our newest home addition.

it's no secret i've been swooning over succulents.  i've always been a big fan, but now that we're back in san diego i feel like i can really start to incorporate them into our home.  i love that they are local, drought tolerant & bring so much color and character to any space.  also, if you're not afraid to look like a crazy person, you can take cuttings from common spaces (or ask friends for clipping from their plants) and regrow them without paying a dime.

now that our main room is mostly set-up, i decided it was time to bring in some plants.  most of our plants found new homes before the move, so in an effort not to spend a ton of money on a space we're only hoping to live in for a year, the grow-your-own-succulent idea really spoke to me.  so for the past couple weeks, anytime we traveled and i happened upon a succulent i liked, myself or my mom or sister would snag one.

i kept the cuttings on our back porch (some upwards of a week) until i had a decent collection.  then, repurposing some of our old office supplies (i found these white "vases" at ikea a few years ago in the kitchen wall organization section.  unfortunately, it looks like they're no longer sold online.), i filled them up with potting soil and some left over peat moss and planted the succulents.

we hung them in an empty space near the patio door & they are now one of the first things we see each morning.  i love them and am nothing short of obsessed.  they tie in perfectly with the succulent wreath that hangs on our door and as they grow, i know that they will never go to waste.

our almost-complete san diego home.

settling into our new home pretty much took over our lives.  living among boxes just wasn't an option.  so with whatever free time we had between work & other obligations, we unpacked.  slowly, but efficiently.  we purged so much stuff we probably should buy stock in goodwill.  eventually, we started seeing the light and our home went from this...

to this.  with most of the big stuff either out of the way or in it's new home, we started working on the details of the space.  finding a home for everything and getting things organized is my favorite part of moving.  a. & i are pretty systematic, so we were nervous we were going to lose a lot of our organization in this new home.  but found, as things started finding their homes, we found despite the new placements and minor tweaks, we could maintain our organization style with similar systems we had in place in new york.  & that is awesome. 

eventually, things were falling into place.  we started with the kitchen, doing our best to organize our most frequented space.  once the kitchen was settled, we moved to the main room.  as we arranged (& rearranged) furniture, we figured out where some of the smaller, more decorative items would live.  then, room by room, we continued with this process until eventually, our home looked like this.  

i'm so happy with this little space.  the bright colors, the natural light, having our furniture, our appliances, a place to enjoy meals & eventually, host celebrations...it's perfect for us.

we still have a ways to go until every room is complete.  right now, everything is livable and organized and i'd say we're about 70% settled.  once we finish our bedroom, office and two bathrooms, i may never leave the house.  it already feels so much like home.  & that's the final piece of this whole transition puzzle.

succulent wreath diy

back in november, my mom came home from the farmers market with a ton of succulents & an awesome idea...diy succulent wreaths.  i was sold instantly.  we soaked the moss and each of us having a metal wreath form, unpotted the succulents and began making our own creation.  i absolutely loved the way these wreaths turned out & couldn't wait to make one for our home.

so, true to her form, i found some succulent plants that would bloom in the spring, had a variety of colors and in the summer, when things warmed up, would turn unbelievably bright colors.  once i had my selection, i read here that succulent trimmings should be cut a few days before assembling the wreath so the ends can dry and callus.  apparently, this helps with their growth process.

once the clipping were dry enough (to be honest, i could barely wait), i soaked the moss in a large bucket for about 20 minutes and as i wrung out each handful, i thickly placed it on the wire wreath form.  then, with a floral wire, i tightly wrapped the wreath leaving enough space to put multiple plants between each wrapped section & to ensure the moss would stay put as i planted the succulents.

with no pattern or intent, i began placing the succulent pieces around the wreath.  as i placed them i made sure no two plants were directly next to one another and that the larger plants were spread out and relatively balanced.  at first i thought i was short on succulents.  the wreath looked so much bigger than i recalled and i was afraid the succulent trimmings might have to go toward another project, but as it turned out, about 8 succulent plants ended up being the perfect amount.  once all the plants were in place, i wrapped the wreath one more time (this time much closer together and tightly) taking care to hide with wire among the plants and moss all the while, securing each plant in place.

although succulents are slow growing plants, i didn't want to over crowd them on the wreath.  actually, i prefer the look of the moss showing through the various succulents.  now i'm debating now if i should add ribbons or something during the holidays or keep it simple.  i tend to keep things simple, so at the moment that's the way i'm leaning. 

all said and done, this project cost me about $40.00.  $30 for the succulents (though if you have access to succulent trimmings in your backyard, nature, or elsewhere, you could save a lot of beans. $4 for the wire frame (with 40% off coupon) and floral pins from michaels and $5 for the peat moss.  to me, it was well worth the time and money.  it's hands down one of my favorite projects to date.

our new home.

guess what?!?  finally, after 3 months of living in limbo, a. & i have a place to call home!  we are so excited about settling in, getting our stuff (this could take about 2 weeks since it's coming from the boston area), and making this little space ours. it's such a cool space & i'm already envisioning our stuff scattered around this new home. i can't wait to share this new space with family and friends...can't wait!!

we're so excited.  it's time to make san diego our town.

sold.

well, it's official.  yesterday we sold our ny home.  the sale of the home wasn't nearly as climatic as i had hoped.  with the exception of wiring some funds to the bank, we really didn't do anything.  however, it was still harder than i thought it would be.

almost a month ago we said goodbye to this little home.  there was a point in time when we weren't sure whether or not we could sell it & not wanting to be landlords from across the country, we kept our hopes up that the right person would come along.  she did- and not a moment too late.  by the time we left ny, all the details were wrapped up and in true new york real estate fashion, we had to hurry up to wait.  so we drove away, knowing that everything we could have done, was done & the ball was totally in the buyers court.  luckily, everything went smoothly and according to plan.

so now this little home- the first home we'd ever purchased, the home that kept us warm on cold, snowy nights, the home that held backyard bbqs, birthday bashes, date nights, and thanksgiving dinners; the home that boasted our first major diy projects, the home that harbored our breaking bad & lost marathons, the home where gardening and vegetarian dishes became the norm, the home that provided sanctuary through two deployments and sleepless nights, the home brimming with happy memories and laughter and love- is now in the loving arms of someone else.  and that's okay.

man, we loved this home.  and lucky for us, we get to keep all these memories and carry them with us until we no longer will.  so now as we work on finding a home in san diego, thanks to our ny experience, we know exactly what we want in our next place.  it's been difficult to find something up to par, but knowing it's not the place that makes a home- but the people, makes finding a replacement home much more exciting.

it was fun little revolutionary home.  thanks for everything- we'll never ever forget you!

our syracuse home.

as mentioned last week, we're getting ready for quite the move.  the moving process in and of itself has been rather daunting.  not only are we moving cross country, but there will be a few months of transition in san diego, especially if we don't sell our home by october.

as i was prepping our more critical stuff (camping gear, wet suits, warm clothes...ya, we know what's important!!) for the move, i suddenly stopped and realized, i had zero pictures of our house!  dropping everything, i busted out the camera and began documenting this space we call home.

when we first arrived in new york, we had a bedroom set, piano and coffee table to our name.  over the past six years, we've acquired furniture and frames and souvenirs from our travels.  slowly, very slowly, our home started growing with both personality & stuff.

to be honest, there's so much more i'd love to do to this space.  as the years have passed, my personal style has moved with them.  today, i can picture bold, vibrant rugs (a feat much more realistic now that we have one hairy pup), more diy art, a beautiful wooden chair, and perhaps a finished bedroom; the only room yet to have a personality.

every space has it's own story.  our master bathroom for example, was an experiment with stripes and hooks.

our office was our first home project.  something simple, like removing a closet door to expand the space for a second desk.  only to become a two week ordeal after removing an innocent base board along with a nail, unintentionally lodged into our main water vein.  despite the need to learn drywall, carpeting and a visit from a plumber, we love this room.  & this is where i send most of my days.

our home is about 1,000 sq ft.  we've maximized every inch of the space and made each room work for us.  our walls are littered with frames and some of our most-favorite memorabilia.  we've added shelves and renovated our backyard.  this home wasn't intended for any diy projects, but as we lived here and found our routines, we made adjustments as necessary.  & that has resulted in comfortable living.  starting over is necessary, but i'll definitely miss the ease of these rooms.

i can't believe this is the first time i'm sharing photos of our home.  soon, sooner than i care to admit, i'll be sharing pictures of boxes and hollow rooms.  but until then, i'm enjoying ever square foot of our house and all the memories that come along with it!

square-foot gardening.

over the past three years, i've become an avid gardener.  it began with the basics: potted basil, tomatoes, rosemary, mint, and a few other herbs for good measure.  when a. returned home from iraq in 2009, we decided to renovate out backyard the following summer.  one criteria of the remodel was a space for a backyard vegetable garden.

we chose three, raised-bed gardens along the fence and after a couple seasons of trial and error, this year, i opted for the square-foot garden method.  in years past i tended to over-crowd vegetables in these beds yielding both a small crop and an unsightly, jungle-like garden.

but this year, man how things have changed.  the garden is flourishing.  we have an endless (or seemingly so, anyway) supply of roma, heirloom and cherry tomatoes.  with tomatoes, i've used stakes, string, and absolutely nothing to support them in the past.  this year i planted them in tomato cages and i can't say enough good things about them.  the tomatoes are growing so tall, branches are supported, and the garden looks so organized.  this makes weeding and finding the ripe fruit so much easier.

in addition to tomatoes, we have these little, itty-bitty, white eggplants, jalepeno and serrano pappers, yellow squash, acorn squash, green beans, basil, rosemary, thyme, strawberries, cucumber and yellow onions.  while i'm so happy everything's growing well, i'm most excited about the acorn squash and onions!

i'm a self-taught gardener and generally resort to a hands-off approach.  i water and pick ripe veggies in the mornings, refuse to use any fertilizer, and weed on a weekly basis.  also, i refresh the soil with our compost (we keep this in a tupperware with lots of holes in the garage).

not everything with gardening is fun and games.  last year, i had a major mole infestation, so this year i dug up each of the beds and placed fine chicken wire beneath the mounds of soil.  i chose this method because rumor has it, they tend to nest and return to the same grounds year after year.  so instead of dealing with the issue annually, i figured i'd nip it in the butt once and for all.  as of today, i've not seen a single mole.  

not only have i had issues with moles, i've also found issue with specific plants.  last year, i had failed attempts at sweet potatoes and cantaloupe.  this year i gave the cantaloupe another shot (still nothing to report there) in addition to green beans and artichoke.  the green beans are being over-shadowed by the acorn squash, so not much is growing on these plants and besides some large leaves, i haven't seen anything even remotely vegetable-like from the artichoke.  que sera, sera.  

backyard gardening is a case-by-case basis and obviously differs depending on your climate.  it also requires lots of patience and love.  by giving these little plants about 30 minutes of your morning or evening (avoid watering during the mid-day hours; this can potentially steam the plants), weeding regularly, and giving them enough space to grow, you'll have a thriving little garden.  this is such a rewarding hobby and even though it's august, it's not too late to start.

getting organized // office edition.

this february i committed to getting more organized.  when i made this pact with myself, i didn’t have an actual space in mind…it was just an overall, “get organized.”  i have plenty of things in my life that require a bit of tlc, so if the only thing i organized this month was my sock drawer, that’s okay.  & without the pressure of organizing a specific room/closet/etc., i’ve been much more willing to just start.  for example, during a day in my life, i organized my desktop folders and the first weekend in february, i took a giant step and organized my workspace. 

actually, this was as much organizing as it was simplifying.  since i scrapbook, i love to hold onto anything that holds a memory and that has potential to be memorialized.  that said, one can only guess how much crap i have.  a lot.  and i was sick of it. 

while a. and i were in pennsylvania the other weekend, we made a quick stop at ikea for some office supplies.  while they didn’t have a lot of organizational options to choose from, we stumbled upon this great find.  we then ventured to target for some drawer organizers and for about $60 (getting organized is not cheap), we stocked up on a few variations of different trays.

then i went to town.  i found half-finished projects and a lot of other stuff that could otherwise be recycled or donated.  i purged and organized.  & it felt great.  there’s a lot to be said about finding a perfect place for everything.  it’s so gratifying and cleansing.  no more huge piles or disheveled drawers.  just space.  and lots of it.  soon everything had a home and no longer were projects daunting or impossible to work on.  i was finally inspired and ready to create.

today, i still love my space.  i’m productive and eager to make beautiful things.  i’ll continue to collect little treasures from our day to day life, but with organization comes motivation & everything will quickly find a home- not a pile!

i hope you find motivation and inspiration this weekend!