terrarium

Josh had been wanting a terrarium forever -- so for his birthday I just went for it. The plants are from Terrain and the vessel is from Target.

Let's see how long we can keep it alive!

To make:

1. Layer the bottom of the vessel with rocks

2. Top the rocks with a good layer of charcoal

3. Next comes the soil

4. Plant the plants! Choose plants that require the same soil and moisture levels.

*We are still on the lookout for small animal figures! It's kind of a must... Preferably something creepy.

saturday

It's Saturday and we have a long list of to-do's. Tomorrow is Josh's birthday (yay!) so I'm trying to finish up a few things and attempt to get the front flower bed's under control. The front bed has been completely empty since last summer -- yes, you read that right, EMPTY. The other flower bed is covered in weeds. I'm not sure why the neighbors don't hate us ... 
Last weekend we just went for it. Josh had been wanting to buy native plants and lucky enough there's a native plant nursery near his school. 
This nursery wasn't like any I have seen -- when you walk in the plants look how they should look in March... no color and kind of boring. The owner helped us pick 3 plants (3 each) and gave us advice on the arrangement. I can't wait to get them in the ground! If you live in the area I highly recommend Red Bud Nursery. It totally makes sense to use native plants, right? We learned that some tropical plants can really throw off the ecosystem and attract some crazy bugs.

Saturday To-Do:

- weed front bed (small)

- drop off clippings at compost 

- dog park

- get mulch

- put mulch on front flower beds

- food shop

- IKEA

- bake cake

- make guacamole

- finish laundry

yogurt bottle

Spring has totally sprung and now I can use my new yogurt bottle vase (thanks, Kaitlin!). I'm obsessed with it -- the color, the shape. I look at it constantly.

This winter we really caught the purging bug. More than ever, we are craving to live with less. Also, the "less" must be beautiful. I find myself looking at every shelf, every drawer, every closet, and wanting to simplify. The world outside is such a hectic place that I want our home to be calm. 

saturday

Winter has been bad on the blog. Even though this winter was amazingly mild, I'm so much less inspired and/or motivated to do anything. But now the windows are open and this is my time. There is so much on our minds -- gardens, a fence, a 1/2 bath. 

We have been dreaming of living somewhere (read: warmer) else for awhile. Nothing that would happen for another few years, but it's fun to dream. Sometimes we can get ahead of ourselves -- so we are constantly reminding each other why we really do love where we live. 

Saturday mornings are easy. It sure would be hard to leave Soltane.

living room: frames

There are just two white frames above the couch. For a year they stayed empty -- two frames are tricky. It would look weird to have two pieces of art next to each other -- would they match or be different/too busy? Would it be a photograph and art? Once again, too much visually. Nothing went together.

But then we became a family. We knew Sauce's PSPCA collar was special -- it stands for something. It symbolizes rescuing, not buying from a pet store. Everyone deserves a home -- that is why this collar is no longer on Sauce's neck. He wears our address instead.

The other frame was a no brainer.

weekend: guests

There are few people in life that you feel totally yourself around. People you know will always support you no matter what. People you wish you could be with every weekend. 

Already planning our next trip to Austin.

laundry

In an effort to be thrifty (read: cheap), we jumped the band wagon and started making our own detergent. Borax, one of the three ingredients, is pretty controversial. Our research deemed it safe (it is a natural ingredient) and please ... bleach is still on store shelves. Borax is the least of my worries.

The clothes smell fresh (almost lemon-y) when in the washer. They smell clean but unscented when taken out of the dryer -- perfect! 

And wow ... we are saving so much money by using this stuff. You only need 1 tablespoon for a large load of laundry!

We followed the recipe/directions from Yellow Brick Home (I'm obsessed with this blog. I want a Sauce portrait so bad!)