Some great links to share!

Here's a great post on different ideas of playing with babies 3-6 months that are helpful to you and them

Go vote for your favorite shabby apple dress that they'll make next! (submissions were from regular old cute girls!)

Some great point and shoot tips from my most very favorite blogger ever (Ashley)

Modbe is back! I think there was some conspiracy going on though. Right when Shade closes Modbe magically reappears? Hmm... But who cares about there clothes, I want their swim suits to come out! (and they better lower their darn prices on those babies

grass

fact: shiver me kimber is a landscape design major
fact: she is currently taking 4 credit hours worth of turf (grass) classes (sports turf science and turf science)
fact: she has decided that she will be sharing more information on what she learns in the green industry with the cook, cut (grass and plants and paper etc), and bake away blog:)

simple lawn tips for your own home:
a. If you're fertilizing as a mo-jo homeowner, you're probably fertilizing too much. On average, homeowners who get a soil testing of their lawn's soil (plus or minus $25) will save more money in the long run. A soil test will tell you what type of nutrients you actually need instead of just "adding fertilizer" to the soil, I promise you'll probably be adding less fertilizer than you originally were. (But usually alll your grass needs is Nitrogen)

b. But seriously, NOW/November, is the time to fertilize well! If you really make the grass happy before snow and frost hit, it'll actually be more frought resistant in the summer (why? when the cold hits the grass wants to grown longer roots into the warm soil, if you give it more nutrients to do so, the longer roots it will be able to grow, thus making it possible in the hot summer to store/grab more water from all the soil

c. In early to middle spring "stress" your grass a little more than it's used to by not watering it- honestly, to the point where it's getting real ugly. Doing this will also make it more drought tolerant in the hot summer, promise :)

d. The longer between mowings, the faster the grass will grow each day (more blade=more green=more area for photosynthesis to occur=moregrowing. So really, cutting on a consistent schedule is less maintenance than not

e. If you got the booty available and you want to your lawn to look beautiful 24/7, I suggest using a Kentucky Bluegrass or one like it, mixed in with a little Perennial Rye. Why? Kentucky spreads slowly but is very durable once established. Perennial will quickly grow into the spots that have holes to make it look great temporarily, but Kentucky is the dominant species and will push it out of the way once time passes enough for it to grown and spread

f. Want greener grass? Apply iron :) Not too much or it will turn so dark green it'll look black!


Who knew we pirates could have so much fun on land!

A sign...

... of things to come my pirate mateys.

around the table

So awhile ago, I emailed Captain Sammy this link to this table and said 

"How would you feel about us doing this to our table?"

He abruptly replied back to my email with

"Actually I think we should change it from EAT to FAT because we don't want to get fat"

The Captain is quite a funny man,
EAT or FAT would be great additions on a dining room table eh?

Chicken & Noodle Caesar Salad

This stuff was a huge hit at Jaarrr's birthday party, and is uber easy!

Ingredients:
1 box farfalle noodles
2 bags grilled chicken strips
1 bag romaine lettuce leaves
1 bottle Asiago Caesar dressing (Briannas' Home Style is our favorite)
Parmesan cheese (grated and/or shredded)
Croutons (Caesar style)
4 diced tomatoes (optional)

Note: The proportions are estimated.  You can really do whatever suits your fancy and it can't go wrong.

Boil noodles until soft.  Drain and rinse.  Bake chicken strips on a cookie sheet (covered in aluminum foil) at 350 for 15-20 minutes.  Wash, tear, and spin lettuce leaves.  Assemble noodles, chicken, lettuce, dressing, parmesan cheese, croutons, and tomatoes and mix it all together in a large bowl.

I usually leave a few chicken strips, some tomatoes, croutons, and a little of parmaesan cheese for the top so it looks pretty!:)

See!  Totally easy and a makes a great side dish at any party.  Enjoy!:)