front garden before and afters & an excuse

hello everyone.

before i get started on the garden post i'd like to take a moment.

my blog and i apologize for being so lazy lately.

i think it is the beautiful summer days luring me away from the computer.

or maybe i'm a bit burnt out.

i'm not sure exactly what is going on inside my brain.

all i know is that i can hardly stand the sound of my own voice.

so i think i need to be quiet for a while.

i'm sorry if i've been letting you down.

i hope you all understand and i really hope to be back on it soon.

in the meantime...

  i thought i'd put together a post on how this front garden has progressed in the 4 years since we've been here.

that first picture is one i took about a month after moving in here.

at this point all we had done was mow, edge, weed and water.

note the lack of flora and fauna.

this was taken in early spring of 2009.
i was enlarging the beds and planting flora.

this is summer of 2009.

things are starting to fill in.
i remember how proud i was at this moment.

this is when i decided to start blogging.

july 2009

early summer 2011
we added the fence which blocks the neighbors driveway and gave us more privacy.

the day we moved in.

early this summer

shortly after moving in

july 2011

yesterday

the front porch still closed off

and now open.


so that's about it.
i'd love to hear from you if you are also in a blog slump.
whether you are a reader of blogs or a writer of them.
do share.

wishing you a peaceful weekend.

xo
janet

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99

cornelia guest - vegan

cornelia guest, daughter of c.z. guest, muse of andy warhol,
is a vegan.  yay.


she has a gorgeous handbag line that you can see here.
this is one of my favorites - and it's on sale!

a new cookbook, simple pleasures, that i just ordered and cannot wait to get.
you can get that here.

she is an outspoken spokesperson for PETA.
there are numerous stories you can read about right here.

i don't know about you but i just love it when people break out of their seemingly pre-determined shells and take risks and succeed.  even if they don't succeed, i'm so in awe of them.
it just goes to prove, you can never be too rich, too thin or too vegan.:)

xo
janet

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37

on fathers

happy fathers day larry korff.

i mention you here and there on this blog but people don't really know you.

i rarely, if ever write family/sappy-type posts, so brace yourselves.

things that have made you a good father...

1.  always being present.  from the minute we became parents, you were in it with me.

whatever it took, you were there.  neither of us knew what the heck we were doing but we formed a team and got it done.  thank you for playing on my team.

2.  thank you for teaching me how to let boys be boys.  what did i know about boys?  nothing.  being the youngest of 3 girls, boys were aliens to me.  thank you for letting them experience everything boys need to experience w/o a frantic mom trying to stop them.  i cannot thank you enough for teaching them how to camp, ride dirt bikes, how to ski, swim...fill in the blank, coaching every team they were ever on, never missing a school event.   and through it all giving me time home alone to rest and relax and be a girl.  

3.  thank you for always putting us first.  whatever we needed, we got.
you always put yourself last.

4.  thank you for instilling adventure in us all.  all you ever had to do was mention the word camping, dirt bikes or skiing and in 10 minutes flat your truck was loaded with gear, the boys and even a few extra neighbor kids, all trying to keep up with you.

5.  above all thank you for being a man of integrity.  always leading by example, hard work and discipline, not preaching, well sometimes preaching.:)

i love you!


happy fathers day weekend everyone.

xo
janet

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49

monday afternoon

so i survived my backpacking adventure.

we kinda zigged when we should have zagged and that mistake added an additional 5 miles to the six we had already hiked.  after a few minutes, oh who am i kidding, after about an hour of figuring out ways to kill my husband i had a mini breakdown and pulled myself together and got to the top.  we had vegetarian chili and tortillas for dinner and slept under the stars right next to a crystal blue lake.
better than the nicest hotel i've ever stayed in.

i don't know about you, but anytime i have to really push myself physically and mentally through any situation i come out stronger.

after the hike, i honestly felt like i could walk through fire.
my toes think i already did.  ouch.

ok, i really want to thank so many of you who kindly babysit my blog when i'm gone.
you guys are the best.  you guys give out so much great information that really needs to be shared.
i trust you guys so much.  you have all done your homework and you generously share it.
i'm a vegan for one simple reason.  i cannot bear the thought of hurting any animal any which way.
when i think of the calves that are skinned alive for their calfskin and left to die, and their big, watery, pleading eyes staring into the camera, unable to move b/c the pain is too great...well i just cannot bear it.  that is why i'm a vegan.

thank you so much for having my back.

xo
janet

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54

daiya cheese* and michelle pfieffer

the idea of finding and liking a vegan cheese was something i had just about given up on.  i've tried so many and they have all been a disappointment.  but recently i went to lunch with a friend and i ordered vegan lasagna.  it was made with daiya vegan mozzarella cheese.  the first bite was indescribably delicious.  i was in heaven!  i bought some of my own and made this easy zucchini pizza just to try it out.  

i'm telling you it is yummy, melty and stretchy.  it adds flavor and nice texture to the pizza.

i have grown to love my pizzas without cheese but every once in awhile this will be nice.

here is daiya's website

*no animals were harmed making this pizza



did you catch the beautiful michelle pfieffer's interview where she discusses why she became vegan?
there are so many reasons to go vegan and hers are as good as any.
check out her interview here.

have a happy weekend everyone.
what are you doing?
we are going backpacking in the eastern sierras this weekend and i'm hoping i can keep up.
yikes.

xo
janet

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52

what i wore to see jack white

because you asked...

night one

one of the many reasons i love jack is because color and style is an integral part of his showmanship.

known for his red and white stripe days, this solo album/tour is all about blue, so of course i wore blue.

night two...

i bought this bootleg t shirt after the first night's concert for $5.

i would have purchased one inside b/c lord knows jack white needs the money, but the line was way too long.

xo

janet

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61

all jacked up

j. crew chambray, american apparel chambray skirt, old leopard belt, rl sunglasses

this is me this morning, looking respectable.

  so not the case last night.

  

yesterday larry surprised me with tickets to see jack's second show in los angeles.

i loved the first night but the second night can only be described as Amazing.  he performed with his all-female band the peacocks, and it's a wonder the old wiltern is still standing as he rocked the place and everyone in it to its core.   

so when i should have been sweetly tucked in bed, i was acting like a teenager, singing and dancing in the aisles.

  2 late nights in a row.

  shut up.

later today we are headed to the beach for some r&r and i've packed a bikini.  

what's happening to me?

have a sweet one my friends.

xo

janet

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