african violet

I have a love/hate relationship with plants. I love the idea of having them, taking care of them, and looking at them. Like the morning glories, basil buds, and the lettuce.  But they hate me. They hate me so much that they've died. We have no outdoor space. Just a covered "front porch" in the back of a building that gets zero light and tons of strange sideways Tennessee rain. We do have the roof of the bar-b-que out our kitchen window, but it isn't ours to use, and there our constantly men up there working on stuff. Basically, not the place to start a garden. Have I told you that we live on top of a restaurant? We do.

Growing up, my Grammie and Bumpa {yes, weird name for Grandpa} owned a movie store in Vermont and someone lived on top of it. I romanticized the idea. I always thought it would be the most awesome place to live. Who knew that our first home would be on top of a bar-b-que? Most people wouldn't be able to say that it's a dream come true, but I honestly can. 

Wait, we were talking about my love murder of plants. Back in October we got an African Violet plant. 

I didn't tell you about it because I was afraid it would die. I didn't want you to get attached. {just kidding. i know i'm the only one who gets attached to things that don't have personalities} When we got it, it was entirely leafy. The thick velvet leaves were what attracted me to it. It gives our kitchen window sill a little texture. But now it is past that entirely leafy stage. This week, it decided to flower. 

You should have seen the flower in its innocent search for the sun. Pressing against the window, hoping maybe to drink in the relentless showers we've been having. 

In ten years I hope to have a giganormous garden in a fenced in back yard. At that point, I'll look back on this insignificant flower post and remember this apartment. I imagine I'll miss it. There's something beautiful about first times. So here is our first plant that flowered, in our first apartment. I'm pretending that takes this post from silly to beautiful.