shots, just for the fun of it. Can you find the ant?

Spring Growth

Spring has arrived in Jonesville, and our outdoor activities are in full bloom.

Becca is growing lettuce in the garden with great success.

Our climatis flowers are blooming and bigger than ever.

We bought a Japanese Maple tree via mail order for our neighbor.

Becca really likes to plant trees.

Strawberries are also coming in. This year should be a great harvest, now that the squirrel cage is up.

Wrigley still likes to fetch, probably more than anything else.

Becca's new roses are looking great in their second year of growth.

Wrigley approves of the garden but wishes we grew bacon.