Weekly Calendar Printable or It's A Struggle Without It

I try to be as tech savvy as possible. If there is an app for my phone I use it. I love how tech has made life so much simpler (in some ways... when it works) and in future posts I'll share my foray into home automation. Meanwhile, I would like to take a step back to the 1990's and show you how I still keep some things on pen and paper. As much as I love my iCal, sometimes I forget to look at it or my phone altogether for a while and I forget things. Writing them down helps me remember and then I can tack it on the fridge so every time I stroll through the kitchen I can easily take a quick peak. Nowadays I try to put everything in my online calendars and write it down too. Doesn't hurt to have backup.

I thought I would share a little weekly calendar I made up

Check back in throughout the year for seasonal calendars and let me know what you think or ways to improve it.

Enjoy,

My Hummingbird Feeder or Sweet Spring

Favorite bird- Hummingbird. BB King gets where it's at.

I needed some in my yard. I think this swarm would be ridiculously cool. Is it called a swarm? Are hummingbird groups still flocks?

But for now I will start with one. This one:

 Perky Pet Mason Jar Hummingbird Feeder

It is in no way necessary to buy the premade hummingbird food with the red dye in it. Hummingbirds are attracted to red, but some red on the feeder should lure them in just fine without the unnatural dye. An easy food recipe is basically the same as making a simple syrup. Take one part sugar to four parts water, boil to kill bacteria and dissolve sugar, let cool, and BAM! (yeah, I'm channeling Emeril).

I used 1 cup of sugar to 4 cups of water

Boil the 4 cups water with sugar stirring occasionally

Let it cool, pour into feeder, and watch the hummingbirds fly in and drink your homemade nectar you worked so painstakingly on.... we hope.

I put my feeder on a shepherd's hook and placed it in my wood barrel planter. In the planter I have basil that thrives in it every year and some red petunias that will hopefully draw in more hummingbirds. If you look very closely at the hook you can see I have already lured in a lizard friends. He is sneaky. I did not even notice him until I was looking at the picture.

If I get some pictures of customers I will be sure to share.

Have a great day,

Things I Love or Finding My House Style

I have said it before and I'll say it again. I'm always trying to find my home style. In college I got a minor in art and architectural history and it was hard to ever say I had a favorite period because I respected and appreciated almost every style in the right context. Here are some of my current faves, kind of a contemporary eclectic. If you have a better name for it please let me know.

HGTV

South Shore Decorating Blog

homedit.com

Preciously Me Blog

I like the bold black and white color schemes with the gray. The brass accents are a great touch too. The brass chairs in the last are stunning. I also love that all of them feel contemporary, but still cozy, which I feel gets lost easily for the sake of style.


Thanks for checking in,

Granite Is In or Backsplash Is Not

My new yellow sunset granite counters look gorgeous and definitely add value to the home. The best part, for me, was someone else put them in for me. Don't get me wrong, I love to DIY, but sometimes it's just nice for a project to be done. Here are some delicious pictures. Of course the kitchen is still a mess. The sink make look done, but right now the garbage disposal drains to the floor...got to make a quick trip to the hardware store.

I'm really loving this one huge basin for my sink. The undermount is always a plus. If you're wondering how I came to this decision - 1. Undermount makes kitchen cleanup easy. You can wipe all of your crumbs and spills right into the sink. 2. The struggle with oversized pots, pans, cookie sheets, you name it will hopefully be quelled now. 

The faucet is from Pfister and has a pull down sprayer. My last kitchen faucet had the pull down sprayer and it's pretty much the greatest kitchen invention since the dishwasher. I also like the clean look of one fixture instead of a spread. 

So shiny that it reflects the ceiling light fixture. Loving the veining.

Now of course this has left me without a backsplash and I would like to replace all of the outlets and switches. The current ones are grimey and yellowed...ewww.

Check us out soon to see how deciding the backsplash is going and to learn how to switch out outlets and switches... Wow, that's a tricky sentence. If you have any ideas for the backsplash I would love to hear them, just leave a comment at the bottom.

Have a great day and thanks for checking in,

How To Make A Planter Worthy Of A Magazine or I Am So Fancy

While browsing through Pinterest, as any Pinterest addict does, I fell in love with some gorgeous indoor planters for adorning equally beautiful rooms. You can check out my Pinterest through the bar at the right or HERE.

These are my absolute favorites

 DrivenByDecor loves clams shells as much as I do

 Beautiful and can be purchased HERE for about $2,000, which is a bit more than I intended to spend and I don't think it comes with the plants.

This one is definitely my favorite, I'm a sucker for Orchids, clam shells and succulents. Amanda Carol does so many beautiful things and can be found near me in Houston! She does hers with faux plants, which still looks fantastic, but I wanted the real deal. I know I am asking for heart ache but a room full of greenery just makes me happy.

I have a pretty good idea of what I want and a clam shell purchased from ZGallerie a while back, with a coupon code (I love a deal). Of course seeing her beautiful gold one I wish I had opted for the upgrade. Live and learn.

I went to my local big box store and bought some supplies:
Orchids
Succulents
Sphangum Moss
Orchid Soil - it will work for succulents too.
Planter or container of some type

Supplies

 Sometimes the orchids can be a bit root bound like any other plant, typically with an orchid that mean it's time to repot, which we're doing so we're great. The light green/whitish roots are healthy so try to leave them undamaged while you gently remove it from the pot. If there are any ends that are brown, flat, or just plain dead looking you can trim them off.

 

Then I just sort of squished all of the orchids and then the succulents in where I wanted them.  Here they all are, packed in. You could stop here, but a layer of moss will be good for the orchids and I just find it more aesthetically pleasing.

 Here I layered it with moss and then carried it outside. Yes I probably should have started outside, but I didn't.

 

I gave it a light mist to dampen up the moss so it laid down how I wanted it and to water the plants. Be careful though, orchids and succulents are not big fans of water, especially standing water. That's why I misted, just a light spray for a minute or two to get things damp. 

 

 There she is, all done and beautiful. The more I look at it, the more I think I might add a few more small succulents, but I'll let it sit for a while. Then I found it's place in my living room, where it made it a touch classier.

 Special thanks to my helper Harley.

 Thanks for stopping by,