Category: Life & Home
Growing Succulents in Style
Starting your own succulent garden
Starting your own succulent gardenWhile in California, I discovered the fun of growing succulents.
Walking around the beautifully manicured streets of the south bay, I saw so many gorgeously landscaped yards with cacti, aloe, and echeveria varietals just…growing. In the yard. (Can you tell I’m a northern gal?!)
I decided I would become a succulent hobbyist. (That’s a thing. I asked Pinterest.)
I went to SummerWinds nursery in my tropical themed tank from Merch Nerds (more on that later) and picked out a couple succulent plants. My favorite was an Echeveria Elegans, a native to Mexico succulent with frosty mint green rosettes that bloom delicate pink flowers with yellow tips.
After photographing them for Instagram (naturally), I researched how to take care of them and start a succulent garden.
Two Ways to Grow Succulents
They can thrive indoors in a pot anywhere or outdoors if you live in certain zones. Quick test: is it like a desert where you live? If yes, plant succulents indoors. No? Mmm, better not, but you can create an indoor succulent garden in a wide bowl. Potted succulent gardens can be gorgeous. Just look at these ones I found at the nursery:
For more inspiration, check out Succulent Garden on Pinterest.
Choosing Your Succulents
I asked the garden center and asked a ton of questions, because my succulent knowledge was low. Here’s what I learned. Some succulents spread on their own, like the Hen and Chicks variety, while some don’t. All are fairly similar in terms of the care needed.
I think just choosing the ones you like the best is the best way to start a succulent garden. See what’s available and go from there. You can add decorative landscaping rock for looks as seen in the succulent bowl above, but you don’t have to.
Caring for Succulents
I’m not an authority on succulents yet, but here is some succulent care advice I’ve picked up from experts so far.
Water them fully, then let them dry completely. If it’s a pot, put it in the sink and water it until the water runs out the bottom. Then don’t water it again until the soil is dry when you touch it. This will likely be about once a month but it could vary depending on how dry your air is.
Make sure your succulent is in a pot that drains! They don’t like their roots sitting in water. And if you have a rosette like my Echeveria Elegans, water the soil and not the rosette itself or the moisture can cause it to rot.
Obvi, they need a lot of light. Keep them away from cold windows, especially at night in cold climates.
Outfit Details
Big thanks to the clever graphic tee company Merch Nerds for this pineapple tank. It’s organic cotton and so soft and comfy! They have tons of other styles and colors on their website, including a cactus tee! How perfect is that? I also really love the Mermaid Off Duty style because if you haven’t heard, I like mermaids.
P.S. if you want to know why buying organic clothing is important to me, read this.
What do you think of my new found succulent gardening hobby? Drop your green thumb wisdom my way!
3 Steps to the Best Single Valentine’s Day Ever
So you’re single on Valentine’s Day. A fate worse than death, if you ask some people. Personally, I am 100% convinced that the holiday peaks in first grade with pink heart crafts and everyone in the class getting a Valentine card.
“Who is this sad girl?” You’re probably asking yourself. “And why is she indifferent to the world’s most romantic holiday?” The day is one of my favorites, actually. I was obviously born to make crafts for it. I just think of it as an equal opportunity holiday that can be enjoyed (and laughed at) no matter one’s dating status.
How to enjoy Valentine’s Day while single
So how do you make it a fun single Valentine’s Day? According to one of my friends, it’s a three-step process:
- Abandon all hope
- Embrace that this is it
- Treat yo’ self with the money you would have spent on your significant other
It’s not a bad list really, but let me offer an alternative 3-step list.
1. Show your single pride.
Turn off the dating apps. Time is not of the essence. Having no date is better than an awkward first date, if you ask me (or any sane person). Instead, sport a funny shirt which does double duty by embracing how awesome your single self is while subtly announcing your status (just in case the cute guy in your building notices). Awesomely, you can get this shirt at one of my favorite online places to shop, Etsy, along with other classics including “If you’re single and you know it pet your cat” and “Just a single mom trying to raise my plants.”
2. Host a Galentine’s Day party.
You do the cute ice skating and dinner date with heart-shaped cheesecake once and you’re good, honestly. But getting together with your squad never gets old. Contrary to popular belief, a party with your single friends doesn’t need to be a sad affair where everyone drinks wine while silently swiping through Tinder. It also doesn’t need to just include single friends. Get all your favorites together for a Galentine’s Day brunch or gift exchange. If you do a gift exchange, just please promise me you’ll bring a cat bonnet as your gift.
3. Do a cute craft
Crafting endorphins are a real thing, but I cannot prove it because I am not a scientist. DIY something cute like these envelopes for your single friends, or make a cake banner for your Galentine’s party. Or this pretty decor idea from Michael’s:
These three steps will bring back some of the everyone-gets-a-valentine joy from elementary school. And remember no matter what happens on February 14th, you’re not the guy who got friend zoned on Instagram.
Check out my other posts if you need a laugh at Valentine’s Day’s expense!
How to Take Photos That Look Like Your Life Isn’t Falling Apart
Does your life look perfect enough online?
Recently a friend and I were talking about how perfect some people appear on social media. We know it’s not really that way of course….right?
She flipped on her phone. “Look,” she said, “See this picture I posted?” It was a beautiful new porcelain compost container photographed against the pure white tile of her renovated suburban home. “It looks like it’s from a magazine,” I said.
“Yeah, well it was the only square foot of real estate I could find that wasn’t covered in clutter, cat hair and dust,” she responded. Well, she fooled me with just one photo. And she fooled the forty other Facebook followers who called her a goddess from heaven sent to teach the people of earth about sustainable housekeeping.
Those picture perfect couples holding hands in matching flannel shirts still fight. Their beautiful smiling babies still vomit all over their work clothes right before they’re ready to walk out the door. And that friend #blessed with a promotion at #dreamjob still has days she can related to this:
How to use photography to make it seem like your life isn’t falling apart: A Definitive Guide
You, too, can have a picture-perfect life online. As a lifestyle blogger I’ll teach you what you need to know. The trick, my friends, is how to successfully curate your life to look good. To look like it isn’t…you know, falling apart. This might sound difficult to achieve but it’s actually really, really easy with just four steps.
Make it look like your life isn’t falling apart in four easy steps
1. Cropped AF. 90% of lifestyle photography is cropping the shot until there’s nothing ugly in the background. If the clutter doesn’t make it into the shot, is your house still a trash heap? The answer is a definitive no.
2. Add Sugar. Nothing makes your photos look classy like macarons, frosted donuts and cupcakes. This makes it appear as though you have nothing but time on your hands to sip a latte at a Parisian cafe and not worry about calories. After you take the photo of a single donut, eat the entire the box and tell no one. Calories don’t count if they aren’t Instagrammed.
3. Pretend to Love Minimalism. Uh-oh, people might start to notice that you’re wearing the same clothes in all your photos. Tell your Instagram followers you are creating a “capsule wardrobe.” This will make you temporarily forget the fact that you want to cry into your undone piles of laundry at night.
4. Use Creative License on Captions. “Great start to the day! I hiked a mountain and did yoga at the summit while the sun rose. #morningslikethese.” Caption your photos to successfully deflect away from the fact that you’re in yoga pants today because it’s a day that ends in -y, not because you actually worked out.
At the end of the day, we use social media to add beauty to a dark world. It’s reality mixed with a healthy dose of aspiration. So when you’re depressed about where your life is going, just scroll your own Instagram feed. You are a badass bitch who has at least one square foot of clean house, eats sprinkle donuts for breakfast, has a faux capsule wardrobe and did yoga once. Don’t let your real self forget: you are amazing.
Want more satire? Check out How to Shop For Baby Clothes.
Make a Cake Banner for Valentine’s Day
Want to be the hit of the party? Make this too-cute-for-words cake topper
I made this cake that’s free of gluten and refined sugar for a meeting last week. Absolutely no one who knew me was surprised when I brought out a white cake stand, pink cake and Valentine’s Day cake banner, because cutesy decoration is kinda my thing. However, I was a little surprised at how well it went over. My ultra-healthy treats aren’t always the hit of the party but this cake was definitely the exception. I read once that pink makes sweets look irresistible! I think this cake topper definitely proves that true. Everyone couldn’t wait to dig in, and I think the aesthetic presentation played a big part in that.
Make a Valentine’s cake topper
Ready to make a cake banner? The best part is that’s it’s really easy but looks totally impressive when it’s done.
Step 1: Cut four or five triangles of fabric. The fabric can be of your choice. If you have heaps of fabric scraps like I do, this is a perfect use for them. Upcycle those fabric scraps!
Step 2: Then I used tacky glue on the triangle’s edge to affix it to the string. I used If You Care cooking twine because I love their Eco-friendly, unbleached cooking products, but you can use any twine or yarn you like.
Step 3: Then tie the ends of the string onto two chopsticks or bamboo barbecue skewers. After it’s dry it’s ready to place into the cake. I made the topper the same day and it was ready to go. The tacky glue dries quickly, but you could use hot glue if you want it ready even faster.
I hope you enjoy this cake topper as much I did! It’s definitely an easy way to wow your guests at any event. There is always an occasion to celebrate with cake!
If you’re in the Valentines’ Day spirit, read on with Valentine’s Day Gift Guide. If you need a laugh and aren’t easily offended, check out one of my most popular posts of all time, Vintage Valentines That Didn’t Age Well.
Polly Pocket of the 1990s
In the 90s, there was a girl named Polly Pocket. She was an inch tall and lived in some pretty fancy little hinged plastic houses, leading an active life of skiing at Swiss chalet resorts, swimming in water park oases, attending school, and enjoying her many luxury properties.
As the decade drew to a close, Polly Pocket became larger (and presumably less of a choking hazard). Anyone who has seen the original 90s Polly Pocket will know that this change was an abomination. Polly is supposed to be about an inch tall and actually fit in a child’s pocket. Mattel has apparently put the toy line out of its misery for the time being, pausing manufacture in 2015.
After finding some of the original Bluebird Toys 90s Polly Pocket editions made in England, I was reminded that these toys were pretty genius. EBay and Etsy think so too! If you have any 90s Polly Pocket toys still in your possession, most are going for around $10- $30. I’ve seen some for closer to $100, but I’m not sure how fast they’re selling at those prices. Complete sets, the Disney collection and sets still in the packaging are being sold at $150-$500.
Polly Pockets Ranked in Order of Glamorousness
After photographing some 90s Polly Pocket sets in their natural habitats, I realized that A) Polly is super rich, and B) She kind of has many lives. I’m confused-is she one person or many? Does she just have a lot of friends, or multiple personas? While we’re waiting for an answer to this, let’s take a look at a few of the many diverse incarnations of Polly Pocket, ranked in order of glamorousness.
4. Ski Chalet Polly Pocket
Polly’s parents own several ski chalets in St. Moritz, including one just for Polly. Polly tells her friends back at boarding school that she’s an avid skier, but really she just takes a lot of selfies in the chalet, eats Muesli and doesn’t clean up her boots. It also appears in this photo that she lost her arm to frostbite in an avalanche.
3. Prep School Polly Pocket
Polly only gets the best, so she attends an elite prep school with a maximum enrollment of 3. How else would she get the proper attention for piano lessons, computer skills, swimming class and remedial math?
2. Tropical Resort Polly Pocket
Each year, Polly goes on a tropical vacation to a private island. It’s an educational trip to learn about ecosystems, but let’s be real: there’s totally a water park inside this island vacation house.
1. Rooftop Garden Mansion Polly Pocket
Polly Pocket’s mansion was decorated by a team of designers from Paris and Milan. The retractable roof garden is what makes it truly unique. It’s ideal for hosting brunch parties and was voted “#1 most Instagrammed mansion” by Polly Pocket Weekly. All the plants are grown organically and the mansion is powered by sustainable energy.
Want more throwback posts? Check out Ode to the 80s. And let me know your Polly Pocket memories in the comments.
