Current Decor Obsession: Succulents

Plants! We eat them, wear ugly shoes to hike on trails in the middle of them, buy them in mass quantities at extraordinary prices for Valentine's Day and (perhaps best of all) we decorate our homes with them. Mother Nature can be the best source for decor when you want something fresh and alive in your home. And Mother Nature made Flora Grubb the fairy godmother of greenery so we can all have cool-looking indoor plants. I love FG's work, her shop and the general idea of indoor succulents- so have a look:

The cafe area of Flora Grubb's namesake shop in San Fransisco

Inside the FG shop, featuring one of her hanging installations

A historic home in San Fran with one of FG's vertical succulent gardens

Another shot of the Flora Grubb store. I want this to be my backyard!

DIY instructions for making and framing your own vertical succulent garden!

Not the work of FGrubb, but this event space has an awesome "living wall" with giant succulents!

Would you add a few more plants or a vertical garden to your home? Do you already have one? And am I crazy for thinking these are cool?! Also, I have started an herb garden but planting won't start until temperatures are a little warmer here, so in the meantime, does anyone have any herb garden advice? (or for plants in general since I can only keep succulents alive and that is only because succulents are indestructible?)

DIY: Yarn Vases (Better than it sounds, trust me!)

***This post will start wedding-related, but don't worry, it is also an everyday DIY***

I don't want to become a Bridezilla so I constantly remind myself to keep things calm and simple. Weddings aren't cheap and I don't want my guests hungry and bored but I would rather save for our next house or have a fantastic honeymoon than a flashy wedding, so I think I will cancel the flying trapeze act. That being said, I like things the way I like them, so how am I going to reconcile my taste with my self-enforced budget? DIY projects! (Not too many or I will probably dream that I have gone to a hell where Martha Stewart forces me to make individual pieces of confetti from organic paper sourced from sustainable trees that were felled with butterfly sneezes instead of saws and each bit of confetti will have to be stamped with certification that no butterflies were harmed in the process of making said confetti. This is if I get to sleep the week prior to the wedding, which does not seem likely when I am planning long-distance.) A little crafting is relaxing in a zen-like, repetitive way, so I have dabbled a bit in crafts found on Pinterest:

This pin of bottles wrapped in twine made me think about different color options of yarn and since I had an empty wine bottle (it was empty from the night before, Mom, it was not breakfast) and an empty salsa jar, I thought I would start (w)rapping. hehe

All you need for this project is yarn/twine, a bottle or two willing to participate and some craft glue. I would also wash your jars thoroughly so your projects don't carry the faint odors of booze and onions, unless that's your thing...

Glue the end of your string to the bottom of the bottle and let it set for a few minutes so further wrapping doesn't tug it loose. I made zigzags of glue on the bottle's surface and then wrapped it. The wine bottle (left pic) turned out alright but I was not excited about the sporadic discolored blobs caused by my overzealous glue usage. For the salsa jar (below, right) I used the same process but I stuck my hand in a ziplock baggie and used my index finger to smooth out any glue bumps before wrapping the jar, so that one had much more even texture.

I love ranunculus flowers and envision them for the wedding, blah blah blah, so when I was at Trader Joe's, I picked up a bunch and viola, the jars are complete! (Ignore the TV and surround sound towers in the background, but not the coiled rope pot form Anthropologie that inspired my interest in textured vessels).

I left the wine bottle on the coffee table and moved the salsa jar to the dining table and added my brass cricket (from here) to make a quick centerpiece:

I am pretty sure I live in a cave because I had all the lights in the house on and my pictures still came out so dark! Anyway, what do you think of the vases? Any other variations I should know about? Is anyone else out there DIYing his/her little heart out?

Back on the Chain Gang!

I have been wanting to make a new necklace for some time, but haven't been a fan of anything I have whipped up lately. In need of inspiration, I did a little searching and a little pinning (it's an addiction I fully admit to having) and found some great chain necklaces that I would love to DIY. Some aren't feasible projects for an amateur like me, but maybe they'll inspire me to up my game!

1. Lizzie Fortunato Jewels Cosmic View Necklace
2. Dannijo Galapagos Necklace
3. Maison Martin Margiela Twisted Necklace
4. Rachel Leigh Jewelry Estates Soiree Necklace

This isn't a DIY piece, but I loved the color and statement that this Tory Burch Resin Chain necklace makes:

 What have you been inspired to make lately? And where do you look for inspiration?

Well, Hello There!

The past few weeks have not been exceptionally productive for me, but they have sure been fun!! My good friend (her awesome blog here) made her first visit to D-Town and I am happy to report that she made it home alive! hehe. It was great to have her visit and I am already having withdrawals :( but no time to dwell on that because my fiancee's brother is flying in today for his first visit!

[Side note: I love how my visitors excitedly equate Detroit with 8 Mile and Eminem. 8 Mile is just a road and I have never seen Eminem, but if it entices visitors or gives me street cred, I am all for it!]

I have also been looking for a new job-ola, but no luck yet. I have been told it will take a while, (this isn't the most booming metropolis) but I feel like I could do a great job at something if I knew what the heck I wanted. Readers, how have you found your (current) calling? Trial and error? Mystic visions? Jail? Divine intervention? Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.

This is one of my most recent projects: 

I know the next big trend will be earrings, but I love me a statement bracelet and a DIY project!

Are you working on any DIY projects of your own? Any job/soul-searching tips? I hope everyone is having a great week!

Lazy Girl DIY

With two new pieces of furniture to refinish (my post on flea market scores here), I don't have a lot of time for other DIY projects, but let's be honest-- I am picky. I have previously described myself as having Neiman's taste on an Old Navy budget, but I don't think my budget restrictions are insurmountable. A little creativity can tailor anything off the rack to your specifications, from clothing to home decor, and that's what today's post is all about:

I was shopping for the home with the Bf last week and spotted this gray lamp with a base that looks like tree branches. We had to get it because if his rustic, traditional taste and my modern, organic taste can agree on something, it's a keeper. The only problem? The heather gray shade is pretty shoddy. Not very fresh-looking and it does nothing to bring out the cool lamp base.


Where does the DIY come in? I found a white, horizontally pleated lampshade on clearance and swapped it for the dull, gray one:

It's not a brand new lamp, but it does freshen the look quite a bit. Just wait until I repaint the end table it's on, too! (Well, when I get to it--eek!) Gotta get back to the garage and continue stripping paint and re-painting, hope everyone is having a great Monday!

Old People Stuff

Flea markets. You're either all about them or want nothing to do with them. I have seen some adorable furniture and accessories in friend's homes and found out the items were salvaged from a flea market, but on the other hand- used stuff? Do you really know what you are getting into?

Well, I decided to check out the flea market scene this past weekend at the Royal Oak Farmer's Market and was pleasantly surprised. There was a lot of junk, which is to be expected, but there was just as much, if not more, fun and vintage items. I exercised a phenomenal amount of self-control and steered myself away from the costume jewelry cases towards furniture (we are still in need of a lot of furniture since the move, but I am just not into the same-sameness of the big chain stores).

In about 15 minutes, I swooped in on my first two purchases: a coffee table and a metal seat, and then hemmed and hawed about the lamp for a bit before purchasing it (which turned out to be a good thing, which I will explain later).


The coffee table is the perfect size for the living room because although our couch is big (to accommodate lanky limbs) the coffee table will be at a strategic junction of the room-- right in the main pathway connecting the dining area to the hallway to the bedrooms. The coffee table I found is perfect because it is a good length, but a pretty narrow width, so it won't obstruct the pathway. I am pretty sure the coffee table was a bench in its former life, but I think it will work well for our space and I love that the top opens for storage! I am going to refinish it because the shabby chic finish it has now isn't quite my thing, but I will decide what color after I get a living room rug and a few other things...


The metal seat will be perfect for me as perch for putting on my shoes (it will go in the extra bedroom, which has begun to formalize as my dressing room/shoe closet/awesome-jewelry-making-sewing-random-craft-room). I am going to reupholster the seat (natch) and paint the metal a pewter color... or maybe go for rose gold, I can't decide yet ;)


Lastly, the lamp! I couldn't decide if it was cool or odd-looking, but the turquoise glass is a color I was already thinking about for the living room... if I don't steal it for one of the bedrooms. As I mentioned, I couldn't commit to the purchase, so I made my other purchases, loaded them in the car and then went back in to look at other items... which was the perfect amount of time because the vendor marked everything on his tables (including my lamp-to-be) 50% off! Yippee!

OK, to wrap up this lengthy tale, I got the coffee table for $20 (splurge of the day) , the metal seat for only $5, and the lamp at half price for $14-- not bad. I think flea markets might be part of my weekend plans every now and again because there is a lot of history and quite a few unique items to be found if you are willing to look. I will have to put a little money into painting and refinishing, but the prices were so good, I think I can deal ;)

What about you? Are you a flea market junkee or do you steer clear of anything involving the word "flea"?? Also, any unconventional places you love to shop for furniture?

DIY Project: Pant Drawstring Revolution!

I love a good DIY project and this one is especially great because it is so easy! An adult could complete the project in about a minute, or it could be kid-friendly-- if your kid happens to be Tavi ;)

The Project: Upgrade The Draw-String On Your Cargos (from InStyle magazine)



The Pants!
These are my Hinge paper-bag-waist pants. Nicely slouchy, but could use an update.


Forming Attachments
Attach whatever ribbon you choose to the existing belt with a safety pin and pull through


Tying Up Loose Ends
Once you've pulled the old belt out and the new ribbon through, you're done. It's that simple. I love the minimalist-yet-preppy vibe of this gray ribbon with black outside trim. BUT, I am not going to settle for just one belt....


...when I could have two options! I liked the sparkly belt in the magazine example, but I couldn't find anything glam at the fabric store that didn't look cheap. Then I spotted a ribbon embedded with snaps- just enough shine to make it interesting, but it can go from day to night in a cinch (hehe, get it?!)


Now I have two belt options to give a basic black pant more versatility. My only problem will be to restrain myself from wearing them every day! Any DIY projects that you love?

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things:

We all know the song- I won't even bother to quote it, but the cheesiness is relevant. Whenever I have a bad day, I gravitate towards the fun things/activities that cheer me up:

Reviewing the Spoils of Shopping!
I am trying to curb my love of retail therapy, so when I am down, I will rummage through my closet and find something that I haven't worn in a while. That way it feels new and guiltless. Or sometimes I will make a new outfit out of pieces I already own, or simply gaze admiringly at a great deal I snapped up. I got these little flower posts at Anthropologie a bit ago and love wearing them. Best part? $5!


Tasty Treats
I love cooking, (brace yourself for future photo-ops of making dinner), and love making desserts- thanks for the sweet-tooth, Mom- but sometimes a tasty drink and a snack can hit the spot. Should've had these Gin&Tonics with lime and pistachios on St. Patrick's Day in keeping with the color theme...


Vacations
Not well-traveled by any means, folks, but I love a fun get-away. Stress-free, sometimes impromptu, jaunts make me happy. I love driving as much as flying because although it takes longer, pictures on airplanes aren't usually very memorable. Or at least I will say this until I crash my car while snapping pics....


Jewels!
Most gals love a bit of sparkle, (hello, Anthro earrings!), and I like tinkering with the construction of pretty baubles. I haven't taken formal classes, but I have learned things here and there and make what I like. I usually give items to friends or wear them to work until I feel like making something new out of the parts... Below are two sets of simple/silly earrings I made for friends:



I will post some more jewelry photos of what I am envisioning for spring and summer wear next time :) Ever stop and think about the little things that make you happy? I guarantee it will brighten your day, and feel free to share!