Summer TV

What do you watch during the summer months? Do you get into the reality competition shows? Do you watch the reruns of your favorite?

We definitely get out a bit more during the summer, but it's nice to have something to watch during those super hot days when we don't want to go outside. We haven't had many of those yet, but I bet they are coming.

Since we don't have cable, we rely on Netflix for summer tv options. I think it's a lot of fun to pick a new show and watch all the way through. We are currently in the middle of season three of Sons of Anarchy. Who knew that I'd be hooked on a show about a motorcycle gang. Excuse me, a motorcycle club.

Here are a few others that I'd recommend for summer tv:

Downton Abbey. Obviously. But you've probably already watched it, so in that case, watch...

Call the Midwife. Season One is on Netflix. You'll have to hunt around for Season Two because PBS just pulled it. You may think a show about nuns and midwives sounds stuffy, but trust me, it's not. It does a wonderful job at looking at the complexities of healthcare, gender roles and poverty. And the characters are totally charming.

Sherlock. Because let's be honest, British tv is amazing. And I think Benedict Cumerbach is spectacular.

Elementary. Same character, totally different take. I actually don't know if it is on Netflix yet, so maybe check CBS. I watched the first half and am going to try to finish the first season this summer.

How I Met Your Mother. This is probably our favorite show. If you haven't seen it, the next season is going to be the last where we will finally see how Ted and the mother meet. Catch up on the show now and make note of all of the clues!

House of Cards. I watched the first season in just a few days. It's that good. Kevin Spacey could probably be a politician in real life. I'd vote for him.

Friday Night Lights. Why not go back and rewatch the whole show? It was that good - who could ever get sick of it?

The Walking Dead. I don't like scary stuff, but I have been hooked through every episode.

The West Wing. We watched the whole series over the winter. I had actually never seen it until now. But now I'm on the Aaron Sorkin bandwagon.

Painting is my favorite

So this is a pretty belated post, but too fun not to share!

Have you heard of Splash Studio? Okay, if you don't live in Milwaukee, probably not.

It's this awesome painting bar. You heard me. Painting bar.

They do classes during the evenings and on weekends where you can paint along with an instructor, or you can just go to the bar, pick out a canvas and freestyle it. I have now been there four times, which I guess makes me a regular. If I wasn't minding my fun budget, I might be there once a week. Except then I would have to start paying people to take my paintings because we'd run out of wall space for em all.

Anyway...rather than give my mom a traditional gift for Mother's Day this year, I wanted to give her an experience. Something that we could do together. We are both fairly busy, and so it's nice to set aside time to hang out. And what would be more fun to do than painting and drinking?

I let her pick out a painting that she wanted to do and she picked the poppy fields painting. Very pretty. And surprisingly not too hard.

Mom is ready to paint!

The model painting - Poppy Fields

My happy clouds. The best part. Thank you Bob Ross.

How amazing is this? She added in the Wizard of Oz characters, and the Emerald City!
Sorry for the super blurry photo, but too cool not to share.

Mom, with her finished painting. I love it!

My masterpiece. Went for a little whimsy.
My trees look like ice cream cone tops. 

We had so much fun! Painting is definitely more fun with a glass of wine. You just have to be careful not to mix up the wine glass with the dirty paint water. Almost did that. Twice. 

If you live in the area, you should definitely Get Splashed!

Adventures in Gardening

I have a new hobby. And I'm obsessed.

Check out these babies!

Our baby seedlings before planting.

Freshly planted.

Boy have they grown!

Cilantro for days!

Lots of basil.

Thyme-tastic.

Two kinds of kale.

One of our free spirited tomato plants.

Our jalapeno plant finally is starting to show signs of future peppers.

Mint!

Tomatoes are coming soon!

The Food and Garden Club on the campus where I work has a number of garden plots that they let students, faculty, and staff rent out each year. For a small fee, you get to grow whatever you would like in a 4x4 plot.

I have always wanted to start a garden, but wasn't really excited about trying to build something at our apartment. We also have a heavily shaded yard thanks to some big trees, which would make it pretty challenging to grow anything that requires full sun.

So I was so excited to give gardening a shot, especially with a group of folks who know quite a bit more about gardening than I do. Lots of experts to share tips and tricks.

And, even better, I have a gardening partner! My friend Claudia also wanted to give beginner gardening a shot. We like to head out over our lunch hour and check on the veggies and herbs and do a little weeding and watering. Maybe grab a few extra salad toppings too!

We have already learned a few key things:

Tomatoes need to go in cages, almost right away. We thought we could wait on this one for a few weeks, but then our tomato plants had a major growth spurt and got all long and gangly. We had quite the adventure trying to weave them into the cages, and lost some branches along the way. We are hoping that they will straighten out a bit, because they are pretty heavy on one side.

Watering. It's a daily thing. We haven't lost any plants yet, and thankfully, we've had a LOT of rain so watering hasn't been as needed as you would expect for the summer. But we know moving forward that we are going to have to schedule time to get out there every day.

Cat hair and coffee grounds can help keep the critters away. We don't use pesticides at the garden, so we are trying everything we can to keep the bugs and the bunnies out of our goodies. Some bunny loves our kale!

Through the club, I am also trying out composting for the first time. We have a compost area near the gardens, and so I've been saving my veggie scraps, egg shells and coffee groups to take in each day. Way better than having a stinky compost area at home! Plus all of the compost that we make can go back into the gardens.

So that's where you can find me this summer. Digging in the dirt!

Do you garden? What tips can you share with us? We'd love advice!