Between wrapping up at my former job, packing, visiting family/friends, packing, enjoying Dallas for the last time, packing… and moving across country, this blog has suffered terribly without my attention. Shame! But have no fear, for you can now follow the adventures of J&T over at our new blog, Doodles & Blooms. We will be writing about life in the Pacific Northwest as I begin graduate school in Portland. And there will be two of us contributing so it will be that much more likely to succeed!

Thanks for standing by… I think a lot about the direction of this blog but have yet to decide where I want to take it. Sometimes I feel like most days are not “blog-worthy”, not that they all should be, but living and working in Dallas does not always make for such an exciting read. It was easy to post daily when I lived in Germany. There was always something exciting for show-and-tell. Perhaps I will have more content in the coming months… For now, thanks for dealing with my sporadic posting.

Today I’d like to showcase the indoor gardening T and I experimented with. That’s right – we made terrariums! I have always known about them – simulated dry habitats for various plants or objects, but it wasn’t until a recent trip to Portland that I was inspired to create some of our own. After a little milling around, I came across this post by The Brick House and we basically used this guide word-for-word.

First we scouted out and found the perfect vessels for the job. Then we made a trip to Home Depot, grabbed several happy succulents and the proper soil/lava rock mixes and got started.

We began with dropping a few lava rocks at the base of the vessels – just a single layer for water drainage. Then a layer of the cactus soil, making spots for the plants. We extracted the plants from the pots and remove most of the included soil, breaking up the roots so they could spread out. Then we arranged the plants and packed-in more cactus soil. Finally, we placed more lava rocks around and under the plants, covering the soil as necessary.

They have made for a great coffee table centerpiece, right? I am happy with how they turned out. As for upkeep, they are pretty foolproof so far. I have been watering them once a week and I think they are liking it. We’ll find out in a few weeks one way or another… I think misting with water also helps. Have a great week.

T and I have been itching to try our hand at creating a terrarium or two for our place. The first task though was finding the right vessels. I had in mind what I wanted from a few I’ve seen before so we discussed what we needed and were off to the resale shops. Thrifting has become our new fun hobby. Where else can you find relatively well-made (or hand made), vintage, nostalgic and inexpensive household accessories? Sure we don’t always really need what we find (and inevitably purchase) but we are starting from scratch here and need something to put up on that wall…

Our first stop was Curiosity Corner on 78 across from White Rock Lake. This nice older couple owned the shop for 25 years and are just about to retire, so check it out while you still can. There selection was not quite what we fancy but we did find a smaller glass bowl, pictured below, upper-left. $1 too! I also grabbed a few old travel post cards of places I have visited.

After, we drove a little further down Grand and discovered a giant second-hand shop called Garland Road Thrift Stores. It was basically a huge Goodwill shop but T spotted these two wide-mouth glass beauts seen below. Total cost: $2.50. Bam! I honestly wasn’t expecting to find these so quickly but we did. There is so much out there. You just have to have a plan and know what you’re looking for.

Oh and that fish-bowl-looking vessel above is what you think it is. I kept it on the down-low but our beloved FISH passed a few months ago. Very sad, yes. But now his old home is to be repurposed and loved once more.

We also picked up this funky mirror at that first shop. It was $15 but is made of plaster and is real heavy. While the gold is growing on me, I think we’ll disassemble it and paint the frame a glossy white. Thoughts?

Check back soon for terrarium photos!

I was thrilled to receive in the mail my prized calendar from You & Me the Royal We via sfgirlbybay. Victoria posted about a trio of designers who were giving away this year calendar. To win, you had to comment about “the worst thing you ever forgot”. Now, I’ll let you dig through the comments to find what it was that I misplaced but long story short, I won! woo.

Inside the bag were four bulldog clips and some nails! And probably my favorite part was the included instructions:

Tools you will need: a Hammer, a Pencil, a Level, a Friend.

Step 1: Receive your tube.

Step 2: Open your tube. Inside you will find: 4 clips, 4 nails, a black pen and this set of instructions.

Step 3: Select a wall within your abode to display your calendar.

Step 4: Attach 2 clips evenly along the top of the calendar and 2 along the bottom. Hold the calendar up to your selected wall and using your level, make sure its nice and straight. Have a friend mark the wall through the holes on the clips.

Step 5: Set it down somewhere safe and hammer the 4 nails into the 4 marks.

Step 6: Hang your calendar on the nails.

Step 7: Use your calendar to plot your linear existence and navigate through time.

It’s a really beautiful calendar. The days are printed light enough for marking important events and reminders. And the paper stock is super good quality. Check out the embossing below…

It’s also quite large. T and I took a bit of time deciding where to hang it but finally determined that it belonged above our entry table. Now maybe we won’t buy concert tickets for the same night we’re supposed to be at a wedding…

Hi and happy two-thousand-eleven.

This is going to be a good year. I can feel it. Can you?

December the 24th is probably my favorite day of the year. As a child it was important because we would open our Christmas presents that evening (before everyone else!) but now it is even more special as it means tradition, memories, family and food. Each Christmas Eve we gather in Beaumont at my Grammi’s house after the church service. We munch on all sorts of finger-foods, catch up with one another and prepare for the pickle! Us grandchildren walk slowly around the Christmas tree, tediously looking for the shiny pickle ornament that is hidden that day. The one who finds it acts as “Santa” and selects the first present for opening. The rest of the night is spent exchanging gifts, opening them one at a time, with more eating, background music and laughter – if you get a clothing item, you must try it on – house rule! This lasts far into the wee hours of Christmas Day morning when we finally finish and hit the sack. Family gathered around the living room. Warmth, light, sharing, love, Christ.

But before we leave Dallas, I wanted to share a few images of the holiday festivities taking place here. I finally finished my portfolio, which is the most time-consuming portion of my graduate applicaiton <whew!> and can now get back to my life.

We brought home the bottom tree limbs from our Fraser Fir and T strung them into garland.

A trip to Bows & Arrows gave T all she needed to get crafty. And for our place to smell great. Ahh, juniper.

Wreath 01 of 02. This one was for a gift and had the pinecones and greenery already. T added more juniper, the red berries and the bells.

We hosted a dinner party of some of my architecture school friends, tapas-style. Yum.

These were my favorite – goat cheese and churizo stuffed tomatoes.

With book exchange.

And our second annual snowflake cutting contest.

There were some pretty great creations. Though some of us never mastered the circular shape…

T’s second Christmas wreath for our front door! This one she made from scratch, starting with a twig base.

As part of our “buy local” and “homemade” christmas gifting, we recycled my Stendig calendar as wrapping paper. Sure is pretty.

TIme for sleep. For Lulu and me.

So whatever your holiday traditions may be, I hope they are just as special as mine and that you have a very blessed several days.