Urban Jungle Bloggers: Kitchen Greens

Happy New Year! It’s not too late to wish you a happy New Year, is it? I hope you enjoyed the holidays and made a good start into the new year. Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? How are you holding up? I always make many, nothing to do with quitting smoking or losing weight, though. My New Year’s resolutions are all about learning and finding inspiration. I am old, at least according to my kids, but I truly believe you are never too old to learn something new.

So this year I hope to visit more gardens, grow more flowers, visit more museums and exhibitions, improve my photography, and (finally) learn how to arrange flowers. Even though I didn’t visit any gardens or sow any seeds yet (I will start sowing sweet peas in February), I am not unhappy with how I am faring up to now. I took many pictures and even started a new photography project which I am very excited about. Follow along on Instagram to see what I am up to.

The holiday season is always a busy time for our family. We have to buy presents, find recipes, ask the neighbour to feed the cat, buy groceries, some family members have to take a shower (I will not name any names), cook, pack bags, and load the car. We spent Christmas at my in-laws, where my husband and eldest son were cooking dinner. Can you imagine our 7 seat Toyota fully packed, turkey and all? I couldn’t even close the car boot door. But we made it there, and back, without leaving anyone behind.

The new year started with a household disaster. The washing machine stopped working and the next day the dishwasher refused to clean the dishes. Husband and boys left the house, leaving me to deal with broken appliances and repairman. I bought a new washing machine in about 10 minutes. I work from home and just couldn’t handle a messy kitchen ànd make decisions like repair or replace. I probably paid too much, it’s a German, but I’m back in business!

Speaking of kitchens, for the first blog post of the year I decided to join the Urban Jungle Bloggers again. Igor and Judith believe that greens belong in all areas of our life, so this month they want to encourage us to show you the plants in our kitchen.

I don’t have many plants in our kitchen, but I do have a few succulents on the shelves. I should probably move them into larger pots, but they look so cute in these coffee cups. Last year I also grew herbs on the kitchen windowsill, but in summer, I transplanted them into the garden where they were eaten by slugs. I now know that slugs are especially fond of basil. I should start some herb seeds again, good idea!

I do always have flowers on my kitchen table and the kitchen is also where I take most of my pictures. I have two windows in the kitchen, a luxury, so usually I have enough light.

The cat is an important part of our kitchen. His name is Poemie, after the cougar (poema in Dutch) he thinks he is, and he is always hungry. He loves bacon and eggs, but he will also eat uncooked spaghetti if that is the only thing he can find. He is very naughty, forever jumping on the table and the countertop. He spends a lot of time in the kitchen, always keeping me company when I am cooking. Constantly meowing, even when he has just been fed. He is our favourite cat.

Each time I try to put together an Urban Jungle blog post, I realize I am better with flowers than with plants. I love taking pictures of flowers. I am not very good at styling and flowers don’t need much styling. I like it simple, like these amaryllises. But I do love plants and the Urban Jungle community! And I totally support the idea of bringing more greens into your home, greens with or without flowers. I hope you aren’t too disappointed with the amount of plants in this post.

Urban Jungle Bloggers is a monthly series hosted by Igor Josifovic of Happy Interior Blog and Judith de Graaff of JOELIX.com. Every month they and many other bloggers from around the world share ideas to create an urban jungle through styling ideas, DIYs, and green tips & tricks. If you want to join in, find out how on their website. You can also join via Instagram, by tagging your pictures with #urbanjunglebloggers.