Plants Archives - Popcorn and Pandas

In the Garden

My guy has been working hard on our garden this year. I can’t say I have participated much more than a trip to the nursery to pick out some plants (which was really fun by the way!) and a couple days of watering, but I’ve been watching the baby, ok? In due time when these plants start producing some vegetables…that’s when my work will come into play. I will be making homemade tomato sauce and pesto, and I will have a happy husband. Teamwork makes the world go round.

Top: J. Crew (old) / Dress (worn as a skirt): Free People (old) – shop day dresses / Shoes: Nordstrom Rack / Bag: H&M / Sunnies: YSL / Lip: MAC Up the Amp / Necklace: Gifted / Bracelet: Oja Jules / Watch: Coach

It was a bit of a rough weekend, as I caught a sinus infection and was completely laid up. We had to cancel our anniversary dinner and I missed the 30th Birthday celebration for my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. On a separate doctor’s note, I spent yesterday morning in the orthopedic office getting a Cortisone shot to try and help my trigger finger. Womp womp.

Starting to feel better today, and enjoying the amazing weather we have had in the city the past few days. We are getting excited for our upcoming family mini vacay with our best friends Erin & Rai. You may remember them from our Maine trip last year. We have decided to take another adventure with them to the New England region, and this time we are visiting New Hampshire (and we will also have a mini addition to the crew this year!) We are heading north earlier in the season, so it will be a bit chillier than last year but we are looking forward to a bit of adventure, some breathtaking natural surroundings, and some R&R as well.

Hope you are all enjoying the week so far!

XO,

Gina

Our Brooklyn Garden

Since moving from the Upper East Side to Brooklyn, we have acquired a ton of outdoor space. Last year, my husband and I decided to grow a little garden in our front yard. It was crazy plentiful with tons of basil and other fresh herbs, tomatoes, lettuce, green beans, peas, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, and of course some pretty flowers as well. But as you can see from this photo, it was also quite a bit of a mess. This could possibly (ok definitely) have a lot to do with the fact that I think we only weeded once the entire growing season, but regardless, this year my husband was bound and determined to create a much more organized and clean structured looking garden. He even created raised beds…raised beds! I have to say, I have been very impressed with all the work he has put into it. He has been working his tail off, while I haven’t even lifted a finger this year. I’m using my pregnancy as an excuse, but frankly, I’m just not that into yard work. I would much rather be doing laundry. Luckily, our neighbors have been very helpful. Our one main problem is the stray cats in the area, which is the reason we fenced off portions of the garden last year. They like to dig up our fresh eats and relieve themselves in our flower beds. Darn cats. So anyway…here is the transformation from last year’s garden, to the new and improved 2013 Brooklyn Garden.

Last year…

This year…

IMG_8248_Layers_v1 — This empty space here is waiting for a nice little outdoor table and chairs set

IMG_8249_Layers_v1 — Fresh spinach growing

Since I took these photos, those darn cats have returned, and they have started to dig into the spinach bed. Therefore, my husband was back out there last night putting up a little fence around the bed, and I’m sure he will have to do the same with the other beds as well. Hopefully that will do the trick as it did last year. I am dreaming about making fresh homemade tomato sauce and fresh pesto sauce this year…mmm…I can’t wait!

Tomorrow, Zack and I are leaving on a jet plane and heading west to Arizona! We are super excited for our 10 day adventure and state tour. I’m pretty sure I won’t really get around to posting or editing anything next week, since I will be too busy exploring, so follow along with my adventures on Instagram!

XO,

Gina

Saturday at the Market

This past weekend, we had a wonderful visit from the in-laws, and we decided to take them to the Union Square Greenmarket on Saturday. If you have never been to the Greenmarket, you should definitely make the trip. There are fresh, local, organic fruits and vegetables galore, potted plants and herbs, flowers, local cheeses, meats, fresh pastas, honey, pies, candles, yarn products, and so much more. Your mouth is watering the entire time you are there, and I felt like I had a bit of an attention problem, because my eyes were constantly being taken in different directions. It’s hard to focus on any one thing, because there is something else amazing in the booth next door! We had a great time walking around there, and we continued our day by taking my in-laws to the famous hot-spots Russ and Daughters and Katz’s Delicatessen. They really enjoyed the day, and we headed back to Brooklyn afterward where we all fell into a food coma (i.e. a two hour nap.)

We had a really great weekend spending time with family. We hadn’t seen them since the holidays, so it was a lot of fun getting together. We are also getting excited for this upcoming weekend as well where we will see my side of the family for Easter in Maryland.

I want to wish everyone celebrating this week a Happy Passover!

Also, Happy 92nd Birthday to my Granny today! She is the sweetest most amazing lady!

Have a great week everyone.

XO,

Gina

#44 Eat a Mangosteen

Saturday March 9, 2013

Have you ever heard of a mangosteen? Being a lover of all things fruit, this item made it to my great adventures list as something I just had to try. I had heard that it was the best fruit in the entire world, and it was super expensive and rare in the United States. This fruit comes from a tropical evergreen tree mostly found in Southeast Asia and in some South American countries. I hadn’t “googled” the fruit in awhile, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect it to look like or taste like when my husband brought a bunch home for us to eat on Saturday. He had been out exploring in Chinatown after his class, and stumbled across this rare fruit at a decent price (although still not cheap!) I think $8 a pound. When mangosteens first arrived in the US, they were sold for $43 a pound! So I’m thinking relatively here. Of course I had to photograph the little buggers, which kind of look like acorns from the outside. The edible inside part tasted sweet and tangy, juicy, and fibrous. The flavors were a bit like a type of small orange, and nothing like a mango. There wasn’t much meat on the fruit, and although it was indeed tasty, there is no way I am claiming this as the best fruit in the world. That being said, I am excited that I was able to try such a rare find in the U.S. I would definitely eat it again, although maybe next time I would wait to travel to Southeast Asia instead of paying $8 a pound.

Have you ever tried a mangosteen? If so, what did you think?

Hope everyone is having a good week so far.

XO,

Gina