Thursday's Randoms

I love how these "dwarf guards" really cater to my love of gnomes.  I think every house should have one or all of these, don't you?

Can't stop laughing over this one...

It's reasons like this that make me wish there was an Urban Outfitters here in Louisville.  Most days I really don't care, but when I see a pretty red sweater with elbow patches on it that won't completely break the bank, I get a little sad.  Thank goodness for the internet, right?  PS - it comes in navy as well!

Hello, beautiful DIY project!  What a great way to arrange some frames.  I'll have to keep this in mind when we go to put ours all up.  

The Pioneer Woman made Indian fry bread and Indian tacos and I am feeling quite nostalgic.  You see, growing up, kids in Wichita, KS would always get to visit the Indian Center.  It was a given that you would eat their incredible tacos while you were there, and it made for the best of times.  So naturally I'm pretty pumped over her post on how to do this.  With fake ground beef, of course :)

Oh how I am in love with this terrarium and its eccentricity.  The billy buttons are the perfect touch!  Be sure to check out other arrangements from Etsy shop Sea and Asters.

Terrariums

Today I have someone very exciting to introduce to you - my sweet friend Maggie!  Mags is pretty awesome.  She takes amazing photographs, cooks, gardens, listens to great music and she's super funny (not to mention plenty of other things).  Being the generous person she is, she is sharing amazing images with us while I'm off enjoying my pre-birthday vacation.  Oh yeah, did I mention I was going on vacation?  I'm heading to Florida today for a 4-day stint in Clearwater.  We're taking advantage of family property with my sister-in-law and her boyfriend and it's going to be awesome.  Then we come back and boom, it's my birthday on Monday!  Okay, back to the point of the post...

How amazing are these terrariums?  With inspiration from Chicago (and Brooklyn) store Sprout Home, Maggie started creating little worlds throughout her home in glass jars.  Living in Chicago can be tough on plants if you aren't lucky enough to have direct sunlight - so the first round of experimentation didn't go so well.  So instead of starting over completely with the real things, she took to the non-living.  Above, you can see terrariums full of bird feathers, rocks and pebbles, a bee hive, books, skulls.

"I just wanted to try and take back control over these worlds that you get to create.  It's almost like photographing, where you get to frame things yourself.  That's what I do when I photograph, you frame stuff and it becomes this whole other world."

So awesome.  Thanks for sharing these, Maggie!  There will be more Maggie awesomeness tomorrow and Thursday.  Be sure to look out for garden + farmers market posts!

* All images by Maggie Faircloth Gresham

spring fever is so contagious

Holy Staghorn Ferns, Batman!  I've got spring fever like you wouldn't believe!  Can you tell??

Last week, I moseyed on over to Sprout Home (dangerous) and with a lot of willpower, walked out with only a single air plant that cost just a few bucks.  Hooray for that willpower, because I could have walked out of there with the entire populace of plants (and candles, pots, flowers, mats).  My love for Sprout Home is unconditional, who's with me?  After paying said visit to the store of all plant stores, it's been hard to get the green guys out of my head.  If it can't be spring (yet) outdoors why not bring it indoors?  Luckily, I have more than plenty of plants indoors to keep me trucking until everything turns green outdoors, and we've got plenty of helpful images right at our fingertips!

Are you a plant kind of person?

All images via Pinterest

Sad plant, need help

My jade plant, the pride and joy of my plant collection for the last 5 years, is looking very sad and near death.  I need help.  I don't know what to do!

Last week, I noticed it was looking a little down in the dumps, so I decided it was time to repot it and try to make it feel better.  I used potting soil because that's all we currently have.  It's worked for me in the past but the last time I repotted this particular guy, I used half potting soil and half cactus soil to give it the combo it longed for.  It's done so well for so long and it's the grandchild of a pretty old plant.  So I can't bear to let it die!

Here's my dilemma.  The soil I used was already sort of damp because it had been on our back porch for awhile.  I thought it would dry up though.  It hasn't.  Today was the first day I went to check on it since I repotted it around this time last week.  The soil is still very wet.  When I removed it from the pot, several of the branches just fell off.  Another one had fallen off on its own and I already repotted the others.  Their soil has dried up though.   I just don't get it!  I fear that if I go to re-repot, that the big branches will rip off and I'll be left with nothing.  Any ideas? Suggestions? Anything?

I feel so attached to the little guy.

In other plant-related news, the jade that has become my husband's pride and joy is thriving.

Plants and, well, confusion

So I have one of these (or something very similar) that I purchased from Sprout Home a year or so ago.  It's doing quite well and it looks pretty hip in its pretty purple pot.  Every time I look at it I feel a sense of calm take over me.  Does that happen to you? (am I crazy?)

This guy, a String of Pearls, is my absolute favorite plant.  I have a teeny tiny version of this now, after the litle rugrat pictured in the post below decided to destroy the giant one.  I cried.  Seriously, am I crazy? I took what remained from the destruction and potted the strings in a wee little pot and now they're sprouting and looking healthy and I feel so successful!  Aren't they neat and weird plants?!

This picture just makes me happy.  If I could have every succulent in this picture in my apartment, I would.  Kitteh doesn't really eat them, surprisingly.  And they're supposed to be good to have around.  So Badger, can you get these all for me, please? Oh and make something for me to put them all on/in?  Thanks. (P.S. it's only $36)

OK so the reason why I'm posting about my love for succulents is because of this.  I know that I am not cut out to have an office job.  I need a job that allows me to feel good about my work and enjoy, I mean thoroughly enjoy what I'm doing.  I enjoy plants.  But the only experience I have with them is that of my own.  And I've lost many a plant.  But I've also brought many a plant back to life.  So what options does this leave me with? Because I'm perplexed.  I don't know what to do with my life so I look to the little things that bring me joy for guidance and inspiration... 

By the way, thanks to everyone who left such encouraging words for me the other day.  I'm sure that it won't be the end of my bridal freak outs but I'm happy to know that I have such a great community to turn to for support! You guys are the best!

Rainy Day Blues

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I've got 'em.  I love rainy days but mainly when I get to stay at home.  I hate coming downtown when it's raining, and today's weather is just plain confusing.  It's been consistently nice out, meaning no jacket, for weeks now.  But today it's only 63 and it's pouring down rain and I'm wearing a sweater?  Nope, not cool.  So I'm just going to stare at these terrariums to make me feel a touch better, and maybe do some honeymoon research to lift my dampened (har) spirits.  If only I could nap....

These are pretty cool, but the price is not.  Anybody know of a place to get rad-shaped orbs for cheap?