Dallas, TX blogger - parenting, cooking, gardening, DIY-ing, crafting, and life with three boys!
My mom always had this delicious dish growing up called Colossal Cheeseburger. I think my mom found the recipe in the newspaper, so it’s not mine, nor hers, really, but all that matters is that it’s DELICIOUS! We made it for the boys at the children’s home when we were houseparents, and it was their absolute favorite meal. While we don’t eat it super often around here, the hubby and boys really love it. Eat it with ketchup, mustard, pickles, fries, chips, whatever…it is so good!View Post
When you bought your house, maybe the selling point wasn’t the backyard and garden. Maybe it was the kitchen with the huge island or the fact that is was close to the kids’ school and your office. Or maybe you wanted a house in the city, and what you sacrificed was your yard size.
Regardless of how you ended up with a small garden and yard, it can feel discouraging to try and make the most of out it. But it’s not impossible! With some creativity, you can turn that small garden into some extraordinary. Read on to check out our tips for making the most of your small garden.
Plants like rhubarb and brussels sprouts take up a lot of space and are best suited for larger gardens that can accommodate their footprint. However, there are a variety of vegetables, herbs, and flowers that don’t need to be planted as far apart, and some even prefer to be crowded! Some plants that are ideal for small garden plots include beans, beets, carrots, cucumbers, and spinach.
Photo by Ronan on Unsplash
That being said, if you really want to grow those items that take up a bit more space, you might need to sacrifice growing other plants. But at the end of the day, what matters is growing things you will actually eat and use rather than ones that will fit your location needs.
Garden supplies like saved seeds, soil, tools, and organic fertilizers can take up precious space in your garage or backyard and can be an eyesore, too! Though you may feel like you don’t have space for a garden shed, by taking advantage of your side yard or opting for a lean-to option that can be installed against your house, you’re taking up a small footprint while keeping everything easily accessible and organized. If you can’t find the garden shed that’s the right size for your needs, you can always get a bit handy and build your own!
Take a look at your side yard. What purpose does it serve? Does it even serve a purpose? If your side yard is covered in rocks or is just a place to store your garbage and recycle bins, it’s time to take better advantage of that space!
Photo by Shika Chan on Unsplash
Plant some seasonal flowers, or add some perennial plants that are low maintenance but will still provide you with plenty of visual interest. If the side of your house is shady, consider adding some shade plantsthat will add a bright pop of color to the dark side of your house.
If you really don’t have much square footage in your garden or want to leave some grass for your kids to play in, you might have to consider growing up rather than out! If you have a fence, a retaining wall, or an empty wall on the side of your house, you can have a vertical garden! Though you may be a bit limited on what you can grow, you can still have a thriving garden that won’t take away from your yard’s space.
Photo by Ruth Hartnup on Flickr
Aside from taking advantage of vertical space, another way to expand your garden is to invest in a pergola, and utilize the top of the structure to grow vining plants like grapes, kiwis, and a variety of flowers!
While spring is certainly the busiest gardening season, it’s not the only one! By taking advantage of cold hardy plants during the winter, you can have garden beds that are full year-round. Taking advantage of every opportunity to garden is the best way to optimize the space that you do have.
If you’re short on yard space but have plenty of room on your deck or patio, then you have an area just begging for some planters filled with flowers, herbs, or fruits! Depending on the size of your deck, you could add some standing garden beds that offer easy access to care for your plants while adding a bright pop of color to your space.
If you have no need for grass, consider eliminating it altogether. Grass requires lots of watering and mowing, doesn’t offer much for pollinators, and can easily be replaced with something a little more low-maintenance.
Photo by Megan Hansen on Flickr
If you’re looking to attract more pollinators to your garden, consider replacing your grass with white clover, Corsican mint, stonecrop, or creeping thyme. And if you’re looking for a more low-maintenance alternative to grass, consider replacing it with pea gravel, stone pavers, or lava rock.
Bio: Leigha Staffenhagen is the managing editor of Insteading.com, a homesteading and sustainability site focusing on everything from gardening and raising chickens to tiny homes and off-grid living.
This post has been sponsored by Albertsons Companies family of stores. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about how excited I was to play the SHOP, PLAY, WIN!® Collect & Win Game featuring MONOPOLY at Tom Thumb. The boys and I went to the store, found a few items that would qualify us to get game pieces, and I opened them up and affixed them after we got home. I also scored with a few coupons and even a freebie coupon!
Once all of the game pieces are affixed to the game board, I can either get online or go on the Shop, Play, Win App to enter the online codes. This is how I scored a free Shutterfly bag and a few tokens to go towards a bigger prize or a chance at a prize. The Shop, Play, Win App makes it super easy to scan/redeem the codes and keep track of the pieces that you have. It also allows you to play the online sweepstakes for additional opportunities to win.
I love shopping at Tom Thumb because of the great prices and awesome finds, but I also love that they have made it easy to spot the products that earn the most MONOPOLY Collect & Win tickets! I am always so excited to get home and see what pieces I got, just from buying the products that we would have already purchased. What a fun way to shop!
A suggestion I have if you are affixing the game pieces to the MONOPOLY Collect & Win game board, use the numbers to help you locate the position rather than the pictures. It makes it much easier!
I play the MONOPOLY Collect & Win game at my local Tom Thumb, but you can Shop, Play, Win! at any of the Albertsons Companies stores like Albertsons, Safeway, ACME Markets, Jewel-Osco, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Shaw’s, Star Market, Carrs/Safeway, United Supermarkets, Amigos, Albertsons Market, Vons and Market Street stores.
There are a few sweet prizes that I have my eye on! Of course, there is the $1 Million Cash prize but I am three pieces away. I would love any of these prizes:
$1,000,000 Vacation Home; cash prizes: one million $, $100,000, $10,000, $5,000, $1,000, $100, $25, $20, $10, or $5; college tuition; home theater; family vacation; groceries; movie tickets; portable grill; and much, much more are up for grabs. You cannot win if you don’t play!
Pick up your MONOPOLY Collect & Win game board at your local store and get to collecting! Good luck!
How To Throw The Ultimate Baseball Party contains affiliate links
It is officially baseball season! While baseball is quickly becoming a year round sport, Spring is the season where little baseballers are playing at the same time as their favorite MLB teams. The freshly mowed grass, dirty uniforms, and the crack of the bat hitting the ball…what a fun season it is!
Here are some great ideas for a baseball birthday party, an end of season party, or even a fun way to get the kids excited about a baseball watching party.View Post
If you love hummingbirds and routinely attract them to your yard with hummingbird feeders, you may love putting in a hummingbird garden. Your hummingbird garden can be large or small and provide you with hours of time to observe these fascinating birds in your own backyard.View Post
The Spring weather here in Texas has me craving all the garden fresh fruits and vegetables! Sure, it can still be freezing one day and HOT the next, but it is still pretty awesome. Hubby and I went on the Whole30 diet earlier this year and did well. It definitely taught us some healthy eating habits that we are still holding on to. And who knew that you could create such awesome things with WHOLE foods that have incredible taste? Ditching the processed salad dressings and ingredients has been SO good for me.View Post
This post has been brought to you by Curly’s BBQ. All opinions are mine.
Basketball season is in full swing here! With college basketball games, professional basketball games, and the backyard basketball games at our house, we are loving this time because it is one of our favorite sports! We will be watching quite a few games on TV in the upcoming weeks and months, so I wanted to share this delicious recipe that is PERFECT for your basketball watching party – BBQ Beef Sweet Potato Bites!
I was inspired to create this recipe after the craze about sweet potato toast on instagram and food blogs. It’s an easy, healthier, delicious treat for breakfast (or dinner), and these sweet potato toast bites are equally as delicious! Great as a finger food for any party, these little bbq beef sweet potato bites will quickly become basketball game watching party favorites. They will not only round out your guests’ plate, but they will steal the show!
This recipe is pretty fail proof. Curly’s BBQ makes it super easy, too, because their perfectly sauced Pulled Beef is the star of this recipe. All you need to do is warm it up and it is good to go on this round slices of golden goodness. Top with an avocado cilantro cream that is also easy to make and you are looking like a gourmet chef! You could add some of your favorite cheese crumbles or pico de gallo on top, but thankfully this pulled beef is so tasty that you don’t need much.
You can find Curly’s products in the refrigerated meat case section at your local grocery store. Also, for a limited time there will be a $1 off coupon available on Curly’s packages in store. So definitely pick up a few while this special coupon offer lasts! You can find Curly’s BBQ close to you right here: https://curlys.com/store-locator/
If you’re looking for more delicious, easy game day favorites, check out my recipes for Pulled Pork Deviled Eggs and BBQ Chicken Queso!
I have fond memories of cooking with my mom and also my grandmothers when I was little. This is something moms do naturally because it is fun to cook alongside your child and teach them how to eventually, cook on their own. Having three boys has proven no different. The boys have each loved to help unroll dough, cut out cookies, crack eggs, slather on icing, dump in blueberries, stir the meat, etc.
Just like when kids are little and want to run the big vacuum all by themselves, cooking makes them feel independent and “big.” Sometimes it can get messy, but if you have the patience and the ability to shrug off any spills and say “it’s ok, everyone makes messes, we can clean it up!” then having your child by your side as you cook will prove to be beneficial in the long run. Recipes for kids to help with really help!
So many parents feel like their kids “just aren’t ready” when it comes to cooking, but every child can do something to help with cooking a meal, even if it is dumping a cup of flour in the mixer. This is a great time to teach safety rules, where our food comes from, and even proper hygiene while dealing with uncooked foods and foods that people will eventually eat. (No one wants someone cooking their food who hasn’t washed their hands!)
I went in search of a *few* recipes that are great for cooking with kids, and I came up with an extensive list. There are over 95 awesome recipes that vary in skill level (and patience level!) that you can make with your kids and they will love to eat when complete. No bake recipes, breakfast recipes, breads, snacks, main meal, desserts, and even holiday themed recipes, all that you can create with your little ones.
Some of these recipe posts have instructions on what kids can help with, and most of these bloggers have experimented cooking these recipes for kids with their very own children, so you will have to read and see what their experiences were! I loved putting this list together and seeing all of the adorable cooking kids!
So, take a deep breath and look through this list, preferably with your kids, to see what you would like to create together in the kitchen today!View Post
I love quick and easy recipes, and the boys love fruit desserts, so these fruit turnovers are great for everyone!
Last year, our youngest son was going to “Alice School” a few hours a week. Mrs. Alice is a dear friend from church who worked with our oldest and middle son while we were homeschooling. She taught them different aspects of reading, math, the Bible, and sometimes incorporated a cooking theme to her lesson. What a gift we had in her teaching the boys! She made this recipe with Z and we make it every so often. Well, a few weeks/months ago, he asked if we could make a video of him making turnovers. We made one for Instagram stories, but he wanted it on YouTube (of course!) ha! So that’s where this started. I sure do love when they help me with ideas for the blog.
These fruit turnovers as super simple to make and the kids can do it by themselves. (I help them with the oven part, of course.) You can use any fruit pie filling. We’ve tried apple, blueberry, and cherry and they love them all.
Roast Beef Zoodle Soup recipe post brought to you by Smithfield. All opinions are mine.
I am not sure why it always surprises me, but February in Texas is still cold. Well, some days are warm but then it dips down below freezing the very next day and that makes our allergies go nuts. On days when it is cold out or we are not feeling 100%, recipes like this Roast Beef Zoodle Soup are perfect for dinner. I love this recipe because it is quick to prepare, tasty, and jam packed with veggies and broth, which is great for feeling better quickly! The Prime Fresh Roast Beef makes it easy to add in a delicious protein to round out the soup.View Post
