I’m back!

It’s been too long. I have nooo excuses other than the fact that so much has happened and changed and it’s finally all settling down. To recap- two very close people in my life got married, I got to play harp in Capital Cities’ new music video “Kangaroo Court” (check it out here) and I’m officially a grad student at USC! So that’s nice, because I’ve felt like one for the past 4 years so now my life finally makes sense. Let’s be real, I never experienced college like most people did. For heaven’s sake, I have a blog about PLANTS. Welllll it’s more than plants, and sustainability is what I’m passionate about, so what gives, right?

A lot has changed over in my little apartment. The decor, for one. Here’s some of my most recent pictures:

another blurry image of my place!

I’m not sure if I ever showed you before pictures. I’m not brave enough yet. One day I’ll gather up the courage.

Here are some more pictures of what I’ve been up to.

my sea glass chandelier at night.

I put an exposed filament light bulb in my sea glass chandelier that I made. My tutorial is here and I seriously suggest you do this project. It’s so stunning during the day and night, and it’s totally doable.

manzanita branch!

An orchid from LA’s flower district.

The above tree branch is a Manzanita branch. This is one that hasn’t been sand-blasted– the ones you see as decorations are sand-blasted, which gives them their light color. I personally loooove the natural smooth texture and red color of the manzanita, so I bought one that wasn’t sanded. I got it from the Los Angeles Flower District  for $10! It comes assembled with a wooden box at its base. I personally wanted to hang my jewelry off of it, but you could just use it as a decoration or hang little jars with LED (battery-powered) candles inside it (I wouldn’t suggest real candles because it turns out, wood is flammable. Weird.) I also got the orchid at the flower district. I totally suggest going one morning if you’re local! I went with a friend of mine and we had a great time. The flowers are reasonably cheap and you can find any type of manzanita branch imaginable (think- pink glitter…). I wasn’t very impressed by their succulent collection, but they have a lot of great cut flowers.

This is what’s been happening on the balcony:

Getting up close and personal with some dill…

Trader Joes’ herbs! I totally suggest buying them. Only $2.50 and healthy. Love it.

Malabar Spinach! I bought it from my local farmers’ market.

I love farmers’ markets.

These are some of the things I love. What about you? What do you get to make your place “home”?

-D

PS: I almost forgot! I harvested my worm compost. It is messy. And gross. It is definitely not for the faint-hearted or for the easily-grossed-out-type. BUT once you get over the fact that you’re touching worms and their sht, it’s great! My plants are so happy with their compost! And I started another vermicompost.

A $15,000 Stick.

Brace yourselves for another Anthropologie rant. They’ve really outdone themselves this time around!

Here’s a stick from Anthropologie. It’s not just any stick! The stick can make sounds! It’s called the “iTree.”

The bad news? It costs 15,000 DOLLARS. But guess what lovelies! It’s now 80% off, for a measly 3,000 dollars.

image from Anthropologie.com

I appreciate the ecospiration (how’s that for a new word?) but seriously Anthro… after your “Glamping” debacle, you’re taking this too far! Still love you guys, though.

I know you must price your inventory for the shock value–right?

-D

DIY: Chalkboard Pots Tutorial

Chalkboard-ing has been around for a while, but I hadn’t really hopped on the bandwagon until now. And the reason is pretty silly. I got this chalkboard pencil that literally screamed “ecospired” so loud, that I bought it just to shut it up. That might just be me justifying my purchase. Regardless, I figured that I had to get a chalkboard in order to actually use the pencil, but chalkboards are just soo traditional. Let’s think outside the box, shall we?

I’m obsessed with plants, which is glaringly obvious to anyone who has read a line of this blog. So I decided to paint the rim of my clay pots with chalkboard paint. Clay pots are a lot better for plants than a lot of other pots. They let the plant breathe, and it’s harder to kill the plants if they’re in clay pots (I’ve learned from experience). Also, instead of buying new pots because you’re bored of your decor, you can simply paint them. Woo! So now, I can write obnoxious notes, informational notes, or just reminders. Or inspirational quotes. Allllll over my plants.

This is extremely easy, so run out and get the materials ASAP!

Materials:

• Chalkboard paint- I got Martha Stewart’s chalkboard paint from JoAnns. Good ol’ Martha.
• Foam Brush
• Clay pot
• Chalk
• Towel or paper towel
• Optional: Steel Wool

Directions:

• Make sure your clay pot is dry and clean.
• Paint the rim of the pot.
• Let dry and wait for an hour.
• Paint a second coat on the rim of the pot.
• Let dry another hour.
• Optional*–Rub the dry, painted area with steel wool.
• Lightly “chalk” the entire painted area to prep it for chalking, and wipe it off with a dry towel.
• Write messages! Be awesome!

 

And…. drumroll…. my favorites!

To-may-to and to-mah-to! 

 

Whaddya think? Leave me some comments, at the top left of the post!

-Daria

 

“Your Style is Just…Ecospired.”

Hi there! It’s been a few days! In my excuse, it was a national holiday (4th of July!) and I was busy buying furniture. So the little break is completely justified, right?

I was talking with my mom and she was trying to explain my furniture style to me–which sounds weird in retrospect–but she made a good point. It’s going to seem super obvious. She said: “You’re style is just… ecospired.” First of all, it’s adorable and sweet of my mom to use the word I made up, (#1 fan, thanks Mom) and second of all, she’s totally right, although I’m afraid that my ecospiration may result in my place looking like the inside of a Goodwill. I seriously hope not. But, I have a few DIYs coming up, and some new furniture, in which case the fact that I am “ecospired” will become glaringly obvious. Get excited!

This is my newest beauty in my apartment. If this doesn’t scream “ecospired,” then I don’t know what does:

It’s a driftwood coffee table that I bought off of craigslist!

Driftwood Table on Ecospired.com

Driftwood Table on Ecospired.com

My best friend (the one who endured high school with me) came with me to buy it. I’m always too chicken to go to random people’s houses via craigslist by myself. It was 25 “LA” miles away (which is the equivalent of at least 2 hours) and extremely heavy. But as my best friend said– “We’re women, we can lift this”–which was inspiring enough to sacrifice potentially throwing out our backs and bringing it into my apartment. But as you can see, we are women because it is now sitting comfortably in my living room. 😉

Love it!

Um. Gorgeous, huh? I’m getting a bunch of new furniture because I need to love to (my roommate’s moving out). I was fishing for compliments on the table and asked my roommate, “isn’t it prettttyyy?” to which she seriously responded: “Mmhm, my grandma used to have one too.”  Thanks for that, roomie!  Apparently all the stuff I buy was once owned by someone’s grandma, so no hurt feelings here.

I also bought a chest/armoir/desk/I’m-not-really-sure-what-it’s-called a couple days before the coffee table. I’m like 107% sure that someone’s grandma owned this. I bought this at a thrift store, the second someone donated it. I literally followed the worker as they wheeled it into the store and claimed it as mine as the rest of the thrift store jealously glared at my new purchase (or something). I took it to my parents’ house because I’m considering painting it a grey/black or grey/taupe color. Or burnt orange. The white paint of the shabby-chic isn’t really my thing, but it’s growing on me. That might be the laziness in me talking. What color do you think I should paint it? Should I leave it white? Please leave me a comment and let me know!

Here’s an extremely unflattering photo of the “thing” while I was at the thrift store, which is evidently the only photo that I have of it:

The theme of this post is: thrifting!

Buying used is buying green.

I know that I say this all the time, but it’s really true. The more you can imagine different possibilities with a piece of used furniture, the better off you (and the environment, and your wallet!) are. Buying used ensures less production of precious renewable and inefficient nonrenewable resources, and cultivates the mentality that you don’t always need to buy NEW things to have nice things. I’m really into home decor, but I firmly believe that it’s important to recognize your carbon footprint in all that you do, and to do something about it. A huge proponent of sustainability is simply buying used. Try it out!

By the way, am I the only person whose home decor resembles the jungle? If you’re out there, holler!

-D