our little garden

Things have been CRAZY.
And life is finally beginning to slow down a bit...
either that or maybe I'm just totally slacking on my schoolwork.

Regardless, Nathan & I have had some fun dates together lately.

Last night, we had the best date in a while...
We bought the beginning of our balcony garden!
We've done some research & decided that we really wanted to have a container garden in which to grow our own food. Neither of us have taken on such a huge task before, but I think this is the perfect new hobby for us to enjoy together. We brainstormed ways to make it work & different things to grow, as well as the whole process of container gardening (which is actually different than gardening in the ground).

So off we went to Home Depot. It was so much fun pushing a cart around through Home Depot together, picking out pots and plants and hangers. We are SO excited about our garden, and have high hopes for its success. Part of our balcony receives nearly full sunlight, so we decided it was definitely worth a shot.

Here are a few photos of the very early beginnings of our garden:

In the pot we'll have spinach and lettuce

The window box is home to mint, basil, oregano, and cilantro

And hanging off the balcony is a whole bunch of strawberry plants!

Still to come: carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers, and lots of flowers.

To finish up our fun date last night, we made a delicious dinner!

Complete with pierogies in vodka sauce, baked asparagus, and a portabella mushroom sauteed and topped with cooked spinach. Of course, a glass of Pinot Noir to finish things up.

It was an absolutely wonderful date. We ended the evening watching a documentary about the ocean on Netflix. Haha.

Today we did all the dirty work of getting the garden potted & set up. It was intense, but somehow still fun. I love making this apartment a home with Nathan. It'll be a lot easier to do that once he's actually living here with me. But I sure am going to miss my amazing roommate (and bridesmaid) Caroline.

Tonight's date: Maggiano's (we have a gift card to use!)

And of course, the countdown: 65 days until I marry my best friend.