Visit from Jaja

Jaja came to visit this weekend and we had a blast!  We went to an incredible workshop at the Center for Art in Wood, in Old City where we created a "cabinet of curiosities" out of a cigar box and with great instruction and inspiration from the staff at the center.  We created a portrait for the front, and of course I chose to draw my cats.  Yes, I'm a cat lady.  I really like how it turned out:

 

They had great supplies for us to use, and the boxes already had elaborately patterned paper around the edges that we could use as a jump off for inspiration.  Apparently cigar stores just smash these boxes and throw them in the trash, so it's easy to get them if you're there at the right time.  Which I will obviously be doing now that I know how beautiful these boxes are without any decoration at all.

 

We also went to a work day at Farm 51, which is run by my friends Andrew and Neal.  We destroyed some raised beds and harvested broccoli, then had a bonfire and ate delicious home made coffee cake and cookies.  Their house next door is gorgeous and another constant source of inspiration:

 

 

 

An amazing and inspirational weekend and a great way to start the new year!

More Corners

We had another turnover in our house, with one room mate out and another in. And as is custom with me, I'm trying to deal with the mess by focusing on the corners of my home that I do have control over. So here are a few of my favorites right now.



This is a corner that keeps changing. The stack of books is revolving of course, but I'm also adding and subtracting the art around it (mostly adding). This is my bedside table and it still has the wonderful, inspirational "Yes" from Nicole and the "E" I found on the ground on the campus of UC Davis way back when. But I've also added an adorable cross stitch that my friend Emily sent as an engagement gift ("Home's not merely/four square walls. Home is where/affection calls."), plus a very happy Phalaenopsis orchid from my parents, two blue birds I picked up at a garage sale for 50 cents each, some mounted butterflies that M gave me as a gift way back in the beginning of our relationship, a Nikki McClure print that makes me smile, and a ceramic butterfly that I got at an incredible store in St. Louis when I went to visit Jaja. I also have a wonderful supply of soft, old, flower print pillow cases that I collected during college from thrift stores that makes my bed a little more colorful.




This is my craft supply corner. It needs some work.



And this is my favorite house plant. It's a Dracaena that I saved in college - someone had dumped it on their porch and it had survived a snow already before I grabbed it and brought it inside my house. And it has rewarded me with years of crazy Dr. Seuss spirit.

I hope your space is also bringing you joy in these dark winter days!

I'm back!

After several weeks of searching for the right set-up at the right cost (as low as possible), I now have a laptop with a broken screen, hooked up to an old apple desktop display, connected by the rarest and most expensive computer adapter cord in the history of mankind. I managed to source all of these things on craigslist, so the whole thing cost me about $100.



We also moved M's music studio equipment out of our bedroom and into his new studio (aka the basement) so now I have a workspace that is all MINE, MINE I TELL YOU, MWAHAHAHAHAH! Ahem. It may not look like much, but I get a little excited about it.



So now, back your the regularly scheduled posts.

Right now

Right now I am thankful for . . .



. . . a weekend spent immersed in new traditions, culture, and history (Good Yomtov!) . . .



. . . a love that grows stronger with each new experience . . .



. . . poetry . . .



. . . thrifting with M and enjoying our finds (a satin LA Lakers jacket for $10!) . . .



. . . exploring a new community garden (more to come!) . . .



. . . our cherry tree blossoms . . .



. . . hard work paying off at the Walnut Hill Mini-Farm (more to come!) . . .



. . . and sunlight.

Terrain Terrariums

There's a store about 45 minutes away from me called Terrain, and it's run by the same people who do Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters. If you like that stuff (and I DO), and you are a gardener (and I AM), you, like me, would just faint dead away when you saw the things they have for sale at this place. It's like home-and-garden porn.









And they specialize in terrarium supplies, which I happen to be slightly obsessed with. See my post about Z's terrariums at her family home. She scoffed when she heard that I had PAID to attend an entire workshop on the topic, but that I did.



It was taught by Tovah Martin, who has written a coffee table book called "The New Terrarium." While she was talking I had the distinct feeling that both she and I were of a different world than the people who were about to spend over $100 on their terrariums, and how in the world did we get here? But it was fun, and I managed to spend relatively little on my two terrariums.



Her basic recipe includes stones (for drainage), charcoal (to purify the water), container mix soil, and plants. Pretty simple. And to be honest, I think the only things that are necessary are the soil and the plants. It's a widely spread myth that putting stones at the bottom of a container helps with drainage, it doesn't.





The stones, charcoal, and soil came with the registration fee, and they had some fun little pieces of nature to add to the container, which I did, liberally. But the plants and the "glass vessels" were extra, and it was easy to get carried away (my friend spent about $75 on her terrarium). I made one terrarium while I was there, and then prepared another one for home . . .



. . . because I had this special guy to put in it! It's a pitcher plant (Sarracenia sp.), native to our region, that I got from the EPA's flower show exhibit for free! They are kind of difficult to grow indoors, but I'm going to try.



So the verdict is that Terrain is amazing for inspiration, but not so amazing on the wallet. Not that I won't go back.

A Cat Named Chauncey

Meet the newest feline on Osage Ave . . . . Chauncey!

She has a mustache.

These are the best photos I could get of her, she's still getting used to her new surroundings and her new housemates. Welcome home, Chauncey!

The Corners of My Home

We're in a state of transition here on Osage Ave; two of our housemates recently moved out (three if you include Wild Bill), and two will be moving in over the course of the next month. The house is in disarray and there are boxes and newly empty walls all over.

This recent post from Soulemama allowed me to take a breath, look around my home, and appreciate the parts of it that are still making me happy.

I also joined the Corners of My Home group on flickr, which provides some very nice procrastination fodder.

*** Favorite stuffed animals (Beanie, Flat Cat, a wild thing, and the Phanatic), pictures, a self-portrait I took in college, nick-nacks. ***

*** A favorite spot in the front room, with a bird's nest that was a gift from my mom ***

*** Winter on the south side of the house - on the right is my pineapple sage which makes me very very happy. ***

***Nick-nack corner with my jewelry box from Poland, ring holder (my first engagement gift), striped rock from Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, and art from blue bicicletta. ***

*** My favorite bread-rising place ***

***Part of my sweetie's studio.***

***Bedside table full of things that make me happy.***

*** Furniture from my grandmother, a print from my time in Hawai'i, Steelers fanstuff.***

Winter Commute

When I take the train to work it takes twice as long as when I drive. Not cool. But the trade-offs are that I get to read on the train and I get to walk through the quiet beauty of pre-sunrise West Philadelphia. A few weeks ago, that commute looked like this.

'Tis the Season

:: For a few more winter decorations (it says "Snowflakes," from funkyshique on etsy) ::



:: For handmade banana-chocolate-coconut bread for all of my coworkers ::



:: For Christmas cactus ::



:: And for handmade vanilla syrup for all of my family members (recipe from Food in Jars) ::

Have an amazing Christmas Eve!