The Back!

The back part of the house was the first thing that we tackled. We turned the small space beside the sidewalk into a planter for veggies and herbs, as well as a few flowers. Hopefully, once the nice summer weather kicks in, they’ll be thriving.

Our grass is coming in really great, too. Never had sod before but it’s pretty awesome!

Why is this Dianthus so huge? That’s because it is from last year. We had such a mild winter it never died and came back this year with A TON of blooms. This image is not color-enhanced, it’s really that bright!

My lovely, lovely anemone. It is blooming like crazy right now.

Bog rosemary. Couldn’t resist, it looked so neat!

I also picked up these fence planters on sale. They look great with some succulents in them.

The Front!

The front of our house was a multi-step project. We started with the smallest planter. I had to rip out an azalea (who plants one of these in full sun? No wonder it was half dead) and I replaced it with a Sedum. I’ve also got some other lovely flowers planted there that I can change from year to year.

Here’s a close up of my ranunculus.

The left side of our porch was the next thing I tackled. After moving an arborvitae bush (which I learned I am quite allergic to, after getting hives), I replanted the azalea along with a little friend for it. It is in full bloom!

I added some shade loving plants (another anemone, love those things!) and left some space for a future columbine that might call it home.

The large planter in front of our house was the biggest challenge, because, well, it was sooo big. It was a lot of mulch to remove and a lot of dirt to move around.

At the heart of our planter, we decided to put in a pretty Japanese maple. It’s slow-growing so it should stay a manageable size for the space for quite some time. I have always wanted one, so I’m happy that it worked for our space. Since we don’t have a big car, the guys from Home Depot were nice enough (or crazy enough, you decide) to let us wheel the tree on one of their carts the mile or so to our house. My husband took care of that, which meant that I got to dig the massive hole for it. Not fun, but it got done and the tree is looking great!

Here are some close-ups of some of our other picks.

Dianthus

Pincushion Plant

Cranesbill

Veriegated Weigelia (small now, but it will get very large.)

The maple took over for this pine tree, which is now in a pot. Hopefully we can find it a new home, it will be lovely someplace where it can grow without being obnoxious! It was about two feet from our house before, not an ideal location for a tree that will get 80-100 feet tall.

I also got around to finally putting this little white table I have had forever back together. The nuts had gotten lost a long time ago, but I bought new, got some cute chairs and it’s ready to enjoy! Can’t wait to spend lots of time outside this summer!

One of the best purchases has been these bedside lamps for our room that actually allow me to get enough light to read a book. Fabulous! I love that I can adjust them as needed, too.

I also picked up this chalkboard/key holder/mail holder. It’s working really well so far, though I imagine my husband will abuse the drawing abilities it offers pretty soon.

My big purchase was this rug. It’s a creamy color with flecks of gray, which makes it match enough but not too much. Soon we’ll have some chairs to fill in that bay so it won’t look so empty.

I also finally got around to hanging up our maps and the mirror I got for a steal at the West Elm outlet.

I got a number of frames as well. One to house a great map of Paris landmarks I have, and a couple more to fill up this entryway space. I plan to make a drawing of our house for one and Rob wants to also make a drawing of our house (not sure why) for the other. I finally got to hang up my whale hook, too!

Last but not least, I got a desk chair for my office space. It’s not fancy, but it works and I like that it’s yellow. Makes work a bit more cheerful.

Earlier, I also got around to hanging up some artwork (and my awesome orchid wall planter from West Elm), though I realized that I want to paint the room so I stopped at just a few.

Also, I got these rad floral towels at Target (already had the others, also from Target)! So cute. Can’t wait to paint the room and get it all looking nice.

We hemmed and hawed about what to do in the closet, but ended up going with a pretty simple solution. We just reused the old shelf, installed properly, added a matching one for me, as well as a closet rod in the back of the closet. It’s still not a perfect system, as the door hits both sides (really not well designed) but it works for storing our clothes. We really don’t spend much time hanging out in there anyway.

This time around we made sure to screw everything securely into the studs and actually followed the manufacturer’s guidelines on how far apart to space the support brackets. Now, we can fit all of our clothes in here easily! I’m loving actually having a place to hang my dresses, as they were previously stashed under the bed in boxes.

We’ll eventually have to redo all of the closets in the house, but this is a start!

So far, we’ve discovered these things:

- All of our closets were installed incorrectly.

- Our yard was apparently a garbage pit at some point (we expected some construction garbage, but this is far beyond that)

- One of the bathroom doors doesn’t open correctly

- The builders were not careful about paint or caulk.

- Our living room floor isn’t level

- The steps out front and out back are cracked and loose.

- There are lots of random lumps under the carpet.

- One window in the bedroom doesn’t stay up.

And that’s just what we’ve noticed so far! Who knows what other weird things are lurking.

Aside from those things, living here has been pretty amazing. It feels so good to have room and to actually have a place to put everything.

Here are some photos from our first few weeks in the house.

Living room, part 1.

Living room, part 2.

Dining room. Our table is sooo small in this room.

Kitchen, with lots of yellow!

The office, including a stack of decorative objects that had yet to find a home.

Downstairs bath

The master bedroom, plus cats.

The master bath.

Guest bedroom.

It’s still a work in progress but I’ll update as we make changes/improvements!

The new digs!

Just thought I’d share a few photos in the interim, so as not to completely neglect my blogging duties.

I made a portrait for Rob and myself when we got married, so I decided to do the same for my sister and her new husband. While it doesn’t really look like either of them, I think it came out cute.

I went down the week before the wedding so my parents and I could help her out with wedding prep. Mostly we just hung out and had a nice time. Here are some photos of the drive and fun ol’ San Antonio.

Prickly pear margarita. Do not die without trying one of these.

Weird light in Oklahoma.

Best. Cheese. EVER. It was a mix of fresh marscapone, ricotta, and mozzerella. topped with truffle oil and served with fresh heirloom tomatoes. OMG.

I’ve also been doing a bit of thrifting lately. I’ve found some pretty awesome stuff!

I got this chair and ottoman at the thrift store for just $20. It needs to be recovered but it was cheap and comfy and I think it’ll make a good addition to our new home once it gets a makeover. I’m thinking a similarly colored velvet? I may never get a chance as the cats have claimed it as their own. They seriously aren’t off of it much at all. It’s where they sleep and hang out most of the time.

Sharing, reluctantly.

Also purchased: This rad lamp! I bought a shade at Target to complete it. The Hawaii map was a Valentine’s present for Rob.

I found this super awesome whale hook on eBay and I had to have it. Happy house owning to me!

Just a few more crazy weeks and we’ll be moving into our new house. I can’t wait!

We used to have  a pretty standard bedskirt (also from Ikea) on our bed that you can see here, but it was much too long (see how it’s laying on the floor? Yuck) and pretty quickly got dusty, dirty, and gross past the point of no return. So, I trashed that one (trust me, it was time to put it to rest), and decided to make one that was actually tailored to our bed.

Mission one was finding some plain gray fabric, which, believe it or not, wasn’t easy. Joann, among their hundreds of selections, didn’t have a thing. I ended up driving out of my way to go to Hancock Fabrics which had a great color and it was on sale, too! I also picked up several yards of velcro (not the name brand kind, which is crazy expensive) to use to attach my bedskirt to the bed. Sound weird? Let me explain.

There’s a small (1 inch or so) space between the edge of the wood on the bed frame and the metal parts that hold the slats. Perfect for velcroing a bedskirt into place. This velcroed bedskirt won’ t require going over the slats, can be tailored to fit perfectly to the legs and space between the floor and the bed, and will show off the wood edge of the bed. A perfect solution!

I started by getting all my measurements in order, cutting the fabric, and doing one hell of a lot of pinning. Easy work, yes. Fun work, no. This took quite a bit of time and I was super glad when it was all done. You’ll notice that the velcro gets pinned to the pretty side of the fabric.

Next, I took the mattress off of the bed and pulled back the slats. Around the entire edge of the bed, I hot glued the “hook” side of the velcro strips.  I think eventually staples or another kind of adhesive might be in order for long-term durability, but for now, hot glue is fine. There was one hang up in that I didn’t realize the end of the bed had a bracket on it, but I simply loosened it and slid the bedskirt under.

Then, to the sewing machine! I sewed three individual pieces for the bed, one for each side and a short guy for the bottom. Really easy, as it was all straight lines.

I came back into the bedroom to find these shenanigans happening. Uncool, dudes!

After removing the cats from the top of the mattress, I got to work pairing up the velcro so the bed skirt could hang. Super easy to put on and to take off when it needs to be washed. I put the mattress back, and viola! It looks so much better than it did before.

The cat even came back to try out the bed, horizontally this time.

From L-R we have named them Jeb, Franklin, and Marge.

Background

Marimo is a Japanese word that literally means “ball seaweed” (mari is a bouncy ball and mo is a generic name for water plants) though you might also see them called lake balls or moss balls online. Despite the confusion the names might cause, marimo are technically neither a seaweed nor a moss; they’re actually a somewhat strange form of algae that grows in a sphere as it’s rolled along a lake bottom.

Aegagropila linnaei, as they are known in the scientific world, are fairly rare and are only found in freshwater lakes in Iceland, Scotland, Japan, and Estonia. Why so rare? A sphere is actually a very impractical shape for a plant to take, giving it a low surface-area-to-volume ratio. Additionally, marimo require very specific conditions to thrive, needing cool waters, low light, and constant movement caused by waves or currents to turn them. In many parts of the world where they occur naturally their populations are declining, even with the help of conservation efforts that have made them a protected species.

Sadly, I can’t expect my marimo to get all plump anytime soon. Even in ideal conditions, the balls grow very slowly with most packing on less than 5 mm per year. At least I won’t have to reinvest in containers for them all the time.

Giant marimo in Lake Akan (from Wikipedia)

Care

According to the instructions that came with my little guys, they’re pretty easy to care for, so hopefully I won’t kill them.

Water: Marimo can survive quite happily in tap water that has a moderate pH. Don’t use distilled water as the marimo need the minerals in natural water to survive. Some sites advise against using tap water as there is chlorine added, so perhaps rain water would be best? I really am not sure, but mine seem fine in tap water for the moment. Water must be changed every one to two weeks to keep it fresh, more often in the summer and less often in the winter.

Temp: Marimo don’t really like to be hot so you should ideally keep them in moderate temps. If you can’t keep them cool during in the summer months, stick in them in the fridge for a bit during the hottest part of the day. Just make sure they don’t get too cold, as they will not survive freezing.

Light: You might think that your marimo would love to get bright light, but that might actually kill it. Marimo are adapted to low light conditions and can get burned by the sun (you’ll see brown spots) so keep it in indirect or artificial light only.

I really hope I can keep these guys going until they get nice and big! It’s said that taking good care of a marimo will make all your wishes come true

Marimos chillin. They are in the light for photo purposes only!

Fun stuff

• During the 1920′s in Japan, it was cool to gather marimo from Lake Akan and display them in the home, and many, many people harvested marimo from the wild. The added stress of a hydroelectric dam upriver from the lake  caused them to start dying off in great numbers. An appeal was made to the Japanese people to return their marimo to the lake in an attempt to help the marimo recover. An enormous amount of people responded, and in 1950 the first marimo festival was held at Lake Akan to commemorate this outpouring of support.
• One of the coolest things I’ve noticed about my marimo is that they can rise and sink. When I first got them they were mostly floating, probably from being packed in a dark envelope for several days. Once they started getting light, they sunk back down to the bottom. It’s strange to think of a plant being able to move in this way, but they really do! Some websites say marimo can also roll themselves, repositioning for better light and to shake off sediment.
• Marimo is known as the “love plant” in Japan because of an old myth that tells of a chief’s daughter who fell in love with a commoner. Since their love could never be in their human forms, they changed into marimo and lived happily ever after at the bottom of a lake.
• Marimo balls in their natural habitat break apart when they get too large.  The inert algae in the center is able to start photosynthesizing on its own within 4 to 6 hours of coming into contact with light and immediately starts making a new marimo.
• There is a popular character in Japan called the Marimokkori. Marimo for the algae balls and mokkori for erection. See below for a link to a picture of one of these hilarious guys.

I wish my marimo were this big. Image from Nancy O. on Flickr.

Reference

Want to learn more? Check out these great sites and shops!

Marimo Balls.com: Great reference and place to buy marimo.

Marimo Wiki: All the basics about marimo.

Video of marimos hanging out in a tank (they don’t look real!): This is just kind interesting.

Info about wild marimo in Lake Akan: Learn more about how marimo grow in the wild.

Marimo Company with adorable marimo cartoons: This Korean company has all kinds of little marimo characters. They also seem to sell marimo, but I have a feeling the little guys wouldn’t survive a trip that long.

Marimokkori!: So dirty!

Wendiland and eGardenStudio both carry marimo on Etsy: Go for it! They’re so cute!

1. Hawthorne Threads: Many people commented on my original post that they couldn’t believe I hadn’t included this site on my list. After checking it out, I can’t believe I didn’t either! They have an amazing selection of fabrics and offer flat rate shipping. Thanks for the heads up!
2. Fabric Alley: As a couple of readers noted, the site for this online store needs to be updated (it’s no longer 2011 guys!), but they do carry a lot of fabrics that would be great for home decor and upholstery projects.
3. Thousands of Bolts: Quilters are sure to love this site! I’m a big fan of how they have the fabrics organized by color, which makes it easy to find something that will coordinate with any project.
4. Harts Fabric: Harts carries a great collection of designer fabrics (think Marc Jacobs, Missoni) so if you’re in the market for some fancy threads, this site might be one of your best bets.
5. The Fabric Co.: I am pretty sure that this site is geared towards interior designers, but even us amateurs could probably find a few heavy-duty fabrics worth making into pillows or slipcovers.
6. Shabby Fabrics: If pretty, girly fabrics are your thing, you will think you have died and gone to heaven with this online retailer. They also have a good assortment of seasonal and quilt-worthy patterns as well.
7. True Up: This site isn’t a place to buy fabric so much as a blog that you shouldn’t buy fabric without first consulting. You’ll find updates on sales and posts about the latest awesome fabrics.
8. Crafty Mamas: A bit confusing to navigate (that sidebar is NUTS), this site nonetheless is a super awesome place to find fun and youthful prints that the little ones, or let’s be honest, you, will adore.
9. Jubilee Fabric: I have to admit that a lot of what this store carries is not so much my style, but for those who quilt or who appreciate more rustic-looking fabrics, their selection is pretty great.
10. Connecting Threads: This site is pretty darn cool! Not only do they have a great selection, they also offer free shipping over $50 and no-hassle returns. You can’t beat that.
11. Fabric Hound: They carry some really interesting fabrics on Fabric Hound, including a number of very cute Japanese imports. Love the cute buttons and iron ons as well.
12. Crafty Planet: They’ve got a lot of the big names in fabric here, like Amy Butler, Kokka, and Alexander Henry, as well as a pretty solid selection of other prints as well.
13. The Fabric Fairy: There are a whole lot of great fabrics to be found here, including those from big designers and a number that are perfect for kids. Where else are you going to get fabric with otters snuggling?

14. Marshall Dry Goods Co: Check out this online store if you’re looking for some quilting basics!
15. Delta Patchwork: There’s a little something for everyone at this online store. From high-end designers to basic solids to strange prints of sea turtles, they’ve got it. I should note that I am crazy about all of those Melody Miller fabrics they carry. So amazing.
16. Pink Castle Fabrics: Not only can you buy fabric by the yard on this Etsy shop, but you can also get packs of pre-matched smaller squares that are perfect for quilting.
17. Spoonflower: This is another site that I can’t believe I didn’t include originally. You can make your own fabric. Yes, that’s right. It’s custom printed and it’s so amazing. I really, really want to try this.
18. Nature’s Fabrics: Nature’s Fabrics is another place to check with for organic fabrics. They’ve got bamboo, cotton, hemp, and wool.
19. Aspen Fabrics: This adorable Etsy shop has a great selection of pattern and fabrics as well as some other cute things like stationary and trims.
20. Calico Corners: There are a number of really interesting prints on here, though I would say most are for upholstery. If you don’t want to do the work yourself, you can also order bedding and furniture in the pattern of your choice.
21. Emma One Sock: Here you’ll find a somewhat strange assortment of fabrics (lurex anyone?) but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, I swear!
22. Down Shadow Lane: This Etsy store carries a pretty impressive collection of bold and beautiful prints (and some really, really cute ones too).
23. Fabric Guru: There are lots of fabrics to choose from on Fabric Guru but the real bonus may be that they charge only a flat rate of $5 for shipping no matter how much fabric you order.
24. eQuilter.com: As the name might lead you to believe, this site caters to quilters, though anyone working on a sewing project can probably find a thing or two they wouldn’t mind having.
25. Payless Fabric: Just like Payless Shoes, Payless Fabric offers budget-friendly prices on many fabrics. They also carry some big names, too, if that’s what you’re looking for.
26. Beverly’s: If you’re looking for cute on a budget, be sure to check out this site. They offer a selection of fabrics at a substantial discount every day.
27. Tonic Living: On Tonic Living, the prints may be retro-inspired, but they still feel fresh and exciting. There are a few chevrons on there that I really feel like I need.
28. J & O Fabrics: J & O is another great place to look for fabric basics. They carry just about everything and offer free shipping over $75.
29. Warm Biscuit: One of the coolest things you can get on Warm Biscuit are vintage and retro fabrics! I’m particularly fond of this one.

30. Retro Age Vintage Fabrics: They don’t lie when they say they carry retro fabrics. Some are impossibly cheesy, but many more are sooo cool you’ll just have to have them. I should note that it’s an Australian shop, so prices and shipping may be a concern for American buyers.
31. Sew Modern: There are so many bold and beautiful prints on this site, it makes me want to go on a fabric shopping spree. I’ll refrain, but you shouldn’t! Good for embroidery fans (like me) as well.
32. Bobbin’s Nest: Not only can you get super cute fabrics here, but they also sell supplies for knitting, crocheting, and quilting!
33. Pins & Needles: You’ll find just about every amazing designer fabric you could want on this site, from Liberty of London to Heather Ross.
34. Monaluna: For those who appreciate eco-conscious fabrics but still want to be stylish, you can’t do much better than this site. I desperately want to make a dress out of one of the blossoms pattern.
35. FinnStyle: It’s a smorgasboard of Marimekko, Artek, and other Finnish brands! Some at serious discounts.

A lot has happened in the past few months, including a wedding! So for my first post back I thought I’d share some of my favorite wedding projects on here, cramming them into one very long post.

The most talked about element of our wedding decor had to be our wedding portrait, handmade by moi. I have to admit that neither of the drawings looks exactly like us, but close enough to get the gist anyway! I think it came out cute and hope it lasts; pastels aren’t the most durable medium.

The portrait was part of a larger art wall Rob and I worked on together. He made some drawings of animals and I had drawings of fungi! I also made the little pennant that went over it out of scrapbooking paper and yarn.

For our wedding favors, we handed out little test tubes of tea. I got the test tubes from American Science and Surplus and the teas were a coconut green and a classic (but organic) Earl Grey, both from Tea Gschwendner. I added a little bow and button to make them pretty and put on a label that we printed at home.

I was also responsible for the table decor, which, in classic “me” style, was composed of terrariums, mercury glass and other woodsy stuff. There’s a wide shot of the space, called West Loop Studio, and some closer shots of the individual arrangements as well.

There are no chairs at the tables, as they are set up for the ceremony and were moved over later.

To add a little something to our bigger tables, I made these burlap table runners with our initials on them. It was time-consuming (and a little smelly, burlap smells weird), but very easy. All you need is burlap, lots of StichWitchery and some fabric paint. I have one of the runners on our dining room table right now! I also used the burlap, along with some pretty fabric, to cover up the pots of some of the plants — a really easy and pretty way to jazz them up if you don’t want to put them in another pot.

I also made this pretty little bar menu with some free fonts on the web and a cool sticker from Martha Stewart. You can see a couple of the burlap covered pots here.

We also made our own flowers, and by we, I mean me (with a little help from my family), of course. I chose a simple arrangement of hydrangeas (purchased at Chicago Flower Company, where the salesperson seemed pretty put off by the fact that I was making my own floral arrangements, but helpful nonetheless) for my bouquet, which didn’t really need much else. Just wrapped a gray ribbon around the stems and added a vintage bow pin with a blue stone as my “something blue.”

The ladies’ flowers were from an autumn bouquet, courtesy of Trader Joe’s. My mom and sister put those together.

The bountineers were made of dried billy balls (or craspedia, as they are otherwise known) that I ordered online a few little springs of greenery. A little floral tape and ribbon, and instant cuteness. Seriously, they were so easy to put together! Anyone could do it.

I posted a bit about our guestbook before, but here it is in action. We had a mini instant camera so people could take pictures and leave us messages! It came out so cute.

As a final note, here are some shots of my wedding day fashiony choices.

Red shoes from Kate Spade.

Vintage bracelet ordered on Etsy.

Loved my birdcage veil! I took the veil off after the ceremony and just wore the hair comb.

Detail of the beading on my dress.

All in all, it was a wonderful, unforgettable day! I wouldn’t change a thing.

I screwed up the RSVP by not leaving a line for people to write their names, but it wasn’t the end of the world as we figured out who they were from eventually.

I have to confess that I cribbed a part of this invitation from one we saw online that we loved, so I can’t take complete credit for it. The original didn’t quite fit our purposes though (and I’m pretty sure it was letterpress), so I modified the layout to fit our event and added a few elements to help it better adhere to our woodsy theme. I loved the way it came out, though it was A TON of work since I was not especially familiar with design programs (though now I’m an old pro. No teacher like experience, right?) so I don’t recommend trying to do it over a single weekend if you decide to design your own (unless, you are in fact, a pro).

The whole package, tied with baker’s twine. Looks cute, but actually a bit greasy. Not sure I would recommend it but too late to change now.

All the paper and envelopes are from Paper Source. We printed them at home with a photo printer (Canon Pixma, best purchase ever) so no expensive printing either. Overall, I think they cost under $150 (including postage) so if you’re willing to put in some elbow grease, you can do some nice invites on a budget.