30x30

As I am sure that you have noticed before, I love succulents.

They are beautiful and hard to kill.

A while back I made a terrarium for myself, and another for my neighbor.

Many of you responded to the images with a desire to know HOW???

So here it is.

Day 12: DIY Terrarium

The wonderful thing about making your own terrarium 

is that you can really be as creative as you want.

You can use any kind of vessel.

You can choose all sorts of different gravel.

And the choices of plants are essentially endless.

Step 1:

You will need:

Cactus soil

a container (I used a large glass jar)

gravel (I recommend hitting up petsmart or an aquarium store for better choices)

a variety of succulents, air plants, or cacti

1 chopstick

stones or figures (optional)

How to choose your plants:

There are really no rules here, but let me educate you a bit.

There are slight differences in the care of some of these plants,

especially between air plants and succulents.

(most succulents and cacti like the same conditions)

When choosing your plants you want to look for ones

 that not only coordinate in color, but also in care.

Looking for ones that like the same living conditions is key since they will 

essentially be living in their own mini ecosystem.

You also want to look for balance.

You need enough width and enough height so that your jar doesn't look empty.

I generally like to cover 3 zones.

1. plants that cover the base and won't grow taller, but wider.

2. medium heigh plants that are fuller that take up volume.

3. tall and thin plants for height.

You don't need to fill your jar with plants for it to look beautiful either,

sometimes less is more.

A little tip about how many...

Odd numbers are always more pleasing to the eye.

So instead of 4 plants, go with 3 or 5.

I have recently fallen in love with air plants, and found a great retailer on etsy.

Twisted Acres was so helpful in teaching me the ways of air plants.

They gave me great tips to keep my plants looking spectacular.

The customer service was second to none, and the plants came delivered in the mail so quickly.

Definitely check out their etsy shop!

Step 2:

First you must put a bottom layer of gravel on the bottom of your jar.

Succulents DO NOT like their roots to be wet and will rot if they sit in water.

Next, you will need to add enough soiled to cover 

all of your succulent and cacti's root systems.

Arrange your plants with enough space for them to grow.

Add more soil to cover the root systems and stabilize your plants.

Remember DO NOT plant your air plants in the soil.

Step 3:

Once everything is exactly where you want it,

add the top layer of gravel.

This is where I use a chopstick to help guide those pesky little stones into place.

Add your air plants into your arrangement right on top of the gravel.

Also this is a great time to add larger stones or other figurines.

I love the way that raw crystals look in terrariums.

Step 4:

Simply find the perfect place, 

making sure that your plants get just the right amount of sun.

It is so humid where I live that I rarely have to water these terrariums, 

they provide themselves with enough condensation to survive.

I sometimes remove the lid so that they can get fresh air 

and not build up too much moisture.

30x30: Giveaway

I am so very excited to share Day 13's 30x30 event! 

Today marks the start of a giveaway.

For those of you that follow e.trumble photography,

you know that I adore photographing families and kiddos!

What you may not know is that I also really really love photographing nature.

The winner of this little contest will receive an 

8x10 print of the the flower of their choice.

Here's how to play:

Simply choose the photograph that you like the best.

They are each numbered above and the full size images are all below.

Leave a comment here or on Instagram.

All votes count as an entry.

Want to better your chances?

Spread the love!

Share this post on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram

and receive additional entries for each! 

(that's 6 total entries if you hit up all your social media!)

The winner will be chosen at random,

5pm eastern time on Feb. 6th

Best of Luck to everyone!

(did anyone get that lucky day 13 reference?)

30x30

Well, as these days are adding up, I have found that some items on my list have proven 

to be a bit harder to actually accomplish than others. 

Take Day 14 for example...

take a swim in the ocean.

Doesn't seem so hard since we live a mile away, 

yet I didn't take all the factors into account.

Even thought Monday was a beautiful 80°, 

welp that water was still icey.

Joining the Polar Bears Club....not on the 30x30 list.

Among other things were the terrible rip current and choppy waves 

and a major mess of sea weed.

All factors for a relaxing float were a negative.

Hey at least it was warm and sunny.

Yet the boy and I managed to play in the freezing shore break

 for long enough for him to end up soaked.

Of coarse it ended up just a perfect day,

just the way it was.

30x30

Do you know who attended Day 15's activity?

Just me and the hubs.

Thanks right, just the grown ups.

We don't really "go out" much, 

and I couldn't remember the last time that we ate a meal in public with out the boy.

Day 15....Brunch Date.

It was a beautiful south FL winter morning at the beach.

No one minds waiting 45 minutes for a table when this is the view.

Brunch was delish.

The conversation was amazing.

The boy loves his new babysitter.

All was right in my almost 30 world.

30x30

Day 16 was dedicated to friendship.

My initial plans for an over due skype date with my best friend.

I really miss her more than I am able to cope with.

Then the age old adage:

"make new friends, but keep the old.

some are silver and the other gold."

came into play.

This has always been one of my favorites.

I was blessed as a child and teen.

I had more best friends than anyone could imagine.

I changed school many times throughout my adolescence, 

which really gave me the ability to meet so many wonderful women.

And thanks to the powers of social media 

I am able to keep in such close contact with many of them.

But back to the silver lining.

While I did not get to skype with Jess,

Our wonderful friends the Tidwell's decided to throw a last minute shindig.

It was decided that it would be a fun relaxing evening 

with children scampering and parents actually getting to talk to other adults.

Trey, with his absolutely charming Tennessee way, made us ladies some delish coffee.

And the kiddos....well they all got very sandy.

I am still finding sand in between the boys toes.

The evening wound down with a bonfire and roasted marshmallows.

The boy caught his on fire, but it was Ay O.K.! 

His new friend, Maxwell, came to the rescue.

It was great to see all the kids being so independent and awesome.

I just love all their littler personalities maturing.

It was a perfect perfect evening!

Thank you again Tids' for hosting all of us! 

Project 52

You have always marched to your own beat.

I love how you are now learning about rhythm.

Thrifty Finds

As promised, here are the goodies that I thrifted at Atomic Living.

I am a sucker for a good vintage skirt.  Being so long waisted and busty I can almost NEVER find a vintage dress that fits me correctly.  So over the years I have learned to just stick with the skirts.

My new "Collette Tours" bag had to come home with me.

It's the perfect size for carrying lots of things and it is super light weight,

but what really got me about it was the fact that it reminds me so much of the 

Paddy Noonan bus tour of Ireland

I went on with my great grandmother as a teen.

Ah memories.

And that vintage Darth Vader action figure carrying case.

You know that I couldn't pass that up for the boy.

He actually spotted it buried in a heap on the back porch of Atomic.

It was filthy, but I knew we had a gem.

I used the same technique to clean it that I talked blogged about here.

These two cuties were found at another local favorite of mine, The Bee's Knees.

This place is a great little treasure box in downtown Lake Worth.

The juice pitcher had been calling my name for a long time now.

I think that I looked at it about 5 different times. 

The last time we were there the sweet old man that works there 

told me he'd give it to me for half off...

he knew how bad I wanted it.  

And that pretty little necklace just spoke to me.

There is something so special to me about a vintage necklace that has stood the test of time.

And I may or may not have plans for this looker!

30x30

Day 17 was declared 

"Ashyr Day"

I told the boy that he could pick 3 things to do.

Anything that he wanted. To an extent.

That sweet little boy of mine could only think of one thing.

Playing with one of his best buddies, Tosh.

(I had honestly expected him to come up with some elaborate plan 

to get me into a chuck e cheese.)

So, he informed to that he wanted to have a picnic at the park.

Check.

He wanted to play at the park with Tosh.

Check.

And he would "tell me the 3rd thing later."

His day went on with playing and laughter.

As the day got later and later I anxiously waited for him to "let me know" 

what his 3rd thing would be.

As I tucked him into bed and kissed him good night, he said:

"Mommy, the 3rd thing that I want to do for 'Ashyr Day' 

is go to Legoland...with Tosh...Right now!!!"

Nice try kid. Nice try.

30x30

Day 18 was kind of a test run for something I would love to do on a more regular basis.

The boy and I had a silent reading date at Starbucks.

We started off with a lovely stroll through downtown.

We meandered our way into the Lake Worth Public Library.

After choosing our loot, we headed up the street to our local Starbucks. 

He did such a great job, although he felt the need to read the stories out loud.

We put a 15 minute cap on it, I didn't want to push him

to long and put a negative ending on it.

Over all it was perfect! We will for sure make this a regular date! 

Coffee Talks

"it's going to be a really big mug kinda day!" -erin

"a couple of old gals, side by side" - jess

#housewifeproblems: thrifting dirty

So it's no secret that I love a good thrifty find.

Sometimes you have to look past the perfect find and seek out the "potential find".

I spotted this blue pyrex bowl from across the flea market field.

When I picked it up to inspect it the boy freaked out.

"Mom, that's really gross and dirty, don't touch that!"

I was looking passed the mystery dried funk that was on the bowl 

and looking for chips and cracks.

Under all of this gross was a perfectly good bowl.

The Bowl actually.

This was the one that would complete my set.

So the bowl on the left is post wash hot water and soap. Still funky.

Here is the answer to this #housewifeproblem

My secret recipe for cleaning dirty pyrex.

1 tbsp baking soda

a few squirts of hydrogen peroxide.

Mix these two into a paste and then buff onto the pyrex using your fingers.

warning: it may sting a bit... you can totally use a sponge.

I just find it works better using my fingers.

Once the entire bowl has been scrubbed down, rinse with warm water.

I have used this technique to clean all sorts of items:

 pyrex, glass, hard plastics, metals, ceramics...even the kitchen sink.

30x30

When I told Brenda that I wanted to spend Day 19 going to a "u-pick farm",

 I had a vision of laboring out in a field.

So you can imagine my confusion when I pulling into a strip mall plaza 

that she had suggested for our family outing.

As soon as the initial shock wore off I saw that sweet strawberry car,

and I knew Brenda would never steer me wrong.

The Girls U-Pick Strawberries had all the kids screaming with excitement.

You enter through the country store that is stocked full of 

yummy fresh baked goods and homemade ice cream.

The shelves are full of "cracker barrel-esque" gifts and trinkets.

Local canned goods and hot sauces, gum balls and pop guns,

 needless to say our head were spinning.

When you step through the back door you are greeted by a beautiful garden filled with the squawks of hundreds of birds in the rescues sanctuary, turtles munching heads of lettuce and donkeys poking their noses at you.

All of this is surrounded by a back drop of strawberry pathces and cherry tomato plants.

And the kids were off.

No one was even that disappointed that the strawberries were not ready to be picked.

Laughs and giggles were interjected between each joyous pluck of a juicy red cherry tomato. 

These were the fruits of our child labor.  

We all had such a great time. 

The store even sells my favorite hard to find hot sauce, 

so need less to say, we will be back!

30x30

Day 20. Oh how I love thee!

Nothing makes me feel better then a fresh haircut!

And there is no place better to get that bush wacked then...

Some think that I am crazy for driving 3 hours to get my hair cut,

but if you have ever been to Alchemy then you know exactly why it's worth it.

Best stylists ever!

I started my grooming session with a nice frosty beer.

My crazy mane had grown out of control, but my old friend Michael fixed me up nice!

Thanks again to all the staff at Alchemy for making Day 20 perfect!

30x30

Webster Flea Market! Ah day 21...

It's sort of become a pre-birthday/MLK day tradition to hit up Webster.

It's one of my happy places.

You can find random art.

Pretty little things.

Lots of vintage.

And TONS of toys.

Lucky for me, the boy loves it too.

Side note:

This year the boy and I made a list of three things each that we were looking for.

We both found everything...gotta love that!

I'll share soon on a thrifty finds.