My Favorite Plant

I love plants and flowers and gardens even though I do not have a green thumb.  I am getting better at keeping things alive, but still have a ways to go.  One plant I am able to make thrive are elephant ears.  

My love of elephant ears started about 4 years ago.  One of my co-workers gave me some elephant ear bulbs.  I asked her lots of questions about how to plant them and take care of them.  She very patiently gave me explicit directions and I am happy to report that I still re-plant the same bulbs every year in pots.  

I love their large-scaled leaves and how tropical they look.  They always make me think of summer when I see them.  They are also pretty easy to take care of, surprisingly.  I simply plant the bulbs in potting soil in late May or early June.  I add a little Miracle Grow Plant Food when I plant them to help get them started.  Then I just keep them watered.  That's all there is to it!  

Pretty soon, I end up with lots of leafy goodness!  I have pots in both full sun and part sun.  The elephant ears seem to do just fine with either full or part sun, though the ones that get full sun do get bigger.  

I also like to trim some leaves and bring them inside to make my home feel like a tropical paradise.  Okay, that might be stretching it a bit, but it does make it more fun inside. 

In order to be able to replant them each year, it's important to keep a few things in mind.  When summer ends and before the first freeze, you have to cut off the leaves, remove the bulbs from the dirt and store them in a cool (but not freezing), dark place over the winter.  I keep mine in an empty pot in a closet in our garage.  A basement would also be a good option.

If you are looking for an easy plant to try out, look into elephant ears!  

Jazzy Goes On Vacation

While Adam and I got to go on vacation to Portland and Seattle, Jazzy got to go on a vacation of her own.  She got to visit her grandma and grandpa!  The only two people capable of spoiling Jazzy more than Adam and I are her grandparents.  We never have to worry about Jazzy when she's with her grandparents because we know she is being spoiled rotten.  

My parents were happy to send me some photographic evidence of all the fun Jazzy was having while on her vacation.  

She got to sit on the front porch with her grandma. 

She got lots of belly rubs from her grandpa.

She got to lounge on her grandparents' bed.

She got to visit her great-grandma.  

She even took time out of her busy vacation schedule to wish Adam and me a happy anniversary.  

While she adored her time with her grandparents, she was happy to come home.  She was even more excited to learn that we brought her a souvenir from Portland.  Adam convinced me to get her some treats made of actual rabbit, since Jazzy has had a taste for rabbit ever since she hunted down a few on our walks and in the backyard.  

I think it's safe to say Jazzy was a huge fan.  The video below shows our normally mild-mannered lady going wild for her new favorite treat, Vital Essentials Freeze-Dried Rabbit Bites.

As much fun as Jazzy and Adam & I had on our respective vacations, we're all very happy to be together again.  

Seattle!

I shared about the first part of our vacation in Portland here.  Here's what happened next on our journey.

Day 5-Continued

After checking out Cannon Beach, we headed to the second destination of our vacation: Seattle.  The drive from Portland to Seattle was a long one with lots of traffic.  Once we made it, we happily checked into our hotel.  Adam scored a Priceline deal for the Palladian, located in downtown Seattle.  It was super fancy and I adored the decor.  Check out those brassy gold fixtures and marble hexagon tile in the bathroom.  Swoon!  And yes, that is Michael Jackson's face on the throw pillow.      

Since it was late, we ate dinner at the bar in our hotel, Pennyroyal Bar.  I ate my favorite meal of the trip there (a delightful burger and fries) and Adam had some prawns.  Then we hit the hay so we'd be ready for a full day of fun the next day.  

Day 6

We started our day grabbing some coffee and hot chocolate from Moore Coffee, then headed to Pike Place Market.  

We ate breakfast at Lowell's while gazing at views of the water.  

Then we wandered around Pike Place Market.  We bought souvenirs from some of the booths and watched some fish get thrown around.  We admired all the produce and flowers we couldn't buy since we were only staying in Seattle for a short while.  We stumbled across gum wall in one of the alleys of the market.  It was literally gobs of gum.  Unfortunately we didn't have any gum, so we couldn't add to it.  

Adam was excited to try out some clam chowder at Pike Place Chowder.  He agreed that it was the best clam chowder he's ever eaten.  I took his word for it.   

I, on the other hand, was stoked to try out Beecher's world-famous mac and cheese.  I knew I would need to visit this place when I learned they make their own cheese.  You could even sit at a bar and watch the cheese being made.  I made poor Adam sit there for a long time watching the cheese curds.  What a good sport. 

  

We could both agree to try out some ginger beer cocktails at Rachel's Ginger Beer.  I went with a delicious strawberry and rhubard cocktail, while Adam tried the Montana Mule.  Both went down nice and easy.  It was actually sunny and pretty warm, so it was the perfect refreshment.      

Next on our agenda was a ferry boat ride to Bainbridge Island.  It was a fun ride, despite what Adam's face might be telling you.  

We saw some pretty views of the city and I couldn't help fondly remembering Doctor McDreamy's love of ferry boats.  

Once we made it to Bainbridge Island, we shared a crepe from J'Aime les Crepes.  It was delightful.  We also picked up a souvenir for Jazzy from an adorable little pet boutique.  

After our ferry boat ride back to Seattle, we stopped for dinner at Elliot's Oyster House.  I left all the seafood-tasting up to Adam, which he was more than happy to do.  

The last part of our evening was spent at the Space Needle.  We took the city's monorail to the Space Needle, which was an adventure in itself.  We had to ask three different people before we actually figured out where to go to get on the monorail.  But once we got there, it was a sight to see.  

Lucky for us, one of the three elevators wasn't working, so it took an especially long time to make it to the top.  It was very crowded and there were lots of people, but it was pretty to see views of the city at dusk.  

We had to book it back to the monorail so we wouldn't have to walk back to our hotel after dark.  Seattle didn't seem quite as friendly as Portland, especially when night fell.  Luckily, we made it to the monorail before it stopped running for the evening.  It was a busy day and we certainly slept well that night!  

Day 7

Our final day of vacation started with coffee and hot chocolate at Storyville Coffee.  Then we ate breakfast at Biscuit Bitch.  How could you not check out a place named Biscuit Bitch?  Adam ordered a Straight-Up Bitch, while I went with the more refined Buttered Up Bitch. Both were bitchin'.   

We only had a short amount of time before we had to head for the airport.  So we wandered around the market for a little while.  It was still pretty early, so most of the vendors weren't open or were just setting up shop.  It was still a nice way to end our trip. 

We had such an awesome time!  It's always fun to explore new cities.  Plus, we got a break from the hot, humid Missouri weather.  If you ever get the chance to visit Seattle or Portland, go for it!