Living Walls...

It seems like they are all the rage right now, so of course I'm crazy about them. I was inspired by one planted up by Flora Grubb Gardens below. It was a bit out of my price range, so I worked with what I had.



I had a 9.5"x11.5"shadow box I found at a thrift store quite a few years ago that was a perfect container to get me started. We drilled holes at the bottom, filled it up with succulent soil and topped it off with a wire screen. I purchased succulents in a variety of sizes. 1 gallon pots are a better purchase because you can divide them into many plants. "Holes" were cut in the wire screen to plant each succulent. I let the completed box grow for about 2 months before we hung it up.





I was so excited as the small one grew in, I decided to plant a bigger box! This time I recycled a mud flat container (the plastic tray ground covers are sold in). I planted it, excluding the wire screen, let it grow for about 2 weeks. K built a frame around it using recycled lumber. We were a bit more inpatient with this box, so we ended "wiring" the plants in place before we hung it.



The finished size is 21"x21". This box was so heavy we installed it with HUGE bolts! I'll have to get K's help to take it down for me so we can water it, thankfully succulents don't need too much water!



“I consider it the highest compliment when my employees go out and start their own companies in competition with me. I always send them a plant to wish them well. Of course, it's a cactus.”
~ Norman Brodsky

Birthday Picnic

So this is what turning 34 is about huh? It use to be all about the party, but all I wanted this year was to relax and check out a few places. K, Mochi and I were planning to go to the beach but we spent yesterday in gloomy weather at Bodega Bay and we all felt we needed some sunshine today!


Mochi was super excited to be at the park on a Tuesday afternoon with no one around but us!


I had a bag full of cameras to play with! I'm especially hyped over the new Fujii Instax Polaroid I got for a birthday gift from K! I used up the 10 pack in just one sitting! I also received a Lomography Fish Eye camera as another b-day gift, but I don't have any of those shots yet as it uses good o' fashion film.


We all had a good time soaking up sun, pounding back beers (which I haven't done since I was 21) and chasing the birds! Thank you all for the awesome well wishes it's nice to know people are thinking about me on my birthday!

"Inside every older person is a younger person – wondering what the heck happened?"
- Anonymous

The Conservatory

A few weeks ago, we visited the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco. They have an awesome plant collection and I needed some inspiration to lighten up this dreary weather!

The textures of the leaves were unbelievable!

My camera lens started to fog up (can't be good) when I was taking this shot, but it gave the photo a mystical look.

A teenie tiny orchid magnified!

The trunk of a tortoise plant.

The unfurling of a carnivorous plant.

These specimens are to gorgeous to be carnivorous!







"My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view."
~ H. Fred Dale

Polaroid Tuesday :: Week 12

"I've given you sunlight, I've given you rain. Looks like you're NOT happy, less I open a vein"
~ Seymour (Little Shop of Horrors)

Oh weekend...

i've been waiting for you since Monday!


“I reject your reality and substitute it for my own.”
~ Adam Savage

Scavenger Hunt Birthday

K started off his birthday running around the house in search of these tags...



Each tag was tied to one of these...



Each Balloon tied tag lead him to a gift...

He discovered a cooler packed with his favorite beer with this find!

After trips to the closet, movie drawer, garage, storage he ended up at the hammock in the front yard...



It was fun for me to watch, but there were many close calls to him finding out what I was up to! This included exploding balloons as I was filling them while he was sleeping, Mochi barking at the balloons while I was trying to set them up around the house in the middle of the night, K wanting to get the cooler the night before and I made it obvious by screaming "NO", K wanting to buy Avatar when I already purchased it for the hunt!

All in all I think he had a GOOD time!

“Before beginning a Hunt, it is wise to ask someone what you are looking for before you begin looking for it.”
~ Winnie the Pooh

Polaroid Tuesday :: Week 11

“Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant?? I'm halfway through my fish burger and I realize, Oh my God....I could be eating a slow learner.”

~ Lynda Montgomery

City Wide Garage Sale 2010

I really enjoy critter pots....don't you?

I keep finding these old school scales lately..and I can't resist picking them up.

The madam I picked these up from said that these were her mother's old spools...I told her I'll take the whole box worth!

How chic is this sewing case?

This is my best find of the day!!!!

It's a child size sewing machine! It's about a third of the size compared to a regular machine. Adorable!

"Three dollars and it only transports matter?!”
~ Homer Simpson

Polaroid Tuesday :: Week 10

"Within the woods, whose young and half transparent leaves scarce cast a shade, gray circles of anemones danced on their stalks."
~ William Cullen Bryant,

I officially Suck at Blogging

I'll be back in 2 shakes of a lamb's tail...I promise!

Polaroid Tuesday :: Week 9

“To carry his load without resting, not to be bothered by heat or cold and always be content:
these three things we can learn from a donkey”
~ Indian Proverb

Mushroom Land

We took Mochi out for a hike last weekend and discovered these hidden beauties!




These were growing on a tree!



A toadstool?

A sea anemone?

K took this awesome photo!

A toppled shroomie!

"All mushrooms are edible...once."
- A Fact

Polaroid Tuesday :: Week 8

"Beauty’s where you find it."
- Madonna

Do You Have The Winter Blues?

This Blue Bird is cozy in his hand crafted house!

Love his acorn hat.

This blue bird was inspired by Jennifer Murphy's bird. But this lovely is needle felted!

I can hear some one's heart (Senorita M) in Santa Barbara pitter pattering right now!

"And when he sings to you, Though you're deep in blue, You will see a ray of light creep through, And so remember this, life is no abyss, Somewhere there's a bluebird of happiness. Life is sweet, tender and complete, when you find the bluebird of happiness"
- Bluebird of Happiness, lyrics by Edward Heyman & Harry Parr Davies

Polaroid Tuesday :: Week 7

"Not only is the universe stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine."
~ ARTHUR EDDINGTON

Cutting The Tree...

This image almost seems like it was a cool and misty day.

It was quite the opposite though.

Love the holiday colors on this door!

“The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree is the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other”
~ Burton Hill