Currently Obsessed with: Terrariums

If you haven't noticed, terrariums are back in style. Of course, they were big in the '70's and now all the hipsters are into them. Check out here and here if you don't believe me.

Anyway, wanting to do something a little different with my plants, I gave it a go, with excellent results.

I found the glass dish at the Salvation Army for a couple bucks. This one is my favorite.

I had this one under the skylight in the bathroom, but the cats were too interested in it so I had to move it somewhere less prominent. Luckily, the fern will tolerate low light.

I call this "desert bubble." I love how this one looks with the different textures and colors. I tried using lava rock for the first time and I love it. It looks so perfect with the succulents.

This terrarium is keeping it simple with a piece of driftwood and soft green Kalanchoe.

More Plant Action

I just couldn't wait to share my new discovery. I work with elderly people in one darn-nice retirement/assisted living facility.

The other day, I was walking around the building and came across an area of large windows full of plants, mostly succulents! So today I came prepared with my camera.

This lightbulb terrarium is captivating.

This is my most favorite plant in the collection. A mini Black Aeonium.

The rosettes are the size of a quarter.

Great-looking Burrow's Tail.

This is another neat aeomium. Love the woody stems.

The joy of plants in unexpected places!

Rotary Gardens

I hope every one had a great Labor Day weekend. Sunday I visited the Janesville Rotary Gardens, which has been on my list of places to visit this summer. It was so beautiful!

The highlight for me was the Japanese gardens section. There are few things more beautiful than a Japanese garden.

This raked gravel zen/rock garden was so lovely.

There were several of these large metal and stone lanterns scattered about. I have to get my hands on one of these for my future garden.

That's my gorgeous sister in the background

More information on the facinating art of the Japanese garden

All Lit Up

I have been working up a storm around the house. I think with fall and winter coming (ugh...) I'm starting to "nest" and tidy up/spruce up our home.

I've been thinking/planning/preparing a new project that I'm so excited about. I love lamps, so when I saw a DIY pendant lamp article in a craft magazine recently, I nearly flipped my lid. Here it is... drumroll, please:

At Night

And in the light of day.

Here's how I did it:

1.) At Containerstore.com I bought two slatted bamboo wastebaskets (for over $50--ouch, but well worth it)

2;) Once the wastebaskets arrived, I measured a pendant lamp socket I had from another lamp and went to the hardware store and bought a hole saw attachment in the appropraite size for a mere $7

3.) I took one bamboo wastebasket, drew a perfect "X" on the bottom (which will actually be the top of the lamp) to find the center. I attached the hole saw to my drill and carefully drilled a perfect circle through the wood.

4.) A little light sanding made the hole smooth, and my light socket fit perfect.

5.) With a hand saw, I cut off the very bottom of the second wastebasket (which will become the bottom of the lamp) and sand the cut parts smooth.

6.) After a little brainstorming, {I determined the lamp was too heavy to hang directly from the cord of the light socket} I devised a simple hanger for the lamp. I returned to the top part of the lamp and drilled two small holes relatively close to each other, with a drill bit, on either side of the larger hole cut for the socket.

Next, I cut two long lengths of sisal twine and threaded one through each set of small holes. With several knots joining all the pieces of twine, I had a hanger for my lamp.

7.) I lightly sanded the "top" of each wastebasket and spread wood glue evenly over each half. After being lined up perfectly, I weighed it from the top with a heavy book and let it dry overnight, hoping the cats wouldn't knock it over.

8.) I couldn't wait to get up the next morning and hang my fabulous lamp!

I really can't believe how easy this project was. The hardest part was shelling out the $50 bucks for the wastebaskets. I wish I would have photographed each step, but didn't know it would turn out so well.

Hello Happy-Chic!

I am a big fan of Jonathan Adler (I named my cat after him, for God's sake!) and his design philosophy of "Happy Chic," modern and classy meets cheerful and fun. So I kept this in mind when working on my lastest projects.

First, I found this mug on a recent thifting trip:


I have been on the lookout for a footstool to make over, and got my chance this weekend. This beauty was $5. I like this simple shape and the tapered legs--but the brown vinyl and chipped wood needed help!

Ta-da! Some white paint and Ikea fabric made for a total transformation.

Matt found a great spot for it in the living room. We can use it for extra seating when we have guests. Lovely!

Another really simple little project involves a set of white ceramic coasters (also a thift find) inspired by something similar I saw at the MoMa online shop. I cut circles of colorful felt to fit into the coasters. It's a nice pop of cheerful color on our coffee table.

While flipping through the newest issue of Sunset magazine, I came across a fabulous article on a beachy home in San Francisco.

My eye immediately went to all the plants in the window! This is so beautiful--I can't stop drooling over it, even though it looks a lot like our home!

I am envious and inspired by this print-chair-pillow combination. Simple, textural and visiually intriguing. Happy-chic for sure!

Market

It been a couple weeks since we've had a chance to go to the Farmer's Market. So I was really excited this week. We made a b-line to Mark's stand and I was thrilled to see several different types of aloe for sale.

As always, it was a hard decision but I came home with this lovely striped beauty. Towards the beginning of the season, I had admired a much larger version on Mark's table, and was happy to see this one--a small plant for a small price :)

Other items at the market were very vibrant and plentiful, like these green tomatoes.

I was so happy to see these pepper plants--I've wanted one for awhile and the vendor had several varieties. Aren't they pretty?

Honey!

On our way to the market, I stopped to look into the large window of a tailoring shop on the corner. I loved looking in and seeing all her stuff. Very pretty!

Blooming Sanseveria

This one is all Matt! He has two very large, robust snake plants which are now in bloom.
I am proud to say I have a husband with a green thumb. I'm a lucky girl!


The flowers are really delicate and have a nice scent.

We've noticed ants are attracted to the flowers (you can see them if you look at the photo closely). I'm not sure where they are getting into the house, but they are crawling all over the flower stalk. It doesn't look like they are damaging the plant, so perhaps there is a nectar on the flowers they like? Watching them, I cannot figure out what they are doing.

It's Hot--Like it or Not

It's a scorcher here in Wisconsin! This was the scene before we got the air conditioner fixed late last week. Poor babies! They were so hot, they were both napping laying on their backs! Cute, but sad!

Unlike the cats, however, my plants are LOVING the heat, inside and outside the house. My Euphorbia Quadrangularius that I've had maybe a month and a half has sprouted several branches--one of them almost 7 inches long! I think if I looked hard enough I could see it growing!

I can't believe I haven't posted photos of my garden yet this year! It's really looking nice and everyone seems to be very happy and healthy.

I found this fun hippo planter at an antique store recently. How cute is he?!

One of my favorite plants is this fan aloe. It's been doing very well, despite frequent re-pottings to find a good fit.

A shot of most of the garden. Adler loves to come out and chew on the catnip growing in pots.

I have an absolutely beautiful cactus bloom that just started to open last week.

Amazing--I love cactus flowers!!

In-between taking care of all my plants, I've had a little time for thrift shopping :) These are my finds over the last weekend. My favorite is the pair of vintage owl mugs I got for $.69 each. I found a really great hand-woven wool table runner, a cool book on houseplants from the '70's, an interesting book about the desert (I adore the cover design), a roll of funky paper that I can frame, and a pair of brand-new baskets that can be hung on the wall. What a haul--and it all looks so pretty together!