First Seeds Have Been Planted

Woohoo! The first seeds of the year have officially been planted. It's pretty early still, but the gorgeous weather we've been having (over 60 today!) has been making me yearn for spring. So I got outside and planted round one of my mustard green seeds. Plus I started some broccoli seeds (those are currently residing on top of my fridge). Once they germinate, I can move them to the cold frame outside.

Have you been planting any seeds?

Mr. Blue Chair

All along, the hubs and I have planned to have two seating areas for the living room (one facing the TV, one not, to deal with the large, long room). However, we didn't have anything to make that second seating arrangement out of! You see, our apartment only fit one tiny loveseat, so we didn't own any chairs that weren't dining chairs.

Well, I've taken the first step.

This blue guy came from here, and while I tend to be pretty skeptical of World Market's furniture (I've had some issues in the past with things not going together the way they ought to), I convinced them to sell me the floor model so I knew exactly what I was leaving with.

Oh, and I bought it during their furniture sale, so the $330 price tag was down to $270....and the lovely people there let me use a coupon on top of the sale for an additional perk. When all was said and done, the $330 price tag had dropped to around $230. Woo hoo!

Here's a closer look...

I love how the blue color coordinates with the red stuff we have in the living room, and with the navy backs of the shelves (that I still need to finish and write a post about....consider this your sneak peak!).

And one more shot....see how there's still a ton of empty space? Mr. Blue Eyes will eventually have friends, but for now, we're content to save our pennies. In general, we would rather deal with the empty space than put a "place holder" item there. It turns out to be more expensive in the end and you end up living with something you don't really love in the mean time!

Have you been adding furniture and filling spaces in your home? What are your thoughts on "place holders"?

Seed Order 2013

Since doing my seed inventory last week, I decided I could fill in some holes to round out my garden this year. Here's the run-down of what I ordered.

1. Caballero Pepper - I've been wanting to try some chiles, and this is a variety of poblano.
2. Ancho 101 Pepper - more chilis...maybe I went a little overboard? This one is supposed to be sweeter.
3.  Watermelon (faerie hybrid) - This is a yellow-skinned, small watermelon meant for smaller gardens....hopefully that will hold true and I won't have a yard full of watermelon vines!!
4. Tomato (Lemon tree) - from the pictures, these actually do look like lemons. Supposedly they have a lemony flavor as well.
5. Tomato (Maskotka hybrid) - This one is a cherry tomato that is supposed to grow well in containers. These will go on the back deck.
6. Dwarf White Sugar Peas - a bush habit pea similar to the ones I grew last year
7. Pole Beans (Tionfo Violetto) - these guys are purple! I'm really interested to see how they taste.
8. Cayenne Pepper - because my husband REALLY likes spicy food.
9. Beet (Touchstone Gold hybrid) - a yellow beet.
10. Echinacea (Purpurea, Pow Wow Wildberry) - These I will sow in the next week or so (indoors) and hopefully will have some coneflowers in my near future!
11. Sage
12. Lavender (Munstead) - This one is an experiment. I've heard that lavender is difficult to grow from seed, so we'll see how this goes.
13. Feverfew - this herb is supposed to have medicinal properties regarding pain relief and fever reducing. It is also supposed to drive pests away when planted around roses. Guess where these are getting planted?
14. Zinnia mix - I didn't plant these last year, but two years ago, the flower beds were nearly taken over by the 6 foot tall zinnias! I had cut flowers all summer long, and the more I cut, the more they grew.
15. Marigold (Tiger Eye)

What are you planning to plant this year?