jaxa, japans equivalent of nasa, recently had a spacecraft return to earth after being in space for 7 years. the hayabusa travelled on an asteroid during its space exploration to research and retrieve samples for further studying. landing a spacecraft on an asteroid and returning it to earth sounds so sci-fi to me.

below is a really cool video of the hayabusa re-entering earths atmosphere as it lit up the australian sky. most of the spacecraft disintegrated during re-entry.

– ryan

we are so excited about the most amazing popsicles EVER!!! banana pudding popsicle? made with real bananas and wafers? sold from a cart by the nice guy that made them? yes, have some. the king of pops handcrafted popsicle cart can be found in the highlands at the corner of north ave and north highland ave by the gas pumps at buddy’s. you will find stephen carse and his cart from 3 – 7 pm on weekdays and 12 – 7:30 pm on weekends.

these tasty treats-on-a-stick are fashioned after paletas, which are latin american popsicles made from fresh fruit. the king of pops features unique and interesting flavors you won’t find in grocery stores. they are made by hand each morning with local and organic ingredients and are a perfect refresher during this summer heat.

after losing his job, stephen decided to pursue an idea of opening a paletas cart after enjoying the frozen delights on travels through latin america. he perfected his recipes, got a cart, secured a street corner, and began selling his delicious treats!

you can follow the king of pops on twitter to find out his daily menu. today’s menu is: grapefruit mint, strawberry margarita, chocolate tarragon, pineapple with blueberry tip, lemon basil, banana pudding, and cantaloupe with cream & ginger.

be sure to get there early, most days the popsicles sell out. the prices are 1 for $2.50 or 5 for $10, so stock up and be the hit at your next pool party. you can also find the king of pops at irwin street market, super jenny, and various atlanta festivals.

– ryan & gub

king of pops

1079 north avenue ne
atlanta, ga 30307

with our hydrangeas in full bloom, we’ve been keeping fresh flowers throughout the house. the problem is our cut flowers kept wilting after only a few hours, which was very frustrating. we decided to look for a remedy and take action.

here’s what we found worked best for keeping hydrangeas fresh after cutting them from a garden. first, cut the flowers in the early morning when the weather is cool, not in the afternoon heat. be sure to bring a pitcher or bucket of water and place the flowers in the water right after cutting. when ready to arrange, cut the stems at an angle under cold tap water and dip the flower tips into a bottle of alum powder, found in the spice section of most grocery stores. after dipping, place the flowers in a vase filled with water. that’s it.

we’ve used this method numerous times now and it totally works! it’s impressive how much longer our cut hydrangeas last.

– ryan & gub

we were quite delighted to find three cucumber in our garden that were ripe and ready for picking. yeah to our first crop of the season! we can’t wait for more vegetables to harvest.

– ryan & gub

here is our garden at four weeks.

we planted our cute little garden on the 15th of april, here’s what we are growing:

here is our garden at six weeks.

we ended up losing our one artichoke plant early on and replaced it with another much younger tomato plant to try and stagger the tomato harvest a bit.

here is our garden at seven weeks.

everything is thriving pretty well, although something pesky keeps biting off our squash blossoms. they aren’t even eating them, just leaving them on the ground. which is even more annoying. we are working on fencing in the garden and bought some organic insecticide as well, so hopefully we’ll get that under control soon.

– ryan & gub

i visited barnsley gardens over the weekend while doing a film project with the yacht rock revue. it’s located about an hour and a half north of atlanta in adairsville, ga at the base of the blue ridge mountains. these days, barnsley gardens functions as a resort where you can stay, play golf, quail hunt, or have your wedding. there is also a historic district on the grounds where godfrey barnsley originally built his mansion and gardens featuring flowers from around the world. here you can visit the beautiful 160-year-old heirloom gardens, a museum, and the mansion ruins.

the ruins were really amazing! it felt like you were walking around in what’s left of an old european castle. there were these great vines growing all over the walls, adding to its mystique. i was envious of the event going on while i took photos, having a party in the ruins of an 1840s mansion seemed like the best thing ever. the museum had photos of the estate before it fell to ruins and if you are lucky enough to catch the curator, an oral history of the barnsley family and gardens as well.

barnsley gardens is very beautiful and has a rich history. even if you’re not looking to stay at the resort, the heirloom gardens, ruins, and museum are open to the public and definitely worth the drive for a short getaway from atlanta.

– ryan

barnsley gardens

597 barnsley gardens road
adairsville, ga 30103
770-773-7480